Monday, May 31, 2004

Garlic Bread

1 loaf French or Italian bread
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2-3 garlic cloves, very finely minced or put through garlic press
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the bread into 1-inch slices, not quite cutting through the bottom crust, so the slices stay separate but attached to each other. Put the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 20-second intervals, until it is melted. Add the spices and cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Put the bread in the middle of enough aluminum foil to wrap the loaf. With a spoon, apply 1/2 teaspoon of the butter mixture to each side of each slice. Pour any leftover butter on the top crust and spread it around. Wrap the foil around the bread, making sure it is fully encased. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. 
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Thai Roll-ups

24 six inch diameter rice papers (circular)
2 smallish carrots, julienned
2 green onions, julienned
1 1/2" piece peeled ginger root, julienned
2-3 large mushrooms, julienned
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 cup hydrated saifun
24 cilantro leaves for garnish
Peanut sauce (homemade or purchased)

Prepare all the vegetables. Soak the saifun and drain when soft. When all ingredients are assembled, soak the rice papers until softened, a few at a time, and place between moist paper towels.

Place one rice paper in front of you. Put about a tablespoon and a half (total) of saifun, carrots, ginger, mushroom, green onion and chopped cilantro in the lower 2/3 of the rice paper and the cilantro leaf garnish in the upper 2/3 of the rice paper. Carefully , roll up the rice paper from the bottom, folding in the sides as you go along. It should look like a small eggroll. The cilantro leaf will show through the translucent rice paper.

Put the packets, folded side down in a container with a damp piece of paper towel in the bottom, and cover with a damp paper towel.

Serve with peanut sauce, either homemade or store bought. (I use the kind without coconut.) Dip and enjoy.

These are also great pan-fried in oil (make sure you use a nonstick pan) and served with the peanut sauce. 
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Friday, May 28, 2004

I am in dire need of more Jonsauce. I'm eating the last wee container today for lunch. I think the only thing I need to buy is mushrooms. Maybe an onion. It's good though, I've got all this basil that I need to use before it goes bad. Huzzah.

I was over at Jon and Ryan's yesterday after I went shopping (I bought Return of the King, a wooden corner spoon, some chips clips, and some wine stoppers). He made a potato gratin a couple days ago. It was incredible. I think he said it was a combination of Joy and Julia, with an addition or two of his own. I'm going to try and figure out what he did, because hot damn, it was good.

Also, yay! I have comments now. Ryan put them in yesterday.

Also, boo. Timberwolves, stop not winning. Why are you not kicking the Lakers' asses from here to eternity?

Once again, yay. I have finished separating my blog into recipes and commentaries. 
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Monday, May 24, 2004

Woo, hors d'oeuvres party! Delight in the recipes I have left! They were very good. We all had an excellent time. Unfortunately, I now have four opened bottles of wine. I cannot imagine drinking them all. (I'm only an occasional wine drinker.) Suppose I'll have to have another party. Except now I'm out of food. Hee!

Ryan and I have decided the basil leaves are almost Budandeddie. (Definition: very tasty, ridiculously involved, well-presented finger food. Named after Bud and Eddie, two friends who throw amazing parties with appetizers that I cannot even dream of ever matching in excellentness.) They were very pretty. I took a picture.

The spicy bean dip is a total guilty pleasure. I love the stuff. I haven't made it since that horrible, horrible semester in grad school. I think I took a hiatus because of bad memories. But damn, is it good. The one complaint I got was that it needed salt and spice. Which makes sense, because I forgot to salt it, and I didn't put in nearly enough cayenne.

Also, don't be afraid of resalting the pate if it's not spectacular. A little more salt could really help.

Stuffed mushrooms... mm. The recipe is a combination of Alton Brown and Julia Child. (To digress a bit: I got a copy of the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for one dollar at the White Elephant Sale earlier this year. To that I say, "One dollar? Kick ass.") The filling is damn tasty. I went out and bought a bottle of Madeira for this recipe, and I have to say, totally worth it.

And while I'm ranting, I'd like to give a shout-out to the Good Eats Fan Page. Sometimes the recipes on Food Network's website are a bit off, so it's great to be able to read the episode transcripts there.

