Let's Call the Whole Thing Off..

Ah, yes. I have recovered at last from the tuna debacle from Sunday. I'm positive it was a mind over matter thing, but my stomach was quite upset after trying that dish. I had to lay down and watch Meet the Robinsons to recover. Cute movie, by the way.

I was soo excited to make tonight's recipe out of the "Everyday Contorni" chapter. It is my first from the "Roasted and Baked" section (and if you know me, you know I LOVE my roasted veggies!). The recipe is called Tomato Vegetable Casserole and after reading all the ingredients, I was pretty sure I couldn't go wrong.

I started by peeling and chopping a small potato, small sweet potato, and a carrot. I was supposed to add a bell pepper into this mix, but I didn't see that I needed one and forgot to pick one up this weekend. Oops! I tossed all of these in my glass baking dish with some EVOO spray, salt, and pepper. Next, I added a layer of thinly sliced red onion and topped that with a layer of zucchini. I then seasoned this layer with more EVOO spray, salt, and pepper. On top of THIS, I put some slices of tomato, then sprinkled some bread crumbs and shredded mozzarella on top. The recipe called for Parmesan cheese, but I ran out and will be going home at the end of the week, so there was really no reason to buy more.

I had the toaster oven preheated to 450 as the recipe tells you to do, then put the dish in to cook. Now, when I put this glass dish into the toaster oven, it remains open just a crack. This wasn't an issue when I made brownies in there this past weekend, but then again having half-done brownies is one of my favorites and just plain delicious. This is not the case when it comes to potatoes. When I first took the casserole out (the bread crumbs and cheese were beyond "browned" on the top), the top half was nice and tender, but the potatoes were still pretty raw. I don't know if you've ever eaten a raw potato. They don't taste bad, but they certainly don't taste like much.

I stuck the casserole back in for a bit more, but then took it out again for fear of the top completely burning. What's pictured at the top is my first serving of the casserole. Like I said, raw vegetables aren't bad, they just don't taste like much (with the exception of the tomatoes and such on top. THOSE were exceptional). I decided to mix up the entire casserole and spread it out in the dish to make a thinner layer and hopefully cook the rest of it. Well, some of it cooked, but not all. That's what I get for being lazy and not just marching up to the kitchen and cooking it properly.

That being said, I could imagine the casserole being delicious if cooked in a proper oven with the door completely closed. I will have to try it again when this is possible.

This is my last update for the week as I gear up to get ready to go home for Thanksgiving!! My next two updates will be from my own house (hooray for space, proper supplies, and all resources in one place!) and I can't begin to tell you how excited I am!! I'm also excited to get this computer to the Apple store to figure out why my keyboard hates me. Until then, bon apetit!

La Dolce Vita

It truly is the good life when Italian desserts are a part of it. Tonight, as I mentioned in my previous post, was my first dessert from the "Everyday Dolci" chapter. The first section was "Everyday Fruit" and the first recipe was Fruit Salad with Cannoli Cream. Yum. At the beginning of the section, Giada explains how much Italians love their fruit for dessert and how you shouldn't do the recipe unless you're using fresh fruit. Well I must be some sort of rebel, because I had to go with the frozen selection (what?!?!?). More about that later.

The first thing you make in this recipe is the cannoli cream. For me, this was a lesson in reading the directions COMPLETELY before proceeding. You start by combining 1/3 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim though the recipe calls for whole-milk) and two tablespoons of whipping cream. Then, using an electric mixer, you beat 1/3 cup more whipping cream with three tablespoons of powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. I thought I was supposed to beat this all together with the ricotta till soft peaks formed. The soft peaks never formed, though the mixture did get thicker and more whipped cream-like. I looked to the recipe to see if there was a hint as to how long it would take to generate soft peaks and read "Fold the ricotta into the whipped cream." Oops. As I said, this was a lesson in reading directions...but I must say the cream tasted JUST as good.

I set the cream in the fridge while I proceeded with the rest of the recipe. You next have to combine 12 ounces of fresh strawberries with 1/2 pint of fresh raspberries along with a tablespoon of granulated sugar and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. I had to use frozen fruits since the grocery store apparently doesn't import fruit from warm climates and only has these berries in season. I also decided to be authentic and use an actual half of a lemon for my lemon juice which was probably more than a tablespoon, but who measures unless they're baking? This mixture is supposed to sit for 20 minutes and is to be tossed occasionally. I DID follow these instructions correctly.

As that sat, I toasted the three tablespoons of almonds for the topping. I used the electric frying pan which has proven itself time and again. It saves me many a pointless trip up to the kitchen for small, short tasks. I love it!

