Category: home cooking

served with sangria jugwine and toasted rosemary flatbread

not quite paella but easy and so good.  We have packed all of our books (save a handful we each couldn’t live without) at the idea of a pending move.  I was looking through my family recipes (typed into Google docs) and saw this one.  A family favorite, I figured I’d try it on Z.  Thankfully, to good results.

4 chicken cutlets or chicken breasts if you are big meat eaters
1  salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T olive oil
1/2 diced spanish onion (3/4 cup or so)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
28 oz chicken stock in a box
1 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 12 oz package frozen peas
1/2 cup (small jar in the store) chopped pimientos

Season chicken w/ salt and pepper
In skillet brown chicken w/ olive oil, add onion and garlic.  Add tomato juice and 1/2 of chicken broth.
Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Stirring to keep rice from sticking.
Add rice and remaining broth.  Simmer 20-25 minutes.
Add peas and pimiento.  Simmer 5 minutes.

Add a splash of fruity olive oil and serve!

Serves four

let’s start out with the fact that I don’t advocate drug use other than currently prescribed ones by medical professionals.  I mean, let’s face the facts, Z is a super user of a strange one found in a mushroom grown on a mountain in Japan. But in general, I don’t advocate for the use of the illegal ones, including but not limited to crack.  However, we make a special species of macaroni and cheese that is really known around our house as crack n cheese.  It’s so great you can barely contain yourself. It is derived from a recipe somehow gleaned from reading serious eats and clicking links discussing Martha Stewart and Ina Garten’s recipes.  This one is a half version based on Ina Garten’s recipe.  We make one add and one substitution to her original recipe cause we like the heat and panko are our go-to breadcrumbs.

Crack N Cheese

1/2 # macaroni -we use Barilla Elbows
2 cups milk
1/4 c flour – a loose scoop
3 T butter

6 oz Gruyere (we usually use about 8 oz)
8 oz Cheddar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup bread crumbs
4 T butter

boil noodles per package directions in liberally salted water while you…  Melt 3 T butter.  Whisk in flour.  Whisk in milk.  Grate and add cheese, and cayenne.  Stirring until smooth.  Pour into a 8 X 10 or so baking dish.
Melt the rest of the butter in a small frying pan and mix in the panko.  Spread over top of the noodle mixture.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Eat.  Probably with a little bit of weedy salad (spring mix) with a bit of balsamic and olive oil splashed on top.

This ain’t your blue box Kraft dinner.

far more elegant than buttered noodles – cacio e pepe is precisely that and super quick. We made this between work and small group in a total of 15 minutes or so.

6 oz pasta-spaghetti
3 T butter
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 t freshly cracked black pepper

Put on a large pot of water to boil. When the water comes to a boil -toss in a handful of salt. Boil the pasta according to directions but one or two minutes short. Draw out 3/4 cup of the water before you drain. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 12 inch skillet. Gently toast ground pepper while the noodles boil. After draining drop the noodles into the butter and pepper. Pour in 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Toss gently until the sauce thickens. Fold in the cheese and melt. If the mixture is too thick as a bit more water. Enjoy!