red wine soaked burger with gouda, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli

I love New York City. I know that probably seems like the dumbest and most obvious thing out there that any person could say - akin, perhaps to announcing that you enjoy oxygen - but believe it or not, it's not. Adam is not a lover of New York City. He's not big on noise or crowds. He doesn't get the crazy eye when shopping. If anything, he gives the stink eye when shopping. He hates stuff and pretty things. Adam and New York City don't really get along. He is good to me though - he indulged me a few years ago when I wanted to visit the city for ten, yes TEN, days. Ten glorious days of shopping, eating, museum-going and generally gawping at things I'd seen on TV.

Now that I live in Montreal, it's a little easier visit New York. When my mom came to visit last month, I suggested we take a mini vacation, since a) it's fun and b) she's never been. After a long day of doing touristy things, and after having spent the day with all the good intentions of going somewhere a little less cheesy for dinner, we admitted defeat and picked the first restaurant we could within a one mile radius of our hotel. Proximity and rosemary aioli won me over to the Union Square Five Napkin Burger, which admittedly is fraught with Cactus Club style douchebaggery, but actually had a pretty good burger.

Of course, I planned to recreate this burger as soon as possible. As soon as possible ended up being about 2 weeks later (and one week ago). Here it is. Delicious and amazing.

pasta primavera with parmesan and white wine sauce

Guess what made me crave pasta primavera. It would put most people off pasta primavera for a little while... but not me, I guess. I was watching that episode of Seinfeld where Russel Dalrymple, an NBC executive with whom Jerry is trying to start a pilot, orders pasta primavera at a restaurant. Elaine sneezes on it and he ends up getting violently ill.

So of course, I thought to myself.... that's what I want for dinner! Isn't it totally absurd how my stomach and my brain works?

jalapeno popper inspired grilled cheese

You know what's fun? Going to Jean-Talon Market. There are all kinds of exciting things there - I bought tiny zucchini, rhubarb (hurray!), heirloom carrots and tomatoes... I even bought a purple pepper. Yes. It looks like a green pepper, except it's purple. Really. I can't even begin to tell you about my level of excitement in places like this. If I could somehow make a career of going to public markets and ogling everything, I would be happy as a clam.

I always bring home jalapeno peppers because I know that even if I have nothing planned, I will find a use for them. When I saw a post on Closet Cooking with a recipe for this sandwich, I knew that nothing would stop me from recreating it. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Kevin invented the jalapeno popper grilled cheese.

buttermilk scones with crispy pancetta and cheddar

These scones have so many things going for them. Fancy bacon. Extra old cheddar. Butter. Flakiness and gooeyness. Need I go on? In all seriousness, I can't imagine anyone (vegetarians and vegans aside) resisting such a luxurious once-in-a-while treat.

I was inspired to make these by a recipe I found in the Alice's Tea Cup cookbook. Sadly, that recipe turned out to be disastrous; I remember feeling skeptical at the idea of using melted butter in scones. Doesn't that traditional flaky scone texture come from cold butter? The second time around, I ended up using an old standby scone recipe in Joy of Cooking and just adding in the pancetta and cheddar. The result was spectacular. Rich buttery texture, gooey cheese cavities, and a little bit of salty bacon crunch.

classic cheese and onion quiche

Quiche is perfect Fathers Day fare. It feels a little bit gourmet. It gives off the impression that one has slaved for hours in the kitchen. It's rich and tasty. It is full of things that everybody loves - butter, cheese, cream and eggs.  I'm going to let you in on a little secret: quiche is a snap. Even when you make the crust yourself. It's almost idiot proof.

In fact, it's so easy that I decided to bake a quiche for my dad because I knew I could pull it off in just over an hour, baking time included. This meant there would be plenty more time for me to create other delectables with which he would be suitably impressed. This was no small occasion. My dad lives 3700 kilometres from me, and if he's coming over for lunch on Fathers Day, it's kind of a big deal.

chicken nachos with cilantro corn salsa and guacamole

Alright, I know you can't really write a recipe for nachos.  That's not my intention here. Nobody measures anything when they make nachos, they grate and dump with abandon (and as they should). There's nothing even particularly special about these nachos, except for the fact that they are damn tasty. And anyone who has ever been to a bar or a pub knows that nachos being tasty is not a given.

I just wanted to share these nachos with you because someone shared them with me, sort of. I remember the evening well. Leigh Anne and I were obsessed with LOST, and sometimes I went over to her apartment to watch the weekly episodes which, at that time, were still nail-bitingly and mind-bendingly good. These nachos happened on one of the most intense LOST evenings to date, culminating in Kate and Sawyer finally (finally!) getting it on in the polar bear cage. I don't remember exactly what she put on them (nachos are pretty flexible - one of their excellent qualities), but I do remember that there was chicken involved and from that point on, chicken nachos became a staple at my social gatherings. Especially the LOST parties. <-- dork