Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

By now you're probably thinking I have a serious thing for risotto; and you're totally right. And considering I just found a recipe for apple and walnut risotto with gorgonzola, I probably won't be stopping soon (um hi, is that not the most amazing thing you've ever heard of??). Risotto is just such a great, "I'm super busy but need to eat an actual substantive dinner and this lasts all week" type meal. And I'm a big fan of that.

After another trip to Russo's I had a bunch of asparagus I needed to use before I left on vacation at the end of the week (yay!). And since this week was also super busy work-wise, I wanted to make something I could eat a couple nights, so I decided on asparagus and mushroom risotto.

I was clearly so into chopping the mushrooms that I forgot to take a picture of them. I bought the "exotic variety pack" at Trader Joe's and it consisted of 3 different types including oyster, cremini, and porcini. I removed the stems from all of them and then cut the mushrooms into small pieces, and then chopped about a third of those.

I didn't have dried porcini mushrooms, so for the broth I put the mushroom stems in some chicken broth, just to make sure it had enough flavor. You can do whatever you want, but I thought this was quite tasty. Make sure you bring the broth to a boil and then let it rest over low heat.


Now chop the stems of your asparagus and cut the rest of it into little pieces. Boil them (separately) for about 2 minutes each, just to make them nice and crispy green.

In a saucepan with some olive oil, add your chopped onion and one clove of chopped garlic and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Now add the arborio rice (2 cups) and stir. Add a cup of white wine with the heat on medium-high, put in some salt (2 t), an d stir until the wine is almost evaporated. Now you're ready to start adding the broth. Add it half a cup at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until the liquid is mostly evaporated before adding more. It's not as hard as some people say, but if you forget to stir it, the rice is going to stick to the bottom of the pan, so be careful.

Repeat this step several times and then add the mushrooms that you chopped up and throw in some pepper too. Keep adding the chicken/mushroom stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring.

Take the 2/3 mushrooms you have remaining and cook them in a skillet in some olive oil for about 2 minutes, until they're golden brown. Then add the asparagus tips and cook another minute.

Now stir the little pieces of asparagus into the risotto and add some butter and 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese (honestly, freshly grated is SO much better than Kraft or whatever you get pre-grated. Once you're used to it, you'll never be able to go back. It's SO different). The recipe also calls for 1/4 cup of olive oil, but I really didn't think it was necessary so I didn't add it and didn't miss it.

Now you're ready to serve the risotto and top it with the mushroom and asparagus tip combo you've got going on in your pan. It was deliciously creamy and sooo fresh with just the right amount of crunch from the asparagus. The perfect pre-vacation week meal!

[Sues]

Avocado Snacks

Avocados are quickly becoming my second favorite food... right behind bacon (and the two of them together? Don't even get me started!). I've been craving them all week so I did a search on Martha Stewart's website and found some nice (and simple) little avocado snacks ...

(avocado sliced lengthwise)

Lemon Tuna Avocado Snack
1 ripe avocado
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 six-ounce solid albacore tuna
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
salt and ground pepper to taste


• cut avocado lengthwise and remove pit. Scoop 2 tablespoons of avocado flesh from each half.
• Mix the avocado flesh with lemon juice and olive oil until you have reached a (semi) smooth consistency
• Mix avocado, tuna, sunflower seeds, lemon zest and add salt and pepper
• Fill avocado shell with the mixture

Avocado Halves Stuffed with Tomato and Feta
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 small ripe tomato, diced
• 1 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon snipped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons raw pumpkin seeds (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste


• Cut avocado lengthwise and remove pit.
• Fill each half with tomato and feta
• Drizzle lemon juice and garnish with chives and pumpkin seeds

(I actually left the pumpkin seeds out since the grocery store didn't have any and this was still great!)


I particularly love recipes like this in the summer since I'm always on the go and don't normally have a huge appetite in hot, hot weather... quick, easy, and satisfying... which ultimately leaves more time to enjoy the weather! :)


[Chels]

Spinach and Brie Chicken with Tomato Orzo

I love spinach. I love brie. Oh, and I also love orzo. When I see Spinach and Brie Chicken with Tomato Orzo on Martha Stewart's website, I really want to make it. So I do.

