music in the living room

Our friends the Roesers hosted a house concert on Friday night and husBen and I were in enthusiastic attendance. We knew a good amount of people there and met a good amount more; I quite enjoyed filling out my picture of my friend Caroline’s (the host) life a little more by meeting her siblings and other close friends. I feel like you get a much better picture of who someone is once you meet their siblings. Good or bad and all the shades in between. These people shaped us. They were the rough edges we rubbed against and the reigning forces in our youth. They shaped our imaginations and our humor. Needless to say, I valued those introductions.

Amanda Shires sang and played her guitar and violin, all the while we sipped Fish House punch and nodded our heads to her rhythm. I felt rather indulged with the privilege to listen to good live music in someone’s living room (by such a cute lil’ artist!), but maybe the fact that I was cognizant of the blessing made the music sound even better.

I popped by Caroline’s earlier that day to see if she needed help prepping for the party and she set me on the task of making donuts. I simply followed the recipe and judging by their scarcity towards the end of the night, I think they turned out alright!

Baked Cinnamon Donuts 

For the donuts:

2 cups flour

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 ¼ cups whole milk

2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the donuts: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a baker’s spray with flour, such as Baker’s Joy, to coat 1 or 2 doughnut pans.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill the wells of the donut pans about half full with the batter. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the wall of a doughnut comes out clean and the doughnuts are puffed and lightly browned. Let them cool (in the pans) for 5 minutes, then gently invert the doughnuts onto a rimmed baking sheet.

For the topping: While the donuts are cooling, prep the topping: Melt the butter in a small glass bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Dunk each donut in the melted butter then dip both sides into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.

Adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust," by Ina Garten 

finish line

Imagine the crowds of people flanking the finish line of the MS150, each craning their necks to catch a glimpse of their loved ones as they exhaustedly complete their final stretch of this grueling 2 day event. The glimmering white capitol of Texas standing in the background and the multitude of males wearing tank tops reminds me I am in Austin. I stand there cheering, with a sign reading “so proud of you Ben!! I love you more than Ryan Gosling!!” anxiously awaiting that moment when I will see husBen in the distance, then ready my camera to snap a picture with impeccable execution at the exact moment he wipes the sweat off his brow with a sigh of relief at his accomplishment…

Now imagine me sitting in church with my brother, about 12 miles away, when husBen calls me and tells me he already crossed the finish line, approximately 1 hour before he anticipated, thus stripping me of that glorious moment of opportunity to be a supportive wife. Damn.

HusBen survived the MS150 and I am immensely proud of him. No crashes. No flat tires. No sweat. I knew he could pull it off. I am telling you, this kid is good at everything…

Can we still carbo-load?

Pancetta and Miso Pasta

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ounces pancetta cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 pound pasta of your choice

2 tablespoons miso

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus more

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, torn

Preparation

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet; add pancetta. Cook until pancetta is rendered and beginning to brown, 4–5 minutes. Add onion; cook until onion is soft and pancetta is crisp, 3–4 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

Add reserved cooking liquid and miso to skillet; bring to a simmer. Add pasta; simmer, tossing constantly, until sauce is glossy and coats pasta, 1–2 minutes. Add parsley and pepper. Toss to coat. Garnish with mozzarella and additional chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Followed fairly exactly from http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/05/pasta-with-pancetta-and-miso

carbo loading part 1

Some serious training going on in this household. Ben plans to join the spandexed flock of MS150 riders this Saturday and Sunday, in a quixotic effort to raise money by biking from Houston all the way to Austin. Good Lord…please protect my husBen on this adventure.

I am doing my fair part in the training, making sure he is adequately carbo-loaded. That is the same as training, right?! Honestly, I have full confidence Ben will pull this off; he has an uncanny ability to be good at everything. 

Here’s a little number we started out with this week. A winner, a real winner.

Seared gnocchi with pea and leek pesto sauce

a dish to be proud of...

1 pound peas (I used frozen), save 1 handful for garnish


2 cups water


1/2 leek stalk, thinly sliced


3-4 sprigs of thyme


4 garlic cloves (drizzle in olive oil and roast in your oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes)

Salt


heavy cream to garnish


gnocchi
 (I used whole wheat)

Add peas, water, sliced leek and thyme to a large sauce pan. Bring the pea mixture to a boil and then immediately turn off the heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove a small handful of peas (to use for garnish later). Carefully transfer the remaining peas/leeks/liquid to the jar of a blender, along with the roasted garlic, and blend until completely smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Salt the pea sauce to taste (I added about 1 teaspoon of salt). Blend the mixture once more and transfer it to a bowl.

