Fire Drill! That's how I've been describing the last week. My email has built up to horrid levels. I've got mountains of files on my desk. My sleep is punctuated by dreams of paperwork. It's tax season. It's like this every year and every year I forget how tough it is. Friday I had a massage. Got back to the office about 5:15 and worked til a bit after 6:00 then came home and cooked. It was time for a complicated meal that took 100% of my attention and didn't allow me to think about the office. This meal succeeded. It prettty much kicked my butt. Exactly what I was trying for. And, best of all, we rated two dishes a five and one a four - on a scale of one to five. Well, actually, as I type this the fourth dish is cooling it's heels on the bar. That would be the cheddar pear pie. You see, Connie loves pears. And I saw a bag of pears at Costco last weekend. They finally hit perfection so we've been eating pears in salads. It was finally time for my sister-in-law Linda's famous cheddar pear pie. Probably our favorite pie ever.
Jessica's Biscuit had a $5 sale. That's $5 per cookbook for a list about a mile long. I ordered a few. We won't talk about how many, ok? Let's just say I"m having fun with new cookbooks. Oh, and remember that I hit the bargain bin at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and got three cookbooks. Hmmm, my bedtime reading will be cookbooks for a time. Home Food is the cookbook I'm currently cooking my way through. It's a cookbook of what 44 "great American chefs" cook on their day off. It was published a LONG time ago so I'm finding some of the photos humorous. Rick Bayless looks VERY young. So do a lot of the other chefs. Then, there are a bunch I've never heard of. I need to sit down with Google or Wikipedia and find out what's happened with these folks.
Well, the first recipe that caught my eye was Beggars Purses of Basil Crepes with Garden Greens and Warm Lemon Sauce. I'd seen the Hoosier Lamb Chops in Fix It and Enjoy It from the grocery bargain bin. The makings of a great dinner. Turns out we had a bag of kale from last weekend's shopping expedition. A jam-packed vinaigrette with a grilled pear half and some feta cheese would go well with that. And the salad would go well with the Beggar's Purses and the Hoosier Lamb Chops. Yup, that's the way it worked. The salads and Beggar's Purses were fives. The lamb chops were close but had to fall back to a four. Now, a word of warning. I didn't follow the directions totally. Shocking, I know. But I was out of space and burners... So, I'm going to give you directions the way I made the dishes with notes on how I differed from the recipes.
Here's what we made:
Beggars Purses of Basil Crepes with Garden Greens and Warm Lemon Sauce
Ingredients:
for the filling:
2 T olive oil
2 c red onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 c diced cremini mushrooms
1 lb fresh spinach
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 c fresh basil, minced or 2 T dried
2/3 c grated Gruyere cheese
whole chives or thin strips of leeks for tying purses
for the crepes:
1 c water
1 c milk
1 1/2 c flour
4 large eggs
3 T olive oil
3/4 t salt
5 T minced fresh basil
for the lemon sauce:
1 1/2 c vegetable stock or chicken stock
1/2 c dry white wine
3 large egg yolks
5 T fresh lemon juice
2 T minced chives (I was out of energy and forgot these...)
Directions:
for the filling:
Saute the onions in the olive oil until they've just softened.
Add the mushrooms and basil and cook until the liquid is gone.
Add the spinach and cook again until the liquid is gone.
That will take 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
for the crepes:
In the bowl of a food processor, mix all the ingredients.
Puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour. Lightly oil a crepe pan or nonstick 10" pan. Heat it until the oil shimmers. Pour in 1/4 c batter and swirl until it covers the bottom of the pan. Cook for about a minute.
The bottom will be lightly browned. Flip and cook for another 30-60 seconds until the other side is browned. Remove to a cooling rack.
Repeat until the batter is gone.
for the sauce:
Whisk the eggs and lemon in a small bowl. Pour the stock and wine into a small saucepan. Cook vigorously until reduced by half. That will take 8-10 minutes. Slowly, whisk the stock/wine reduction into the egg/lemon mixture. Once it's combined, pour it all into the saucepan and simmer until it's thickened a bit.
