I have a confession to make… while I could pontificate ad nauseam on most gastronomic subjects, I am woefully naïve in the ways of wine and cocktails. I know that I like to drink them, but beyond that, I’ve never been a superior cocktail master, nor could I impart any significant knowledge on the origins, ratings, or flavors of a good wine.

But, I am grateful for the oenophiles and cocktail masters in my life who make the apt and judicious wine and cocktail pairings for the meals that I make. My dear friend, CS, has a profound and delightful knowledge of wine, unique liquors, and liqueurs, and is always fiddling with new cocktail combinations.

PK, I took your advice from way back when and finally came out with a salsa recipe….

As much as I love baking, its precision and the inability to taste-test the recipe as I go stifles my…. creative flair. I love recipes that have a very basic base to which I can add anything that happens to cross my mind. That, coupled with the fact that Boston will be hitting 90° today (!) made it imperative that I start my Summer Salsa Experiments a bit early.

Salsa is a great dish for experimentation and for the novice cook, as it is very nearly impossible to mess up. I was about to write that as long as you have a base of tomatoes and onions, adding the rest of the ingredients is just a matter of personal preference, but, in fact, this recipe contains no tomatoes, so even that element is subject to change.

A few years back, I had made the foolish habit of buying lunch every day at work; a group of us had become close friends, and I felt worthy, neigh, entitled, to splurge on eating out in order to spend the quality time with friends and break up the work day. I estimate that in one year I spent ~$2000 ’splurging’ on going out for lunch, rather than brown-bagging it, which is just a little nauseating, given our current recession.

There seems to be some sort of distastefulness associated with brown-bagging-it, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is – it’s part hassle, part belief that the food won’t taste as good, and part perceived image and social opportunity in a work setting. I understand the reluctance, as I felt it myself, but those qualms disappeared when I started making my own lunches and realized the following: I make a better sandwich, with fresher, more interesting ingredients for a third of the cost of the local cafe.

This post is dedicated to my friend, CS. Ever since I added kale to the Oven-Poached Halibut recipe, she has constantly reminded me of how healthful it is, and that we all must eat more kale. And, the thing is, she’s right. Kale is a health super food. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website, kale has “more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around.”

It is off the charts for Vitamins K, A & C, and provides a substantial amount of a number of other nutrients, including fiber, calcium, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and potassium. In short, I’m fully banking on the inclusion of kale in my diet to mitigate, if not negate, the presence of less-virtuous elements in my diet and lifestyle.

It was PT’s birthday a few weeks ago, and I admittedly went a bit nuts in the cupcake preparations. I had fully intended to back a sheet cake sized to feed the 25 party attendees, but after reading Smitten Kitchen’s quite frankly frightening list of do’s and don’ts regarding sheet cake preparation and transportation, I decided that cupcakes would be much more practical…. Three days later, I could be found in my apartment-turned-bakery grooving to Lady Gaga with 3 types of frosting in my hair, surrounded by cooling racks, and stepping across boxes of cupcakes.

First off, I’m so excited to finally have the new Besotted website up. In case you hadn’t noticed (and I’m guessing you had), Besotted is now located at its own dedicated URL and has a new, much improved, look and feel! This took quite a bit of work, involved more than a few expletive-ridden rants, and increased my level of CSS stylesheet proficiency from ‘abysmal’ to just ‘really, really bad.’

In any case, I’m thrilled that it’s finally up and running smoothly (as an aside, please do let me know at jessica@besottedgourmet.com if you find any bugs, broken links, etc.) But today’s post isn’t about the new design, it’s about one of my favorite concepts… one that loses quite a bit of its appeal as we careen helplessly towards bathing suit season. Nevertheless, I thought it was time to dedicate a bit of energy and space to the ‘Breakfast for Dinner’ concept.

What foodie among us doesn’t love watching the Food Network? Who among us doesn’t salivate over the gastronomic creations and, even more so, the gleaming, decked-out kitchens, the ease with which the stars whip up their homey, yet inventive meals, and the stress-free environment in which they serve them to their guests.

I love watching the Food Network’s porcelain-perfect cooking, and, in particular, Everyday Italian with Giada DeLaurentis. She is perfectly made up, coiffed, and dressed, and her football-field-sized kitchen is immaculate and stylish. Not only that, but the woman features mascarpone, whipped cream, and crème fraiche in nearly every show, which makes me feel like we are culinary kindred spirits. Word, Giada, word.

Being a food writer(ish) comes with its privileges. My darling, thoughtful, and generous friend, Dez, got me a pass for Taste of the Nation in Boston a couple of weeks ago. The irony of this event is that attendees glut themselves to an extreme rarely seen outside of a Roman vomitorium in an effort to bring awareness to and alleviate childhood hunger. Irony (and attending guilt) aside, it was a flawlessly executed event, with over 100 Boston restaurants, wineries, and food purveyors offering their fare for attendees to nibble (read: gorge) on. And, the best part is the proceeds go to Share Our Strength and combat childhood hunger.

I have a confession to make…. I started Besotted with more than just the goal of jotting down my favorite recipes and rambling about my culinary experiences. I desperately want to get people back into the kitchen, and for them to do more than peel back the plastic on a microwaveable meal or ‘add water’ to make a meal magically puff up before their eyes.

It’s an absurd quest in our multi-tasking, over-taxed, over-stressed world, but I’m taking it on, and if there’s one recipe in my arsenal to battle the delivery-guy, grocery-store-prepared-foods, and the like, it’s this one, because it takes 15 minutes from grocery bag to table. Not only is it easy and quick, but the flavors – fresh chilis, ginger, garlic, and lemon – will instantly remind you why fresh always tastes best.

I don’t want to bore you to death with details of our wonderful trip to Spain, but a web log of some of the more interesting dining experiences does seem warranted, or will at least allow me to justify the 10 pounds I packed on there.

I had studied in Spain a number of years ago, and, while excited to return, speak the language (i.e. show-off in front of PT), and re-visit a number of my favorite sites and cities, I was apprehensive about the gastronomic experience. As a poor student, I had subsisted on low-quality, hastily prepared chicken croquetas (essentially, chicken fingers with cream of chicken, instead of whole meat), tortilla espanola, and ooey-gooey pastries. The last two were quite good, but not exactly a well-rounded diet for 10 days.