The weekend went by pretty fast. Odd because we didn’t do anything beyond get groceries, watch a few movies (Raising Arizona, Beetlejuice and see below for the other 2), took a small walk, went to the antique store down the block and stayed inside all Sunday. Greg painted for our landlords Saturday and I worked on future post ideas. Fairly boring times- until we received a call last night from a guy that wanted to see our truck (still for sale). After 45 minutes beyond the expected time, we called and he was still half an hour out (without the idea to let us know) so I thought his notion to see our truck at 9PM on a Sunday night was inconsiderate. Greg called him back to tell him to come by this evening. If he doesn’t show within 20 minutes, I’m calling and telling him his chance is over. I’m not fond of the idea of selling what used to be my dad’s truck (for years and years) to an imbecile.
We watched the movie Sunshine Cleaners, upon Nathan’s suggestion and absolutely loved it. (Thanks, Nathan!) I cried, I laughed….I mean Alan Arkin played the father/grandpa. I love me some Arkin. He’s a Renaissance man but in a different way than my hubby, Greg. I like those types.
On the other hand, we watched 500 Days of Summer. The movie started off well and went to “what the f***?” probably around the last 20 minutes. Zooey Deschanel is someone I appreciate in movies, she seems refreshing. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Elf introduced us to this unique actor but that didn’t matter here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt seemed to take a while to “latch on to” as the lead character-he wasn’t pulling it off for some of the beginning but it did seem like he and Zooey were connecting later. His character appeared childish, as if he were a giant man-child (not attractive). Greg couldn’t get past that he looks like the late Heath Ledger. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t explain the exact point where I knew I wasn’t going to like where the story went. (No, I didn’t give a rip that they didn’t end up together…that was obvious.) The Ikea scene did confirm that Greg and I are not the only ones to imagine we live in the store models. Don’t try to bring the Swedish meatballs to the living room sets though. Lesson learned.
Last week I mentioned that we had Sriracha bloody marys and didn’t provide the recipe. I did state that they were a bit like cocktail sauce but I respect the concoctions from the White on Rice Couple and will share.
Bloody marys are our kind of drink…in a world of fruity, poor quality, Applebees-like appletinis (all offense towards Applebees); we are pleasantly satisfied with this drink that kicks you in the tastebuds. Make it spicy and please, add some olives and a pickle. Skip the horseradish if you aren’t a fan of cocktail sauce (or infuse it by adding fresh horseradish slices 5 or more days ahead to the vodka, as suggested by that couple) and I would recommend a good quality, thick tomato juice, almost a sauce consistency. I might pulverize a canned whole tomato or two next time.
Sriracha Bloody Marys
Sriracha Bloody Marys from the White On Rice Couple
Serves 1
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
2 oz. vodka
4 oz. tomato juice (I like the thicker almost sauce-like version for this.)
½ oz. lemon juice
¼ tsp grated horseradish or prepared creamy (Leave out if you dislike cocktail sauce)
2 pinches of celery salt (or more, the juice required more for our tastes)
3 dashes of Sriracha (or more if you like heat)
2 dashed of Worcestershire sauce
*If you are using olives or dill pickles, add a dash of the juice (makes it a dirty bloody mary)-optional
Garnish with olives (we used habanero stuffed b/c we are gluttons for punishment), celery stalks, a dill pickle, lime/lemon wedge, tomatoes, carrots, cocktail onions
Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass and add ice. Roll the glass to combine (don’t shake), strain into another ice filled glass and garnish.
I didn’t feel like writing this fine Friday, forgive me for being human.
I actually started to write a little something about movies and a few other topics, ran out of the time I give myself to write a post and decided to go this route. The other posts will come along some day. I would like a movie recommendation though-something Indie/alternative-ish…?
Now for pasta with beer…I know it sounds kind of gross but was pretty tasty. I would add some spice or something with a kick to counteract the creaminess of the dish. I added red pepper flakes but olives or a spice or two would do for: Pasta Baked with Cheese and Stout from the Best Casserole Cookbook Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas, photos by Susie Cushner.
