Another One Got Away

I'm missing a picture of this one, as I began eating it before I remembered. I'd make this one again. Shaw loves one-bowl meals, especially ones that involve pasta. I'm trying to branch out and find winner pastas that don't use tomatoes. I'll never forsake tomatoes, but I don't eat them when they are not good, and they are only good from, say, June through October at best.

Broccoli Rabe, Cannellini and Fontina Pasta (serves 2 too well, or 3-4 normal)

2/3 c fresh breadcrumbs (use your food processor or grater)
8 oz shells or rotini
one bunch broccoli rabe (sweeter than regular broccoli), cut in 1 inch pieces
16 oz can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
3 cloves garlic
2 T oil
1 can chicken broth
1 T flour
2 T red wine vinegar
2/3 c grated fontina (so good)
salt, pepper

Toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet. You can do this with oil, or without I would think. This goes on at the end and is optional, but really nice.

Boil the shells in plenty of boiling water, but short your timer by about 3 minutes. At that time, add the broccoli rabe to the pasta and continue cooking for about 3 minutes, until pasta is done. Drain in a colander and dry the pot. Put it back on the heat.

Whisk the broth and flour together and chop the garlic finely while the pasta is finishing. In the same pot, add about 2 T olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant. Add the broth mixture and whisk until it simmers for about 4 minutes.

Add in the beans and pasta/broccoli rabe, toss in the vinegar and 1/2 t salt, plus plenty of ground pepper. Once it is all heated through, remove from heat and stir in the cheese until it melts.

Serve it up and top with the toasted breadcrumbs. Totally vegetarian.

Best Evah Chocolate Frosting

The photograph of the cake I made with this frosting was so pig-dog ugly it would have broken the lens. I actually thought it turned out more like pancakes. In fact, pancakes might have been fluffier. The cake did taste pretty good (classic yellow cake recipe, from the internet, guaranteed to be the best: FAIL), but the frosting was rocket-my-mouth-to-the-moon fantastic.

I actually cut the cakes in half and stacked them on top of each other, making a four layer half moon cake. It allowed for more of the rockin' frosting. And Shaw hates ganache, bless his poor little heart, so he requested a yellow cake with REGULAR chocolate frosting.

Heidi requested it. Here it is. And no mixer required.

Best Evah Chocolate Frosting

1/2 c butter
4 oz bitter chocolate
1 lb 10x sugar (confectioner sugar)
1 t vanilla
3/4 c cream

Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler, or GENTLY in a microwave. In a large bowl, combine sugar, vanilla and 1/2 c of cream. Blend in chocolate. Add remaining cream until desired consistency is achieved. Let stand until spreadable.

** Note** I had some Bakers chocolate squares in my pantry. I insist on using the darkest possible chocolate, but Shaw gets scared when it goes above 65%. I mixed semi-sweet squares and bittersweet or unsweet squares and achieved a most pleasant outcome.

For Kay

I never knew Kay was so influenced by food preparation. She and Charlie drove all the way over to our old apartment to loan us their Suburban for our move last summer. What a lifesaver! Anyhoo, I was fixing a quick snack for Shaw before he drove them back home. As it turns out, Kay was fairly impressed with my avocado presentation. I have never put it in the blog because it is so easy. And, so many do not like avocado.

This most recent picture is a different angle. It is a lengthwise half of an avocado, sliced and then reassembled slightly spaced out. Avocado is super good for you, and really tasty, another great first course. Just a squirt of lime, crunchy salt and pepper, and sometimes chopped cilantro. If you can find it, pink salt is especially nice.

Kay is supposed to come over for dinner in a few weeks. We'll be starting with avocado.

Ahhhh... Salad!

I like the mood lighting of this picture.



This salad was an attempt at dodging greens. Alas, it is still green, but also yummy. A great first course.





Green Bean Salad with Walnuts

1 lb green beans
1 small onion, finely chopped (shallots are nice)
1 garlic clove, minced and pulverized (and reduced, if you like)
4 T grated parmiggiano
2 T chopped walnuts or almonds, to garnish

For the dressing:
6 T olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
salt, pepper, chopped tarragon

Trim the beans but leave them whole. Cook for 3-4 minutes in salted boiling water. Drain well and refresh under cold water. Drain again and put in a mixing bowl. Add onion and cheese.

Combine all dressing ingredients and add garlic (if using). Pour over salad and toss gently to coat. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Toast nuts in a dry skillet until they begin to brown. Sprinkle nuts and tarragon to garnish before serving.

I truly enjoy most salads at room temperature. This one says to chill it, and that is ok. I just like it made fresh, unchilled.

Hooray!

We gotta prove we got family.

Here is a picture of Li'l Kathryn and Will at their wedding in January 2009. It was such a nice event, and I happened to get this picture from Shaw's sister, Heidi. I highly doubt Li'l Kathryn will check our blog to actually see it, since I haven't updated our blog in AGES. Now I'm back.

Welcome, Will! I hope you know what you're in for!

Unphotogenic Sometimes Equals YUMMY

This little side dish is also from Simply Delicious: Vegetarian. (Heidi, thanks again!)

We needed something sort of filling to go with grilled fish, since it was 80 degrees last weekend. Ugh. Not my idea of January. But nice for grilling.

This is another recipe for tomato lovers, so "Sorry, Ickenham." Next time, I'd slice the potatoes even thinner, and pour over some white wine before baking it.

Potato Bake with tomatoes and oregano

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled, cut in half, then thinly sliced on a slicer
salt, pepper
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 c fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large casserole or glass dish.

Heat 2 T oil in a large frying pan and saute onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and saute for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oiled dish. Arrange the tomatoes in a layer on top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and oregano, and drizzle with remaining oil.

Bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Risotto, Non-White

I have posted my favorite Butternut Squash Risotto sometime last year. It was my absolute favorite risotto for quite some time. About a month ago, we made a plain, milanese risotto, and I had high hopes of really preferring the simplest form. Nope. I like 'stuff' in it. Butternut squash is still a fantastic choice.

However, Heidi gave us some Barnes N Noble money, and we went buying cookbooks. I picked out Simply Delicious: Vegetarian mostly for the pictures. I flipped through it and saw this risotto recipe but didn't expect it to really ring my bell.

If you need/want a risotto for red wine, then here you are. This was really, really, really, yummy. In my humble opinion. Shaw liked it too, but he preferred the second time around, when I made it with half arborio, and half quinoa. Experimentation. Before the recipe, let me just say: Tomatoes and butter = GOOD.

Risotto with tomato and fresh basil

1/3 c butter, split different ways, read on
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 c peeled and chopped tomatoes (I used whole canned, as it is winter)
1 3/4 c risotto rice
1/3 c dry white wine
3 c + simmering vegetable stock (or chicken, but veg is really good here)
20 basil leaves, torn at last minute, plus extra for garnish
1/3 c freshly grated Parmiggiano (need I type "freshly" again on this blog?)
salt, and freshly cracked pepper (this is the last time, I swear)

Set your stock to boil, then reduce to simmer. Melt 2 T butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chopping them up as you go, and mix well. Cook until tomatoes have broken down and mixture is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Melt 2 more T butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the rice and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and cook until it evaporates. Stir in the tomato mixture and basil. Begin adding the stock, 1/2 c at a time, until each addition has been absorbed and rice is tender, at least 18 minutes.

Stir in the remaining butter, parmiggiano and salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let rest for 1 minute. Garnish with extra basil and serve hot. With wine.