Cake domes, or sort of black and white cookies

What are these weird looking things?

Cake domes?  Actually, they're black and white cookies.  The recipe came from an issue of Food & Wine that was published in 2004.  It was the October issue, and they were called black-and-orange cookies.  I change the icing color according to holidays or my mood or other random factors.  Blue is my favorite color, so today they are blue.  True, I prefer navy blue, but this color blue will do.  

Why are they called cake domes?  You are supposed to flip over the cookies and put the icing on the flat side.  I don't do that.  I frost the rounded side.  When I worked in a bookstore, I regularly brought in stuff I baked.  A co-worker of mine christened these "cake domes" because they are domed and because they taste more like cake than cookies.  I like that better than black and white cookies, especially since I'm always changing the color on the non-chocolate side.  

Cake domes are a lot of work for not that much payoff.  I get about two dozen cookies from the recipe.  I don't make them very often.  I don't think they're all that good.  But, as with some other things I bake, my family likes cake domes, so I make the cookies for them.  

Chicken spinach pasta thing

I made chicken spinach pasta thing today.

This is my favorite meal.  I invented it!  I should have given it a real name, but I have always referred to it as chicken spinach pasta thing, so that's what I'm sticking with.  Several people have asked for the recipe, so I'm going to use this post to explain as best I can how to make it.  It's all in my head.  I've never written it down before.  I do a bunch of things at once, so I'm not sure how to go about explaining this.  It takes longer than an hour but less than an hour and a half.

A package of frozen spinach needs to be thawed.  Run water over the frozen spinach while it's still in the plastic if it's still frozen when it's time to start dinner.  This will defrost it fairly quickly.  Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta.  Cut up one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I cut it into chunks so that it will cook more quickly.  You're going to shred the chicken, so it doesn't matter what it looks like.  For this, I cut the chicken on an angle so that in theory, again, it will cook more quickly.  Season the chicken with kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper, and cook it in a saute pan on medium high heat.  Don't use a nonstick pan- you won't get the seared crust on the chicken, and you won't be able to deglaze the pan later.  Also, I put olive oil in the saute pan before putting the chicken in there.  I put the lid on the saute pan at first, but after a little while I take it off and cook the chicken the rest of the way without it.  At some point, you'll flip the chicken over.  You want a bit of a crust to develop on the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, grate parmesan cheese.  Use a chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano.  Don't use the Kraft stuff.  The cheese is used at the end and gives a distinctive flavor.  I can't give an exact amount.  I grate until I think it looks like enough.  Maybe it's an amount that would be equivalent to two fists put together?  I'm not sure how much that is exactly.  Set that aside.  Now get the chicken broth ready.  I use half of a container of Imagine free range, low-sodium chicken broth- about 14-16 ounces.  You're going to use this to deglaze the saute pan later.  Once the spinach is thawed, remove it from the plastic and squeeze out all the liquid.  This is important.  Really squeeze all of the water out of the spinach.  If the spinach is holding onto water, it won't soak up the chicken broth.  Also, you don't want spinach water diluting your meal.

When the chicken is finished, put it on a plate to cool.  Immediately pour the chicken broth into the saute pan.  It will make some noise and throw up some steam.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the saute pan and get up the bits of chicken that are stuck to the bottom.  That's calling deglazing the pan.  It will add more flavor to your dish.  Turn the heat to low and reduce the broth a bit.  Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it by hand.  I put it in a bowl with the ball of spinach.

The water will have come to a boil by now.  I usually turn the water off until I am ready for it.  If it's already warm, it will come back to a boil quickly when I'm ready to throw in the pasta.  When I think I'm about ten minutes from being finished, I bring the water back to a boil, throw some kosher salt into the water, and put in the pasta.  I use De Cecco orecchiette.  It means "little ears."  I find it goes well with this dish.  It holds little bits of spinach and chicken in the indentations.  Cook three quarters of a pound to one pound of pasta, depending on how many people you are feeding and what else you are serving with dinner.

After the pasta goes in the water, the chicken and spinach go in the saute pan with the chicken broth.  By this time, the broth will have reduced by half or so.  Break up the spinach and make sure it is spread all around the chicken.  It will soak up some of the chicken broth.  You don't want a lot of broth left at the end.  I usually don't have much left at all.  If you find that you have too much broth left, turn the heat up and let it reduce more.  When the pasta is finished cooking, strain it and put it in the saute pan with the chicken and spinach.  I use a wooden spoon to make sure the chicken and spinach are mixed evenly with the pasta.

Now it's time for the cheese.  I sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano over everything in the saute pan.  I switch to tongs and mix it all together.  The parmesan will melt due to the heat of the pasta, chicken, and spinach.  You're finished!  Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

It's delicious, if I do say so myself.

Tanti Auguri, Pasquale!