Pasta Baked with Cheese and Stout
Pasta Baked With Cheese and Stout
Serves 4 to 6
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tbsp of butter, cut into thirds (1 tsp each), plus extra for the dish
½ lb. pasta (I used penne)
1 small red onion, chopped
¾ cup stout or other dark beer (make it one you like to drink-I used Bells)
½ cup heavy cream
12 oz. evaporated milk
1 ½ cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs (found in the Asian section of stores or other fine breadcrumbs)
red pepper flakes-optional (I added)
Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a shallow 2 qt. dish. Cook the pasta according to the directions. Melt 1 tsp of butter in a large skillet and add onion, over medium heat. Cook until softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stout, heat to boiling, continue to boil for 5 more minutes or until reduced by half.
Mix the cooked pasta with the stout mix, add the cheddar and Parmesan, perhaps some red pepper flakes. Place into the buttered dish. Melt the remaining 2 tsp of butter and mix in the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the top and bake for 25 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
Opposite of a “shout-out” goes to our neighbor for thinking that a Wii game, which involved pounding something repeatedly, was a good idea at 1:45 this morning. It was as though someone were in our bedroom, knocking on the wall. If we wanted that noise, we would keep the radiator on (we sleep without the heat on because the noisiest radiator is in our bedroom and the steam sets the smoke alarm off in the living room so we rely on the heat in the living and dining rooms). Greg was not pleased either. Our boudoir is the loudest room, in terms of hearing neighbors and passersby on the sidewalk, even though the shared wall is in the living room and the bedroom is one room over-it’s a corner thing.
I marched into the living room and knocked on the wall, which fell on deaf Wii-playing ears, so I started pounding down the length of the wall, it stopped. I think I fell asleep more than an hour later…and got up not feeling my best. I’m glad it ceased when it did-the next step was to go over in my tattered pajamas, with my skewed hair and cranky disposition. You know how well those situations go for future interactions. Awkward hellos, awkward walk-bys (when they are out smoking in the alley), annoying paybacks by making more apartment noise…things of that nature.
A few weeks ago, a man and woman (pretty sure it was our neighbor or two people that came from our neighbor’s apartment) decided to get wasted and scream in the alcove of the door outside….right below our bedroom windows. They were on a phone, yelling at some guy named Tom, asking him to come over so he could kill and teach him how to be a man (at the same time?), while the female slurred all of her words and told the male what Tom’s vehicle looked like.
This went on for a while (at 2:30AM), not just yelling but running up and down the sidewalk screaming in a rather scary manner. I went to call the cops but the number provided in the new phonebook wasn’t in service (go figure) so by the time I found another number, they were gone. Quite scared and very awake, I was lying in bed wondering if he had a weapon and actually thought about bullets flying through our bedroom windows. This isn’t that kind of town, as far as I know, but I could be wrong. I didn’t think that our old neighbors would sell drugs out in the open to the college kids either across town but they did.
Do you know what is like a drug? Fond childhood memories. (I’m not explaining that, just think about it.) Memories like tomato soup and a cheese toasty (grilled cheese). I know it’s one of Greg’s warmest recollections. I’m sad to say that I didn’t have the appropriate type of cheese for the sandwich so I was not able to make any. However, Rachael Ray’s double tomato and pesto soup was amazing.
I think a nice piece of mozzarella (or smoked mozzarella) would make a great cheese toasty to go alongside this soup. I fell for it due to the pesto; I like a twist. I thought it required blending and a reduction in the amount of broth (to make it thicker) and I might double the crushed tomatoes next time but those were the only changes.
Tomato soup is a recipe that I often fall back on when I want something fast and easy. Rachael also introduced me (not personally) to a tomato soup with blended chickpeas and some spice. We loved both of her recipes and I think you will as well-if you’re a tomato soup fan.