Dude. Sandra's secret family recipe for fried chicken was SALT and FLOUR. Why does she have a cooking show? 
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Stuffed Mushrooms

12 cremini or white mushroom caps, 2 to 3 inches wide
12 mushroom stems, minced
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 clove garlic, chopped and separated
3 Tbsp onion, minced
3 Tbsp shallot, minced
1/4 cup Madeira
3 Tbsp bread crumbs (plus extra for topping)
1/4 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (plus extra for topping)
4 Tbsp parsley, minced
1/2 tsp tarragon
2 to 3 Tbsp heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Put the mushroom caps in a large bowl with 1 clove garlic, rosemary, and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Toss to combine. Arrange stem-side down on a cooling rack over a baking pan (so that the moisture will drain out as they cook). Bake for about 10 minutes, or until a paring knife feels a little resistance sliding in (not soggy, but not raw). (Don't turn the oven off.)

In a pan, melt the butter and oil together. Add the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring quite frequently. Add the shallots and 1 clove garlic and continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes or until soft. Add the minced mushroom stems and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so. Add the Madeira and simmer rapidly until almost totally evaporated.

Take the pan off the heat, and stir in the bread crumbs, Gruyere, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly mix in the cream until the mixture is moist but still holds together. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Try to dry the mushrooms as well as you can. Turn the mushrooms stem-side up and fill each with about a teaspoon of the mixture. Do not pack it in. Over top of the mixture, sprinkle some more bread crumbs and Parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then turn on your broiler and let the tops of the mushrooms get browned. Best served hot. 
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Basil Leaves Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

1/4 cup pine nuts
4 oz. goat cheese
2 Tbsp heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
20 large basil leaves, about 3 inches long
1 small tomato, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat, shaking the pan often (do not leave these alone). When golden or slightly brown (3-5 minutes), remove from the pan and let cool.
In a bowl, mix the goat cheese with the cream and season with salt and pepper.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of the cheese onto each basil leaf. Curl up the leaf sides so they stick to the cheese, like a bowl (or more like a taco shell). Press 3-6 pine nuts into the cheese. Sprinkle the tomato pieces and any extra pine nuts around the plate. Drizzle with olive oil and some more salt and pepper. 
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Spicy Bean Dip

15 oz. refried beans (1 can)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you don't like the spicy)
3 scallions, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt, to taste
Tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the beans, cream cheese, sour cream, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and scallions in a 1 quart oven-proof dish (mix well). Taste and adjust seasonings. Spread the cheese evenly over the top.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about 10 minutes more or until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned around the edges. Serve with tortilla chips. 
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Saturday, May 22, 2004

I'm making a bunch of hors d'oevres for tomorrow. Family and friends are coming over to my place before we go out for dinner.

If, in response to the recipe below, you think "Liver? EW," then I feel sorry for you. I love the damn things. Ever since I was in Italy and tasted fegatini, I cannot get enough of them. I made several batches before figuring out a good recipe. The first try was just kind of bland, with a lingering bitterness (I didn't think to add a pinch of sugar). My second attempt had sherry and lemon zest, and it just tasted wrong. On the third attempt, I didn't get rid of enough of the liquid before putting it into the food processor, and I ended up with liver soup (it was tasty, but the consistency was gross). I think this is what I came up with on my fourth try. I started making this about two years ago, but I haven't written it down until now. (I'm glad this blog has made me do so.)

I'll be posting the other recipes and commentaries as I make them. 
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Chicken Liver Pate

1 lb chicken livers, rinsed and drained
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1-2 Tbsp parsley, chopped roughly
3-5 leaves fresh sage, chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of sugar, if needed

Melt the butter and oil together in a large pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and saute until golden and soft, about three minutes. Add the chicken livers, broth, and wine to the pan. Stir, chopping up the liver with a wooden spoon or spatula. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan with lid, and let cook until the pink is almost out of the livers, about ten minutes. Uncover and raise the heat back to medium. Let the liquid reduce and the rest of the pink to leave the livers. When there is only a little liquid left, take off the heat and pour/scrape into a food processor. Add parsely, sage, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings- if it's bitter, add a little bit of sugar. 
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Thursday, May 20, 2004

That coleslaw was pretty damn good. I ate a little, and I don't even like the stuff. The dressing was go-od. Our friend Eddie said, "Only in this house can I get spicy coleslaw." Because Jon is generally generous with the peppers, and I followed in this tradition. It was lacking zing, so I added some cayenne (about 1/2 a teaspoon) and Tabasco (probably another 1/2 to 1 teaspoon). I didn't do this, but possibly some lemon would have been a good idea.

