Bright and Simple

Roasted asparagus was mentioned in the frittata post but I just can't get enough. Once they're cooked, I eat them like French fries, and accompanied by one of my favorite things - roasted tomatoes - you really can't go wrong. I'd eat the two things on a plate with a hunk of bread and a slab of butter. That would be for a meal alone, so I guess I had to think of something else instead:
Here is everything roasted after about 20 minutes, maybe less, at 450 degrees. They have different roasting times, I suppose, but 15-20 minutes was fine.

Whole wheat pasta, sauteed spinach, blob of ricotta. YES.

Guest Cook!

Well, he's not exactly a guest. And who am I kidding? I don't do ALL of the cooking around here. There are some nights, like tonight, when I'm so tired and drained of all normal human capabilities that I send out a message such as this one: im hugnry pls cooktonite. Luckily for me, there's someone on the other end of that message who usually follows through with quite an impressive dish. In precise order, Karl listed the ingredients of his new favorite meal to make as I unpacked my swim bag and collapsed on the couch. I had him repeat everything once we were sitting down to eat because, again, I was incapable of accurately listening (oops, I sat in the steam room too long at the Y). So, here it is, "Down-home jamboree freestyle cookin'" as Karl called it. "It's fried rice; appropriated from random stuff." Ah, yes, random stuff indeed:
Onion, garlic, carrot, oil: saute. Add cut up chicken breast, peas, and cook. Add precooked rice, dried basil, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and a small dash of honey. Oh! Add some chopped walnuts in there with the rice for a nice crunch.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

I've been baking bread...

I've been baking bread all week like a crazy woman and today was just more of the same. Pictured is the loaf I made with white flour fresh out of the oven. I'll try to run you through this very easy, delightful process:
Pictured above is bread dough using whole wheat flour and below (I tried to get these damn pictures to show up side by side but Blogger didn't want to grant me such a privilege) is dough with regular all-purpose flour. This is what the dough looks like after rising for eight hours. For each batch, I mixed 3 cups flour, about 2 teaspoons kosher salt, about 1 teaspoon dry instant yeast, and 1 and a 1/3 cups lukewarm water. Once the ingredients are mixed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. They should sit until the dough doubles in size, so in this case, about eight hours. I managed to completely rearrange my bedroom during this time, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this.

After the first rise (described above in the bowls), remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a floured surface. Also, flour a towel or cloth napkin (like the ones pictured). Fold the dough a few times to shape it and cover it with flour. Then place it in the floured towel and wrap loosely. The wrapped dough should sit for about 2 hours (I watched an episode of The Tudors). At about 1-1.5 hours into the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees and also place a large oven-proof pot in the oven. I used my relatively new dutch oven (was told that it's best for baking bread) that I found at the Brooklyn Kitchen for $42.50!!
Once the oven is preheated and it has been about two hours (or the dough has clearly risen), unwrap the towel and carefully place the dough in the pot or dutch oven covered (you don't have to cover it, but I have bad luck with oven smoke and smoke alarms and the lid seems to prevent this). After about 30 minutes (your house/apartment/closet/shack will start to smell like BREAD), remove the bread from the oven. It should pop right out! Let it cool. Eat. Eat. Eat.

Article: Life of the Restaurant Critic

I don't usually post articles, but I read about food on a daily basis - during those short minutes between lunch and back to work, or a quick read in the morning as I sip my coffee - and find most food-related articles entertaining, well-written, and appetite-inducing. 

This week's article by Sam Sifton, the New York Times' restaurant critic, elaborates on what we all imagine a food critic's life to be. It seems there's a lot more than just eating good food all of the time. He runs everywhere to keep the pounds off - even from restaurant to restaurant - takes the stairs, and bikes. As someone who has a job that can be nicely tucked away after 6pm, or on those ever-shrinking weekends, it's hard for me to wrap my head around a job that fully dictates one's diet and lifestyle. 

Anyway, it's an appetizing read that had me considering a second lunch. I went for a walk instead. 

Roasted asparagus frittata and that car-shaped bread

There was some roasted asparagus hiding in the fridge this morning (ahem, afternoon) and I'd almost forgotten about it. Initially, I wanted to make a quiche, but had also almost forgotten about the bread I made, and needed to use it up (quiche and bread for breakfast? too much for me). To the frittata I added 1 shallot, 4-5 chopped up roasted asparagus spears (roasted for 10 minutes with salt, pepper, oil at 450), cheddar, and grated parmesan. Mix ingredients with 3-4 eggs, salt and pepper. Pour into skillet and let it cook until the edges start to cook and the middle starts to simmer a bit. Then place in 350 degree oven until the eggs are puffy and starting to brown around the edges.

Bread time

We were out of bread, so I made some. This loaf kind of looks like a '98 Toyota Camry.
Num, num, num! It's stale now, so I will probably make bread pudding.

Pecan Squares (oh my!)

Yeah, these pecan squares are a new favorite. I don't usually post desserts because, as I mentioned in my tart post, baking makes me delirious.
However, with the much needed help of my friend, Angie (featured stirring the pecan mixture), I was able to get through this particular dessert-making process unharmed (Total lie. I burned my forearm and now have a hideous scar.)
You, my loyal reader, won't be surprised to know that this is not my recipe. It is Ina Garten's. Because she is a genius. Although, next time I'll try the recipe without the lemon and orange zest. I might want to make it more salty-sweet instead of sweet-sweet-sweet.

Bolognese for Days

This should last a few days, no? There are three other containers in the fridge. Needless to say, I went a little crazy tonight making bolognese.

At the kitchen on Sunday, someone asked what I enjoy making the most and, not prepared for the question, I blurted out sauces. It seems my subconscious was right because the more I thought about it, the more accurate my answer. When I was a kid - oh maybe between the ages of 8-10 - I loved making "mixes" or "potions" - I'm not sure what I called them. They weren't for eating but for the simple pleasure of combining ingredients at random; ketchup, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, gummy bears, dirt, milk, you name it. Now that I can combine ingredients and make them taste good, well, it's much more pleasurable.

One thing remains the same and that would be the mess. Someday next month I'm sure to find an old splattering of bolognese hiding behind the coffee maker or on top of the fridge. By then, it'll be time for a new batch.