This recipe was actually a whole lot easier to make than I thought it would be. I basically made it, only half paying attention to what I was doing and half engaging in conversation with Sara who came over for dinner. Multi-tasking at its best.

First you'll want to put your chicken on a foil covered baking sheet. I couldn't find "thin chicken cutlets" like the recipe calls for at Trader Joe's, so I just bought chicken breasts and pounded them to flatten them a bit. Basically, all you're going to do is spread the cutlets with dijon mustard (2 T total), top with thawed frozen spinach (10 oz total), and then brie cheese (4. oz cut into 8 slices). Season with salt and pepper to taste.



Now just roll the chicken up, seam side down. At first I thought I'd need to involve toothpicks, but really, the chicken stayed rolled quite nicely. Yay.



Put some more salt and pepper on the chicken. And pop in your oven set to broil (with rack 4 inches away from heat) for about 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are nice and brown. I'm always amazed by how fast chicken cooks in the broiler...LOVE it and need to utilize it more often.


Now for the orzo (also WAY too easy), cook 1 C in a pot of boiling water until al dente, drain it, return to pot and add tomatoes (2 plum...um, or maybe wait until tomatoes are safe to eat again. We are not Martha will not be held responsible for any tomato-caused illness), parsley (1/4 C), butter (1 T), and lemon juice (1 T). Throw in some salt and pepper and serve it all up.


The chicken was so, so good. It was basically one of the quickest, tastiest dishes I've made in a long time. The orzo, while good, seemed to be lacking a bit something. I think next time I'd throw in more lemon juice, and more parsley. And I'd probably add a bunch of garlic too because, you know, garlic makes pretty much everything better.

[Sues]

Oatmeal-Raisin Cupcakes...Or Probably Muffins

Now, I'm no fool. I know a cupcake when I see a cupcake. And though Martha Stewart calls these cupcakes, I don't believe her for a second. They're clearly muffins. You're probably thinking, "Boo! Muffins are not as fun as cupcakes!" But here's where you're wrong. Because, you see, if it's called a muffin, that means you can eat it for breakfast. Without feeling completely guilty.

Sara and I baked these Oatmeal-Raisin Cupcakes (but really, if we're being honest, muffins) the same evening we made the peanut butter blondies (if you're wondering, yes, we skipped dinner in lieu of filling up on desserts). First, pre-heat the oven to 375 and line your cupcake (muffin) trays. Then whisk together oats (2 C), flour (2 1/2 C), baking powder (1 1/2 t), baking soda (1/2 t), salt (1 t), oat bran (2/3 C), and cinnamon (2 t) in a medium bowl.

Then, at medium/high speed, mix together (with electric mixer) unsalted butter (1 1/2 C = 3 sticks), granulated sugar (1 C), and light brown sugar (1 C) until light and fluffy. Mix in the 4 eggs 1 at a time and the vanilla (2 t). Reducing the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until it's combined. Mix in the sour cream (1 C) and stir in the raisins (1 1/2 C).

Now it gets a little complicated, but it makes perfect sense. Put 2 3/4 C of the batter into a separate bowl and stir in the rest of the oats (1 3/4 C). Also stir in some coconut (1 C). This batter is going to be used for the muffin top (See! More evidence of their being muffins!). Now we're ready to fill the muffin (ahem) tins. First spoon in 2 1/2 T of the plain (coconut-free) batter. Then top it with 1 1/2 T of the extra oat and coconut batter.

Bake the muffins for about 18-20 minutes and they're ready to be devoured. If you love oatmeal raisin cookies, you will go crazy over these. I brought some to the Jessi's Cape house and we ate them for dessert and breakfast.

And now- gratuitous muffin pictures:

If you would rather eat a cupcake than a muffin (I really don't blame you), I think these could be made a lot more cupcake-like with some frosting. Perhaps Martha Stewart's Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (because cream cheese still equals breakfast, right?) or maybe a Rum and Vanilla Bean Buttercream (can rum equal breakfast? It depends who you are, I suppose).