My grandfather is going to be 88 years old this weekend.  He is a remarkable man, and I love him very much.  I thought I'd share him with the world, or at least the tiny fraction of it that reads my blog.  As if the title of this post didn't give it away, his name is Pasquale.  My great-grandparents were from Italy.  They came to the United States when they were young adults, but my grandfather was born here.  In a scenario straight out of a movie, he was forbidden to marry my grandmother because she wasn't Italian.  He defied his parents and married her anyway.  Awww.  Go, Pop-Pop!  They've been married for 63 years.

Like most men of his generation, he fought in WWII.  He talks about it matter-of-factly if asked.  "A guy right next to me had his foot blown off."  Stuff like that.  He has shown me things he brought back from France and Italy while he was there.  He was only 18 when he was sent to Europe to fight.  His best friend was sent to the Pacific.  His best friend didn't come back.  I can't imagine that.

After the war, my grandfather became a mailman.  This was the perfect job for him, because he loves to talk to people.  As a mailman, he could walk around the neighborhood and talk to everyone!  It's not just neighbors.  Pop-Pop can carry on conversations with perfect strangers like he's known them for years.  I wish I had his gift of gab.  My grandfather also used to repair fishing reels for several shops at the Jersey shore.  Sometimes I would sit with him in the basement while he worked on them, and we'd chat and listen to big band music.  Occasionally, I made the trip down with him to visit the various places, drop off the fixed reels, and pick up the reels to be repaired.  Of course, my grandfather knew everyone in every shop and could talk to them all day.  The trip always ended with a stop at Mack and Manco's for pizza.  Yum.

I spent a good deal of time at my grandparents' house when I was younger.  My cousin and I must have watched The Neverending Story and Willy Wonka and danced around singing like Oompa Loompas a hundred times.  My grandmother cooked big meals for the extended family, and holidays and family birthday parties were often at their house.  Yet after decades of knowing them, they still are able to surprise me.  The family was gathered at my grandparents' house for a party (sometime within the past year or two), and the subject of opera came up.  My love of opera is common knowledge among my friends, but I don't think my family is aware of it.  What does my grandfather come out with?  "Grandmom and I like opera!  We used to go to operas together."  WHAT?  They did??  How did I not know this?  The next time I was at their house, my grandfather had something to show me.  He had found programs, dated before I was born, from when they used to go to the opera.  Cool.

I'm sure I'll think of a million things I want to say after I publish this post.  Here's something that almost slipped my mind.  I went to college in Rhode Island, and my grandfather drove himself and my grandmother up from South Jersey to visit me every year.  It meant a lot to me that they would come all that way each year to spend the weekend with me.  They saw my friends.  They wanted to go to restaurants that I liked.  One time we went to the movies.  They fit right in.  That's because they are awesome.  My grandparents came up for my graduation, too.  Here's where my grandfather's boldness and ability to talk to anyone really paid off.  Pop-Pop cornered John Glenn at my graduation and talked to him.  John Glenn.  My grandfather went right up to John Glenn like he was Joe Nobody and started a conversation.  I love that!

Pop-Pop is a good man.  No, more than that.  My grandfather is a great man.  He will do anything for his family.  He is friendly and caring and smart.  He's a nice guy.  He still dotes on my grandmother like they are newlyweds.  I'm grateful to have had them both be such a big part of my life.  Happy Birthday, Pop-Pop!

30-Minute Chili

I made chili for the first time last week.  I like chili, but I don't eat it very often.  Chili is usually filled with ground beef.  I don't eat cows or pigs, so chili is generally not an option for me.  I prefer vegetarian chili, but the person who requested the chili wasn't about to eat that.  I found a regular chili recipe and substituted ground turkey.  I was told that he couldn't tell the difference.

Does this look appealing?  Eh, no.  But it was tasty.  

I found a chili recipe from Everyday Food that I thought would be worth trying.  They called it 30-Minute Chili.  It took longer than thirty minutes to make.  Me being me, I couldn't just make it the way the recipe said.  I had to mess with it a bit.  I already mentioned that I substituted ground turkey for the beef.  I used two onions instead of three.  I used a greater amount of both the chili powder and the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce.  I left out the cinnamon completely, and I didn't put shredded cheese on top at the end.

The entire time I was making the chili, I was convinced it was going to be terrible.  After I added the ground turkey, it looked like a mushy mess.  I thought it would never cook properly.  After I added the beer and the diced tomatoes, I thought it was too watery and would never reduce enough.  It ended up just right.  It was hot and spicy, but not too much so.  It had a good ratio of liquid to beans, tomatoes, and meat.  I was surprisingly pleased with how it turned out.

Pride and Prejudice is 200

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice begins with what has become one of the most recognized opening lines in literature.  My favorite book among those written by my favorite author, Pride and Prejudice celebrates the 200th anniversary of its publication today, January 28th.  What was happening in 1813 when this novel was published?  James Madison was president of the United States.  He was only the fourth president!  The U.S. was fighting the War of 1812 against the British.  Wait, what?  The War of 1812 went from 1812-1815?  What the hell?

