Design*Sponge » kristina gill

in the kitchen with: casey barber’s drunken spaghetti with clams

Kristina Gill — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:11 +0000

I was never interested in spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams) until I stayed in Naples for a week for work and ate dinner by myself. Without the influence of friends’ orders, I let the waiter bring me his choice from the menu. Maybe because I was an obvious tourist or maybe because it’s one of the things you have to eat when you go to Naples (along with pizza and sfogliatelle, and a few other really good things), spaghetti alle vongole is what he brought. It was absolutely perfect. The right degree of spiciness, perfect al dente spaghetti — perfect everything. Though Romans do it well, too, the Naples dish conquered my palate. This week, Casey Barber, recipe developer and editor of Good.Food.Stories., shares her own recipe for Drunken Spaghetti with Clams, an equally tasty variation on the theme. If you are curious about cooking seafood and need a go-to guide, I highly recommend the book Fish by Mitch Tonks, which not only has the names of fish in four languages (great for me here in Italy!) but also notes the buying season and includes great recipes. More about Casey and her recipe after the jump. — Kristina

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behind the bar: annette joseph’s blood orange basil gimlet

Kristina Gill — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:59 +0000

February’s Behind the Bar is a mix of summer and winter. Blood oranges are available only in the coldest winter months, and basil, of course, is summery. If like me you freeze large bunches of basil during the summer months, you can dig into the freezer for this Blood Orange Basil Gimlet, provided by Atlanta-based stylist Annette Joseph. Later this month, Annette will launch a “Celebrity Cocktail of the Week” feature on her blog that promises a spectacular lineup that I can’t wait to see. In the meantime, I couldn’t resist asking Annette for her favorite cocktail. Learn more about Annette and her cocktail recipe after the jump. — Kristina

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in the kitchen with: gaby dalkin’s spicy roasted broccolini quinoa salad

Kristina Gill — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:30 +0000

After last week’s brownies, I thought I’d give everyone a break from the high-sugar, high-fat splurge with a very healthy recipe. Chef Gaby Dalkin has whipped up the perfect dish to restore balance to your diet, a Spicy Roasted Broccolini Quinoa Salad. I’m not one to talk about how wonderful salads sound, but even I’ll admit that there are salads, and there are salads. And this salad sounds so good (and easy to prepare and clean up after) that I can’t wait to try it out! — Kristina

About Gaby: Gaby Dalkin works as a private chef and food stylist in and around the Los Angeles area. Gaby is also the publisher behind What’s Gaby Cooking?, which specializes in simple, sassy and eclectic recipes. While she was professionally trained in French technique, she enjoys cooking all kinds of cuisine. Cooking has always been Gaby’s way of showing her friends that she cares, and throwing casual dinner parties is one of her favorite pastimes. In 2009, a year after founding her blog, Gaby founded the National Food Bloggers Bake Sale, an annual event where food bloggers from across the country come together to hold bake sales in their states. Funds raised through the National Food Bloggers Bake Sale support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in America.

The full recipe continues after the jump . . .

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in the kitchen with: julia vandenoever’s fudge brownies with chocolate frosting

Kristina Gill — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:42 +0000

Brownies were one of the first desserts I learned to make using the recipe from the Hershey’s Cocoa label. SOOOOO good. I am tempted to say they are foolproof, but they really aren’t. If a brownie is over-baked, it’s no good! So when you make brownies, you quickly learn the rule that you should take them out just before they’re done to your liking because they will firm up as they cool. This week’s recipe for Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Frosting comes from Colorado-based photographer Julia Vandenoever. While I gravitate toward cakey brownies, Julia and her family are clearly in the fudgy brownie camp. And normally I hate frosting on desserts, but Julia’s frosting (including the frosting-to-brownie ratio) is the only kind that should ever top a brownie, in my book. How do you like your brownies? — Kristina

About Julia: Julia Vandenoever has been working in the photography industry for over 11 years as both a photographer and photo editor (Outside, Skiing, and Backpacker). She specializes in lifestyle portraits and kid and travel photography and is based in Boulder, Colorado.

Read the full post after the jump!

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in the kitchen with: bee yinn low’s pan-fried dumplings

Kristina Gill — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:33 +0000

I love dumplings of all types and rarely pass up the opportunity to try out highly recommended dim sum restaurants. Because they are so easy to make, I also like trying them at home, so I’m very excited about this week’s recipe for Pan-Fried Pork, Shrimp and Cabbage Dumplings from Bee Yinn Low. Pork and shrimp is one of my favorite dumpling combinations. If you love dumplings and are interested in a vegetarian option, try our recipe from Helen Yuet Ling Pang for Mushroom Dumplings. If you’re vegan and would like a recipe, try the fabulous recipe for Vegan Wontons in our archive by Andrea Nguyen, the queen of Asian dumplings! (I can guarantee they are exceptional and easy to make!) — Kristina

About Bee: Bee Yinn Low is a cookbook author, professional recipe developer and publisher of Rasa Malaysia. Bee’s first cookbook, Easy Chinese Recipes, is currently the top-selling Chinese cookbook on Amazon. As a recipe developer, Bee works with brands such as Mizkan America and WorldFoods. Bee’s website, Rasa Malaysia, offers easy and authentic Asian cooking, from Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese and Southeast Asian recipes to Asian-style baking. You can follow Bee on Twitter at @rasamalaysia.

The full recipe continues after the jump…

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in the kitchen with: matkonation’s perfect schnitzel

Kristina Gill — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:48 +0000

Despite plenty of traveling to Germany and Austria, I never really appreciated schnitzel until I read The Accidental Foodie by Neale Whitaker and came across Bill Granger’s recipe for chicken schnitzel. The first time I went to Sydney, I of course went to Bill’s and ordered it right off the menu, so I could see how his recipe really should be done. Instant love. And then I thought, “Hey, I live in Italy. Cotoletta alla Milanese is (veal) schnitzel!” But upon reflection, I realized that it’s quite straight-laced — no herbs or anything mixed in. I was a fan nonetheless. Fast-forward to a couple weeks ago when Deanna, the stylist half of the team from the Israeli food blog Matkonation, said she had the quintessential Israeli dish for our readers, the Perfect Schnitzel. “Israeli? Sounds more like Mitteleuropa, but I’m curious.” She promised I would not be disappointed, and she was so right. Let us know where you stand on the schnitzel topic: Are you a purist, referring only to veal as schnitzel? Or does any meat prepared this way count as schnitzel to you? You know where I stand! — Kristina

About Deanna and Danya: Danya Weiner, who was born in Los Angeles and moved to Israel at the age of two, has been working in the field of photography for over a decade. Specializing in food, Danya’s work has been featured in Israel’s top culinary magazines, advertisements and cookbooks. A mother of two young boys, she somehow finds the time to also teach photography at a local college. Deanna Linder moved to Israel from Los Angeles to pursue a love interest and a budding career in the field of terrorism research. Eight years later, she lives on a farm with that love interest of hers (and a little one) and works as food stylist and cookbook editor and couldn’t be happier. Together, they are Matkonation, a bilingual (Hebrew and English) food blog, which is fueled by their love for aesthetics and passion for food.

The full recipe continues after the jump . . .

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