Coming Soon, with a Side of Spicy Turkey Meatballs

Spicy Turkey Meatballs

I saw a draft of the new digs for Wicked Delicious today.  As soon as it's up and running, these meatballs will be front and center, followed shortly after by this Eggplant Parmigiano:

Grilled Eggplant Parmigiano

Since we've come back from our magical infinity pool and tortelloni tour of Italy, I've wanted to do nothing but cook (or, maybe go back to Italy and sit by an infinity pool full of tortelloni).  I realized pretty quickly, though, that much of life had been on hold for months and I had some chores to do - I think it was the leaning tower of mail and the total lack of clean clothes.  Wedding Month ate my routine and all of the domestic priorities.  Fortunately, we had a freezer full of this curry, this chili, and this ragu to get us through while we settled in.  We have now done all the laundry, paid all the bills, made all of the dentist appointments, bought all the groceries, and started the wedding thank you notes.  We were incredibly spoiled by our loved ones, so that will be our primary activity when we get home from our respective business trips at the end of the week.

In the meantime, I'm off to Texas.  I'm no psychic, but I think there may be BBQ brisket in my future.

It's Wicked Exciting.

As I type, there's a person prepping a fancy new look for this little Wicked Delicious blog.  I am wicked excited - not in a branded way, but in the way only a girl from Massachusetts can be. 

One of the things that I learned this summer (in addition to the fact that a wedding can be planned in 48 days) is that I really like this space - I like having a place to talk about food, whether I made it or just ate it, without worrying about looking like a crazy person.  Because you're not here unless you're happy to chatter on about food. Or you're my family.

As a result of this happy lesson, I've made the leap - my second major commitment of 2012 - to a Wicked Delicious facelift. This is Los Angeles, after all.  Nearly anything can be an occasion to get a little work done.

Oh my goodness, we're wicked cute.

(Stay tuned - I mean it.)

Technical Difficulties

I pulled down the brisket recipe - it appears I'm having technical difficulties for IE users -- the top two posts are combining into one.  Firefox users are fine, however.  I'll explore this with Blogger tonight and have the brisket back up for you ASAP!

-Jess

Update: looks like this is a known issue, which is a bummer.  I'm looking into Wordpress, but please do view this blog in Firefox, Chrome or Safari if you have the option!   The post below is still comletely buggered in IE.  So sad - such good brisket, and no way to start the New Year!

I Now Pronounce You...

So that’s what I’ve been up to.

I’m sorry to have abandoned Wicked Delicious for so long, but it’s been busy around here.  We lost our wedding venue back in the late Spring and planned a wedding in 48 days – I said to a friend at one point that I felt like I was starring in a reality show that was the hell spawn of The Amazing Race and Say Yes to the Dress. 

It could have been an absolute disaster, but we were exceptionally lucky: a snazzy little hotel called Hotel Erwin in our neighborhood was available on our non-negotiable wedding date, August 18.  It has a rooftop bar overlooking the Pacific, a brand new chef who, like me, believes that cake pops are an abomination, and an event coordinator who felt like our fairy godmother.  Michal, our savior-coordinator, and Chef Larry Monaco dove in like champs – more than that, they dove in like good friends.  They were committed heart and soul to our happiness and our success.   Through Michal, we found our wedding planners – again, savior-planners – who, without judgment or visible fear, pulled off our wedding in roughly seven weeks.  Katie and Dee at No Worries Event Planning allowed us to focus on the good stuff, spending time with our family and friends, and managed all of the tedious details.

We ended up with exactly what we wanted: a union of not just the two of us but of our family and friends as well. And not just a wedding day but a wedding month, really.  We had picnics and beach trips and family meals and community dinners with people we love from around the world.   Our friend Brad officiated, our friend Kristian DJ’d, apprenticed by our friend and ring-bearer Billy, and our friend Trip managed crowd control and toasts and transitions.   We were stood up for by my sister and Felix’s brother and our friends, Arlo and Pee.

I’m sure I’ll share more details as time goes on, particularly since so many of our wedding presents are kitchen-oriented (a Big Green Egg from my father-in-law!).  For now, we’re honeymooning in Italy and celebrating the wedding of good friends from Los Angeles here in Tuscany. Photos, of food and ancient Italian things and happy celebrants, to follow in the weeks to come.

Ciao – I’m off to an all-wild boar dinner in the Umbrian countryside!