My Husband's Italian Wedding Soup

October 30, 2009

Last week Monday, the 19th, I pulled a muscle in my back and was out of the office for the entire week. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my vacation days but I couldn't even sit in a chair without having tears of pain roll down my cheeks. On top of that, Roger's birthday was coming up on Thursday, 10/22, and I had made reservations at Commis for that Saturday. There was no way I could make it through the evening sitting upright. It was time for Plan B!

Plan B was for Roger to make dinner and have a few really good friends over. Wait...what?!? The Birthday Boy was going to do the cooking and entertaining? It seemed a little unfair at the time he made the suggestion, but I was in no position to argue. I agreed. I sent out an email Wednesday night thinking at such short notice our friends wouldn't be able to make it. Everyone said yes!

As the day got closer my grand schemes of making a whole bunch of things from scratch began to fall to the wayside. After a week of being in pain I came to realize that 1) I'm not in my 20's anymore; 2) I'm not Superwoman or Martha Stewart and 3) Don't sweat the small stuff. Cupcakes were going to be made Duncan Hines and everything except for the soup was going to be something that could be served cold or heated in the oven. The only thing I made from scratch was the Ranch and Green Goddess Dressing (courtesy of Cook's Illustrated).

We had simple bites for appetizers (nuts, salt and pepper chips and mushroom turnovers - all from Trader Joe's) and assorted sodas to start things off. The main course was the Italian Wedding Soup from The Barefoot Contessa; served with a simple green salad with my homemade dressings and two kinds of bread - Olive and a Pugliese. The soup was delicious! Roger was afraid that the soup would be too salty but I think it was just right. The meatballs were great and glad that he made them tiny. You got a little bit of meatball in every bite and you didn't have to bother with cutting them up to be bite size - they already were. The cupcakes were yummy and much better than the dry ones I had bought at Whole Foods. Sometimes fancy cupcakes aren't necessarily the best.

The party was a success and I think our guests went home with full bellies. Thanks to Bill, Jim, Jean, Tony, Peter and Felix for contributing to a fun evening for the Birthday Boy and Old Injured Lady.

What's on my Nightstand

Sorry for the bad picture but here's what I'm currently reading (or trying to get through).

My friend Lee has loaned me two books - The Martha Rules and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Martha's in my handbag so I have something to read on my commute. The other book has been a very slow start. However, from what I have read so far of the Larsson book, I have to agree with Lee's conspiracy theory that there may have been foul play in the author's untimely death. HMMMMM.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - My sister, Liv, was sweet enough to go to Powells and get an autographed copy for me. Since David Sedaris loves his fans he takes the time to meet and chat with every person that shows up to his book signings. Liv waited patiently to meet him and in the hours that she waited, read the entire book. There was no need for her to get a copy for herself so she told David Sedaris the book was for her sister (me) and that I was a Leo (which I'm not). So now I have an inscription for the incorrect astrological sign but he did spell my name correctly. I'm on the last story so I just have a bit to go. It was a great commuter book and I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. Being on public transportation, my outburst of laughter was not looked upon as a threat or even that odd.

Fannie Flagg - OK so I can't believe I read this myself, but I have this fascination with Southern life - and I don't mean hill-billy life. It's the small towns; close community; the funny, pragmatic look on life; foods that sound interesting that I may or may not want to try; and they have the funniest sayings. For example: This is what you say to a woman who finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy "Well if you don't want butter, you have to stop churning". So true.

The Stranger by Sarah Waters - I loved this book. This is a book you read on a cold, dark and windy night. I don't want to give too much away but it's about a family that lives in an old mansion that has been in the family for hundreds of years. The story is told from the point of view of the family doctor who may or may not be a reliable source. There are ghosts (who may or may not be friendly), people going mad, paranoia, and a tiny bit of romance. This is a great gothic tale. The author has written a few other books (Tipping the Velvet, The Fingersmith) that I've been interested in reading. This is her latest and it was short listed for the Booker Prize. I'm sorry that she didn't win but I'm sure she has many other stories in her and that she will one day be honored.

Martha Stewart's Cookies - I love this book and will need to buy this for myself. I hope to get this before the holidays so that I can make a few treats for Christmas. I'm interested in making shortbread and crispy and crumbly cookies. Let's see what family and friends will get this year.

As you can see, I have a few books from the library since it is not in my budget to buy new books all the time. I'm fortunate to have friends who will loan books to me, but when I can't borrow from them I just walk down to the Alameda Library. I'm a big supporter and encourage everyone to get a card and check out their local libraries.

