Yeah, we're smitten.

Last week, Caitlin and I had the chance to meet one of our favorite cooks - Smitten Kitchen! Er, I mean, the lovely Deb Perelman.  We had the chance to listen to a delightful lecture and discussion by Deb, and then meet her in person to get our cookbooks signed.  After the countless hours we have spent bonding over delicious recipes, it was fun to have Deb be part of our Smitten Kitchen experience in person!  

Standing next to one of the best food bloggers in the universe reminded me of what a bad blogger I am.  Baaad blogger.  In a tiny defense, I did try to upload several recipes this evening, but experienced some technical difficulties.  I will be back soon, though!  Until then, have a fabulous St. Patrick's Day ~ slainte!

Cream Puffs + Hot Pepper Noodles

Feeling inspired by a handwritten poem from long ago likening one's husband to a cream puff, I decided to make cream puffs for a Valetine's dessert. (Yes, I am well aware that today marks one month plus one day past the holiday.) It was not to be, however, as it was all I could do after work to get the 44-clove garlic soup ready in time for dinner.

Then I decided to impress the visiting in-laws with the treat, but that didn't happen either, because my sister decided that eating Burger King soft-serve with caramel sauce was a better use of her last half-hour with me than watching me make pudding. And I got to share, so I ended up happy. Plus we got to witness the manager frantically trying to fill the next day's schedule by asking every employee in the place about availability.

So there I was at Presidents' Day (yes, I am aware that we are a few weeks past that), and with the holiday from work, I decided that there would be cream puffs.

Not only would there be cream puffs, but I began the one-new-recipe-a-week resolution I recently resolved. This may or may not have been prompted by the discovery that my to-make list exceeds thirteen Word document pages in length.

March's issue of Bon Appetit had a recipe from Penny's Noodle Shop in Chicago for hot pepper noodles, almost all ingredients for which I had in my cupboard (helping with another resolution I made . . . the no-spending-any-more-money-on-groceries-this-week resolution). They were absolutely delicious and provided a next day's lunch that even caused a coworker to ask what I was eating because it smelled so good. I've already made it again, so I definitely recommend adding it to your cooking repertoire.

Dinner at La Grolla and a Bakewell Tart

On Friday night I met my friends Ari and Kileen for dinner at La Grolla, an Italian restaurant on Selby Avenue in St. Paul. It’s a cozy place, but maybe a bit too cozy. For one, I got whipped in the face by the ponytail of one of the waitstaff as she passed. And for two, I sat a foot away from a couple who were quietly arguing over their pasta in a mix of English and Spanish (Woman: “No ver. No ver.” Man: “Yes, it is true.”), about ten percent of which I understood.

Though the space was tight and the water-refiller maybe a bit too attentive, my shrimp ravioli in lobster cream sauce was delicious, and the leftovers I ate the next day were just as good.

For dessert, I had made a bakewell tart. (It will soon become apparent that Smitten Kitchen is my go-to cooking resource.) It’s a little bit of a process  with lots of chilling involved before the tart itself can be baked, but when the steps are broken up a little—and when you have a husband at home while you’re at work who can assemble and bake the whole thing—it’s really not all that time-consuming of a dessert.

 

 

And let me just say that it is well worth the effort, because the thing is indescribably delicious. I’m already envisioning it with a rhubarb layer come spring. (Which is coming this month! Happy March.)