To assemble...
Now here's where what I did REALLY differed. The recipe calls for tying the purses up with strings of chives or leeks. Instead, I made little folded purses and drizzled the sauce over. MUCH easier and tastes just the same, don't you know. My directions: Lay a crepe out on a plate. Put a generous 2T of filling on the crepe. Fold up the bottom, in the sides, down the top and roll it over. Drizzle it with sauce and serve. YUM!
Adapted from Home Food
Our next dish was pear salads. First, I made a vinaigrette with black currant-raspberry jam, dijon mustard, pear vinegar, tarragon, sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Then, I tossed baby kale in the dijon vinaigrette and left it on the counter for an hour. That softened it and took the bitterness out. Right before serving the salads I halved and cored a pear and had Connie add it to the party on the grill. When it came off, I plated it with the kale, then the pear, then the rest of the dressing, then a bit of crumbled feta cheese.
Last, but not least, the Hoosier Lamb Chops. We buy fabulous lamb from a local guy by the name of Terry Knudsen. I've always loved lamb. Terry's is the best I've ever had. It was the Hoosier Lamb Chops that got me to buy the Fix It and Enjoy It cookbook. Instead of making it as the recipe directed, I made a marinade then grilled the lamb chops and drizzled them with the sauce.
Hoosier Lamb Chops
Ingredients:
four large or eight small lamb chops
for the marinade:
1/4 c black currant jam
2 t dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
for the sauce:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c black currant or black raspberry jam
1/4 c Pinot Noir
1 T fresh mint, chopped
Directions:
Mix the marinade ingredients and slather it on the lamb chops.
Heat your grill.
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion until softened. Add the other ingredients and simmer while the lamb chops are grilling. Serve the lamb chops drizzled with the sauce.
Last but not least, Connie's favorite:
Cheddar Pear Pie
Ingredients:
4 large pears, thinly sliced
1/3 c sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/8 t salt
1 unbaked 9" pie shell
for the topping:
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c flour
1/4 c butter
1/4 c sugar
1/4 t salt
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425. Toss the pears with the other ingredients. Pour the pears into the pie shell.
In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients. You want the mixture to be crumbly.
Crumble the topping over the pears.
Bake at 425 until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Cooking time has been short for the last few weeks. Connie played in a bridge tournament so was gone for three evenings. There was a wine tasting dinner. A couple of business related functions. A couple of social things. We'd not been to the grocery for two if not three weeks. My refrigerator was about as empty as it gets. Apples, some straggly carrots, a head of romaine, a box of mushrooms and a couple of ribs of celery that'd seen better days.
Friday night Connie was playing his last game of the tournament. I got an email from my dear friend Sue letting me know that she and Doug were going to be in Indy Friday evening. Would we like to go out to dinner? Of course I'd love to! I got home a few minutes before their scheduled arrival. They are fellow sushi lovers so I had high hopes that we'd head up the street to our favorite sushi restaurant - Tomo. Then, they walked in the door and it dawned on me. They'd left Florida several weeks ago and driven to California and now back to Indiana. They'd eaten out for too many meals to count. So, my first question was eat here or out? Sue's eyes lit up and she said home cooking would be wonderful!
Off to the freezer I went. What would thaw relatively quickly and be easy to cook? Pork tenderloin would do nicely. Then, I reached for a sweet potato. Ummm, no. It'd seen better days. Better days a long time ago. Into the compost bin it went. Jane's Rice. It's a pantry staple and SO easy. A salad with apples and blue cheese and a mustard vinaigrette. Then, our favorite new sauteed mushrooms.
New sauteed mushrooms? How in the world do you improve on a knob of butter and a bit of garlic and maybe a splash of wine in your sauteed mushrooms? You go to Epicurious and find Gourmet's old recipe published in 1999. It was probably a Cooks Illustrated where I'd read the article about the best sauteed mushrooms. Remembering the password for that site wasn't happening. So, I hopped on Epicurious. And, we tried these mushrooms. And I declared I'd never again make plain sauteed mushrooms.
