1.5 oz. Essensia orange muscat wine
1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 oz. brandy
Combine in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled glass.
1.5 oz. Essensia orange muscat wine
1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 oz. brandy
Combine in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled glass.
(badly cribbed from Cook’s Country)
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 stick butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp maple extract
3 Tbsp minced crystallized ginger
1/4 cup white sugar
Heat oven to 350.
Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg, maple syrup, and maple extract. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and crystallized ginger and mix to combine. Place the white sugar in a bowl. Roll the dough in 1-inch balls, then toss with the sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet, then flatten with a drinking glass (I apparently forgot to copy down this step- mine turned out puffy instead of flat). Bake for 10-12 minutes.
1 lb nuts (I used almonds, pecans, cashews, and walnuts)
1 egg white
1 Tbsp apple cider (I used Trader Joe’s spiced cider)
1 tsp table salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1.5 Tbsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
butter or cooking spray, to prepare the pan
Heat oven to 300. Prepare a sheet pan with a bit of butter or cooking spray. (I used a smallish nonstick roasting pan.)
Whisk together the egg white, apple cider, and salt. Mix in the nuts and stir to coat thoroughly. Drain in a colander for 5 minutes. Combine the sugar and spices and mix with the drained nuts. Spread in pan. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Let cool and break apart any clumped together nuts.
1/4 onion, chopped fine
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp AP flour
1 cup milk
salt
pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper (more if you like)
6 oz. blue cheese
6 oz. some kind of shapey pasta (two servings-ish)
Cook pasta. While water is coming to a boil and pasta is cooking, make the sauce.
Melt the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and some salt. Cook, stirring fairly constantly, until the onion browns a bit. Add the flour and stir constantly until the flour melts and the whole thing turns a medium brownish. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly (at this point, if you’re me, you also nearly steam-burn yourself). Lower the heat to medium and bring back up to a boil, still stirring constantly. Add the chipotle and nutmeg. As the sauce thickens, add the blue cheese and stir until integrated. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Keep over extremely low heat while the pasta finishes cooking. Drain pasta and stir into sauce. Serve immediately (heated bowls would be best to keep the sauce at its best).
(last night’s dinner)
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 small tomatoes, quartered (a handful of halved cherry tomatoes would work well)
1 mozzarella bocconcini, chopped (probably 2 oz.)
Basil chiffonade
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mix together and nom. I didn’t have any bread, unfortunately. That would have been good.
(better than this one, I mean)
2 15-oz. cans of artichoke hearts (not marinated!), drained and rinsed
8 oz. sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise (light is fine for the mayo and sour cream)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan, plus extra for topping
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of cayenne pepper (heavy pinch if you’re me)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 350. Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine (about ten times). Empty into an ovenproof 8×8 casserole. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for about half an hour, or until top is brown. (I got impatient and turned on the broiler after about twenty minutes.)
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 small shallot, minced
1 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp sesame oil
6 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 bunches Italian parsley, leaves only
3 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Whisk first 8 ingredients together in a large bowl. Add parsley and toss to combine. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top. Chill for 1-4 hours.
3-4 oz. some kind of pasta (I prefer shapes)
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes (diced jalapeno pepper is also good if you’re out)
~6 pieces of salami or pepperoni, quartered or sixthed
1/4 onion/2-3 green onions/1-2 shallots, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp assorted dried herbs- parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, etc. (Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle is nice)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional- I have occasionally used shredded cheddar cheese)
Bring water to a boil and cook pasta. While this is going on, prep the rest of the ingredients. Drain the pasta and leave in the colander while you make the sauce. (I use the same pot I used to boil the pasta- it’s only like 2 quarts, so it’s not really a pain to clean.) Put the pot/pan over medium-high heat and add the oil and red pepper flakes. Stir/swirl around for about a minute. Add the salami/pepperoni and cook another minute. Add onion and stir until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Toss in the herbs. Add the cooked pasta back to the pan and toss to combine. Turn off heat, taste for seasoning and adjust with salt/pepper. Empty into bowl and add cheese.
Variations
3-4 Tbsp of toasted nuts can be added when you put in the herbs. They can be used in place of the salami/pepperoni if you’re a vegetarian.
2-3 Tbsp vinaigrette. I’ll do this if I have leftover salad dressing. I added it instead of the dried herbs. Dump it in and let it reduce a little.
A handful or two of baby spinach. Toss this in when you combine the pasta and sauce at the end and stir until it wilts.
3-4 oz. pasta
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 cup white wine (just finishing up a bottle, don’t really know how much was in there)
2-3 Tbsp herbed cheese spread (some Boursin I had leftover after a party)
2 Tbsp cream or milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese
Boil water and cook pasta. Drain and keep in the colander while preparing sauce. Melt the butter with the oil, add red pepper flakes and onion, cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add white wine and turn heat to high. Reduce to 2-3 Tbsp. Off heat, add cheese spread and cream and stir to melt/integrate into the sauce. Add pasta back to pan and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning, dump into bowl and serve with parmesan.