As those toasted (did I mention this was also a lesson in multitasking?), I peeled two kiwis to add to the fruit. I've decided that no food should be allowed to have terrible skin that needs to be peeled unless it is easy to do so. Have you ever tried peeling a kiwi? It starts off just fine, but as you have most of it peeled and are just trying to get the last bits of fuzziness off, it starts slipping out of your hands and making your hands cold (if you keep them refrigerated) and you start to question whether or not they need to be completely peeled. Then you feel the skin and realize yes, they really do. Anyhow, after peeling both kiwis I cut them up and tossed them with the rest of the fruit.

Once the almonds were done toasting I let them cool off and began to assemble the dessert. You spoon 1/4 of the fruit mixture into a bowl, top it with 1/4 of the cream, then sprinkle some toasted almonds on top. Dee-lish. The fruit was sweet and tart thanks to the lemon juice bringing out it's natural flavors combined with the sugar. The cream was thick and smooth and the toasted almonds brought out the dash of cinnamon. Overall, it was fantastic. I may or may not have licked the bowl in the comfort of my own room. I'm not lying.

The dessert chapter is the last in the book which means that next week, we start all over again! We're back to antipasti with a nice crostini recipe. I won't reveal too much, you're just going to have to check back and see what's in store!

Trial & Error

Today was a day of learning. Not only in cooking, but in life. It was my first day of classes and it started off pretty well. I had plenty of time to get ready in the morning, I put together a great outfit, and made it to all my classes with more than enough time. I met up with Katie for lunch again and we dined al fresco seeing as it was a beautiful day.

I had to go to the field house during my lunch break to get into my practice clothes, then went to my 2 p.m. class then straight to the turf for practice. Being that it was the first practice after preseason, our team was beat. We really didn't have much spark left in us. However, since we didn't lock the shed Saturday night and forgot to bring a bunch of equipment to the high school clinic yesterday, we had to run a timed mile on the spot. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

For me, practice was terrible. I couldn't seem to do anything right, and if I did do something right, I didn't know because I wasn't told so. There were moments when I focused solely on field hockey and it seemed as though I improved, but those were few and far between. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it rained during practice like it has all throughout preseason? I can't tell you how sick I am of being outside in the rain. However, lesson learned: There's no sense in complaining about things that we can't control.

When I got back to my dorm, not only was I hungry, but I was relieved because it was time to cook and that is what I look forward to all day! As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to make something with chicken and eggplant. Not to toot my own horn, but I definitely need to give myself an A for creativity tonight. What is pictured above may not be the prettiest of dishes, but it was sure delicious.

Let me first start by saying I went in and out of my room at least five times to grab something I forgot before heading down to the kitchen. Hot start, right?

I started by peeling a huge clove of garlic and cutting a tomato in half. I seasoned both with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of EVOO, and let them roast in the oven at 450 degrees. I then cut the end off the eggplant and peeled it while a big pot of water was set to boil. My intention was to create a faux pasta out of the eggplant, so I used my vegetable peeler (which is pink) to create some eggplant "ribbons." This was much easier in theory. Eggplant should come with a warning that reads: "If you intend to peel this, it WILL take you an eternity." As I got down to the middle of the eggplant, I halved it and then just cut thin strips to save some time.

Once the water came to a boil, I added some salt and tossed in the eggplant ribbons to cook. Next, I chopped some garlic and heated it in a pan with another teaspoon of olive oil. I then cut my chicken into smaller pieces and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Once the pan was hot enough, I added in the chicken.

At this time, the tomato and garlic clove in the oven were perfectly roasted. I pulled them out of the oven, let them cool, then put them into a glass bowl. Now this next part is not my original idea, therefore, I will now give my mother MORE credit. I smashed the tomato halves and garlic together to create a light sauce for my dish. Note to self for next time: add some basil too!

I then put the boiled eggplant into a strainer (which is also pink) once it was nice and soft. As that sat, I continued to cook the chicken. Chicken is another thing that should come with a warning that should read: "If you do not properly defrost this, it WILL be tough and you WILL have a difficult time checking to see if it is completely cooked." I had thought about putting the chicken in the fridge this morning while I was getting things together, but never followed through since I was trying to do ten things at once. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Once everything was ready, I put the eggplant on the plate, added the chicken, then topped it with the sauce. I gathered all my supplies and pulled a major Rachael Ray back upstairs to my room (I'm pretty sure I could give her a run for her money. She only carries all her ingredients from the fridge or pantry to the counter. I carry all of mine up and down two flights of stairs). As I walked back, I looked down at my dish and noticed a lot of water collecting along the sides. I knew I hadn't added too much oil to anything, then realized I didn't fully drain the eggplant. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

The dish turned out very well overall after I drained the watery-ness out of it. The sauce turned out great and the eggplant was perfectly al dente. We'll work on the chicken for next time.

After a long and stressful day, my food therapy and writing therapy were exactly what I needed. I now must get ahead on my reading for classes so I will have time in the future for MORE cooking and writing :)

Update: I forgot to mention that I did add a bit of parmesan cheese to the sauce. Just in case anyone wanted to try it for themselves!