I now had a plan for dinner. Thaw the pork. Slather it with Andria's Steak Sauce. (Here's a link to my post about Andria's.) Grill it. Make Jane's Rice and sauteed mushrooms. Toss a salad. Serve with red wine. Best of all? We have leftovers for Monday's lunch!
Saturday morning the four of us were off to our favorite breakfast hole-in-the-wall, Keystone Deli. As usual, Connie and I both ordered the smokehouse breakfast and didn't touch our extra crispy home fries. Those are for blue cheese potato salad for dinner tonight and lunch on Tuesday...
Tonight we're trying Tuscan Ribs from a new cookbook. They're slathered in this incredible rub and soaking it up in the fridge. The blue cheese potato salad should be perfect with them.
Saturday late afternoon we headed to Costco and Marsh. We were in the liquor aisle (shocking, I know) and we both looked at the Tanqueray. Did we need some or not? A couple walking by joined in the merriment of what's the worst that could happen? We'd have TWO bottles instead of one. We started talking about good drinks and Donna told us about one they make called a Calypso Cooler. Neither of us could remember the measurements but Connie did a fine job of making a wonderful drink! Connie promises he's going to get caught up on his drink posts. I'm not going to make the same promise about all of my recipe posts... That'd take more hours than I've got these days!
Back to Costco: While we were there, Connie picked up a bag of fresh artichokes. Now, I love artichoke hearts and artichoke bottoms. But, fresh artichokes always feel like a lot of work for very little reward. But, Connie wanted to try them so we did. I pulled out my go-to vegetable cookbook - Greene on Greens and looked at a couple of other cookbooks and decided I'd poach them in water, lemon juice, white wine, crushed red pepper and peppercorns. Then, I was on to the dipping sauce. Garlic butter didn't appeal. Green tapenade did. Another Bert Greene recipe. But, this time from The Store coobook.
Along with the artichokes, we had another new recipe. But, you'll have to come back to see that since it's my Secret Recipe post for the 18th.
So, are you ready for a recipe??
Sauteed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 T soy sauce
1 t sugar
2 T olive oil
10 oz mushrooms, quartered (I used cremini)
1 T unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
Directions:
Mix the lemon juice, soy sauce and sugar and set aside. Pour the olive oil into a 10-12" skillet. Heat it to shimmering. Add the mushrooms and saute until they're nice and brown. That'll take 5-10 minutes. Add the butter and garlic and stir well.
Once the butter is absorbed, add the lemon juice mixture. Stir well. Allow to cook for a few minutes so the liquid is absorbed.
adapted from Gourmet via Epicurious
One of my favorite magazine sections is Fine Cooking's Make it Tonight. I always get one or two great ideas for weeknight dinners. This month's edition is no exception. We made a pasta that was great and have a tilapia with orange salsa on the menu for next week.
Our plan on Friday evening was to head to The Tamale Place. Guy Fieri visited there on a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives segment. Our next stop was going to be Final Friday at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Both are pretty far west of us so it made sense to combine the trip. Then, Thursday evening we had an ice storm. Supposedly on Friday the temps were to get high enough to melt the ice. They didn't. Main roads were fine. Side streets pretty treacherous. And, who knew what the parking lots and sidewalks would be like? Felt like an excuse to have a quiet evening at home. Actually, it didn't take much of anything to convince us that we wanted to be at home -lol.
Now, I had to come up with dinner. Connie suggested chicken parmesan from the latest Cooks Illustrated. Alas, we had no boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer. After we got in the car for the trip home I opened my Fine Cooking. There it was! Pasta with peppers, tomato and tuna. Oh, and olives. Flavors we love.
We got home and I started pulling cans and jars out of the pantry. Yup, you read that right. This is the perfect pantry dish for us. We always have all of the ingredients on hand.
Peppers, olives and sun-dried tomatoes got chopped. Tuna and tomatoes got opened. The pasta water was bubbling away. Time to figure out a salad. Connie loves hearts of palm. We had a jar of them. We both love blue cheese. There were kiwis and Brianna's Poppyseed dressing to be used up. So, what if I peeled and mashed the kiwis and mixed them in the salad dressing? Time to test that theory. We both loved the dressing. The kiwis added a little bit of a citrus note. Took some of the sweetness away. Our salads were ready to go. Might I note here that it is incredibly difficult to type with a very active kitten on one's lap...
