How To Have Brunch

What are you doing this weekend? Having me over for brunch, I hope. Get out your champagne mugs glasses!

Brunch is an institution: a special time where drinking in the daytime is not only appropriate, it is encouraged. I adhere to very strict Brunch Club Rules.

1. At least one food item on the table must be made up of at least 50% eggs. 
2. One food item must be 100% bacon.
3. Each beverage consumed must be made up of at least 50% champagne (or other appropriately bubbled alcoholic intoxicant). This is my new favorite method of making a mimosa. You're welcome.

You should put some fruit on the table. It feels healthier this way. Coffee also helps. So does dining Al Fresco, if possible. Al Fresco is not that weird guy who lives around the corner from you; it is a fancy way of saying outdoors. Eating is one of the only outdoor activities I truly enjoy. To reiterate, the bubbly alcohol helps me enjoy outdoor activities. So does the bacon.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

More confession time. I love pizza. Bad pizza is good pizza. My favorite pizzas, though, all share similar traits: thin, crispy, yeasty, crackly, chewy, perfect ... oh, did I mention I'm a bit of a dough/crust fan? Screw the toppings. I want to talk about pizza crust.

Making your own dough is SO EASY. Seriously why are you not doing this? And here is my trick/commandment: make it as far in advance as you want. A week even. All that time in the fridge just lets the yeast work its magic and get all stretchy and delicious. Here are two pizzas, made within one day of each other.

Day One: FLUFFY DOUGH. My nemesis. Still delicious, but still. This tasty but you know it could be better.

Toppings: skirt steak, caramelized garlic and shallots, roasted cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, Mexican crema (have you had this ish? It is like sour cream but TANGIER. This probably deserves an entire post unto itself but that would be kind of gross, just C Fierce, eating a jar of Mexican sour cream. I'll do it, Internet. Don't tempt me.)

What could POSSIBLY be hiding behind the jump? Let's find out!

... and the Garlic Bread From Heaven That Hates Your Thighs

Confession time: I love garlic. I love garlic bread. I love crappy garlic bread, I love Stouffer's garlic bread, I love dipping garlic bread in tomato sauce, I love the cheesy nasty "garlic sticks" from Pizza Hut. I love it without abandon. And I don't care who knows it. (That was for you, Francesca.)

So when I got it into my head that I would make Perfect Spaghetti and Meatballs, I immediately made sure that garlic bread was on the menu. You can't have one without the other, right? Well, I guess I can have garlic bread without anything else. But it certainly doesn't hurt the situation one whit to combine the two.

Perfect Spaghetti and Meatballs

I know. Who makes spaghetti and meatballs in April? (I know it's the middle of May. I take a while for this weblogging business.) A wintry, comfort food at its finest - sure, let's make it from scratch. On a Tuesday night. In April. When it's 85 degrees INSIDE your kitchen (have I ever mentioned how much I love DC weather?). But when a craving hits, a craving hits.

I searched high and low for a perfect meatball recipe. Apparently "pillowy and flavorful meatballs" is not the smartest Google search. I'd trust Molly Wizenberg's recipes with my eyes closed, so off to the grocery store I went. Pork, beef, SAN MARZANO tomatoes, lots of Parmesan cheese ... sigh. Now I'm hungry again. Stay tuned for the Garlic Bread From Heaven That Hates Your Thighs.

Happy Mother's Day from the Sisters Fierce

In honor of Mother's Day this year, we thought we'd reprise one of our favorite posts ever. That's right, it's dedicated to our awesome mother. We love you Mom!

- - - Originally posted May 7, 2010 - - - 

Have you mailed your mother's day card yet? Better get to the post office, kiddos!  Your mom is waiting!  And if you forgot, oh boy. Call up the flower shop immediately.

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day at The Sisters Fierce than to dedicate a post to our fantastic Mama Fierce? She's obviously influenced us in many ways, not only genetics and the remarkable ability to turn any sentence into a pout. (Trust us on this one.  Just ask our boyfriends.)

