Passing the Bar Dinner

After three long years of days and nights when we didn't even see eachother--Keith either studying, practicing for mock trial, or fighting the good fight as SBA president--law school was over last spring. Hooah! Although, I shouldn't speak so soon, since I just found out he's returning as a coach for this year's mock trial competition, using up his Sundays for the next two months, (and of course, let's not forget the still looming Saturday nights of waiting tables). Still, school is over. And then he studied arduously for "the hardest test you ever take in your life" as he puts it. After three months of fretting over the results, they finally came in last Friday, and hallelujah, he passed. On to bigger and better things, like paying off student loans, credit card bills, and all the other lovely things that come with being a student for seven plus years. It finally feels like it's time to celelbrate. Plus, I'll be done student teaching in December, and then once I write my thesis in the spring, I'll be done with school forever. Then again, I'm hearing from just about everyone, that it makes sense to get a 6th year, but I've got some time before I'll even start to consider that.

So, onto the dinner. My brother is also visiting from Colorado (a rare treat), and I made a killer pasta dish. No recipe. It was just a flying by the seat of my pants sorta night. I started with al dente penne and fork tender Brussels sprouts. Then I made a white wine sauce with sauteed shallots and garlic, deglazed with white wine. Then I hit it with some heavy cream to thicken it up, and dropped in some crumbled gorgonzola. I finished it off with some black pepper, and roughly chopped flat leaf parsley. Et voila! Meal fit for a newly sworn in attorney. So proud, and that's an understatement.

Autumn's Creepin' In

Fall Favorites

Kitchen Repairs and Stir-Fried Rice

I'm currently acting as watchdog, making sure my cats don't knock a sink off the kitchen table that has been precariously propped up on foam gardening mats, while my dad runs to the store to grab some more plumber's putty. Woo, that was a mouthful, and dangerously bordering on a run-on. After 30 some-odd years, he is putting in new fixtures, fixing a leak, and re-puttying the sink. Is re-puttying a word? If not, I just invented it. "Circle C"! Sorry, I can't help but add that in at the end. My boyfriend just took the bar exam, so peppering in some intellectual property lingo can't be helped.
Back to the guarding of the sink-I'm stationed in place and can't leave my post, but that can't prevent me from having a great lunch, right? I must mention that this is a leftover rice dish from the other night, so all I had to due was add a little homemade peanut sauce and sprinkle a few soybeans over the top before heating it in the microwave. Still, it's a nice blog-worthy meal, and since I didn't post the original version, I figured I'd make the most of my time (at my post) taking pictures of my iPhone and blogging.

The rice dish itself couldn't be more simple. It's just some jasmine rice, steamed veggies, garlic, ginger, soy, and rice wine vinegar. However, I have this secret ingredient that really elevates the dish. It's thai coconut curry broth made by College Inn. They have a whole line of culinary broths, and while I usually refrain from using anything but low-sodium chicken, this was hard to pass up. The broth is light and clear, yet very fragrant, with sweet lemongrass and mellow coconut. I'll admit, I use it to spice up boring rice dishes when I'm short on time, and I've even added small amounts to thai curry when I make it.

Cooking Channel to the rescue again

Dal Soup
Recipe Courtesy Bal Arneson



INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
2 tablespoons garam masala, recipe follows
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup brown lentils
5 cups water
Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
Few fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish


for garam masala

1/2 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1/4 cup dried curry leaves*
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
5 whole cloves
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
2 dried red chiles
*Can be found at specialty Asian and Indian markets.


DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to get hot. Add the garlic, garam masala, cumin seeds, and turmeric and cook for 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve in a bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs.
To make garam masala:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and chiles on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 15 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to an electric spice grinder, or use a mortar and pestle and grind by hand. Grind to a fine powder. Store the garam masala in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Everything but the...is awesome!

I definitely want to make this asian inspired barbeque chicken while the weather is still warm enough for grilling. It looks flippin' awesome! I co-opted this recipe from The Kitchen SInk and the picture below (courtesy of The Kitchen Sink blog) makes this dish look all-the-more moutherwatering.