The pasta sauce came together in no time. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner!
Tuna, Pepper and Olive Pasta
serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 c olives, coarsely chopped (you can use a mix of black and green - I used kalamata and green)
1/2 c diced jarred roasted red peppers
2 T coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, including juice
2 5-oz cans tuna in oil, drained
2 T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (we didn't have any and I wouldn't substitute dried so I omitted this)
1/2 - 1 lb dried penne rigate or other short, sturdy pasta
Directions:
Start your pasta water - not the pasta, just the water. Lightly cook the garlic in the olive oil. You just want to get the garlic to release it's flavors, not brown. Add the olives, peppers and sun-dried tomatoes and cook on medium heat for a few minutes.
Pour in the tomatoes and their juice. Use a fork to crush them just a little bit. Cook the sauce for about ten minutes. Now, it's time to start the pasta. Add the tuna to the sauce and cook it for 5-10 minutes. The original recipe called for adding 1/2 c of the pasta water to the sauce. I didn't think that was necessary so use your own judgment. And, although the recipe called for a pound of pasta, we used half a pound and found it was the right amount for us. We also tried this with and without a bit of grated parmesan on top and both of us concurred the dish doesn't need anything else. Last but not least, this made a fabulous cold pasta salad for lunch the next day.
adapted from Fine Cooking
It was one of those weekends that I was lucky to get any real work done at all. Most of Saturday was devoted to my "extra" dad Bob's funeral. And, about a perfect funeral it was. His parents were friends of my grandparents. Then, he and Lou and their five kids moved in kitty corner from us when we were in gradeschool. We grew up together. Football and basketball at our house. Strawberry torte for Tim's birthday. Gnawbone Camp over Labor Day weekend. And, our parents were the best of friends. Dad and Bob, Mom and Lou. Two families intertwined. Bob and Lou added on to the family cabin a bit west of Indy. It's now one of my favorite places in the world. Connie and I will pick Mom up and some of the kids and their spouses will meet us at the farm for dinner one evening this week. We'll laugh and cry and reminsce and know that Dad and Bob are undoubtedly together chattering away about anything and everything!
Saturday evening we were off to Columbus to see our grandkids and celebrate Rosie's third birthday. Connie and I'd figured out a breakfast that they could help make. On the menu we had toad in the hole, bacon and strawberry blossoms. The strawberry blossoms came from a fun cookbook called Cooking with Kids. They were super easy to make. We cut the canned biscuits into "petals" and lined muffin tins with them. Then, we spooned in some strawberry preserves (about a tablespoon) and sprinkled on a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. They were baked at 375 for about 15 minutes and were totally devoured! Here are some photos of our breakfast:
Kara said she was off to get Rosie's cake. I asked if she was going anywhere near Jeni's. Now, if you've never heard of Jeni's, you need to visit their website to understand. It's jenis.com. Amazing flavors!!!! She laughed and said sure, we could run by there. Pretty soon, the whole crew decided they were up for an adventure. Connie got pear riesling sorbet. David got a stout and rosemary and a whiskey and something. Kara got brambleberry and something and I got salted caramel and banana with goat cheese caramel. YUM! Then, on our way out the door from our indulgence, David started talking again about how wonderful the Dublin Village Tavern is. And, the Irish eggrolls. Basically a reuben in an eggroll. And, the ham and potato chowder. Well, we'd had dessert, maybe we should have lunch! So, into the tavern we trudged. Connie and I split an order of the Irish eggrolls. Fabulous. He got a cup of chili and I got a cup of the chowder. And, he sampled my chowder. Lo and behold the man who doesn't like soup liked the chowder!
After lunch we went to Sam's so Connie and I could get provisions for the dinner at the farm. Then, we headed back to Indy. And, stopped at the grocery on our way home. I was ready to try and recreate the chowder.