To prepare gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the gnocchi in the water and cook them until they float to the top, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer the gnocchi to a bed of paper towels to dry.

Add about 1/4-inch of olive oil to a skillet. When the oil is very hot, add the gnocchi, being sure they don’t touch each other. Flash-fry the gnocchi until they’re lightly golden brown on both sides, flipping them every thirty seconds or so to ensure an even sear. Place the gnocchi on a bed of dry paper towels to drain. You may have to do this in batches until you have seared all the gnocchi.

To assemble the dish, add the pea sauce to a skillet and heat it until warm. Divide the pea sauce among the plates or bowls. Drizzle a small amount of heavy cream around one edge (I more so poured about a teaspoon of cream in one spot then drug it with a spoon in a crescent around the bowl). Arrange ten or so gnocchi onto each plate and garnish with the reserved peas. If you are serving with a protein, place it in the middle of the dish (I served it to husBen with some rib meat).  

Serves 4-6

Adapted slightly from http://acozykitchen.com

mid twenties

Grizzly Bear: “How’s the balcony?”

Balcony (where we are sitting): “Wahooooo”

Grizzly Bear: “Yeah, it’s a Tuesday, I don’t blame you. I’d be up there…I’m old.”

Grizzly Bear, so good live

You know that ideal age you picture yourself? It does not necessarily correlate with your chronological age, but when people ask you how old you are, your mind immediately thinks “23” (back there where my identity lies anyway). I have a friend who claims 27, maybe a very coming of age year for her.

This Tuesday, husBen and I went to a Grizzly Bear concert at the House of Blues downtown (a proud feat for our mid-twenties). I am 25, to be exact, and I can still live big on a Tuesday (a fact I will happily claim). I had to wear my glasses, yes, but I also wore a totally throwback number (a little white dress) that I purchased at Target quite possibly as far back as my late teens.

Guess what? I am proud to be 25. Maybe this will be my new ideal age…or at least I will start answering more promptly with my accurate age next time someone asks me. This is the age you close your eyes and throw your head back to sway to the beat of live music and dually consider it a spiritual moment. This is also the age where a dinner party trumps a dance party (most of the time) and you feel joyfully content to pass out spoons to your dearest friends and gather around a pizookie (all scooping up chunks of cookie and ice cream out of the same big skillet). This is the age you top off each other’s wine when it would be irresponsible to pour your own self more (and we are all about adjusting to responsibility this decade).

This is our age….and I believe (by keen observation) that this age persists until our mid-fifties. 

quality moments here

spring break

Well hello again. Back to real life after a week of spring break. Yes, I still have those.

I have been in Phoenix, AZ most of this week with my best friend from college, partaking in the slow life: laying out by the pool, eating, shopping, biking, watching movies, and eating some more. I felt so relaxed that I started to almost miss my stress level (just almost). It felt like the ability to get emotionally charged evaporated right off my skin during the hours of lying prostrate in the sun, or was buried so deep as to be unreachable underneath the pounds of good food and/or cookies I ate for breakfast (hey, it was vacation). It was kind of a strange sensation for me, but I think I liked it.

cookie for breakfast

La Grande Orange Grocery 

Pizzeria Bianco

and this happened

I kicked off springbreak2k13 a whole week ago in Fredericksburg for Easter with my family. We did plenty of cooking and eating there, with a houseful of Starkeys to wine and dine. I love catching up with these people, most of whom I see as strong personalities with something to teach me. I especially enjoyed catching up with my aunts (my dad has 4 sisters) as they all seem to live such different lives, yet still hold some common thread of orientation towards family and the way to live a fun, fulfilling life.

My mom and I were responsible for one of the pasta dishes and since we fear not bacon and butter, I must boast that our food usually tastes the best (pardon that pride).

very Spring

Fettucine with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta

12 ounces fettuccine or penne

3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

2 cups shelled fresh green peas, blanched 1 minute in boiling water, drained, or frozen peas (do not thaw)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts separated from dark green parts

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, cook pancetta in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add asparagus to drippings in skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Add peas, white and pale green parts of green onions, and garlic; sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid, dark green parts of green onions, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, half of parsley, and half of basil to pasta. Toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle pancetta, remaining parsley, and basil over. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Bon Appetit, May 2010

my big brother holding Sister (she is getting so big!)