Rite Aid (oh, that was lame, I had to look up on Google to see if it was "Aid" or "Aide") is my buddy this week. They are running their "Four bottles of Coke for $3.76" campaign. Unfortunately, I went to TWO Rite Aid's this morning and both were sold out of the D.C. I blame vanilla, lemon, and lime. And possibly cherry. These products take up room on the shelves that should be kept free for the Coke and the Diet Coke. There's a reason why no one's buying them. "But Sarah, why didn't you check to see if they had any more in the back?" Well, I did. Apparently they are getting restocked tomorrow. Gr.

I am not a fan of Albertson's. The cashiers (at every branch I've visited) just.don't.care. However! This is averted if you use those self-check-out things. (Assuming they are working.) Going to Albertson's early in the morning means that they still have packages of bacon end pieces. I like buying these. They're $1.49 a pound. Which is fine for me; all I do with bacon is chop it into little pieces to put in potatoes. I think I bought about two and a half pounds. I froze it; it'll last a good long while.

I finished the fried chicken last night. Mm, so good. I'm getting a bit pudgerific, though, so I probably won't be doing that again for a while. I hate diets, but it looks like I'm going to have to go on one soon. Bleh. 
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Tuesday, May 18, 2004

I got an email from Jon today. It said:

you should blog.
I should blog.
we should all blog.

Yes, I have been rather lax in attending to my blog lately. For that, I am sorry. I hadn't really made much, until yesterday, when I fried a chicken. I followed Alton Brown's directions, and it turned out quite tasty. For those of you keeping track, this now puts AB's recipes at four successes to three failures.

I got to test out that Lamsonsharp handle holder last night while frying the chicken, and it did a pretty good job. After being on the handle of a rocket-hot cast iron skillet for a half hour, it was getting kind of hot. I could still hold it for about ten seconds, but I wouldn't want to try any longer than that.

I am currently engaged in making coleslaw. "Currently engaged" meaning I am in the last hour of waiting for the salted cabbage to drain. I'm using Alton's recipe, since I couldn't get into the Cook's Illustrated website (I've got a user name and password, but the dumb site is being stubborn). I have to admit, coleslaw is really not my thing. When I was but a small child, I had an aversion to anything involving mayonaise. At barbeques I was eating hot dogs and hamburgers (no bun, please- I also had things against bread back then- as well as ketchup) and nothing else. Since then, I have grown to like the potato salad and the mayonaise (in small quantities), but coleslaw hasn't really grown on me. Ryan asked me to make it for a dinner she, Jon, and Leigh are holding tonight. Jon has made chili (best.chili.ever). Leigh is making cornbread. Ryan has made strawberry shortcake. Good times.

And so, I present you with recipes cribbed from the Food Network's website. 
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Fried Chicken
Good Eats - Alton Brown

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 lbs), cut into 6 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven. 
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Coleslaw
Good Eats - Alton Brown

1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 fluid ounces plain yogurt
2 fluid ounces mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickle juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
Kosher salt, as needed
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Generously salt the cabbage and drain in colander for 3 hours. Rinse thoroughly and dry.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the cabbage and carrot. Whisk to combine evenly. Toss the cabbage and carrot with the dressing. 
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Thursday, May 13, 2004

No time. Seriously. I don't know if I'm going to have a chance to cook before next weekend. This sucks. Working sucks.

ETA: Working does not suck. Working is great. I don't mean to sound like I am anti-work. Work is not a joke to me. I say this because karma hates me. I was told that the place I am temping at has decided to go with another person for the full-time position. I am not despondent about this. Neither am I ecstatic. I am rolling with the punches and have high hopes for my interviews next week.

It's just hard because I have no time to do anything. 
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Monday, May 10, 2004

Okay, the following recipe I made last night. "Why Sarah, it looks similar in many ways to the Jonsauce." Well, yeah. I only had about half of the ingredients for Jonsauce, so I decided to try something a little different. I had a hell of a time figuring out what kind of cheese might go with the spicy Italian sausages. I finally settled on feta, because it's salty (and not much else).