Whatever you call them and whenever you eat them, you'll love them. And really, that's all that matters. As long as you're taking it easy on the rum at 7 a.m.

[Sues]

Middle Eastern Feast

Falafel. I became obsessed with it in high school. I ate it every Tuesday, in between track practice and piano lessons. When I got to college, there was thankfully an amazing falafel place next to my dorm (Pauly's Pocket). Soon though, I was on a bit of a falafel overload. I needed a break. It wasn't until this year that I re-discovered falafel. Thanks in part to living in Brookline, home to many delicious Middle Eastern eateries (Rami's=amazing) and hanging out with Sara, another falafel fan. So after traveling around Boston and surrounding areas, testing out falafel, we decided we needed to make our own. Sara found a fairly simple, healthy falafel recipe from Martha Stewart and we threw our own little Middle Eastern night.

First on the menu was the falafel of course. One important fact Sara and I discovered- chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. This may come in handy when you're searching for chickpeas. Anyway. You're going to need a little food processor to make this, though I'm sure if push comes to shove, a blender could do the job. Put in half the chickpeas (1 1/4 C), onion (1/4 C chopped), lemon juice (2 T), water (4 t), zucchini (1/4 C peeled and grated), cayenne (pinch), cumin (1/2 t), coriander (1/4 t), baking soda (1/2 t), salt (1/2 t), and pepper (1/8 t). Whew. What was that, like all the ingredients? Pretty much.

Process the mixture until it's smooth and then move it to a separate bowl. Now put the other half of the chickpeas in the food processor (1 1/4 C) and pulse it a bit, leaving it lumpy. Combine it with the smooth mixture. And add any herbs that you want (parsley, mint, cilantro, etc.).

Now, using your hands, form 12 little patties. The recipe says they should each weigh 1 1/2 oz., but if you know what 1 1/2 oz. feels like, then you are a far better chef than I. I just made 12 patties. Then put them on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and put in the fridge for about 30 mins. This will make them easier to cook up. Oh and make sure you don't open the fridge quickly when you hear a noise and let the whole tray fall out. Ahem. Close call.

Now you're ready to cook them. Spray a skillet with some Pam or other cooking spray and put over medium heat. Cook a few patties at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Clearly, we did not keep ours in the fridge long enough as they were falling apart a bit.

But they looked delicious nonetheless.

We decided that it was a must to make the tzatziki as well, though we weren't quite ambitious enough to make our own yogurt. We peeled, seeded, and cut the cucumbers (3 medium) and mixed them with some salt (1 t). We weren't sure it was necessary to "drain" them, so we pretty much skipped that step, just pressing them a bit to extract excess liquid. Then we Put them in a bowl with the yogurt (2 C), garlic (2 t), dill (2 T), mint (1 T), extra-virgin olive oil (1 T), lemon (1 T), and salt (1 t).

You're supposed to let the yogurt mixture sit in the fridge for an hour so the flavors can blend, but as usual, we had no time or patience for that. No matter because it was still fabulous. Oh, and I just gave you the whole recipe (makes 4 cups), but we cut it in half and it was more than plenty.

We even went a step further and whipped up some tabouli. We weren't quite sure where to purchase bulgur, but we managed to find quinoa at Trader Joe's, which we discovered was a fine substitute. Nina chopped up the parsley (it calls for 3 bunches, but use however much you want). And then we mixed the quinoa (3 T cooked), chopped tomatoes (1), chopped onions (1/2), fresh lemon juice (1/4 C), and salt and pepper (to taste) in a separate bowl. We added the the parsley to this mixture and extra-virgin olive oil (1/2 C, but that seemed like a lot, so we just added how much we felt gave a nice consistency).

Then we cut up some whole wheat pitas. And put all the food out so we could create our own falafel pockets. If you prefer to use lavash bread, I'm sure that would be fabulous as well.