Tomato and Pesto Soup
Tomato and Pesto Soup
Serves 4
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil (rinsed), chopped
salt/pepper
½ cup dry white wine
1 to 2 cups chicken broth
28 oz. crushed tomatoes (you could double this to serve more)
½ cup pesto (store-bought or see below for my recipe)
Asiago or Parmigiano Reggiano-topping
crusty bread or mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich (I would sprinkle some salt on the cheese for the sandwich)
Pesto: You will most likely have more than the ½ cup that the recipe requires, so use as you please (perhaps layer with the mozzarella cheese toasty).
3 cups basil leaves
½ cup Parmesan
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
½ to 3/4 cup olive oil
Salt/pepper
Pesto: Place all but the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until combined and then add olive oil and pulse again to desired consistency.
In a medium pot, over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, shallots, carrot and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt/pepper, cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the wine and simmer for a few minutes. Add a cup of broth and the crushed tomatoes, heat to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes and it’s at this point that you could add more broth to achieve your desired consistency. Add the pesto and blend (you will need to allow it to cool before blending in a food processor, blender or with a hand blender). Adjust the seasonings, if needed and serve. Top with cheese and serve with bread or my choice, a mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich.
The sun is shining! It’s 3 degrees outside right now! Why am I using exclamation points?! That’s pretty cold. When it was near 40, it was gloomy. Whatever.
You know what makes my morning better, besides a large mug of coffee? Puppies. The Today Show had a segment about the top 10 breeds which put me in a cuteness coma. I sat there staring with an awkward expression on my face that equates to joy, rarely seen by other humans beyond Greg. I stop bitching when I see puppies and begin to think about how great it will be when I have a few and by a few, I mean at least 4 and then more when we obtain some acres…in Oregon. I think life would be much better with a dog, even though we finally have furniture I like, no more college hodgepodge. Maybe we should go back to foldout camping chairs…we had those for over 6 months last year. We also slept on an air mattress for over 6 months. Don’t feel bad, that made us stronger and we know “what we’re made of” and all that crap that people tell themselves when they are struggling. We had some memorable times. I’ll just do what some grandparents have known to do for decades…cover it in plastic so when you go to sit down, you slide right on out to the floor (or stick to it) and when you’re sweaty, it makes a nice puddle with lots of squeaky fun. That’s the ticket.
I had every intention of talking about something else but oh the puppy longing! (Seriously, exclamation again.) If I could have puppies instead of children, like have a litter, I would. However, when you think about the logistics of that, it’s gross but I want it to be like in the old movies, where people don’t think about things like that and just accept that it could happen (and crazy antics ensue). I hope people know that I am kidding. Emphasis on KIDDING.
After the hot chocolate pudding cake with ice cream that I posted yesterday, I thought going a healthier route would be best. I’m talking about pan-browned Brussels sprouts from Gourmet. I thought the recipe called for too many pine nuts with the amount of sprouts, also too much butter and olive oil so I reduced those in the recipe below. Only 8 ounces of sprouts were stated but I used 12 ounces of frozen and it still seemed too much. Add a sprinkle of Parmesan over the top if you wish-another addition of mine and these are scrumptious.
Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4 to 6
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
12 oz. Brussels sprouts (preferably fresh but I used frozen)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
salt/pepper
¾ tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tbsp pine nuts
sprinkles of Parmesan-optional
Trim fresh sprouts and halve fresh of frozen lengthwise. (Remove any excess water on frozen by wiping with a cloth or paper towel.) In a skillet, melt ½ tbsp of butter and the olive oil over medium heat.
Arrange the sprouts, cut side down, in one layer, in the skillet. Sprinkle with salt and cook, without turning, until crisp and brown on the bottom, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the sprouts to a serving dish.
Add the remaining ½ tbsp of butter to the skillet, over low heat, with the garlic and pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts and garlic for a minute or two, until pale golden and sprinkle over the top of the sprouts. Add some pepper and (optional) Parmesan.