The recipe is adapted from Quick from Scratch Pasta. It started out life as Rigatoni with Sirloin and Gorgonzola Sauce. I used half-and-half and milk together because I didn't have the heavy cream that the original called for, and given how expensive cream is, I'll probably continue to use half-and-half in its place.

It turned out better than I was expecting. It's definitely not a pretty dish, I have to say. I'll definitely eat the rest of it, although I'm not sure I'll ever make it again. This was pretty much an experiment combined with getting rid of stuff in my fridge. 
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Spicy Italian Sausage and Feta Cream Sauce

1 lb spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots (or 1/4 onion), chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsely
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place a large pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan and cook, tearing sausages into smaller chunks with spatula(s). Remove from pan.

In remaining fat, and mushrooms and some salt. Cook until browned. Remove from pan.

Add shallot and garlic to pan and saute for about 30 seconds. Add broth and Worcestershire sauce to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer until liquid has reduced to 1/2 cp, about 5 minutes.

Return the mushrooms and sausage to the pan. Add the cheese, half-and-half, and milk to the pan. Simmer and wait for the cheese to integrate (it doesn't really melt, but try to get it as incorporated as you can). Add the parsely and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta. 
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Must... blog....

I was in kind of a crappy mood when I got home, and I didn't want to write. An old woman harrangued me on my way home from work for being slightly over the "Stop" line. It was very annoying. But I watched some Good Eats (the fried chicken episode- I want to make it!) and am feeling better now, thanks. Good story, Sarah.

Today at work, two women asked me for the recipe for the strata which I was eating. Yay! (One week, Mom. It was okay. It's all gone now. Don't worry.)

Anyway, below is the recipe for Jonsauce. I love it to bits. I realize my instructions aren't the most poetic, but you'll hopefully get the point. 
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Jonsauce

1 lb spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I generally use creminis)
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, pureed
Wine or stock for deglazing
1 tsp fennel, freshly ground (optional)
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh basil chiffonade (the more the better)
Olive oil

Put a fairly big pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown, tearing apart sausage into small pieces with a spatula (or two). When cooked, remove from pot. Don't get rid of the fat.

Add the mushrooms and some salt to the fat in the pot. Saute and remove from pan when browned.

If the pan's looking dry, add a little bit of olive oil. Add the diced onion and saute until softened. Then, add the chopped garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with the wine or stock and scrape up the fond.

Return the sausage and mushrooms to the pan. Add the cans of tomato sauce and drained diced tomatoes.

Season with the cayenne pepper, dried oregano, fennel (optional), and salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer for 15 minutes to an hour.

At the very end of cooking, add the pureed garlic and the basil chiffonade. 
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Friday, May 07, 2004

Mm, Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Nips. More mm, no work today. I'm a big fan of not working. Unfortunately, this eventually leads to cash flow problems.

It was so great- I slept in. Until 8:30! That's pathetic, but what is remarkable is that I got to sleep before 4:30am. "Why do you go to bed so late, Sarah?" you ask. Ah, but that's not the time I go to bed. I usually get to bed between 11 and 12pm. "Why so early?" you further query. If I don't get eight hours, I am wrecked the next day. I guess those all-nighters back in college have come back to haunt me. Anyway, I've been sleeping VERY poorly this week, and the fact that I think I got a full night of sleep last night is a very good thing.

I was supposed to spend part of today cooking, but it's now 3:30 and I haven't even gotten a start on my laundry yet. I had a list: Costco, bank, interview, Target/Marshalls, laundry, groceries, Tivo, cooking. I don't think I'll be getting to groceries or cooking, sadly.

I bought a LamsonSharp HandleHolder today at Marshalls. Actually, I bought two- one's a gift for Jon. They will (I believe) be good with our Le Creuset skillets. LamsonSharp won first place in the Cook's Illustrated testing of pot holders, so I'm hoping these handle sleeves (I'm not sure how to describe them) work. They are maroon, which doesn't go with either of our skillets.

I was at Target, looking around in their newly expanded grocery section. They are selling a pound of butter for $2.19. That's a pretty damn good price. I'd never heard of the manufacturer, though (and I've already forgotten the name). I'm not sure I trust it.