We also thought it would be nice to include a little hummus (no, we didn't make our own this time). So we spread a little hummus in the pita, added the falafel, tzatziki, lettuce, and tomato and put some tabouli on the side (though it's just as good inside!) and dug in.

Who knew we could make our own falafel that's almost as good as what you can get in a Middle Eastern restaurant (and a whole lot healthier!). We were extremely pleased with our group effort and declared the Middle Eastern feast a success! However, next time, I think we'll make a double batch of falafel because really, the three of us went through all of it and probably could have eaten more (But then, I'll only speak for myself).

[Sues]

Vanilla Cupcakes and Chocolate Chunk Cookie Cupcakes

My sister and her fiancé, Adam, moved to Boston this weekend and since they have never had the pleasure of indulging in my cupcakes, I made some to take to my family's house for dinner on Friday evening.

I made my traditional vanilla cupcakes, and I also made a chocolate chunk (chip) cookie cupcake. Though we had a huge dinner cooked by my parents (Chilean sea bass and whipped sweet potatoes), we still managed to eat the cupcakes for dessert!

The vanilla cupcakes come from a Magnolia recipe that I adjusted a bit. If you follow the recipe exactly, they really don't taste anything like Magnolia cupcakes, but it is a good start.

I'm a big fan of self-rising flour, but if you don't have any and the recipe you're using calls for it, make sure you add some baking powder and a little bit of salt.

I add A LOT more vanilla than the recipe calls for. I don't really measure it; I just keep adding it and tasting it (oops) until it tastes perfect to me. The vanilla extract you buy at the store is fine, but my mom makes her own vanilla and gives bottles of it to me, and nothing really compares.

Pretty cupcakes holders can make all the difference. Chels gave me these Martha Stewart ones for my birthday.

The vanilla cupcakes:

The recipe for the chocolate chunk cookie cupcakes was very similar to the simple vanilla, but it didn't call for self-rising flour (and did call for baking powder and salt). It also called for light brown sugar and just a tiny bit of whole milk. I didn't have a semi-sweet chocolate bar, so I used chocolate chips instead of chunks in my cupcakes.

I cut the recipe in half, but it barely made 9 cupcakes (it should have made 12).

It was my first time making chocolate buttercream frosting and it was really delicious. Since you need a double boiler and I don't have one, I made my own by putting a heat-resistant bowl over a pot of boiling water and putting the chocolate chips in the bowl.

Keep stirring and the chips will melt nicely:

Then add confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla (again, I add lots!) and beat on a low speed.

The final frosted cupcakes:

I made vanilla buttercream frosting too, which is made the same was as the chocolate, without the melting of the chocolate chips. I usually try to make the frosting pretty colors, but I left it white this time.

[Sues]

Warm Grapefruit Tea

I'm a big tea drinker. Well, if I could I'd drink coffee all day long, but I know tea is better for me so I try to stick to that after my morning coffee. I've also been trying to cut down on my caffeine intake because God knows I already don't get enough sleep. So I try to drink decaf after 8 p.m., which is when I get a majority of my work done.

I'm also a big fan of grapefruit and loved the idea of making my own tea from it. Making tea is something I never even considered before, and while this isn't your traditional tea, it was totally easy. Martha's ended up looking a lot prettier than mine, but what did I really expect?



You'll need two ruby red grapefruits. Squeeze all the juice out of them, which should give you two cups.

You'll also need honey, whole allspice, and cinnamon sticks. Combine the juice and other ingredients with 1/2 cup of water and boil in a pot over high heat. Strain the mixture and serve with a cinnamon stick!

Mine wasn't as pinky as I would have liked, but it tasted really good. The tartness of the grapefruit juice mixed with the sweetness from the honey made it perfectly refreshing. Caffeine free and full of vitamin C!

[Sues]

Lighter Macaroni and Cheese

Though it's definitely warming up, the weather's still a bit nippy in Boston (until tomorrow when it hits 68 degrees!). By the time I walk home from my local coffee shop in the evening, my light jacket isn't enough and I'm craving something to warm me up. One of my favorite comfort foods, macaroni and cheese, sounds good to me at any time, but it's always nice to find a recipe that's a bit lighter.