Ham and Potato Chowder
Ingredients:
7-8 medium red potatoes
4 ribs celery
1 medium onion
12 baby carrots
1 poblano
8 oz ham cubes
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c milk
8 oz Dubliner cheese, shredded
Directions:
Dice the potatoes, celery, onions, carrots and poblano. Make sure the pieces are all about the same size. Put them in a large saucepan and add water. You don't want the water to totally cover the veggies but it should just come up to almost the top of them.
Simmer until the veggies are tender. While they're cooking away, make a roux with the butter and flour. Melt the butter. Add the flour and cook on medium heat until it's a tiny bit brown. Pour the milk in slowly stirring constantly. Once thickenend, add the cheese and stir until it's melted. There should still be a little water left in the veggies. You don't want a bunch or this will end up being a broth and not a chowder. So, pour some of the water off into a bowl on the side. Then, stir in the ham cubes and the cheese sauce. Add back in the cooking water as necessary to reach the consistency you want.
I have a confession. I felt REALLY guilty about making a three ingredient recipe for Secret Recipe Club. Half a dozen others were printed from my assigned blog: Melissa's Cuisine. Stuffed shells, "payday" bars, roasted cinnamon almonds, stuffed cabbage casserole, pumpkin donut muffins and homemade cheezits. But, the pickle dip kept calling my name. I dragged my heels. Bought the chicken to make the stuffed shells. Had the ingredients for everything else other than the stuffed cabbage casserole. But, I wanted the pickle dip. Every time I picked up the stack of recipes I pulled it out and drooled over it.
Then, I got a call from the folks who provide my CRM software. That's client relationship manager software. Would I please come to the T3 Technology Conference in Miami and be a panelist on a panel of advisors talking about their CRM software. I hate flying. And, I am still buried at the office. But, I love Redtail. And, the only appointments I had scheduled for that day were wholesalers. Easy enough to reschedule those. Ok, fine. I'd go.
Now, I was under the gun to get ready for the week since Tuesday had most of my prep time. No time to really cook. You're getting the drift here, aren't you - lol. Secret Recipe Club would just have to wait til I got back from Miami.
Tuesday morning I was up at 3 am and on a flight at 5:10 am. I slept most of the way to Charlotte. Changed planes in Charlotte and planned on sleeping the rest of the way to Miami. But , my seatmate was a delightful fellow named Pat. He and his wife (two rows up and also on the aisle) were on their way to a two week cruise. They live in Kennebunkport, Maine. I can't tell you when I've so enjoyed chatting with a stranger on a flight.
Hike to the taxi stand at the airport. It felt like two miles. I forgot the shoulder strap for the bag so my arms were on fire. Finally, in line. Ah, at the front of the line. The attendant asked where I was going and I said the Hilton on Biscayne Blvd. The fellow behind me said he was going the same place. Fine, we'd share a cab. Turns out he's an Aussie who's moved to Atlanta. He founded a company working with investor behavior. Fascinating guy to talk with.
Dave from Redtail had gotten my name badge and my room key so I was able to head into the conference and start soaking up info. I learned an amazing amount. Finally, 4:00 hit and it was time for my panel. I had a great time showing everyone how the software works. The best part is that I'm pretty much a technological idiot and I can very successfully use this software.
Between my panel and dinner I had an hour to sit in my room and enjoy the view.
Yup, I enjoyed that view :-)
Dinner, much to my chagrin, was burgers and beer. I'd really wanted Miami food. But more than that I wanted to spend some time relaxing with the crew. We were joined by a couple of journalists, the guys from my financial planning software company and a few others. All in all a wonderful time.
Then, I was up again at 4:00 am. Ugh. The trip back to Indy was great. The Miami to Charlotte leg my seatmate was a fellow from Miami who loves Scully's Tavern as much as we do. Then, Charlotte to Indy I sat next to a fellow who'd been in the Junior Achievement class I taught in ummm, the late 80's. That was a fun thing to find out!
