Week of October 24-30

Let's see, what did we do last weekend?  Friday night we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum, which was very enjoyable.  Walter and I were lucky enough to see it on Broadway and this production was almost as good.  We had a nice dinner at Felicia Suzanne's.  I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion tart to start and it was outstanding.  Saturday Walter worked, as usual, and I had my needlepoint group, then we went to Huey's for dinner.  Great fries.  Sunday night I cooked:

Chicken Marsala
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

All of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated.  I will say, don't attempt this menu unless you're pretty good at doing several things at once.  I was mighty challenged, but it all came out ok and almost at the same time!  The pilaf and the peas were especially good to know about as I am always looking for good side dishes.

Monday 10-25-10

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

From Cooking Light, this soup was very easy and tasty.  I cooked some extra chicken when I was doing the Chicken Marsala yesterday, so I had that part done.  I intended to make some biscuits to go with this, but Walter informed me at the last minute that he wouldn't be home for dinner and then I was running late for my lit class, so I just did the soup.  My friend Pam and I spent almost all day on a gardening project, so I was pretty tired when I got home.  This soup was perfect.


Tuesday 10-26-10

My former neighbor Nancy invited Dotsie and Wanda and me to lunch today at her new digs at Trezevant Manor.  How nice is that place!  Nancy and Gordon have an apartment in the new building and it is first class.  They're very happy and very busy there.  We had a great lunch and a great visit with each other.  Thanks again, Nancy!  I took her these chocolate chip cookies which Walter later proclaimed as the best cookies ever (of course he says that about every cookie I make...) I had my Search class tonight so didn't really feel like cooking. Thankfully, Monday night's Lore of Literature class was the last one for this semester so I won't have double class nights for the rest of the year.  My wonderful neighbor Troy made a huge batch of spaghetti gravy earlier this month and brought some frozen to me.  I snatched that sauce out of the freezer and had spaghetti for dinner!  Thanks, Troy!

Wednesday 10-27-10

Get ready.  I made Pork Ragu Al Maialino and it was fantastic.  Notice that I'm big on one-dish menus.  They're not always balanced, but I don't worry about Walter, he eats pretty good all day long.  And I get lots of vegetables at lunch, so nights are kinda whatever.

Thursday 10-28-10

It's Thursday morning as I write this and we're leaving today for North Carolina.  We're driving to Asheville to spend the night, then to Charlotte on Friday where we're going to shop for a Murphy bed to put in Walter's upstairs office.  Then on to Blowing Rock for the weekend, can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

Serves 6. 

Have a bowl of ice water ready to "shock" the drained peas and prevent further softening and shriveling.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon table salt 

4 cups sugar snap peas (about 1 pound), stems snipped off and strings removed if needed

2 tablespoons olive oil 

 Lemon zest from 1 medium lemon, sliced very fine

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 medium clove garlic , minced

6 - 8 fresh basil leaves , chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon table salt 

 Ground black pepper 

Instructions

1.   Bring 6 cups water to brisk boil in 3- or 4-quart saucepan. Add salt and peas and cook until crisp-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes depending on size of peas.

2.   Drain peas, shock in ice water, drain again, and pat dry. (Peas can be set aside for up to 1 hour.)

3.   Heat oil over medium heat in medium sauté pan. Add zest and garlic; sauté until garlic is soft but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add peas, lemon juice, and basil; toss to combine. Cook until just heated through, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.