After my Friday post, I was asked, “What is a wooden corner spoon?” To answer, I will have to tell a story. (No doubt, it will be a “Good story, Sarah.”) I was talking with my mother about my preferred kitchen implement- I cannot imagine cooking without a decent wooden spatula (which are surprisingly hard to find). She then said she was very attached to wooden spoons. (I think Jon once told me his weapon of choice is a pair of tongs, but that’s only slightly relevant.) Anyway, I was looking around at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and I found the child of the wooden spoon and spatula- the corner spoon. And lo, I bought it. So far, I’ve enjoyed using it- not as much as a spatula, but more than a spoon.

Good story, Sarah.

I made a good deal of food this weekend. Unfortunately, except for the garlic bread, everything is was just a slightly tweaked version of a recipe I’ve already posted. I made the Spicy Italian Sausage and Feta Cream Sauce on Saturday. The changes I made were using cream instead of half-and-half (because I had cream I needed to use before it went bad), adding a teaspoon of Madeira, and adding a pinch of nutmeg. I’m not quite sure what the difference it made was, but it was definitely tastier than before. (“Well, duh. Heavy cream. Need I say more?”) Also, if you let it simmer for long enough, the feta WILL melt. Amazing! Man, it’s good.

I had Rob over for dinner on Sunday. He is currently in a state of not eating four-legged creatures, so I decided to make Jonsauce using Trader Joe’s “Uncooked Chicken Sicilian Sausage with Fresh Tomatoes & Romano Cheese.” With a name that long, you KNOW it’s quality. The sauce ended up okay, but it was missing something. Something like pork. The chicken sausage had an overly soft texture. The tomatoes and cheese really didn’t add much. I put in some red pepper flakes with the fennel and also added an extra 1/8 cup of red wine at the very end of cooking (along with the basil and garlic). Rob said it was very good. I think he’s being overly nice, but I guess it was good if you’re avoiding the unclean beast. 5/8 of the way Jonsauce is better than no Jonsauce.

I bought an extra half pound of mushrooms on Friday- I thought I needed a pound for the cream sauce, silly me. What to do with the extras? Stuff them! I am very keen on stuffing vegetables with themselves. (I am told I need to try angel wings, which is a Thai dish where chicken is stuffed with chicken.) Since I had used the cream up the night before in the cream sauce, I just used milk. I also added too much cheese (not really a problem, actually). They were a little overbrowned, but didn’t taste burnt at all. Quite yum.

I had half a loaf of French bread that was getting kind of old, so I looked for the easiest Garlic Bread recipe I could find. The recipe below is adapted from Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen, which is also where I got the recipe for the Spicy Bean Dip. I am one of those people who, when they eat anything garlicky, will ooze the odor from their pores for days, unless steps are taken. The next morning, I got up and exercised (really, quite remarkable) in order to break a sweat. Then, a very hot shower. Between my many tooth-brushing sessions, I munched on parsley. I really hope I was able to get rid of it before the barbeque that afternoon (because Memorial Day wouldn’t be complete without a barbeque).