Oh yeah, I Have a Blog....

by Xani

Weird! I had almost forgotten. Not that I haven't still been cooking, going out to eat, and even doing a bit of entertaining. I just haven't been making the time to blog, so much. What can I say-- can you ever forgive me??

The good news is I have a few little nibbles for you RIGHT NOW, and a promise of many, many, MANY delicious posts coming up very soon. We've got a big family dinner planned at Blackacre, featuring fellow blogger De-I/uncle-nm, all the way from Albuquerque, NM! Then I'm hosting Rosh Hashanah dinner at my house before rushing off to ALASKA (of all places!) and then another trip to LA. So, there's good eating (and good blogging) coming up soon. Promise.

For now, a snack. First of all, it's fall. When did THAT happen?? Summer went by in a blink. But I can tell it's really fall-- what with these lovely, cozy, temperatures, squash replacing tomatoes at the farmer's market, and a new season of The Office starting TONIGHT!

But speaking of squash, I picked up a butternut at the market on Sunday, and immediately made one of my favorite squash dishes, this salad from Orangette. I was sure I had written about this recipe here before, but apparently not. Which is a travesty. This recipe is so simple, so delicious, and the perfect transition into fall. A quick roast of the squash, a simple dressing of garlic, lemon, tahini, and oil, a chop of cilantro and red onion, and a can of chickpeas... heavenly.

No matter what the season, it's the season for burgers! Recently my friend Jessica joined me in a trip up to Hampden, where we attempted to shop at the lovely Red Tree (closed) and eat pasta at Grano (also closed??!?). So, instead we ended up at Cafe Hon, which I had seen many times but never wandered in. Not only was it half-priced burger night, but they were also featuring "Recession Specials"-- dinners for under $10! I had to try the burger, and Jessica got the super-cozy mac and cheese recession special. Oh, and we both had margaritas-- who doesn't need a drink in these troubled times?




The burger was decent, and certainly a bargain, but only scored 5.5 of out 10 burgers on my scale. It lost points for a mushy bun and being overcooked. The fries, however, were quite good. I lucked out and got a massive pile of extra-crispy ones; I couldn't even eat them all! I stole a bite of Jessica's dish and it was damn good comfort food.

Then we split a teeny, tiny sundae which was the perfect end to the meal.

spoon included for scale

And even though it is definitely, totally, 100% fall, I'm still holding on to a little bit of summer. I WILL jump into the brand new pool at Blackacre this weekend, even if it is freezing cold, and I'm still eating the last wonderful summer tomatoes... even if I do so while wearing black nail polish and drinking red wine (sure signs of fall, right?). Plus, I'll be experiencing winter (Alaska) and summer (LA) all in the next two weeks! So maybe season is just a state of mind? Ponder that until the next post!

Summer

Fall

Happy Fall,

X