Jane Austen

The above is one of the few recognized images of Jane Austen.  She was first published in 1811 (Sense and Sensibility) and died six years later in 1817.  Too young.  She left us with only six completed novels.  Her writing is witty, clever, and smart.  Calling Austen "chick-lit" is doing her a great disservice.  Also, let me state for the record that the definitive adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.  Don't bother with any other.  That one is perfect.

When I was in England so many years ago (okay, fifteen), I was lucky enough to be able to visit some Austen-related places.  I'll share some photos I took of the area.  They were scanned and don't look too hot, but they still relay the feel of the place.  First up was her cottage in Chawton.

This is a "cottage."

Austen lived in Chawton Cottage for the last eight years of her life.  Much of her writing was done here.  I walked through the garden imagining that Austen had done the same.  A few months before she died, Austen moved to a house in Winchester in order to be closer to her doctor.

Austen's Winchester home

The plaque above the door reads, "IN THIS HOUSE JANE AUSTEN LIVED HER LAST DAYS AND DIED 18TH JULY 1817."  I visited the house in which she died in Winchester, as well as Winchester Cathedral, where she is buried.

Winchester Cathedral

Austen is interred in the floor of the cathedral.

RIP Jane

I also went to Lyme Regis, a seaside town that plays an important role in her novel Persuasion.

Lyme Regis

Austen used to visit this hamlet with her family.  Lyme Regis has a scenic, rocky coastline.

Young Jen!

I don't usually post other people's photos on my blog, so I pixelated my friend's face.  I enjoyed Lyme Regis immensely.  I can see why it is so popular with Brits past and present.

Lyme Regis

Southern England is beautiful.  Look, sheep!

Is one of you named Shaun?

This has nothing to do with Jane Austen, but it was around the same area as the rest of these places, and it amuses me.  The Cerne Abbas Giant.

Naked guy carved in a hillside!

My friend and I came across this by chance while driving around southern England.  A 180-foot tall, naked chalk man tends to draw one's attention.

Alright, back to Jane.  I have tried to resist calling her Jane up to this point, but I have typed it several times and have had to go back and replace it with Austen.  Fans of Austen's work often refer to her as Jane.  Why?  Do we feel a greater sense of connection with her?  When I talk about Neil Gaiman or Margaret Atwood, it doesn't occur to me to refer to them by their first names.  Yet, I refer to Austen as Jane without a second thought.  Thanks, Jane.  Two hundred years ago you gave us a novel which continues to delight readers and which remains relevant even after two centuries.

New England is great

It has been brought to my attention that I should blog about going away last weekend.  I haven't been in a blogging mood lately, but I'll write a bit about my visit.  I love New England. I lived there for four years during college, and I used to go back all the time to visit.  A trip to New England was long overdue.  My friend Josh and I drove up together, and he posted his own account of the trip on his blog.  He dubbed this weekend Tim-a-palooza because we were each visiting a different friend named Tim.

Josh's Tim lives in NH, so that was the first stop.  (Interesting coincidence- my Tim also used to live in New Hampshire.)  I had dinner with the two of them, plus Tim's roommates, all really great people, and then I headed to Boston to see my Tim.  I had a fantastic time hanging out with Tim, his wife, and his young daughter.  We ate so much on Saturday that I think I'm still full.  Tim likes to cook and to bake, as I do, and he put both of those skills to use.  Pancakes from scratch and chocolate cake.  Yum.  What else did we eat on Saturday?  There was falafel, a cheesy pastry thing, copious amounts of Thai food, cinnamon bread, and earthquake cookies. We also had amazingly delicious wine and cheese from a shop around the corner from his place in Cambridge.  I could live off of wine and cheese.  The wine and cheese made me very happy.

Hanging out with Tim and his wife and daughter made me very happy, too.  I was thinking about how long I've known Tim.  It has been almost twenty years.  We met when we lived down the hall from each other during our freshman year of college.  I don't remember if I met Tim the first day, but it was certainly the first week.  He is like a brother to me.  Tim is the kind of friend who if we don't see or talk to each other for a little while, when we do, it's like no time has passed.  He married someone who is equally awesome, and his daughter is wonderful, too.

Tim's wife had to work on Sunday, so in the morning, the two of us went for a walk with his daughter around a lake near his place.  There I discovered that I need to start doing yoga again. Why?  Tim's daughter wanted me to carry her around the lake.  She barely weighs more than my beagle, but I was having a hard time after a while.  In the afternoon, Josh and Tim and one of Tim's roommates came to Boston, and we went to bookstores and a Japanese market and a Vietnamese restaurant.  (Another interesting coincidence- the first time I had pho was when I was visiting Tim when he lived in Los Angeles.)  I wish that my Tim could have come with us, but he had to stay home with his daughter.

It was a fun trip.  I always feel at home when I'm in New England.  I don't get to see Tim enough.  I hope he knows how much I treasure his friendship.  It was nice to meet Josh's Tim in person.  He is just as cool as Josh always says he is.  And of course it was nice to spend time with my friend Josh, who doesn't live nearby anymore.  It was an all-around excellent weekend.