Monday Meal (Foodie Friday 4)

Monday Meal is what you call the post that should have been Foodie Friday.
You decide not to call it Munchie Monday; that sounds a little suspicious.

Tonight we had what I like to fondly refer to as a "Classed-Up Lunch Lady Dinner." We probably should have served it on a cafeteria tray, wore hair nets, drank milk out of cartons, and used a spork.

The Menu:
Green Salad with Simple Vinaigrette Dressing
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Sweet Potato Tator Tots

I have an unabashed love of tuna casserole. There was one legendary Christmas in which my brother, sister, and I spent lots of time at my grandparents' house. My grandma made tuna casserole. My sister hated it so much she actually ran from the table and threw it up. She's always had a flair for the dramatic; I have no idea where she got that from, no idea who would have been a role model for that behavior.

Granny's tuna casserole was filled with canned mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup and topped with shoestring potatoes. My tuna casserole involves cheddar cheese soup and peas and carrots. It's more of a mac and cheese with tuna (one of my favorite lunches) than a tuna casserole.

Comfort on a plate.

For what it's worth, I did make my "Classed-up Lunch Lady Dinner" an adult dinner by washing it down with a nice glass of wine. Turns out red wine is a nice accompaniment to tuna casserole and tator tots.

Foodie Friday 3

 Before:

After:

The Menu:
Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano (Cacio e Pepe)
(modified) Nuevo TX Waldorf Salad

The Situation:
Dinner alone reading blogs. (See computer screen - was enjoying a post from Hooked on Houses)

Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano
Makes 2 generous servings


4 oz. finely grated (about 2 cups) Pecorino Romano cheese
2 oz. coarsely grated (about 1 cup) Pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb. spaghetti
Table salt
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper

Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring frequently until al dente. Reserve about 1 1/2 C cooking water.

Set pasta aside.

Combine 1 C cooking water with finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper.


Gradually pour cheese mixture over pasta, toosing to coat. Let pasta rest 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently, adjusting consistency with remaining 1/2 C reserved pasta water.


Let sit for a few minutes. Consistency will adjust. Cheese will stick - deliciously - to noodles.


Serve, passing coarsely grated Pecorino separately.

Notes on pasta: This is delicious. It's a favorite around my house. The quality of the ingredients really matters. Splurge for imported pasta and the best cheese you can find. Also, it really does taste better after sitting for a few minutes. And, it isn't particularly great re-heated. Best to just eat it all.

(modified) Nuevo TX Waldorf Salad
Makes 4 servings

Rosemary Vinaigrette:
1/3 C fresh rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 medium-size red onion
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 C honey
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
1/2 C pecans
3 Granny Smith apples
4 C greens (romaine and spinach)
1/2 C crumbled blue cheese
1/2 C bacon crumbles
2 C cherry tomatoes, halved

For the Vinaigrette:
Blend the rosemary, garlic, red onion, mustard, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper for about 15 seconds in a food processor. Pour 3/4 cup olive oil through the feed tube in a slow stream, and blend until the mixture emulsifies. 

To Make the Salad:
Toast nuts in a pan over low heat until you can smell them. Cool and coarsely chop.

Core and slice the apples. Dip in lemon juice to keep from browning.

Add romaine, spinach, apples, pecans, blue cheese, bacon, and tomatoes to a large bowl. Toss gently.

Add some of the dressing. Toss to coat. Continue adding dressing until desired mixture is reached.

Serve immediately.

Notes on salad: I had some big issues with the dressing on this salad; there was too much rosemary. Next time, I would half the rosemary. Also, I used less than half the amount of dressing made by the recipe to dress the salad. I'd still make it again, though.

Foodie Friday 2

(Playing along with Katrina.)

Let me preface this re-cap of our Thanksgiving dinner by saying. . . I do not feel like eating anything today.

I just needed to get that out of the way before I launch into telling you all the delectable details of my favorite holiday.

Where: Angie's house
Who: Barb, Brad, Angie, Mike, Luke, and Dottie.
When: Dinner at 11 AM, Dessert at 3 PM

This year's tablescape featured art by Luke, a hand-crafted burlap table runner by Angie, fresh flowers in Mason jars, and candy turkeys.

The candy turkeys, lovingly assembled by Angie, were also prominently featured on the food buffet. (We served buffet style this year to eliminate any temptation for little hands.)

There were two kinds of relish - can-berries (provided by me) and relish (provided by Angie). Her fresh relish kicked my can-berries ass.

Here is the full spread. Yes. We had all of that food for four adults and two littles.

I supplied the stuffing. I went with Pioneer Woman's recipe again this year.

I also supplied the sweet potatoes. Again, Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Here are the annual pictures of the plates. Note: Mine is gravy- and dark meat-free. Brad's is not. Eww.

We needed a considerable break between dinner and dessert. The littles took a nap. Then, we (except for me - I napped) watched the "Gs" (Luke's name for the Packers) beat the "Blues" (Luke's name for the Lions).

The dessert spread wasn't nearly as elegant as the dinner. I made a pumpkin mascarpone pie (two, actually), pumpkin cheesecake, and mascarpone whipped cream.

