Dough is me

Behold -- the sun, setting on cracker puns. Or is it the cracker of dawn?

No, wait -- it's proof that some things continue to be worth cooking long past the time that I can think of funny things to say about them.

Olive You Long Time Crackers

1/2 cup butter
2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded
2 1/4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup half and half
2/3 cup chopped olives

*Mix all ingredients until blended. Knead the dough until smooth, and then let it rest in a covered bowl for about 10 minutes.

* Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Roll the dough out thinly, adding flour as needed. (If dough is too dry, add in more half and half.) Use a pizza cutter or cookie cutter to create desired shapes.

*Bake on foil lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for another 10 minutes before serving.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Wine Fish, Blue Fish

Ally: You know, I read all these recipes that call for one or two cloves of garlic. I just don't get it. I mean, why would you do that?

Josh: Some people just want a hint. An essence.

Ally: Oh. *pause* I don't think I could be friends with those people.

A few weeks ago, I started making Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, which calls for white wine. I didn't have white wine. Which was all right, because I had red wine. And I was changing things up anyway, why not mix things up more? So I made Chicken Drumsticks in a red wine sauce. The smell, the sight -- stunning. Beautiful. I wished that I could record the scent of it cooking, it was so evocative.

The taste, on the other hand, was unimpressive.

Drumsticks continue to evade me. I can't really get them right unless they're still attached to the rest of the chicken, which is totally ridiculous. I ate the leftovers for two days with great hostility, cranky about a perfectly good idea gone bad. And on the second day, I had a breakthrough on how to fix it.


Red wine and salmon is a natural pairing -- tastier, in my humble opinion, than the chicken and red wine pairing. Plus, red wine + chicken = gray chicken, which is way gross.


High up on my list of things I wish I hadn't had to find out for myself is: don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink. My current favorite is Old Vine Zinfandel, but any red wine will work in this dish.




Pasta with Salmon and Red Wine Cream Sauce

Feeds 4.

1 tbsp olive oil
20 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
1 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb fresh salmon, cubed
1/2 cup half & half or whipping cream
1/2 lb fettuccine, cooked
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan (optional)

*Coat the bottom of a skillet with the olive oil. Drain any excess. Add the onions and garlic and cook on medium until softened, about two minutes.

*Add the salmon, basil, and red wine. Cook until the salmon is almost opaquely pink, about four minutes. Slowly add the cream or half and half, and simmer until salmon is completely done -- another 2 minutes or so.

*Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with pasta and parmesan, if desired. Serve now!

Strawberry Fields Forever

Things I Love:

*strawberries
*a clean kitchen
*mugs that function as bowls
*things I can eat with a spoon
*the blender/food processor I inherited from Meghin
*things that are easy, easy like Sunday morning
*bringing all these things together in one delicious moment


Easy Like Sunday Morning Sorbet

This can be more or less guilt free if you use the low fat coconut milk and sugar free syrup. It makes enough for two small servings or one larger serving.

1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries (it works out best if they are slightly defrosted)
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp chocolate flavored syrup (like you put in your latte)

Put everything in your blender or food processor. Turn it on. Blend until the strawberries are pureed. (It helps if every so often you stop the blender and mash the berries into bits with a spoon.) Put into a chilled bowl and serve immediately.

No gratzi, gratin

This was my first two days in a row off since my return from visiting family, and how did I choose to relax? By clearing chard scraps from the sink drain, of course.

I am the only person I know who likes to clean the kitchen. I feel a little guilty about this, like I regularly do the vacuuming in high heels and pearls. I'm that princess next door that is terribly nice but who no one can stand because she says things like "Gosh, I just ADORE cleaning my bathroom every morning!" and "I wouldn't DREAM of serving my family anything that came in a box!" But it's the honest truth -- I love the slip of the sponge across a counter, the splash of warm, soapy water on a plate.

The rest of the house is a total, unmitigated wreck. I don't even pretend to try anymore.

Obviously, I also love to cook. This is regarded slightly less suspiciously, although my roommate -- who has known me for almost eight years -- still tells me how sorry he is that I "have" to do the cooking.


I love to cook. It's right up there with sex and chocolate. There are few places I'd rather be than the kitchen. Even in other people's houses, I want to hang out in the kitchen. They can put me to work. I don't mind.

And it's a damn good thing I feel that way, or I'd have to chalk up this morning's endeavors as a total loss.

Swiss chard gratin sounded so promising. I made my own bechamel sauce, with cow's milk instead of the vegan oat milk suggested. I used the optional egg. I sprung for the fancy Comte in place of a lowly Swiss cheese or parmesan. But the results are...not unappealing, precisely. I mean, I'll eat it. Not even Josh hated it, and Josh is very particular. I'm just not bowled over, and with the amount of work that went into this, I wanted to be a little moved.

I think, frankly, that I used the wrong chard -- red chard was not the way to go -- and it would have been altogether more impressive with spinach instead.

At least the kitchen is clean.