 

Look at those babes! Mama Fierce on the right, and our amazingly gorgeous Grandma Ruth, whom we miss very much, every single day.  And we also wish they had held on to their wardrobes - yes, those are little anchors on Mama Fierce's dress.  Ahoy!

Mama Fierce taught us how to drive stick shift, why you should always always ALWAYS wear earrings (you'll feel naked without them), and many other Very Important Life Lessons.  But since this blog revolves around food, we thought we'd share some of the many tips and tricks Mama Fierce taught us in the kitchen.

1. Confectioner's sugar is not flour. Mistaking one for the other does not a good broccoli soup make.
2. The electric cooktop is not the best place to leave a cordless phone (or two or twelve).
3. Come to think of it, the microwave is also not really a great spot for a wire-framed basket. Oops.
4. Don't be afraid to make substitutions. Lasagna will probably be just as good if you realize you don't have enough ricotta so you use cottage cheese instead. (See #1 when you are curious as to what substitutes well for flour.)
5. Don't be afraid to stay out of the kitchen for an evening or two. Use up your leftovers. We both inherited the penchant for finishing off random small bits of dinners past from Mama Fierce: occasionally skipping a whole meal and replacing it with a snack when you've eaten well all day is just fine. This is called "grazing."
6. Stave off the pre-dinner munchies with a pile of crudites. We think slicing a bunch of veggies was a diversion tactic meant to keep her four wild, ravenous, hungry children out of her hair. It worked and we ate more veggies. 
7. Does your kitchen stink because you burnt something? This never happens to us, just so you know. But in case it did... Bring about a cup or so of water to boil on the stove and throw in some cinnamon, cloves, or other aromatic spice. Let that simmer away for an hour or two and presto chango - stinko gone-o.  
8. Sometimes, simply setting the table does wonders for your mood. When we were in high school and had free lunches, each and every Wednesday, Mama Fierce would make us lunch at home. It could have been blue-box-mac-n-cheese or a plain turkey sandwich, but she always set the table. Flowers from our backyard garden, real napkins and placemats, too. Taking the time to make things a little nicer is always worth it. Our mom always makes sure to tell us she loves us, but more importantly, she always takes the time to show us she loves us, too.

Of course she's also imparted to us some absolutely killer recipes. We drool just thinking about Mama Fierce's famous summer strawberry pie - and her Texas sheetcake is just absurd. Stay tuned this week for those recipes.  We can't wait to share them with you, and in case she thought we forgot ...

Happy Mother's Day to the greatest mom on earth.  We love you Mama Fierce!