Despite the fact that I have been making pumpkin cheesecake with the same recipe since high school I somehow managed to use the wrong recipe. I wasn't particularly happy with the final product.

There you have it. Thanksgiving 2011. It may not have been the most elegant of affairs, but it was filled with love, gratitude, and laughter.

Foodie Friday

Menu:
Sweet Potato Risotto from Ezra Pound Cake
Grilled Kale Salad

Notes on the Risotto:

• Called for a non-traditional risotto preparation; simply boiled the risotto in salted water until tender. I used chicken broth instead of water, and the finished product looked nothing like risotto. . . until I stirred in the magical mascarpone.
• Someday I would like to try this with Rondele.

Notes on / Directions for the Grilled Kale Salad:
I have Katrina to thank for this.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil, a liberal amount
Red Onion, sliced thinly
Kale, leaves torn from stem into bite-sized pieces
Tomato
Blue Cheese
Croutons (if you're into that sort of thing)
Salt & Pepper
Cook the onions for awhile in some olive oil. Add the kale and a bit more olive oil. Cook until wilted. Top with tomato and blue chesese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note -
Katrina has started a fun new game: Foodie Friday. Post on your blog about something you ate during a particular week. Include food photos and recipe / cookbook links. Share a link to your post on Katrina's blog.

P.S. This recipe contains sweet potatoes. Therefore, it fits in my current obsessive trend of posting about Thanksgiving.

Resisting temptation

I believe Thanksgiving deserves a right to be celebrated to the fullest possible extent.

It is a great holiday all by itself.
It is not a step on the way to Christmas.
 It is not the day before Black Friday shopping.

I have resisted asking Brad to put up the Christmas lights.
I haven't hung a Christmas wreath.
I haven't put up a single Christmas decoration; I haven't even taken any of them out of the boxes.

I did slip up, though.
I put a dollar in the Salvation Army kettle at the grocery store.

And, of course, I have had a few red cups.

Thanksgiving Quirks

(Photo from 2009)

I never even tried fresh cranberries until Thanksgiving 2005. I like them in relish form, but I still want to have a can of cranberries on the table - the kind where you can see the ridges from the can in the "cranberries."

I prefer mashed potatoes but am learning to love sweet potatoes.

I will not eat turkey skin or turkey on the bone. And, I have never actually cooked a turkey myself. Thank goodness for Angie.

I do not like apple pie or cherry pie. Dessert on Thanksgiving should be pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. I think I have made a pumpkin cheese cake every year since I was in high school.

I have almost no childhood memories of Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving traditions. My love of Thanksgiving is a relatively recent thing.

Why Thanksgiving Rules.

Sent to me yesterday by Angie.

Why Thanksgiving Rules. 

(According to Barb)

1. Over eating is encouraged.
2. The house smells great.
3. There are multiple desserts involved.
4. Turkeys aren't very cute in real life. 
5. It's an excuse to wear pants with an elastic waistband.
6. It is always followed by three days off work (for me, anyway).
7. The tryptophan is a great excuse for an afternoon nap (if you're the kind of person who needs an excuse).
8. Themed clothing is not involved - no one wears turkey sweaters. (Although, I do always smile at kids in pilgrim hats or Indian feathers.)
9. The kitchen (and the cook) get the respect they deserve.
10. It is a holiday that answers, "Both." "Should we serve mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes?" "Both." "Should we serve pumpkin pie or cheesecake?" "Both." "Should we serve green beans or broccoli?" "Both." "Should we serve wine or beer?" "Both."

(And, if the list was up to Brad I would also have added deer hunting and football watching.)

Gobble, gobble.

15 days to Thanksgiving.

Cheese, please.

Alternate Title: Why I Love WI.

Angie and I have been cultivating our love of cheese for quite awhile. I guess it really started with the poorly planned Sconnie Cheese Tour of 2008. It didn't get serious until this year, though, when most of our monthly feasts featured a cheese course.

Last weekend, we continued our learning and tasting at the Wisconsin Cheese Originals Annual Festival.

We started with a Meet the Cheesemaker Gala on Friday night. There were 35 cheese makers and more than 150 cheeses to be tasted. The unedited pictures. . .

We took three cheese "classes" on Saturday.

First, we learned about "A New Era for WI Cheddar." We heard two cheddar-makers speak about their craft and tasted two-, four-, six-, and ten-year cheddars. The six-year was my favorite.

Next, we learned about "WI Craft Beers and Artisan Cheese Pairings." We taste seven different beers from Potosi Brewery each paired with a unique WI cheese. It was incredible - a completely different experience than wine and cheese. The carbonation of the beer really worked with the cheese.

Our third class was from the owner of Fromagination and the cheese monger from School House cheese. We tasted international cheeses and their WI counter-parts: a gruyere, a parmesan, and a blue. In two of the three instances I preferred the WI cheese.

The final event of the night was a dinner with Andy Hatch, the award-winning cheese maker for Uplands Cheese at the Admiralty Room in the Edgewater Hotel. We had a four-course meal (with wine pairings); three of the four courses featured Andy's cheeses. It was a small group of people, so we had plenty of time to hear about the processes involved in making the cheese.