The First Supper

June 1, 2009

Not too long ago I was gabbing on the phone with my sister Livia, when she asked if Roger was home yet from work.  I said that he would be home pretty soon.  She then asked if I was making dinner for my husband.  Uh...well...no.  The thought of cooking for my new husband never occurred to me and it got things turning in my head that maybe I should start using all that fantastic new kitchen stuff.  Let me clarify something though - I don't mean cooking period but actually cooking during the week.

 

As a single gal I got into the habit of cooking on Sunday nights and making little meals to last me the week.  This was done because after a long day, I could never muster up the strength to make something for myself.  It seemed easier to just heat up some leftovers and since I was never a creative or comfortable cook this was the best idea for me.  As I have become a little bit more comfortable around the kitchen and recipes have begun to get more simple and easy to follow I have started to gain just a little bit more confidence.

 

So after my conversation with my sis I made the announcement to my husband that I would be cooking a couple of meals during the week.  This would give me the opportunity to have more time and practice in the kitchen; create a yummy meal for two; and have some down time catching up with my husband.

 

The first meal I cooked for Roger was Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food June 2009.....  I need to admit something funny here, but I've never had gnocchi.  I've never prepared it and I've never eaten it.  This particular recipe called for frozen and to cook according to the package.  Well I had a couple of questions while cooking: 1) after the water boils you're suppose to empty the contents into the water and cook 4-5 minutes in boiling water.  Well when you dump frozen gnocchi into boiling water the temperature drops and it stops bubbling.  So do you start the 4-5 minutes of cooking when it hits the water or when it starts boiling up again?  I chose the latter, which brings me to my next question...2) how do I know when it's done?  What is the consistency of cooked gnocchi?  It was soft to the bite and "doughy" but firm in that it wasn't mushy and did not fall apart.  I did ask my co-workers, Shilpa and Anna and they have confirmed that it should be soft but still hold it's shape.  Whew!  I cooked it correctly. 

 

I followed the recipe pretty closely and made my own interpretations on a few things:

• I used a garlic press instead of mincing (I don't know if there is a huge difference between the two)
• I watched the squash and grape tomatoes carefully since I like the veggies to still be firm and not overcooked and soggy
• Used a tad bit more basil and probably used a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the 1 tsp.

Between prep and cooking it took 30 minutes to make.  My husband was happy with his meal and we have some great leftovers.  We'll see what my next meal has to offer.

What am I reading now?

I will give you my thoughts when I'm done.  I'm on page 185 out of 349.  So far so good.

Movie nite at Bill's - Rosemary Cookies

3/14/09:  It was another movie nite at Bill's and was potluck.  Jean and Jim brought Chicken Tetrazini (from the Joy of Cooking) and I brought carrots and green beans for oven roasting; green salad with feta, dill and red onion; and my personal favorite, Rosemary Cookies (from Martha Stewart).  I made these for the first time at Christmas and loved the sweet and savory flavors - rosemary, salt and sugar.  

Some things that I did differently than the recipe is I used sea salt and turbinado sugar.  I froze these for longer than an hour since I made the dough ahead of time and travelled to Bill's with the dough.  When it was close to dessert time, I took the dough out and let it soften for about 10-15 minutes.  Bill didn't have any eggs (he's a bachelor - what does he need eggs for?) so the condensation on the dough was enough to get the sugar to stick.  The organic rosemary from Trader Joe's has been the best I've used so far.  Oh and I did not use the paper towel tubes.  That's just way too much extra "stuff" to handle.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup fine sanding sugar

1. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in whole egg and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.
2. Halve dough; shape each half into a log.  Place each log on a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment.  Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log.  Transfer to paper-towel tubes to hold shape, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375.  Brush each log with egg white; roll in sanding sugar.  Cut in 1/4-inch-thick rounds.  Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.  Bake until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes.  Let cool on sheets on wire racks.  Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Miniatures - where is the book taking me

1/28/09:  I've finally done it.  I've created my blog on books I've read and things that I may try to attempt to make in the kitchen.  What an interesting combination.  We'll see how far I go with this.  Anyway I'll just jump in and start writing about a book I'm reading called Miniatures by Norah Labiner.  I'm having a hard time getting into it and have only managed to get through 28 pages in an hour.  The difficulty is trying to get into the flow of the first person narrative.  It doesn't flow smoothly and at times the dreamlike narrative seems contrived.  For example, Fern (our narrator) is explaining to "trust neither the truth-teller nor the liar" and trust your own intuition.  She goes on apleading to the reader to "read the book in its entirety and reserve judgement" announcing "She lies!  She speaks only truth" and then ends with "God help us all".  You have to read this on page 17.  It was kind of funny and felt forced.

  The premise of the book is intriguing and I will continue to plug away at this book in the hopes that it will pick up and make sense.