'Let's Stay On Brand, Folks'
It all started with a tin of French onion dip.
It arrived to my apartment during a Fieldhouse Kitchen tailgating party last year (they'll be plenty of those this season).
It arrived without warning, uninvited. And before my friend could set the wine on the counter, she looked at me with remorseful eyes as she pulled the conspicuous item out of her bag and said, "I know, it's not on brand."
But it wasn't the can of processed bodega-bought French onion dip that had me laughing. It was the idea that she knew I wouldn't want to serve it because she felt it was 'off brand' and didn't meet the criteria of 'Fieldhouse Kitchen-approved' snacks.
But there it was. Fieldhouse Kitchen, which began as a website I launched in 2013, was evolving into something much more than that — a concept of sorts. What began as a website to inspire others (and perhaps prove to them) that it's possible to eat and live well by cooking and entertaining with minimal space, supplies, and money, was evolving as an approach to living — and living fully, and honestly. Living well.
After countless dinner parties, afternoons with wine and cheese flights, my friends have come to know what to expect whenever they arrive at my apartment: healthy, simple food; an ice bucket for BYOB arrivals; tea lights; music; and a theme of some sorts that usually plays itself out on colorful cocktail napkins, or in bouquets of fresh flowers.
As months and years have passed, and as I've welcomed old and new friends alike to FK, I'm revamping things to better reflect the lifestyle brand that is Fieldhouse Kitchen.
You'll still be able to find content in the following forms:
Recipes
Blog posts sharing the view from FK — because if you're not documenting your 20s in New York City, did they ever happen?
But I've introduced a newsletter to stay up-to-date with all-things FK and get the scoop on what's ‘on brand.’ It's FK on the go. Consider it your weekly visit to FK via email.
Oh, and in case you're wondering what happened to that French onion dip... I served it. In the dented tin and all. Because nothing is more on brand than making those you love, happy.
“We ate well and cheaply and we drank well and cheaply and we slept well and warm together and loved each other.” —ERNEST HEMINGWAY