The Cooking Channel Rocks!

I am in love with the new Cooking Channel. It's a throwback to old-school food network, mixed with a little Canadian love, minus all the hyped mainstreamed programming that's on food network now. I loveNigella Express , Unique Eats and Food Jammers. I think they're my favorite new shows.



So, I was infatuated with the hip, young programming and then tonight I saw the dreaded Rachel Ray advertising her short lived show, Tasty Travels. Why did they have to go and mess with a good thing. Still, I'm totally behind this new network and have already prepared one successful dish I saw on a West Indian cooking show: curried mac n' cheese asparagus, carmelized wala wala onions (my addition) and panko breadcrumbs. I'll be sure to add a picture post-haste.

Lazing Around

It's the second night in a row that I've crashed on the couch right after dinner, and due to iphone malfunctions (mostly my fault) I didn't wake up as Keith called me on his way home from work. Sadly, we missed the opportunity to go out for drinks, but I'm hopeful for tomorrow night. It's a three-day weekend with Memorial Day on Monday (I always feel sinful for not being patriotic), so tomorrow we can go for drinks. It's been so long and a proper celebration for finishing school is in order.
On my to do list, is read more books. I've been consumed with text books, so I haven't read for pleasure in a long time, and with all the books that are on loan from friends, I still feel like I haven't had time to choose anything I've picked myself. Maybe it's better this way. I'm not sure I possess the creative decision making skills necessary for choosing a book right now. A lot goes in to selecting the right book to read--especially the right summer book. It's got to have a certain tone and setting. Movies are like that too. One of my new summer favorites is Little Children. Here's somehin gso romanticly nostalgic

Garden Time!

I love this perrenial mix because it is infused with color and there's so much texture and varying degrees of height. I recently picked up some shade-loving perrenials (sadly my garden is part sun to mostly shade). I decided to be a little adventurous and chose some unknowns. Jacob's ladder in "Stairway to Heaven" (yes, like the song) and I'm thinking of using it as a border along the terracing beams that Keith just "installed". I'm hoping they'll be happy there. I also bought a pink geranium and some other small blue perrenials to put around it. I wish I had written down their names! Finally, I chose New Guinea impatiens in "cherry cream" for a container planting.

Grilling in Snow Shoes

My dad makes claims of being a grill afficionado, and while I do give him props I think he's just a guy who likes to relax outside, occasionally flipping a steak or a burger. Don't get me wrong-he's a great cook (when he's not being lazy) and he was probably the person who's taught me most in the kitchen. Despite the fact that it's December and here in New England it's 30 degrees and snowing outside he wanted to grill this week. I met him halfway and decided to grill some food (indoors) in our cast iron grill pan the other night. I started out with plain grilled chicken breast and made a sun-dried tomato cream sauce to drizzle over the top, which came out so good I swear I could have just eaten the sauce and been happy. But as someone who has to cook a full rounded meal each night, I also grilled some polenta and vegetables, both of which came out great.


For the Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes (drained if packed in oil)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1.Saute the garlic in oil and deglaze pan with wine.
2.When alcohol has burned off, add tomatoes along with salt and pepper. Heat through.
3.Add cream and bring to a simmer. Add parsley, leaving about 1 Tbsp for garnish.
4.Put sauce in a blender and pulsate to incorporate the ingredients to your desired texture. (I pureed mine until there were only little flecks of red from the tomatoes.)
5.Serve over chicken, pasta, or be inventive and try something different!


For the polenta I took the lazy route and started with the store bought, tube (the package looks a little like a roll of sausage meat). I sliced it into 1/4 inch slices, lightly brushed it with olive oil and grilled away. Polenta takes on a nutty flavor when it's grilled and the crunchy outside crust creates a nice texture.



So, if you're feeling boredom that comes with eating the same hearty, warming, winter-friendly food every night, pull out your grill pan, throw on some summer tunes and have yourself an "indoor" grilling party.