Katie Briggs is a chef and activist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This website is a collection of their recipes, travels and photos from the last decade.
Katie is a 2016 James Beard Women in Culinary Leadership recipient. Their resume boasts whole-animal butchering, hosting culinary events and pop-ups from California to Maine, (as well as abroad in France and Germany) and several years touring with the acclaimed culinary circus Outstanding in the Field to nearly all 50 states.
During the Pandemic they are focusing on operating a mutual aid program called The West Philly Bunny Hop.
Few things have lived in such acclaim as my father's Caesar salad dressing. Any dinner we were ever invited too, we were asked to bring 'Charlie's Caesar'. Salad dressing was one of my first loves in savory 'cooking' simply because when I was younger I never knew you could make it yourself. My favorite thing about homemade salad dressings is you know exactly what's in it, none of that high fructose corn syrup or fillers, which ruins Caesar and you can customize it to your liking!
Crunchy and nutrient sprouts are a great addition to any meal. Anything from sandwichs to salads, sprouts add a delightful crisp that pairs well with just about everything. My only problem with the infant plants is the outrageous prices they sell them for at the grocery stores, not to mention the premium for the organic varieties. However as anyone who has experimented with raw dieting will tell you, sprouts are one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects out there! In one of my favorite raw cook books by Lori Baird, The Complete Book of Raw Food, I learned the secrets to sprouting at home. With a few simple tools and some of your favorite vegetable seeds, youre on your way to eating crunchy, cheap and organic sprouts!
Terrariums are the latest craze in the gardening world; there are so many varietals, shapes, and sizes to play around with. However pre-made terrariums can run you a pretty penny. I took interest in figuring these out babies a few years a go when I saw them being sold at shops around the city. When checking the price tag, I was always astonished at the absurde prices of 40, 80 and even 150 dollars. Disheartened by the their price range, I soon started researching how to do-it-yourself. The first step is to start scouting out interesting glass containers. I found a few of the glass container pictured above at a Flea Market at Clarke Park, for around 2-5 dollars a pop. Reusing old liquor bottles such as Art in the Age's perfect corked bottles, St. Germains or even old mason jars, all work well too. The possibilities are endless and it creates a one-of-a-kind piece of living art!
I was in charge of planning Easter Dinner this year at the Briggs' house. I picked up this Black Sea Bass in Philadelphia and took it home with me to Bucks County. My sister and I foraged the woods surrounding our house for the fiddleheads.
For you city slickers scratching your head about what a 'fiddlehead fern' is, it is a a young fern that has not 'unwound' itself into a frond, an adult fern. These tasty veggies are abundant (and free!) in our area and filled with omega 3 & 6 as well as iron and fiber.
This dish, which was was inspired by local ingredients, was a big hit and relatively easy. Underneath the fish is Traugers (a family farm in my area) sweet potatoes with golden raisins and roasted parsley root and fennel. I decided the bass would pair nicely with a yogurt Meyer lemon dill sauce.
One day while at Circle Thrift, I was rummaging through the 'Free' bins and came across about 10 books with decent and interesting cloth spines. The books sat on our piano for quite some time, and after a thorough investigation to make sure they weren't valuable (one was worth 20 bucks!), I decided to reuse some brackets I had laying around from another project. This simple tutorial is inexpensive (potentially free!), fun and more than just your ordinary shelf.