...and so do I. I'll start this entry off by saying I almost didn't cook tonight. On our way home from our away game last night we stopped at Arby's and I went for that side of fries with my otherwise somewhat healthy meal (let me mention that it has been a LONG time since I have eaten fast food fries), and I was still feeling those fries today. I don't think I will ever have a random fast food craving again because of the feeling those fries gave me. It probably doesn't help that I haven't eaten all that well the past two days. Time to get back on the wagon!
Long story short, I did in fact cook tonight just for all my foodie followers (the things I do for you all) and I'm glad I did. Tonight was another stuffed vegetable from the "Everyday Contorni" chapter, Stuffed Tomatoes! I've had stuffed mushrooms, stuffed banana peppers (mmmmm), but never a stuffed tomato. But honestly, I don't think you could possibly go wrong with a tomato stuffed with something. Unless that something was tuna.
First things first, I had to cook some couscous. The recipe says to use arborio rice, however, being the poor college student that I am and the difference between couscous and rice being small, I didn't feel bad about the substitution. I cooked the couscous in some salted water which didn't take long, then set it aside.
Next, I had to cut the top off the tomatoes and hollow them out. Easy, right? No, not really. I cut off the tops then dug in with my spoon and found it to be almost as difficult as trying to hollow out a pumpkin. The difference is that a pumpkin is much more sturdy and thick and you can cut a bigger hole in the top. A tomato is smaller and it's easy to go right through its walls. The first one I hollowed out ended up having a small hole in the bottom, and then I got the hang of it on the second one. Too bad I only made two tomatoes.
As the toaster oven heated, I tossed the pulp from the tomatoes with my couscous along with some garlic, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. I also stirred in a bit of Parmesan cheese. After this was all mixed to my liking, I filled each tomato with the mixture, heaping it a bit on top (Giada's rules). I then placed the tops of the tomatoes on top of this, and baked them for about 20 minutes.
I had a good amount of couscous left over so I decided to eat it as my tomatoes cooked. Turns out this was just as good on its own (aside from biting into some raw garlic. Luckily I don't plan on socializing outside of my apartment tonight. And maybe this will ward off any Edward Cullen wannabes. Did I mention there's a creepy cardboard cutout of him in a window on the top floor? I digress). I decided I needed to create a meal out of this mixture at another time when I was feeling more creative.
The picture above puts my tomatoes side-by-side with the picture in Everyday Italian. I don't think Giada covered her tomatoes with the tops when she cooked them because hers are nice and browned on top. She also probably cooked hers in an actual oven, not a toaster oven. But she also has a state-of-the-art fully loaded kitchen in Malibu, and I do not.
Despite all of that, the tomatoes were delicious, and messy. I wasn't sure how to dig into them, so I opted for a fork rather than using my hands like the barbarian I tend to be in the privacy of my own room. The tomatoes were soo juicy and of course, the basil enhanced their flavor. Giada recommends serving these to guests I'm assuming in some sort of party setting, but I think they may be a little messy for such an occasion. I recommend them as a side dish to a meat entree, personally.
Sunday will be my next day to cook when I try out another dessert and complete my third cycle through the book! Holy cow times flies!! Check back then for more updates :)
P.S. Congratulations to the cross-marketing campaign between Dove and Wal-Mart. Your "Real Beauty" campaign has been stuck in my head for the past week (you know, the one to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?"). Luckily, I refuse to fall for your advertising antics and will NOT be going to Wal-Mart to stock up on Dove beauty supplies. Take that Man!
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