My feet hurt. I've been running around in heels because of my interview (it went well, thanks for asking).

Leigh is back in town! Leigh is Ryan's sister, and she does wild and crazy things with pastries (it should be noted that this was her idea, although they both worked on the execution [so to speak]). They are going to be working together on Sara's wedding cake, which I'm sure will be amazing.

I love having a toaster.

Trader Joe's Spicy Hummus is amazing stuff. I have to learn how to make it. I am spending way too much money on it. Go buy some, it's surprisingly cheap, as far as hummus prices go. I eat it with microwaved popcorn (Orville Redenbacher Light Butter, if you are really keen to know). It sounds weird, but it's really good.

And... I'm done ranting. 
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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Oh, Chevy's. What has become of you?

Last night, Rob, Jeremy (his roommate), and I went to the Chevy's in Mountain View. I had a hankering for their chips and salsa. I love Chevy's salsa. (Side note: I've tried to copy their salsa several times, and it has always turned out incredibly hot. I haven't tried lately since I don't have a food processor. Although I wonder if a food mill would work better. Hm.) The service was very poor. It was a hurdle just to get our drinks refilled, and when our salsa vanished (quickly), we were unable to find anyone to refill it. I was very saddened. However, we were treated to a fire in "El Machino." There was a glut of tortillas and they all got caught in the flame. Very amusing. 
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Tuesday, May 04, 2004

So I learned a new bagel technique at our Faux Mothers' Day Brunch on Sunday. (That's a faux day for mothers, not a day for faux mothers.) Ryan is very clever. Instead of putting the capers on top of the lox, where they'll simply roll off, she sticks them into the cream cheese where they'll stay secured. I still haven't decided whether to put the red onion on top of or under the lox. It, too, has the danger of sliding off, but sometimes you need it to be the first thing you contact so that you'll bite cleanly through it.

So, the order from top to bottom:

Red Onion
Lox
Capers
Cream Cheese
Bagel 
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Sunday, May 02, 2004

Okay, I'm going to be redoing a lot of my old posts soon to put the recipes in separate entries from their commentaries. I think.

I made the following recipe on Friday (it is very slightly changed from a recipe in Quick from Scratch Pasta, a great cookbook). Rob came over. We had salad, but the croutons were not so good. It was saddening. Next time- more fat will be needed. We had Nutella and pretzels for dessert. That is an EXCELLENT combination, people. Try it.

I made a double recipe of strata on Saturday for the brunch we had today for early Mother's Day. It was an excellent spread. Jon brought bagels, cream cheese, lox, capers, and red onions, and Ryan made Easter Bread. I think that's what it's called. It's kind of an eggy bread (challah-esque), with almonds and dried fruit, decorated with sprinkles and whole eggs which get hard-cooked as the bread bakes. We had semi-succesful mimosas. I had bought guava juice, because Ryan makes a very tasty guavamosa, but I think the quality of the juice was much lower than what she buys. The orange juice, however, was very good. Trader Joe's fresh-squeezed. Pulpy and delicious.

I did not end up making Jonsauce this weekend. I'm rather tired, because we were up in San Francisco at a housewarming party until 1:30 last night. And there was much alcomohol. And it was good. Bud and Eddie make an ass-kicking punch, as well as some of the tastiest finger-foods you will ever taste. They have such a commitment to their party foods. It's really very impressive. These are guys who would not complain about scooping out a jillion small red potatoes. 
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Pasta Shells with Cremini Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Boursin Sauce

2 Tbsp butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 5 1/2 oz package herb and garlic Boursin cheese
1 pound asparagus
3/4 pound medium pasta shells
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until tender and well browned, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth and Boursin cheese and bring to a simmer while stirring.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until almost done, about 6 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until it and the pasta are just done, about 4 minutes longer. Drain. Toss with the mushrooms and sauce.

Note: If you're not going to eat all of the pasta in one sitting, get it cool as fast as you can. The asparagus will keep cooking if you leave it warm, and eventually turn a nasty puke-green color and start to smell. Also, don't think that this amount of sauce will cover a whole pound of pasta. It won't. It might even be a better idea only to use half a pound. The pepper Boursin cheese is good too, but it's a little harder to find.  
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Saturday, May 01, 2004

I have stuff to write. I'm just busy. I'm sorry. 
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