In which we dish.

We've had some good cookery as of late.

Monday night, we had a Rachael Ray creation -- Chicken Marvalasala, and Pappardelle with Rosemary Gravy. I really love chicken marsala, and this was a bit of an un-orthodox take that tickled my fancy. The chicken's not breaded, and it requires 3 different pans to make this. The first one, I'm happy about. The second created some frustration for me. BUT, regardless, it was delish and I messed with the gravy for the linguine a little bit -- I didn't have rosemary or tomato paste. So, I used a tablespoon of canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead.... it was delish. We were eating it cold out of the serving bowl later that night.

Tuesday night, we had pizza. The crust was magnificent. The toppings were red pepper pesto, mozzarella, kalamata olives, and garlic cloves. I baked it at 450. The garlic cloves actually got soft and sweet. The pizza didn't get oily. The cheese was nicely brown. In short, this was a happy pizza. We ate the left-overs for breakfast the following morning.

Last night, we had my macaroni and cheese, with broccoli. We used orechiette pasta, and instead of gruyere and emmenthaler, we used medium and sharp cheddar. Instead of pancetta -- thick cut bacon. It was amazing. The bacon. Sooo beautiful. And so nice to find when you take a big bite -- a bit of pasta, cheese, broccoli, and bacon.
I threw the broccoli into the cooking pasta with about 30 seconds left before al dente. Just to get it up to temperature and cook it a little. It cooked a little more in the cheese sauce/broiler combo.
Tragically, I had to put it in the microwave today at work. I hate microwaves. My favorite way of reheating my mac is to put it in a skillet with an ovenproof handle (or a handle wrapped in tinfoil) with some butter and milk or cream. I smush everything around so that the sauce can become cheese sauce again, and then I sprinkle some shredded cheese and breadcrumbs over the top, because I love the crisp, and I broil it for a few.
The crisp has now been re-named the Sog for today. Mope.


Tonight, we will again venture into Rachael Land with an Olive Frittata and Rach's Mom's 15-minute Tomato and Bean Stoup.

We discovered Saturday that the best time to plan a menu is when you're starving. We flipped through one Rachael Ray cookbook and found a million options for food this week. Generally it's like pulling teeth because we generally plan while well-fed. Clearly, starvin'Marvin' is the way to go.

Heh.
Friday is Turkey Burgers, and Saturday is Chili. Mmmmmmm fall is in the air.