Monthly Archives: November 2011

Dose of Veggies, Pasta, Quick and Delicious

Nailed it!

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There is a hilarious photo on the interwebs that just make me giggle and, after last Tuesday night, it definitely hits closer to home.

 

Although my situation had nothing to do with baking and creating what looks like a very difficult Cookie Monster cupcake, this recipe was actually much easier which makes it even more pitiful in my case.  I chose this Pumpkin Agnolotti from Bon Appetit because it sounded insanely good and was quick to boot. I was super tired after the kitchen, but got right to work on these when I got home. Reason number 4,023 I married David –  the two of us can sit and talk for hours and hours. So you can guess what happened, right? I made the pumpkin raviolis and then placed in the colander after boiling to sit while I made the sauce. Yep, we start chit chatting and I come back 30 minutes later to a pile of coagulated pumpkin won tons. Ha! I made the decadent butter and creme fraiche sauce anyway and plopped my now pile of pumpkin/wonton goodness in the sauce. It all fell apart, but I was so tired, I said “screw you agnolotti” as I threw my fist in the air as a very weak sign of defiance and then helplessly plopped the finished pumpkin/wonton mass in our bowls. But you know what? It was still freaking delicious and we ate with sloppy abandon. Heck, I’ll take that 30 minutes of talking to David over perfectly pretty pumpkin ravioli any day. And for your viewing pleasure (I’m sure you are giggling too right along with me), here is the photographic evidence.

 

 

Oooohh pretty Pumpkin Agnolotti from Bon Appetit

 

Not-so-perfect Pumpkin Agnolotti
Menu Plan

Let’s Give Thanks…

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…for these recipes that I think would make a delicious addition to your Thanksgiving spread. I’ve chosen some of my favorites from year’s past, most are a little non-traditional but I figured you would have your basics down (turkey, gravy, stuffing) so I included ones that I thought might bring a little more oomph to the table. We alway have turkey at our family’s meal in East Texas but heck, I would love to have that Pork Tenderloin Agrodolce at the table too!

Mix and match to your liking, but most importantly, have a wonderful Thanksgiving with you and yours. So excited to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife, ahhhh, such a lucky gal. :)

Appetizers/Drinks:

Protein:

Sides:

Dessert:

Leftovers:

 

The Pie Society's Leftover Quiches (sweet potato and whipped cream; vegetarian shepard's pie; Thanksgiving leftover pie)
Potato, Quick and Delicious, Vegetarian

Truffled Pommes Anna

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I love making dishes where you have people asking you for the recipe over and over again. This, my friends, was one of them. We went to a friends cookout last night and I thought I would test this for our upcoming Friendsgiving celebration to see if it was delicious as it sounded. Yes, and then some.

This was unbelievably easy to make especially when you have a mandolin (thank you Leigh and Raul!) to shave the potatoes on. I think I won the Darwin award however, because as I was testing the mandolin with a potato, I sliced my pinky on the blade. WOW. Yeah, don’t do that. I’m typing like a five year old right now and it took quite a chunk out of my poor finger…I so smart. After sanitizing and Neosporin, I got back to work. All you do is layer the potatoes with salt, thyme and truffle oil. So easy, so delicious and a real crowd pleaser. YUM! Bless you Cooking Light, bless you.

 

Truffled Pommes Anna (Photo by Charles Masters)
Beefy McBeefy, Cheesy Cheese, Fruit, Quick and Delicious, Salad, Turkey (Gobble!)

Pantry Party!

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Typically through my menu planning process, I go through pretty much everything I purchase if not in the first week, then definitely in the next. But there are those rare occasions were the beckoning of a Polvo’s Crackerita is too strong or I’m just too darned tired to cook after baking in the kitchen. I decided to check my pantry for these rare occasion relics that might be lurking in my pantry and found cream of mushroom soup, piquillo peppers in a jar and canned whole cranberries. As I sat trying to remember what recipes these ingredients were for originally, I started researching some new fun ones to try and voila lambs, I found two!

Bobby Flay’s Loin of Lamb Marinated in Merlot, Garlic and Parsley with Piquillo Pesto. Now I didn’t change much except for, well, the main protein. We are on a tight budget after all the wedding festivities so I turned to my most favorite, cost-effective cut of meat – flank steak. It’s juicy, flavorful and worked beautifully with this marinade. Talk about simple and quick. I marinated the steak, made the pesto (in our new food processor, yippee!!) and then when David got home, I threw the steak on the grill and bam dinner was done. I turned this into a small salad with arugula, bleu cheese, halved cherry tomatoes and then placed the steak on the greens and drizzled the pesto on top. I also had enough pesto the next day to make David a snack with pita chips. Am I getting good wife points yet?

Moving on to the cranberries. I found this Jack Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa from Cooking Light…yum! Keep this one in mind for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays for sure. Although I substituted

Jack Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa (Photo by Randy Mayor)

rotisserie chicken for turkey, what really makes it is the salsa. I can see canning this and giving it as pretty holiday gifts or it would even be great over some baked brie or on an old shoe, seriously it’s really good. I made extra and now we both have quesadillas and cranberry salsa for lunch today. YAY!

Now, what the heck am I going to do with that Cream of Mushroom soup?