It's pretty fascinating, actually. Andy studied dairy science (I think) at UW-Madison. Then, he traveled around Europe studying cheese. After that, he was hired by Uplands to make a specific kind of cheese. The owners of the farm studied the type of milk their cows were able to produce because of the location and features of the land. They studied different cheese to select a specific type to make based on the milk. They hired Andy to make that cheese.

And, that cheese (Pleasant Ridge Reserve) has won a "Best in Show" award for three consecutive years. That's some sort of record in the cheese world.

Anyway - Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made only during the months where Uplands's cows are able to graze in the pastures of their farm. It is a farmstead cheese - made only from milk from their own cows. During other months, the cows' milk is sold to other nearby farms. (Until this year when Andy decided to make another type of cheese with the milk.) Then, the milk supply ends until after calving in the spring.

The careful planning, science, and environmentally friendly practices of the whole process are absolutely fascinating.

I ended the weekend not wanting to eat any more cheese for a very long time, but I also ended the weekend incredibly proud to live in America's Dairyland.

30 days from today

30 days from today I will be 32.

And, a few short weeks after that we will celebrate Christmas.

So, now seems like as good a time as any for a little wish list.

I need some pajama pants. Something like these, probably.

And, how about some slippers?

I'd like a vintage fondue set. . .

This would look fabulous in my kitchen.

 I could definitely use another Le Creuset. I like the cobalt and the flame. I think I need 7 1/4 quart.

You know how I feel about gift cards:
Studio Calico
Boden
Barnes & Nobel
Indira (for a massage or facial)

I'd also like some magazine subscriptions:
Real Simple
Bon Appetit
La Cucina Italiana

A bag for my camera would be nice, too.

And, I could still use a remote for my camera.

And, speaking of cameras. . . these lenses for my phone camera might be fun.

Buy the Fisheye, Macro, Wide Angle and Telephoto Phone Lenses at the Photojojo Store!

And, every list has to have some outrageous things on it.

Like an iPad.

Or an iPhone.

Or maybe a new purse.

Or perhaps a watch? There is pretty much always a watch on the list.

And, I wouldn't turn down some jewelry.
I do love this ring.

Oh, yeah. I'd also like 10 or so tickets to Costa Rica and a vacation rental. I would fly in all my favorite girl friends and we would drink and relax and cook and talk and laugh.

Ah, it's fun to dream.

B&K Excellent Adventures: Chicago-style

Ah, my excellent adventures with Katrina continue.
It began on the boards at 2Peas.
It continued at CHA in July 2007.
And, again at CHA in July 2008.
I visited VT in July 2009.
We went to CA this July.
And, we met up in Chicago last week.

Our adventures involved (no big surprise here) plenty of wine. Katrina planned to drink 10 bottles from a specific list. We tried hard to find these bottles and had no success, so we tried another list. Between the two of us, we found 9 of the 10 bottles. We picked up the tenth bottle at a Whole Foods between the airport and our downtown condo.

There aren't any pictures of this, yet, but we made tasting notes about each of the bottles.

 Kendall Jackson Meritage. Egh.

Fleur Pinot Noir. Such a pretty bottle.

These two bottles snuck in. They weren't on the list.

 We had to be resourceful. Washi tape made great glass markers.

We ate a lot.

We ate in. That was one of the main reasons we rented a condo, actually. We wanted to cook on vacation.

 Dinner: Thursday night. Cacio e Pepe and Grilled Kale Salad with Gorgonzola.

Dinner: Saturday Night. Risotto with Pear and Gorgonzola. Broccollini with Lemon and Parm.

We still ate out, though.

Lunch on Saturday was Le Colonial. I haven't been there for more than two years, but it was just as delicious as I remembered.

Breakfast on Saturday was Yolk where we were forced to order three entrees because just couldn't choose.

 

 

 And, yes. Those last two pictures are red velvet french toast. And, yes. It was delicious.

We ate at XOCO on Saturday afternoon between lunch and dinner. I was underwhelmed. If I went again, I would just have coffee and dessert.

 

And, we didn't just eat in and out. We ate cupcakes.


We ate cupcakes from More.

And cupcakes from Molly's. See the Cake Batter cupcake? AH-MAZING. I'm usually a chocolate girl, but I was crazy about this vanilla, Fun-fetti-esque, blue frosted lovely.

 

We shopped at Anthropology.

We acted like tourists.

We took a Segway tour - which was so much fun!

We walked around the city and took pictures.

We took an Untouchables Tour to learn about Chicago during prohibition.

We snuggled babies.

Henry was a real ladies' man at the condo Saturday night.

And, Em and I met Lauren on Sunday.

And, excellent adventures with Katrina don't just involve wine, food, cupcakes, touring, and baby snuggling. They also involve lipgloss.

 See all that Mineral Fusion? The best lipgloss I have ever tried. Really. You can get some of your own here.

I'm so lucky to have a friend that makes me laugh, a friend that gets me, a friend that encourages and partakes in crazy schemes, a friend that introduces me to her incredible friends (like Angela and Kristi and Christine). Thanks for another excellent adventure, Katrina!