We got to the office and my arse was dragging. I made it through taping the radio show and crashed. That meant working late. We got home at 7:00. Just at the time my Hoosiers started playing basketball. Dinner was either going to be really easy or it was going to be a pizza delivered!
Now, you really see the story don't you?
So, here we are. Out of time and energy. We had things to do Thursday thru Sunday. It was now or never for the Secret Recipe Club and Melissas Cuisine. Since we all post together on the third Monday of the month and since I've so thoroughly enjoyed browsing Melissa's blog, I felt compelled to make the pickle dip. Ok, quit laughing already. It's true. I finally had my excuse! Pickle dip it was :-)
Connie says, "What is THAT???" Pickle dip. "Really? Pickle dip?" Yup. Just try it, please. Now, you hear the sounds of munching. And, munching. And, munching. The pickle dip was pretty much devoured. We high fived. We'd found a GREAT new recipe. And, it is SO easy. Trust me on this one, friends. You want to make pickle dip.
Now, Melissa, I have once again all the ingredients for the shells. They're back on the menu. And, I really want to make those "payday" bars. And, I still have a stack of recipes from your blog printed out and on my desk. But, it's the pickle dip I'll remember you by! Here's how to go read Melissa's original post: Pickle Dip. And, yes, I'll be back to try more great recipes from Melissa :-)
Pickle Dip
Ingredients:
8 oz block cream cheese
1 c chopped pickles (I used Klaussen's hearty garlic dill but am guessing ANY kind of pickle would be fabulous here)
1 T pickle juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
Whip the cream cheese. Blend in the pickle juice and Worcestershire. Whip again. Blend in the chopped pickles. Serve with crackers or chips or pretzel chips. Now, here's the little change we made - I topped the final version with a bit of Emeril's Essence. That pretty much took it over the top!
Connie says, "What are we having for dinner?" I say, "Hard cooked eggs filled with mushrooms and shallots and...." He says, "No, what are we having for dinner?" Once again I begin the dissertation describing the dish. He once again says, "What?" By this time I'm totally frustrated and so is he. He won't listen to the recipe and I don't have a name for the recipe. You see, I'd picked up Simca's Cuisine at our friends Mary Kay and Andy's house and it'd fallen open to a recipe where you hard cook eggs and mix the yolks with cooked mushrooms and onions and top them with a mornay sauce. That sounded good to me.
We were supposed to have dinner with some clients. Dick retired and we were going to celebrate. Then, Kathy had to work late and I was still pooped from my trek to Florida earlier in the week. That's rescheduled.
So, I was home with nothing planned for dinner. I considered making a pizza. Alas, there were no Boboli crusts around and my yeast has seen better days. Ok, fine. It's seen better years. Hmmm. I looked in the fridge. Eggs. Mushrooms. Ahhhhh, the makings of THE dish.
Out came the egg cooker. And three skillets. And a cutting board. Ugh. I'd just finished cleaning up the kitchen from yesterday's mell of a hess. Finally, everything was in a pie plate and under the broiler and I had a lovely glass of wine in my hand.
What did we think? A solid four out of five. During dinner Connie said, "You know if you'd just told me we were having baked deviled eggs I'd have understood the recipe." I said, "AH HA!! That's what we'll call it!" So, here you go. Great for brunch, lunch or dinner. Baked deviled eggs. With a tip of the hat to Simca's Cuisine and the balance of the recipe to what needed to be used up in my fridge.
And, after dinner, time to relax. Juste before bed we brought in the FOB's food. (That's the fat orange boys who were feral and live on the screened porch.) Annie and Wee Mac get a few pieces of kibble. And, they share very nicely, thank you.
