holy crap tomorrow is wednesday
Dec. 29th, 2009 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verbicideI knew this final week of vacation would evaporate. (I know, I have no call to boo-hoo considering all the time off I've had. But returning to work gets harder the longer you've enjoyed a temporary a life of leisure!)
Mostly I just realized that this means that the day after tomorrow is NYE. I was so sanguinely blathering about my tentative menu when I absolutely must go to the liquor store and grocery store tomorrow and start cooking. I really don't want to be stuck in the kitchen all night on NYE, so everything that can be must be done in advance. I've decided to make the hot chocolate cake because I've been obsessed with it lately. I've also decided to make Ina Garten's recipe for steak au poivre, herbed fingerling potatoes, and spinach au gratin. Ina never lets me down.
Game plan:
Tomorrow, bake cakes, make frosting (since it needs to sit for 24-damn-hours), make marshmallows, and assemble spinach gratin.
Thursday morning I will start the six-hour process of making the French onion soup and prep the potatoes. I'll need to assemble and decorate the cake.
The only thing done a la moment will be the steaks and sauce since I think they'll be done best then. I'm going to have a mise en place ready, though, so I'm not frustrated-ly juggling measuring spoons and feeling hassled.
In other news, the pasta was a hit! I loved it, and Jeff and Ellie loved it! It is so much more fun to try out new recipes with friends instead of alone! I left them the leftovers and am going to use the rest of my ingredients to make another batch for tomorrow. The only thing I'm missing is a shallot, which I need to buy tomorrow anyway. I love that you don't have to heat up an entire enormous pot of water to boil the noodles. That's my least favorite part of making pasta. This was really flavorful and easy and it's going to be a staple, goddammit! Really easy to modify to vegetarian recipe, too. Just use veggie stock and don't add the chicken! Also, this was pretty forgiving. I kept screwing things up like letting the pasta nearly burn. I then packed it up and took it to Ellie and Jeff's and then we nuked it briefly to reheat and it still wasn't rubbery or anything. Go! Go make this now!!
Recipe: Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style Time: About 30 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/2 pound cut pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
3 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 boneless chicken thighs, diced
Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional.
1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.
2. Ladle stock into skillet 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.
3. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done -- it will be white on inside when cut -- and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.
Note: I modified this by adding about half a cup of cream after the chicken was cooked and stirring and reducing a bit.
Mostly I just realized that this means that the day after tomorrow is NYE. I was so sanguinely blathering about my tentative menu when I absolutely must go to the liquor store and grocery store tomorrow and start cooking. I really don't want to be stuck in the kitchen all night on NYE, so everything that can be must be done in advance. I've decided to make the hot chocolate cake because I've been obsessed with it lately. I've also decided to make Ina Garten's recipe for steak au poivre, herbed fingerling potatoes, and spinach au gratin. Ina never lets me down.
Game plan:
Tomorrow, bake cakes, make frosting (since it needs to sit for 24-damn-hours), make marshmallows, and assemble spinach gratin.
Thursday morning I will start the six-hour process of making the French onion soup and prep the potatoes. I'll need to assemble and decorate the cake.
The only thing done a la moment will be the steaks and sauce since I think they'll be done best then. I'm going to have a mise en place ready, though, so I'm not frustrated-ly juggling measuring spoons and feeling hassled.
In other news, the pasta was a hit! I loved it, and Jeff and Ellie loved it! It is so much more fun to try out new recipes with friends instead of alone! I left them the leftovers and am going to use the rest of my ingredients to make another batch for tomorrow. The only thing I'm missing is a shallot, which I need to buy tomorrow anyway. I love that you don't have to heat up an entire enormous pot of water to boil the noodles. That's my least favorite part of making pasta. This was really flavorful and easy and it's going to be a staple, goddammit! Really easy to modify to vegetarian recipe, too. Just use veggie stock and don't add the chicken! Also, this was pretty forgiving. I kept screwing things up like letting the pasta nearly burn. I then packed it up and took it to Ellie and Jeff's and then we nuked it briefly to reheat and it still wasn't rubbery or anything. Go! Go make this now!!
Recipe: Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style Time: About 30 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/2 pound cut pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
3 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 boneless chicken thighs, diced
Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional.
1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.
2. Ladle stock into skillet 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.
3. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done -- it will be white on inside when cut -- and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.
Note: I modified this by adding about half a cup of cream after the chicken was cooked and stirring and reducing a bit.
