Tasty Tuesday: Quinoa with White Onion and Tomato REDUX

Remember this disaster? Well Deb gave it such a good write-up that I had to give it another go. If she thought it was worth making, then I owed it to myself to try again.

I'm really glad I trusted her, because this stuff is DELICIOUS.

It's hearty enough to be a main course, but also mild enough to play sidekick. Plus, it keeps really well in the fridge. I'll make up a big batch on Sunday and then eat it for lunch all week. I like to bake a few chicken breasts to eat alongside (or I shred them and mix it all up).

How would you spice it up? Another protein? Or maybe a veggie?

Tasty Tuesday: Quinoa with White Onion and Tomato

Don't get too excited - this recipe isn't great. I just feel I should be honest with you, and share my failures along with my successes. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me - I'm not some magical fairy who does everything right. I post a lot of cute pictures and fun ideas, but I mess things up a lot. This is one of those times.

This dinner wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't good, either. I adapted it from this smitten kitchen recipe. I'd been so excited to try it out (she gives it a glowing review), but I have a box of quinoa that's never been opened, and I figured I'd use that instead of the recommended farro. I also used a large tomato instead of a bunch of cherry ones, dried basil instead of fresh, powdered garlic instead of fresh, and no cheese. Given all that, I really shouldn't be surprised that it was so bland.

I made substitutions the last time I made a smitten kitchen dish, and that one was pretty flavorless, too. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now.

If you make this meal the right way, will you tell me how it turns out?

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Ranchero Eggs

I can be a bit of a procrastinator. Okay - a lot of a procrastinator. Take beauty samples from Sephora: I don't want to use them all up at once. I'd rather wait until I need a little extra pampering and treat myself. The same principle holds for coupons to Einstein Brother Bagels, the odd can of Red Bull, and fresh fruit. The problem with that is coupons and beauty samples expire. Not to mention fruit. I don't know how many times I've had to scarf down three nectarines in one sitting because I saved them too long. Worse, sometimes I have to throw them away.

Thank goodness that cookbooks don't expire. I've had the smitten kitchen cookbook since Christmas, but I'd yet to use it as anything other than a coffee table book. It's lovely that way (Deb is a wonderful photographer), but I think if she came over she'd scold me. After all, she wrote the book so I (and others, I guess) would have good things to eat. And here I am, munching on Cliff Bars instead. 

If I'm honest with myself, I know I'd been putting it off because I was afraid of ruining the dishes. When the Queen of Home Cooking metaphorically hands you a tome of hallowed instructions, you really don't want to eff them up. 

Luckily, I have a Very Excellent Boyfriend who can take charge of a sorry situation. He finally used the smitten kitchen cookbook for its intended purpose.

We couldn't decide what to have for dinner, so he thumbed through the pages and settled on the Baked Ranchero Eggs with Blistered Jack Cheese and Lime Crema.

We eliminated a couple ingredients, which was a huge disservice to the dish. If you make this yourself, please include the jalapeños and use only fire-roasted tomatoes. Also, use corn tortillas to make the strips; we didn't, and we should have. While the dish we made was fine, I think the omitted ingredients would make it excellent, and that's really how you deserve to eat it.

So, I've been inspired. The results weren't perfect, but the world didn't end. Maybe there's no "right time" to enjoy something. I'm making a pledge to enjoy my little luxuries, rather than saving them endlessly. I have a gift card to Massage Envy that I've been hoarding for over a year - I think this week I'll dust it off. 

Tasty Tuesday: Fromage Fort

It's time for another smitten kitchen recipe! This one is rock simple. It doesn't matter how infrequently you visit your kitchen - this recipe is within your reach. 

"Fromage fort" means "strong cheese" in French, and that's basically all that's in this spread.  Just various cheeses, some wine, and a smidge of butter. 

Instructions:

• Open your fridge. 
• Grab all the extra cheese you see. Bits of brie? Slices of Havarti? Or maybe muenster? Shredded Parmesan cheese? All of it.
• Put it in a blender with about 1/3 cup of dry white wine. If you have a lot of hard cheeses, add a little butter to soften it up a bit.

• Blend.
• Spread that stuff on crackers and devour it!
• It'll keep in the fridge for up to a week, and the flavors will blend more each day.

• Make it constantly. Your roommates will thank you.

I cannot think of anything that would be more welcome at a party. It's decadent and delicious, and tastes like something a grown-up makes. Luckily, it's also the simplest recipe in the known universe, so you can whip-up a batch on short notice. 

Tasty Tuesday: smitten kitchen Book Signing

Last Thursday, Deb Perelman came to Atlanta. If you don't know who that is, then clearly you haven't been paying attention, and we will have words after this class is over, young lady.