Baked Deviled Eggs
serves 4
Ingredients:
7 eggs, hard cooked
3-4 large mushrooms, cremini or white button, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4 oz chopped pancetta, browned and drained
half and half
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c milk
1/4 c white wine
nutmeg
4 oz brie
ground pepper
2 t truffle oil
Directions:
Saute the shallots, mushrooms and pancetta. Now, you can do them all in the same skillet if you'd like. I just prefer for the flavors and colors to remain separate until I'm ready to let them dance together. I think the shallots and pancetta get a nicer browning without the moisture from the mushrooms. Halve the hard cooked eggs. Put the yolks in a mixing bowl with the cooked mushrooms, shallots and pancetta. Mix well. Add half and half or cream until it's the consistency of deviled eggs. While you're doing all of that, put the butter in a saucepan and start it melting. Add two tablespoons of flour and cook it for about five minutes. Partially cooked flour tastes nasty so make sure you cook it long enough! Add about 1/4 c of the milk. It'll almost immediately turn into a paste. Add the wine to thin it, stirring the entire time. Then, slowly add the rest of the milk. Cook until you've got a nice sauce. Add the brie, nutmeg and pepper. Stir until the brie meits. Take the egg whites and put them in a pie plate. Mound the filling in the whites.
Top with the brie sauce. Broil 10 minutes or until the top is nice and browned. Serve drizzled with truffle oil.
So, one of the more interesting aspects of meeting and marrying Connie later in life is that we both have some pretty well-established habits. He folds pillowcases his way and I re-fold them my way. He puts the knife on the left side of the placemat and I move it to the right side. He likes scrawny, plain Kleenex and I like Puffs with Lotion. I guess he just likes having to fold the stuff before blowing his nose. Me, I like tissues that I don't have to fold before using AND that don't cause my nose to come to resemble a certain reindeer. Now, you might wonder why I'm bringing this up. We've both had colds. Nasty, debilitating colds. The kind where you replace every tissue box in the house at least once if not twice. We've learned to share pretty well. There are four boxes of tissues on the first floor. Half are mine and half are his. Nice compromise, eh? In reality, it's shocking how similar our tastes and habits are for a couple of folks who didn't meet until they were about half a century old...
Needless to say, there's been a dearth of cooking around our house recently. Nobody's had the energy It's taken everything we've had to get our work done at the office and keep the house somewhat neat and tidy. Thank goodness for frozen leftovers or we'd have had our fill of fried egg sandwiches for dinner!
Finally, last week we both felt decent. And, we had something to do almost every evening. I was itching to get in the kitchen and fix a real meal. Friday night was my opportunity. There'd not been an opportnity to make a menu or go to the grocery so I was going to have to find something that would work with what we had. The vegetable drawer had some celery, carrots, half a green pepper, half a red bell pepper and a bag of coleslaw mix. The freezer had pretty much every kind of meat or fish or seafood we'd want. I just needed something that'd thaw in time.
On the way to work, as usual, I had a cooking magazine open. Everyday with Rachael Ray. And, I found my recipe. I could substitute like crazy and still come up with a great meal. I wouldn't dirty every pan in the kitchen - super double bonus - so clean up would be quick and easy and I'd actually have time to read the paper.
What did we think? A solid four out of five. There are SO many variations on this dish. We kept coming up with alternatives all during dinner.
Tingly Szechuan Pepper Beef Noodles
serves 4
Ingredients:
1 lb dried chinese noodles or thin spaghetti (I used two servings of whoe wheat spaghettini)
3T vegetable oil (omit)
1 lb ground beef (I used ground lamb. Beef, pork, shrimp... would all be good)
1 onion, minced
1 small red chile pepper such as fresno, minced (I used a dried tien tien)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 - 1" piece of ginger, minced (don't substitute ground!)
2 t ground szechuan pepper ( I didn't have this and am not particularly fond of really spicy dishes so omitted)
1 t Chinese five spice powder
1/4 c Tamari - dark soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce)
2 c shredded iceberg lettuce (I used a bag of cole slaw mix)
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle (alas, I didn't have any of these...)
Directions:
Brown and drain the onion, pepper, garlic and the lamb, beef, pork or whatever meat/seafood/protein you're putting into the dish. Add the seasonings and the coleslaw mix. If you're using lettuce, you'll not have to cook this any further. If you're using coleslaw mix, you'll need to cook it for a few minutes to allow the cabbage to soften. While the meat sauce is cooking, cook the pasta. Toss the two together and serve topped with scallions.
adapted from Rachael Ray Everyday
