Cast Iron Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yesterday was Mrs. NH’s birthday.  I’m not much of a baker so I always hate baking cakes or something for her birthday.  I always end up looking like some jerk out of a sitcom with flour all over my shirt and face. Well, the same thing happened this year (thanks to Little NH2 TURNING THE…

Roman Holiday

We’re kicking it in Rome this weekend. Pasta, pizza, walking all over town and drinking every Negroni I can get my hands on. Needed a break from work and there’s no better place to get it. Slightly more regular updates over on twitter under the @NaughtHem handle.

Thai Basil Pork

This weekend, with one confirmed case of strep in the house and everybody generally worn out from a big week, I made some family comfort food.  Thai Basil Pork is supposedly Thai street food.  I’ve never been to Thailand so all I know is, it’s absolutely delicious. Mrs. NH recommended that instead of pairing it with…

BBQ Brisket, Creamed Corn and SaSo Sweet Potatoes

Here’s how my morning started: Me: Hey, how’d you sleep? Mrs. NH: Oh, crud.  You forgot to season the brisket. Me: Crap. You handle the girls’ breakfast and I’ll do it now. You see, we take our brisket pretty seriously in the NH household.  It’s a rare, expensive delicacy in the Czech Republic.  It’s even…

Istanbul Panorama

Here’s a cool panorama I took off the balcony of my hotel room at the Hilton Bosphorus in Istanbul last month.  (I don’t have any idea how to make it bigger in the post.  Hints?)  I’ve sort of warmed to Istanbul over the past few visits and learned to embrace the chaos and sheer breadth…

Homemade Focaccia

It has been two days full of cooking around the NH homestead this weekend.  I’ve made and frozen several pounds of crock pot carnitas and crock pot chicken tacos for the return of the NH girls.  I’m also getting ready to whip into meatloaf gravy to be used as pasta sauce and a batch or…

Roasted Pork Belly

Bachelorhood gives me the opportunity to try cooking some foods that I wouldn’t get the chance to with the whole family in town.  The kids and Mrs. NH are in Texas and I figure they’re eating well so why shouldn’t I?  So when I saw a kilo of pork belly at the Tesco Express last…

Cheesesteak Sandwiches with Homemade Buns

We didn’t have plans for Sunday.  Mrs. NH was kind enough to brave freezing temperatures to go for a quick supermarket trip while the girls and I puttered around the house and watched vacation home movies on my newly reconditioned Windows Media Center.  Of course in the Not Hemingway household, a day without plans usually…

One Day in Tbilisi

Have you ever taken an extended trip by yourself?  I do on a fairly regular basis for work.  I find myself to be an utterly terrible traveling partner.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, though.  I’m different when I’m with people.  I like having a good time with people.  It’s just that it’s…

Hydra Harbor

Mid way through Memorial Day weekend and we are waiting to take a boat back to our car on the mainland. The kids are officially tripped out and I am on the way to the market to get Mrs. NH and me some “coping fluid.” Commonly known as beer. See you on the mainland!

Lunch

Belle Princess and Hello Kitty Cake

As I sit in my office and fret about the fate of the freedom of information in far flung countries, my wife agonizes, yes, agonizes about cakes for the birthdays of my two little girls.  To her, a good crumb coat is just as important as stemming nuclear proliferation.  The search for black food coloring…

Andalusian Olive Oil in Prague

Last Saturday morning was sunny and beautiful.  We decided to take advantage of the weather and walk down to the Dejvice farmer’s market and see if the selection of food on offer had improved since Mrs. NH’s visit a year or so ago.  Suffice to say, it has. There were beautiful spring flowers, an assortment…

Dark Soy and Honey Seared Pork Tenderloin

This was an improvisation about a month ago and it’s so easy and good we ended up doing it again for Easter.  Mrs. NH and I were both sick and this was a nice mix between gourmet and easy.  I marinated the tenderloin in a Ziploc with dark soy, olive oil, lime juice and honey…

Duck Confit and Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Oh, the life of a bachelor.  Canned food. Of course, if you’re this bachelor, it’s duck confit from a can.  Don’t cry for me, Argentina.  Er, Prague. Yep, duck confit and these sprouts that I have told you about before were dinner on Sunday night.  Crackly skin, puffy almost candied chunks of garlic and a…