A Conversation with Mama Fierce on the Eve of St. Patrick's Day

Act I, Scene I
Scene: C Fierce's car // Mama Fierce's kitchen

MAMA FIERCE: Hi honey. Did you fill out your bracket yet? Your dad is logging me in right now.
C FIERCE: I'm heading home from work, I'm making Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for the office tomorrow.
MAMA FIERCE: Oh I LOVE car bombs!
C FIERCE: You do? Do you even know what a car bomb is?
MAMA FIERCE: Of course I do. It's that drink, what is it, a train station. A sidecar! I love those!
C FIERCE: No, those are not the same thing - and besides, a train station isn't even a drink. You made that up.
MAMA FIERCE: It has car in it, it's the same thing.
C FIERCE: No, it isn't. A car bomb has Guinness in it --
MAMA FIERCE: Oh that's that beer I don't like, the gross one, right?
C FIERCE: -- Yes, you hate Guinness -- and then you put a shot of Jameson in it --
MAMA FIERCE: That's whiskey? Oh my. This is not like a train station at all.
C FIERCE: -- It's not a train station, it's a sidecar, and anyway, you have the Guinness, and the Jameson, and then you fill up a shot glass with Bailey's and --
MAMA FIERCE: OH I like Bailey's, that is delicious! Only one out of three, this isn't going well for me, is it.
C FIERCE: No, it isn't. So you have the Guinness, the Jameson, the Bailey's, and then you have to drink it before it curdles --
MAMA FIERCE: Oh that's disgusting.
C FIERCE: Well yes, you have about 12 seconds before it curdles so you drink two shots and a beer in that amount of time.
MAMA FIERCE: Who thinks of these things? HONEY -- [offstage] -- have you heard of this thing called an IRISH CAR BOMB? Do you know what GOES INTO ONE OF THESE THINGS?
C FIERCE: [pause] [pause] [pause]
MAMA FIERCE: Your father says "an Irish car bomb is a beer, with a whiskey, plus an apertif." Is that right?
C FIERCE: Well, he's on the right track, yes.
MAMA FIERCE: I don't know where you learned all this drinking from, certainly not at my elbow!
C FIERCE: I have no idea, but I'm not drinking them tonight, I'm making cupcakes with those ingredients.
MAMA FIERCE: Well that's a relief. I'm having a nice glass of white wine, a pinot grigio, from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.
C FIERCE: That sounds nice.
MAMA FIERCE: Did you drink all that champagne I got you for Christmas already?
C FIERCE: It's March, of course I did.
MAMA FIERCE: Well that's good. Bethanne asked me if I'd had prosecco the other day and I told her of course I knew what that was. I don't know where you learn these things.
C FIERCE: Mom I have to go now, I am recording this conversation for posterity.
MAMA FIERCE: Oh I bet your phone has one of those fancy APPS for that.
C FIERCE: Enjoy your wine, Mama Fierce.
MAMA FIERCE: And not a train station in sight!

* * * En fin. * * *

Here are some other green things to eat.  Look! Green things to eat on St Patty's Day! These are naturally green, to boot, and not a pint of beer with green food coloring in it. Weird.

Spinach mascarpone dip
Pistachios and apricots
More pistachios: pistachio praline bars
Even more: pistachio tart cherry ice cream
Spinach round two: spinach salad

Happy St Patty's Day to all our readers. Are you doing anything special today? Other than making up imaginary cocktails? What goes in a train station, anyway?

C Fierce is BACK. And She Brought Lemon Squares.

So. Some sheeeeeeeeeeeet happened in my life. It sucked, now it's good, and I'm back. And I have lemon squares. Meyer Lemon Squares to be precise. I went on a lemon square binge about two months ago. I found the best recipe of all time, but of course it's Cook's Illustrated, takes nineteen hours, and gives you the best lemon squares you have ever put in your mouth.

Nutella Peanut Butter Brownies

Yes.  You read that correctly.  Nutella.  Peanut butter.  Brownies.  Together.  FINALLY.  And what's that on top?  Why yes, that is a dark chocolate ganache.

I made a batch of these last week and took them to three (!) three separate occasions.  A New Year's Eve game night party (this is our new favorite game), the office, and a fabulous friend's birthday party.  

Why three places, you ask?  Well, it's nothing to do with them not tasting good.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  It just happens to be one of the richest treats I've made in a long time.  And people, a 9 x 13 dish of these brownies?  Well, look at the photo.  A little goes a looooooong way.

I first made this a few years ago, adapted from the great Deb.  Over time I've perfected my own tweaks and additions.  Such as, um, the Nutella.***  And the sprinkling of sea salt.  And all the dark chocolate.  Good lord I'm hungry again.

PS: J Fierce is in San Francisco, eating at Chez Panisse, finding the origins of Sriracha, and visiting friends.  I'm sure she is going to come back with lots of stories.  I miss my sister!

***Ask me sometime about the origins of Nutella.  I will use my best Italian accent and tell you the story of the only good thing Mussolini ever did, thanks to my best friend Francesca.  Hey Francesca when are you guest-posting, caccolina?!