February 2010
7 posts
3 tags
celery salad with peanut dressing
Ah, my first real snow day here in New York. I narrowly missed previous two major storms of the season by escaping to the warmer climes. Classes have been canceled today, and the exam I was ready to take this morning has been postponed until next week. It’s too bad I have an assload of studying left to do for another exam next week, because this is a perfect day to curl up on the couch...
2 tags
lasagna
Are you sick of all this fresh pasta yet? Because I’m not. Newly engaged and timelessly awesome friends Valentina and Chris came over for dinner and men’s figure skating last weekend and we nearly polished off an entire 9 by 13-inch pan of lasagna while gawking at Johnny Weir.
I put a lot of stuff in this lasagna. It was a little bit improvised and by no means traditional. And it...
2 tags
lemon meringue bars
These pretty Meyer lemons are from John’s trip to San Diego last month. They’re a cross between true lemons and some type of orange, so they taste a little sweeter than “regular” lemons. While I’ve made limoncello, hot toddy ice cream, and lemon-shaped lemon pancakes with lemon curd in the past, I thought I’d try something different this time: lemon meringue...
2 tags
meatless sandwiches
One of my favorite things about working from home is making fresh lunches for myself. (My other favorite thing about this arrangement is not having to wear pants.) Instead of soggy sandwiches that have been sitting on my desk all morning, I can enjoy warm, toasted bread and not pay like $7 for it at some deli. You already know about my beet and goat cheese sandwiches. Here are two more that are...
2 tags
spaghetti alla puttanesca
Yummy dish, dirty name. “Whore’s spaghetti” has a sauce made from easy pantry items: canned tomatoes, olives, capers, red pepper flakes, and anchovies. Wikipedia includes three theories for how spaghetti alla puttanesca got its name:
An Italian restaurateur found himself with hungry guests who had dropped in late at night. The ingredients he had on hand were limited, but his...
1 tag
gougères
I think I have a new favorite thing to bake. Gougères are a savory pastry made with pâte à choux (the stuff used to make cream puffs and eclairs) and Gruyère cheese. John and I take the “serve fresh out of the oven” instructions very seriously; we can wordlessly polish off a hot tray of these in record time.
This recipe is from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French...
2 tags
broccoli rabe with pressed tofu and oyster sauce
I really like the way bitter greens taste with oyster sauce. The steamed greens you order at sit-down Chinese restaurants usually come lightly doused with this slightly glossy viscous brown condiment and nothing more.
I threw leftover broccoli rabe from pasta night together with leftover tofu from my zha jiang mian dinner into a hot pan with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, and sesame oil to make...