My Madison Bistro

Every summer, my family has what we like to call our “Jamaica Party.” Basically, we recreate the dishes and drinks we enjoyed during vacations in Jamaica. February-March is usually the time we would go on vacation, and because we don’t have Jamaica as a travel destination this year, we decided to just have another party instead.

Because the fruit choices available in March are quite different than those in August (when we usually have our party), I decided to make lemon tarts instead of my usual fruit tarts. To balance the tangy flavor of the lemon curd, I opted for a shortbread crust instead of my usual pastry crust. What’s especially nice about the shortbread crust is there is no rolling pin involved – you simply press the dough into the tart pans.

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Tags: Barefoot Contessa, lemon, raspberries, tarts

Can you call something an annual tradition if you’ve only done it twice? Well, I’m going to. Last year, my mom and I started a new tradition. The day after Thanksgiving, we would treat ourselves to a French toast breakfast made from brioche. After all of the hard work she puts into making the Thanksgiving meal, she deserves a special treat the following day.

What’s best about this breakfast is that it’s fast and easy to make, and clean-up is a breeze. Using brioche instead of regular white bread truly makes this a special dish.

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Tags: bread, comfort food, fruit

I’m always looking to put a spin on leftovers. When I was in college, I had a reputation in our apartment for packing up leftover food, putting it in the fridge, and promptly forgetting about it. On any given day, you could open our fridge and find my latest science experiment. I’m still not the best about eating up leftovers, but I’ve discovered if I really try to think outside of the box in terms of what I can do with these foods, I’m much more likely to actually eat them.

In this particular situation, I didn’t have to make a big change, but I did have to make something I’d never made before. Had I known that making chimichangas was this simple, I would have done this a long time ago.

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Tags: beef, comfort food, Mexican Food

When I was in elementary school, we all looked forward to taco day for the school’s hot lunch program. The school tacos were not only edible, they were actually good.

I still haven’t gotten over my love of tacos: they are easy to make, they are fast, just about everyone loves them, and the meat is very versatile. Tacos, salads, burritos, nachos, chimichangas… my stomach is growling as I write this post. Taco meat also freezes very nicely, so you can make a large batch, and freeze the leftovers for a super-quick meal at a later date.

The following recipe for taco meat tastes better than anything you’ll get out of a seasoning packet. The onions and peppers keep the meat moist while adding some vegetable servings to the dish.

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Tags: comfort food, Mexican Food, Vegetables