Not only is Martha Stewart's Lighter Macaroni and Cheese somewhat better for you than the typical mac & cheese (1% milk, less cheese, less butter), but if you bake it in ramekins, it's perfectly portioned for you, which keeps you from going back for more...and more...and more.

Here's what you need:

First cut the tomatoes (6) into 24 slices. Sprinkle olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper on them. I forgot to buy thyme so I just used parsley, which I always have in my fridge. If I were Martha (or my parents for that matter), I could just go out in the herb garden and get thyme, but I live on the second floor of an apartment building in the city, so I am out of luck! Pop the tomatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Take them out when they're done, but leave the oven on.

While the tomatoes are cooking, you can make your breadcrumbs. The recipe calls for 5 slices of white bread, but I made them with whole wheat bread instead (why not?). I used my adorable little Cuisinart food processor to make the breadcrumbs, but if you don't have one, you can always just buy pre-made breadcrumbs, no problem!

If you do make your own breadcrumbs, put them in a frying pan with 1 T extra-virgin olive oil and 1 T butter and toss to coat.

You can start cooking your pasta now (1 lb). Don't cook it fully, just until it's almost al dente (around 5 minutes). And when you're draining it, run it under cold water so it stops cooking. Then put it in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk 1/2 C of your chicken stock and 5 T flour together. Set it aside. In a large frying pan, melt 1 T butter and add in a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne, 1/2 t thyme (or parsley), and 1 T salt. Add 2 cups of 1% milk and 1 1/2 C chicken stock. Also whisk in the flour mixture from the bowl. Bring this all to a boil while you're still whisking. Then reduce it to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes. Add 2 1/4 C of extra-sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 C grated parmesan. Make sure it melts completely.

Pour this mixture over the pasta, and stir it. Yum.

Meanwhile, put 2 of the tomato slices on the bottom of your ramekins. If you don't have ramekins, you can always make this in a casserole dish. I only have 6 ramekins (the recipe called for 8) and somehow I had tons of leftovers (more than 2 ramekins worth). So I made the 6 mini ones and put the rest on a casserole dish and to put into the freezer.

Put the macaroni and cheese over the tomatoes and then top with breadcrumbs, another tomato, and more thyme (parsley).

Put these on a tray and into the oven for about 30 minutes (a little longer if you're making a big one), until they're "bubbling and golden brown." Like this:

Aren't they cute and delicious looking? And here's the big one that went straight into the freezer:

I love my little ramekins because they have covers, making them easy to stick in the fridge.

Once the leftovers were all stored away, the roommate and I dug in.

The only bad thing about cooking this is all of the dirty dishes it created. There were seriously a lot of dirty dishes for one meal. But I was good about them and tried to keep up while I was cooking, so it wasn't too bad in the end.

Despite the fact that it's a little bit healthier, the mac and cheese is still deliciously creamy and flavorful and the tomato adds the perfect touch. And I tried not to eat all 6 ramekins of it in one sitting :)

[Sues]

Souffleed Omelet with Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and Prosciutto

I think eggs are a fabulous food because a) you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack (also known as any time at all) and b) you can do a billion different things with them. And they're good for you too (in moderation)!! Remember when eggs had a bad name? And then all the sudden it became "the incredible edible egg" and "I love eggs from my head down to my legs." They can be so incredibly easy (scrambled) or fancy schmancy (souflee).

Last week when I was looking for recipes that involved asparagus and goat cheese, I got a little too excited and found a few too many. I couldn't decide which to make so I figured I'd just make them all. Why not?

So today I made what I like to refer to as an omelet, only more complicated- Martha Stewart's Souffleed Omelet with Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and Ham. But I couldn't find Serrano ham anywhere (why not??) and had to use prosciutto. So, this is basically a combination of all the dinners I've been making lately.