Deb is the incredible cook (and woman) behind smitten kitchen. Hers is not merely a food blog - it's a blog about perfect food. Deb's recipes are painstakingly tested, and then tested again and again by her family, and then posted on the internet so we can all be amazing home chefs. Whenever I need a fail-safe recipe - something that I know will be a hit - I head to smitten kitchen.

I bought myself a copy of her cookbook for Christmas - it's beautiful, just like the online version, and when you open it up, the pages stay open. It's a miracle of cookbook engineering.

Deb hosted a Q&A and book signing at Manuel's Tavern last Thursday. We were there early, but not early enough.

Very Excellent and I got Blue Moons while we waited.

You see, we weren't the only fans there.

Not by a longshot.

Standing-room only!

I was thrilled to see the Atlanta support! I'm rarely ever happy that I have to stand for an event, but I was for this.

After a fight with Buckhead traffic, Deb arrived and answered our queries for a while.

Horrible, grainy, close-up cell phone pic!

Rapt.

She was just as charming and silly in real life as she is on the internet. 

Delightfully, I ran into a couple people I knew - including an old high school friend, Lucy!

Lucy and I

She has her own corner of the interwebs - Flowers are Lovely. Stop by sometime and tell her I said hey. 

Deb and I

When Deb signed my book, I told her that her recipe for kale chips has thoroughly changed my life. She dropped some knowledge in the form of a verbal recipe for brussel sprout chips. GUYS, you KNOW how much I love brussel sprouts! I could have died! Instead, I asked for a picture while my heart fluttered. 

Crazy-eyed with the cookbook

We finished the evening with dinner in the next room - I got black bean nachos, Very Excellent got a French dip sandwich, and we switched meals halfway through. It was a very tasty night. 

Tomorrow, I'll recount my second blogging meetup from last week. Magical!

Tasty Tuesday: Red Sauce with Butter and Onion

No one knows why we do the things we do. Human nature is a mystery, at best. So often, we'll know what needs to be done, but for whatever reason we don't take action. I can't explain why I make these decisions - I just know that I am imperfect.

I will never know why I avoided making this pasta sauce for so long. There was no good reason for the delay, no purpose for it. It's the easiest recipe there is, but still, I put it off. On Saturday, I finally gathered the meager 3 ingredients and stewed them up. And I'm furious with myself for waiting. I first read about this sauce two years ago, and that's two years of my life I can never get back.

Don't ever buy premade red sauce again. Just don't. Make this instead.

Recipe from the greatest cooking blog of them all, smitten kitchen.

Ingredients:

• Can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• 5 tbs butter
• 1 yellow onion

Directions:

• Peel the onion and slice it in half.
• Put the tomatoes, onion, and butter in a 3 qt. saucepan.
• Heat on medium until it simmers.
• Lower heat and let simmer for about an hour.
• Crush the tomatoes against the side of the pot. If some of the onion gets pulverized, that's okay.
• Remove the rest of the onion and set aside. It tastes great on sandwiches, so don't just chuck it.
• Try not to eat the whole batch directly out of the pan. It tastes even better on pasta - trust me.

When I first tasted the sauce, it didn't seem quite right - definitely not the red sauce I'm accustomed to. But I licked the spoon clean. And then I took another spoonful. And another. Pretty soon I wanted to puree the whole thing into soup and just forget that it's supposed to be sauce - but that'll have to wait til next time.

To quote, I dunno, somebody, this stuff will make you want to slap your grandma. Instead, give her the recipe. Once she tastes it, she'll slap herself for not thinking of it first. 

After you've licked your bowl clean, put the remainder in a mason jar and store it in the fridge. In a couple days, boil some adorable music note pasta and enjoy it all over again.

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In other news, no one has tried the Sprout Challenge yet, and I'm a little heartbroken. Guys, what gives? Remember how I said I would wait patiently? That was a lie - I'm never patient.  Get to it!

Tasty Tuesday: EMERGENCY ALERT!

Y'all, I just read the BEST NEWS!

Deb, from Smitten Kitchen, will be in Atlanta on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28th! She's doing a second book tour, and this time she is coming to my city! 

If you are not yet a devout Smitten Kitchen reader, then you need to get the hell off this website and go to hers. She is a veritable home-cooking genius, and she will change your life.

The details: Thursday, February 28th, 7:00 p.m. at Manuel’s Tavern. 

It has been programmed into my phone, and I will be there with bells on. Do not try to hang out with me on February 28th - I am booked. Unless, of course, you want to hang out at Manuel's Tavern - that's totally doable. 

Guys, I'm gonna get my copy signed!

Tasty Tuesday FTW!