Category Archives: Cooking

Oct21

Food through the start of the year

Posted on by
Standard

Spring, 2025 – Throughout the beginning of the year


I love cooking. Andrea loves cooking. Our classmates and friends love cooking.

And so, to the surprise of no one… we did a lot of cooking. Even as the MBA wore on, time grew short, and deadlines loomed high… we cooked. Here’s a few quick glimpses into some of the more photogenic dishes:

Banitsa! Andrea cooked this quite a few times, and even taught me how to cook it! It’s a Bulgarian dish, made with Filo dough, Bulgarian cheese, spinach, and scrambled eggs – all wrapped up, and baked in the oven. It’s amazing, and I’m continually astounded at how incredible it tastes.


Steak! I cooked steak quite a few times – even a prime rib one evening! I haven’t learned any new tricks, truth be told, but neither have I lost any of my edge on cooking an excellent meal. Seared, with veggies and bread on the side… it’s simple, but excellent.

One advancement I did make… I tried cooking Beef Wellington once! Now, granted, I did buy it pre-made… but hey. I was able to cook it right, so… that’s a partial win, right?


Vegan Bolognese! This is Andrea’s signature dish, alongside the banitsa, and ohh my god. I can’t wax poetic enough about how good this is, and how amazing the whole floor smells when it’s simmering.


Dinners out happened as well – some traditional American breakfasts, and even an evening out at a nearby Japanese restaurant. Fun, and a lovely chance to get out of the house and away from the various papers.


I made sliders! The old recipe that I adore from Boston, I’ve made this quite a few times – it’s simple and elegant, with just grilled burgers and a quail egg on top, but… mm. Simple is good.



I adore fried chicken, and Chicken Katsu is pretty close… so I was very happy to make a full meal of it with some stir fried veggies and bok-choi alongside. The rice… well, I don’t cook rice often, so thankfully I had some help with getting that part right.


Now, you can’t have busy university days without pasta. But… We don’t do boring pasta here. Combined with a nice sauce, maybe some asparagus or Soppressata or mushrooms… a burrata ball… It’s not so bad.


Last, but not least, we have my old-fashioned slow cooked recipe. Babyback ribs, mac and cheese, and some roasted root veggies… It had been a rough week, and I was feeling a bit homesick, so this was a perfect pick-me-up to restart the day. An American friend even joined me, which added that perfect extra bit of positivity into the evening.

Aug10

Making dinner at home in Cassis

Posted on by
Standard

Wednesday, 10-July-2024


I really am starting to love tortellini, you know that?

Okay, hear me out. It’s simple, it’s got all your major macros, it doesn’t really need many spices, and the Tortellini in Europe is shelf-stable. It’s a really good meal base to pick up while travelling long-term, when you don’t want to buy spices and such but do want to cook a meal at home every once in a while.

I first found them in Iceland, rocked ’em in Warsaw… and now, my Mom, Steve, and I rocked them in Cassis too!

Steve was our hunter – braving the French grocery store in order to return the required parts of the meal. I was the chef, combining them and plating everything. My Mom was the sous chef, assisting and helping me keep everything on-time and in order. Together, we made a rather excellent meal!

Was it complicated? Well… no. Not at all.

Was it delicious, though? Well, I’ll post some photos here so you can see… but yes. Yes it was, and I was very proud of that fact. Huzza!



Now, a quick recipe, for those travelling who may enjoy a simple meal that can be procured pretty much everywhere in Europe, and requires only a single pot (though I also used a skillet):

  • Tortellini – I prefer proscuitto or chicken fillings, but cheese works quite well
  • Broccoli – Easy to find, chopped up to taste
  • Tomatoes – Really any type, just cut up to be about the size of your thumb, maybe
  • Prosciutto – optional, but adds a nice saltiness to the meal
  • Parmesan cheese – optional, but it just makes everything better

Directions:
Cook the tortellini per instructions, taking it off the boil about 3min early. (Optional: fry up the Prosciutto in a pan, removing it once it’s crispy but leaving the rendered grease in the pan to season the broccoli.) Steam the broccoli with some of the leftover water from the tortellini, and make sure to strain out the rest of the tortellini. Don’t leave it to soak in the water! Toss in the Tortellini, tomatoes, and Parm cheese if you’re using it, and once the broccoli is firm but cooked then serve!

And, uhh… if you don’t have a bowl big enough, don’t be afraid to get creative. Like putting the broccoli in a flower vase.

Not that I’d know.

Jul13

Cooking at “home” in Poland!

Posted on by
Standard

Wednesday, 19-June-2024, and Thursday, 20-June-2024


It’s been a while since I’ve cooked at home. Since… Iceland, I think? Huh, wow. Yeah, since Iceland. So just about a full month. I do think that may be a record for me.

I needed a break.

As strange as it sounds, eating out and going to restaurants was tiring me out. Regardless of how chill the place, and how little effort I had to put into being fed, eating out in countries that don’t speak English natively is tiring. I couldn’t really relax all the way while I was out.

I needed a chance to put on some music, dance around the kitchen while cooking, poor myself a glass of wine, queue up a stupid YouTube video, and just decompress during dinner.


So… I did.

My first day in Warsaw, I headed out and tracked down a grocery store near my apartment. I poked around, found some interesting looking food, checked out, and headed home. I’d checked the kitchen ahead of time, to calibrate what sort of food to buy based on what cooking implements I had, and so I pretty quickly dove into the fun of cooking. I cranked some music, whipped out the chefs knife, and flew around the kitchen.

It was absolutely what I’d been needing.


Wednesday, the first evening, I cooked up Pierogi with broccoli and red bell peppers. Simple, delicious, and paired well with a crisp Polish lager.



Thursday, the second evening, I boiled up some tortellini (stuffed with cheese, chicken, and prosciutto), along with some sliced tomatoes and broccoli… and Parmesan cheese, of course. I even used the same playlist for my kitchen dancing, simply picking up right where I’d left off the previous evening.




It was awesome. No two ways about it.

Don’t get me wrong – I do love traveling and adventuring, exploring new restaurants and living the good life out on the road. I also love cooking, though, and I love being home and cozy and quiet. I’m endlessly thankful for the opportunities that’re carrying me around the world, and around Europe, but I’m also just as happily looking forward to settling back down in my future apartment in Dublin. My cast iron in hand, a pot of pasta boiling on the back burner…

All aspects of life are beautiful in their own way, and the variety that I’ve been granted is simply superb.