The first step of this recipe is one example of something complicated that I'm not sure is absolutely necessary. I boiled my asparagus for a few minutes and the put it in an ice water bath like Martha told me to. This supposedly stops it from cooking. Well, obviously it stops it from cooking, but I'm not sure how much better this is than simply removing it from the boiling water. All the same, I followed the recipe:

Now, the 5 eggs must be separated. It's a good idea to crack the eggs into a separate bowl, just in case you screw up; you don't want to screw up on the 5th egg and ruin all the rest of your hard work. So I crack the eggs one by one and put the white in the middle bowl and then transfer it to the egg white bowl before cracking the next.

This is the yolk mixed with flour (2 T), salt (1/2 t), and pepper (1/4 t). It was a little too thick for my liking, so I'm thinking next time I would definitely add a little less flour:

Here are the egg whites after they have been beaten until they formed stiff peaks. I used my favorite little KitchenAid handheld mixer.

Then I folded the two mixtures together, which was a bit difficult considering the egg yolks were so thick. So, basically I just stirred them together. It worked. Then I spread this mixture into my frying pan, which already had some butter melted in it.

I cooked it for about 6 minutes and added goat cheese (a lot), parsley (instead of mint, which I forgot to buy), asparagus (drained from its "ice water bath" and cut in half), and prosciutto (a lot).

I basically added too much filling, and it was a bit difficult to fold the omelet over. But that's OK because too much is better than not enough.

Then I stuck it in the oven (heated at 375 degrees) for about 4 minutes. I'm not too sure what the point of that was, but it tasted quite good so I'm not questioning it.

Slice it up and serve it. Mine didn't come out as the prettiest thing in the world, but honestly, I think adding less flour to the egg yolk would have made all the difference.

Now you're probably thinking, that much work for an omelet? But trust me, this is not a typical omelet. It is so incredibly light and fluffy...even if it didn't have all of the amazing filling, I would have been happy just eating the souffleed egg!

*I'd also like to give a big special shout out to my newly engaged sister, Beth, and my future brother-in-law, Adam. Sorry your shout out is on a post about eggs! You know cupcakes will be waiting for you upon your arrival to Boston :)

[Sues]

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus

I had bought lots of beautiful asparagus from Russo's last week and needed to use it before it went bad. When I saw this Martha Stewart recipe that involved asparagus AND goat cheese, I automatically decided to make it. I really enjoy making pasta dishes, especially near the end of the week. They always give me lots of leftovers, making it easy to grab a quick meal before going out on a Friday or Saturday night.

It was really quick and easy to make and involves very few ingredients. First, put the asparagus on a pan with a teaspoon of butter sprinkled around.

Bake it at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until it's nice and tender. Meanwhile, boil your pasta until it's al dente. The recipe called for cavatappi, but I used fusilli because I thought it was prettier (and a little less macaroni salad-ish). When you drain your pasta, be sure to save about 1 1/2 cups of the water.

The sauce for the pasta involves about 5 ounces of goat cheese and 3 tablespoons of butter. OK, so it's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's sooo good.

Whisk the goat cheese and butter together, along with half a cup of the pasta water.

Then add the asparagus and sauce to the pasta and mix. I added peas too, because...well, I like peas. I also bought chicken with the intention of adding a little protein to the dish and then I put the chicken in the fridge and promptly forgot about it. Until I was doing the dishes and realized I didn't have any pans to wash. But I do think chicken would have gone wonderfully with the dish.

Serve it with some chives on top! Yum!

If you are a goat cheese fan, trust me, you will like this! And yes, it gave me lots and lots of leftovers!

I happily listened to Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker while I cooked....because he's coming to Boston in September and I'm all kinds of excited. Happy weekend!

[Sues]

Pasta with Turkey Meatballs and...Mozzarella

OK, so it was really supposed to be Pasta with Turkey Meatballs and Bocconcini, but have you ever heard of bocconcini? Because I haven't, and I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about food. And neither Trader Joe's nor Stop and Shop had heard of it either (nor apparently has Blogger, considering it keeps spell-checking it). So, I figured the next closest thing was mozzarella. And as far as I'm concerned, that worked out just fine. Better than fine actually. It was amazing.

