spaghetti alla carbonara

spaghetti alla carbonara. tom cruise proclaimed to oprah that this dish is his fav to make. but, i digress. baffling to me that i’ve never made it. this recipe is so simple, so quick and so delicious - it seriously comes together super quick. it doesn’t need any additional salt, there is enough salty taste from the bacon. do yourself a favor and freeze your bacon a bit to make it easy to slice. most of the ingredients you should have in the kitchen already. i used quinoa pasta, semolina pasta is SO yesterday. there is no taste difference from the semolina (traditional everyday) pasta to the quinoa pasta, but, quinoa pasta is easier to digest. that means it’s better for you. make this tonight!

adapted from 20 Minutes or Less

from the book
20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast
by Emeril Lagasse

you'll need:

8 oz quinoa spaghetti pasta (sold at whole foods) or stay un-hip and use semolina pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 oz bacon, ¼ slices (that'a ¼ of a 12oz package)
½ yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, put thru a garlic press or finely minced
2 egg yolks, use your hand to separate yolks from white. you do not want any whites.
½ cup grated parmigiano cheese
black pepper, freshly ground
handful of kosher salt for pasta water

you'll do:

bring a large pot of water to a boil. when it comes to a boil, add a handful of salt. add pasta and do not overcook. meanwhile-

heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. add the bacon and cook until almost crisp. add onion and cook until soft. remove from heat and add garlic and stir.

reserve 1 cup of pasta water. drain pasta in colander and return pasta to pot. turn on high heat, add the bacon, onion, garlic mixture and stir until the pasta is coated and mixture is heated through. TURN OFF HEAT.

whisk egg yolks and add to the pasta along with grated cheese. add a bit of pasta water to the mixture to help coat all the spaghetti with the mixture.

add pepper and serve immediately. this does not hold well. so EAT!

if you must reheat: add 2 tablespoons water and cover with cling wrap. microwave on high for 3-4 minutes. reheating results were pretty good, but was much better 1st time around!

kiwi juice

kiwi juice. thick and tart. it’s amazing how the jack lalanne juicer perfectly separated out the seeds. fun.

the house

the house. i’ve been trying to get to the house for a month. i’ve heard that it’s pricey. i’ve heard that the kitchen can get backed up. i’ve heard that the kitchen is closed when it’s suppose to be open. i heard that the green curry bowl is good & but expensive for the portion. so, to see for myself, i ordered up the diamond beer battered fish & chips for $12.95. yeah, i think that’s pricey for lunch too. three cod fish fillets arrived on a brown paper lined plate. it looked puffed, pretty and fried to perfection, but, upon the first bite, i found it was greasy and bland. the fries were a bit limp and certainly not cravable. for $14.28, i can find a better lunch. if you want a laugh or a fright, read tait’s recent review titled “You wouldn't beleive [sic] what I saw‎”.
 
The House Restaurant Cafe and Bar
722 North Palm Street
Little Rock,
(501) 663-4500‎

warm choco pudding cakes!

warm chocolate pudding cakes. i saw these little cakes on everyday food and since it is a 5 ingredient recipe and no hand mixer or kitchenaid, i was in. i don’t bake. and, i over-baked these, but you don’t have to, pull ‘em out at 27 minutes - you won’t be sorry. super simple recipe and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry now. i topped mine with homemade whipped cream and strawberries. sorry, we ate ‘em before the photo op. you’ll have to use your imagination. here’s how;

you’ll need:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more, room temperature, for ramekins
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for ramekins
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

you’ll do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 6-ounce ramekins, then coat lightly with sugar, tapping out excess. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave until melted, about 1 minute; stir until smooth. Or, melt mixture in a heatproof bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, yolks, flour, and salt; add chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Fill each ramekin three-quarters full with batter; place on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate 15 minutes.

Bake until center of a cake is soft but not wet when pressed, 27 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve cakes warm.

chicken and watercress salad

chicken and watercress salad. this is a fast, tasty meal that is light yet super satisfying. slice, pound, season and oil the chicken in advance and this meal will fly to the table in under 30 minutes. say hello to spring and make this for dinner tonight!! here's how; 

- ADAPTED from everyday food

you'll need:

¼ cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for vinaigrette
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
salt and ground pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
2 bunches watercress, about 6 ounces, thick stems removed
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
cayenne, a pinch
honey, about 1 tablespoon

lay chicken flat. holding a sharp knife parallel to work surface, split each chicken breast in half horizontally. cover with plastic wrap and pound each piece with the flat side of a meat mallet until ¾ inch thick. sprinkle each side of chicken breast with salt, pepper and ground cumin. place in a shallow dish and bathe each side of breast with ¼ cup olive oil. cover & set aside to marinate. you can do this a day in advance or 30 minutes before grilling.

in a large salad bowl, make vinaigrette dressing using 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and a dash of pepper, ground cayenne, ground cumin and honey to taste. (i used about 2 tablespoons!)

wash & spin dry watercress. slice radishes on a mandoline. set aside.

heat grill to medium-high.

scrape grill to clean. grill chicken until cooked through, 2 minutes on first side and 1-2 minutes on the second side. remove from grill to a plate and cover with foil or put in a warm 200℉ oven while you complete the salad.

peel and dice avocado.

add watercress, radish and avocado to bowl with dressing and toss to combine.

place chicken on plate and top with watercress salad.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

roasted red pepper soup. this soup is a year round staple. keep a look out for sale red peppers and it's no problem to use red peppers that are a bit past their prime. don’t even try to skip roasting the red peppers. the results will be; you picking pepper peels from your mouth, how do i know? ‘cause Copper Grill served it to me that way. this soup is simple, sweet and delish, here’s how;

ingredients:

5-6 red peppers, roasted & peeled, juices reserved
1 onion OR 2 shallots, diced
2-3 ribs celery, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 box chicken stock OR veg stock
salt to taste
1 cup cream or half & half (or as much as you want)

heat butter & olive oil in large dutch oven. sauté onion or shallot for 4 minutes, add celery, sprinkle with salt and cook for 2-3 minutes more. add ½ the stock and partially lid  the dutch oven and simmer on med-high heat for 20 minutes. add roasted red peppers + juices, replace lid and cook for an additional 15 minutes. whiz with an immersion blender, or in a blender then taste and adjust salt. before serving add cream warm through. do not boil.

how to roast red peppers

preheat broiler. place oven rack near the bottom of oven. cut off tops & bottoms of red peppers. slit pepper down side and then place knife parallel to cutting board and slice out ribs and seeds. place tops, bottoms and whole unrolled peppers on foil lined sheet pan. broil, skin side up for 10 minutes, rotate sheet pan and broil for another 10 minutes until skins are charred black. place hot roasted peppers in a bowl covered with cling wrap until cool. when cool, remove skins, saving all pepper juices in bowl.

it's Grass-Tastic! INGREDIENTS UPDATE

edible grass. not sure why there is a need for edible grass, but here it is, straight from germany. the label states: green apple flavored easter grass. NEW & IMPROVED FLAVORS! i rarely find myself in michaels...but saw this & bought it. it comes in several colors and uhm, flavors...at $2.99 an ounce, it better be, as promised, Grass-Tastic!

ingredients:   potato starch, corn starch, artificial flavors, maltodextrin, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, artificial colors, yellow 5, red 40, blue 2. phenylketonurics: phenylalanine, may contain wheat. www.galerieusa.com