I've never made meatballs before, so I wasn't quite sure how difficult they would be. But these were so easy and quick. Just mix the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, parm, garlic, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper in a bowl and then form the mixture into little meatballs. I made mine a little bigger than the recipe said to, but they were still pretty small and cute.

Put the meatballs in a skillet with butter over medium-high heat and cook them until they're golden brown all over. Then add 1 1/2 C water and continue simmering until they're cooked all the way through and the liquid reduces to 1/2 C. Then you can add the tomatoes and cook for another minute. I forgot to cut my tomatoes in half (ooops), but I kind of liked them whole. When cooking, don't let them get too soft...unless of course you like ultra squishy tomatoes.

While the meatballs are cooking, boil your pasta. The recipe called for orecchiette, which is one of my favorite pastas (what? Is it weird I had a favorite pasta shape?). But I went to 2 grocery stores and neither had it! So I settled for cappelletti because it looked pretty similar. Once the pasta is al dente, you can drain it, put it back in the pot and add the mozzarella...or um, the bocconcini if you know what that is and manage to find it (If so, fill me in).

Then add the meatballs and tomatoes and whatever else is left in the pan. Add some more parsley, parm, and butter, too, and mix it up.

I seriously think this may be one of my new favorite meals. It was super flavorful and made soo many leftovers (yay food for the rest of the week!). And I feel kind of proud of myself for making meatballs for the first time. I'm growing up!

I had a fabulous glass of Marchese de Petri 2006 Sangiovese with my dinner because a) it came highly recommended by 2 Guys Uncorked and b) it's only $3.49 at Trader Joe's. Need I say more?

[Sues]

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

Though I am quite obviously a meat eater, I'm also a fan of tofu when it's done right. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for it, plus it's pretty easy to cook. And it lasts in the fridge for months, which is a huge plus for me because I enjoy buying things and then forgetting about them for a bit. But when it comes to tofu, you usually have to make a dish with a lot of flavor, as it tends to be rather bland on its own.

I decided to make Martha Stewart's tofu and broccoli stir fry since it looked simple, healthy, and delicious. It was exactly what I was in the mood for.

Since tofu is pretty much a thick block, you'll want to start by cutting it. Cut it crosswise into 5 or 6 slabs. And then cut each slab horizontally into 4 triangles. Place triangles on a paper towel and leave for a while so that it can dry a bit.

Now you can cook the broccoli. But really, only cook it for about 2 minutes, until it turns bright green. For me, there's nothing worse than overcooked veggies. After it's done, you can drain it and just put it aside.

Now you're ready to fry up the tofu. Put some vegetable oil in your pan and put the tofu in. Cook it, turning pieces over for about 15 minutes, until it's nice and golden brown. Be careful; the tofu is kind of delicate and it might fall apart if you're not gentle with it. When it's nice and brown, take it out of the pan and put it on a paper towel.

While it's still cooking, you can make up your sauce. The sauce consists of soy sauce (3 T), rice vinegar (2 T), red-pepper flakes (1/4 t), garlic (4 minced cloves), cornstarch (1 T), and water (3/4 C). Whisk it all together. Don't be concerned it if looks watery; the corn starch will thicken it right up when you cook it.

Now, add the broccoli into the pan and cook on high heat for a couple minutes. Pour the sauce on top and then put the tofu back in and cook for another minute to coat. The sauce will thicken up nicely. Next time I make this, I'll probably double the sauce recipe as I would have liked a little more.

And now you're ready to serve! I put it over brown rice, with some toasted cashews on top. I also added some carrots since I love when my food is colorful.

While cooking, I listened to Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' Cold Roses because it's one of my all-time favorite albums and was the perfect easy-going, relaxing music for a Wednesday night dinner.

And of course, there are plenty of leftovers, which always makes me happy.

[Sues]

Soy-Glazed Salmon

Tonight I made the easiest, quickest dinner ever. It was so easy, I don't even know what to say about it, except that you should make Martha Stewart's soy-glazed salmon if you want something deliciousss but don't have a lot of time and/or energy. Also, here's the part where I give another HUGE shout-out to Trader Joe's...this time to their frozen fish selection. It seriously saves my life. I'm not very good at planning my meals ahead of time, so I like to have lots of ingredients on hand. And I ALWAYS have some fish from TJ's in my freezer. Which makes me very happy. Now, I know you might be thinking, "frozen fish?? Ewwww." But I am being 100% honest when I say it is just as good as fresh. Seriously. Would I lie to you? They actually "flash freeze" it, which means they basically freeze it right on the boat when it's caught, so it's at its ultimate freshest.

Anyway, now that you all probably think I work for Trader Joe's, I'll continue on and you can see how easy this recipe is. Start by making the glaze by mixing the light brown sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, and dry white wine together until the sugar melts.

Then pour the glaze over the salmon (which you obvi. have to thaw first if it's frozen).

Bake the salmon at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. The recipe says to baste it every few minutes with the glaze, but since I don't have a baster (add it to the list!), I just used a pastry brush to re-cover the salmon in the glaze.

While the salmon was cooking, I threw some olive oil, garlic, and spinach in a pan and sauteed it. I was also jamming out (yes, jamming out...cooking this was so easy, I had lots of time to dance around the kitchen) to Sia's Some People Have Real Problems, because she is legit fun to cook to.

The salmon was so good; you would never guess that it was once frozen. And the glaze was seriously prefect. Really flavorful, but not so much that it took away from the favor of the salmon. Mmmm, it's bedtime now, but I'm kind of craving those leftovers. Restraining myself.

While eating your dinner and being happy that it was so easy and yet tastes so amazing, you should sip on some wine. Come on, you deserve it after all that "hard" work in the kitchen. 2 Guys Uncorked suggest pairing the salmon with a pinot noir...try the Famega NV vinho Verde.

And for dessert, I helped myself to Chels's lemon bars, which she left at my apartment. Another reason why it's always fun to host the get-togethers.

[Sues]

Tomato and Sausage Risotto

I have a huge obsession with cooking risotto. I could probably be happy making a different kind of risotto for dinner every night for the rest of my life (I swear I wouldn't get sick of it). I feel like people have these false pretenses that risotto is really hard to make. False! Sure, it takes a little paying attention to and some time, but it's really not difficult at all. I promise! And people will probably be impressed with you because, for some reason, it's known for being hard to cook.

Risotto is especially fun because there are so many ways you can make it. SO many. One of my favorite recipes involves peas and zucchini. Another one involves lots of butternut squash. But sometimes you want something a little more meal-like. AKA you need some meat! Since I cook a lot casually, I like making dishes that can be eaten as a full meal. This way, I don't have to get cooking an entree and then sides, etc. Because, really, who needs that every night?

I chose this risotto dish, tomato and sausage risotto from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, because it's different than any others I've made. Instead of using chicken stock, it's made with a sort of diced tomato stock. I opted to make it with chicken sausage because I love Trader Joe's chicken sausage and it's obviously a bit healthier than regular sausage (whatever you consider "regular" sausage. I'm not quite sure). You can use anything you want, though. Here are all the ingredients you'll need to whip this up:

And like I promised, it's super easy. To start, simmer the diced tomatoes in a saucepan with 3 cups of water and make sure to keep it warm over low heat. In other larger saucepan add the sausage and onion and break up the sausage with a spoon as it heats up (3-5 minutes). The add the arborio rice...and then the dry white wine.

And now you're ready for the "difficult" part. You need to add the tomato stock a little at a time, making sure to stir it frequently (so the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot). Add about 2 cups and stir until it is absorbed by the rice. Then add another cup, stir, wait for it to absorb, and so on, until you've added all the stock and the rice is super creamy.

Now take the rice off the heat, season it with salt and pepper and add in some chopped spinach, parmesan cheese, and butter.

After serving it, you can sprinkle some more parmesan on top (especially if you're a cheese fanatic like I am). And be sure to take the advice of 2 Guys Uncorked and serve it with the Marchese de Petri 2006 Sangiovese.
Seriously, for $3.49 a bottle, how could you not serve it??