V Day Special.

The past three years for Valentine's Day, P.I.C. and I menu plan and pick out a meal to make at home. While we love going out for dinner, we enjoy the intimacy of being at home, turning all external noise off, and just enjoying each other's company. We also probably drink too much for a school night, but that's neither here nor there. This year, I elected to try cooking mussels for the first time.

I went with this recipe, and decided to cook three pounds of mussels rather than the five pounds suggested. It was just the two of us after all.

We got our mussels from the amazing Dirk's Fish and Gourmet Shop, which, if you're in Chicago, you MUST patronize. Seriously. I get all serious seafood purchases from there. They are friendly, the entire place smells amazing, and the prices seem fair for the quality.

I entrusted my sous chef, P.I.C., with the task of debearding and scrubbing the mussels. (Full confession? We had to youtube a how to video.) Luckily, most of them were already debearded, so it wasn't a huge task

NO BEARDS HERE.

The mussels turned out fantastic. I would definitely make this recipe again. You must like a punch of mustard though. It, along with the herbs, gives quite a bite, in the best way possible. I love mustard, though.

I cheated and bought cheese and fruit for an appetizer (try the triple cream gorgonzola from Trader Joe's...it's AMAZING). The good? We love cheese, and the creamy blue paired brilliantly with the cava we cracked. The bad? We ate so much damn cheese that we had to toss quite a bit of our mussels. That was sad for me. Additionally, three pounds of mussels is WAY too much for two people. Lesson learned.

Macaroni and cheese, roasted brussel sprouts, please.

With the Chicago winter on its way, I have been craving all things comfort. Macaroni and cheese is one of those ranking high on the list. I have a tried-and-true recipe that involved Velveeta cheese (seriously, what middle class child of the 1980s does NOT like Velveeta, right?), but wanted to try something a smidge fancier. I asked one of my best friends who never steers me wrong for a good recipe. As expected, she delivered. I mean, winning an Emeril Lagasse challenge means something, right? I went with this bacon and cheesy delight of a recipe.

Stirring in the cheese.

Looking good already.

All baked and luscious. 

One important tip to note: Buy bricks of cheese, not pre-shredded. It melts better.

Of course, I needed a side dish that was lighter and cheese-free to cut the richness of the macaroni and cheese. I went with a good standby for winter: brussel sprouts. I found a recipe, but chose instead to do my own thing. I cleaned and halved the sprouts, tossed in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. I put them on a foil-lined baking sheet and baked at 400 degrees until they got nice and brown. Some turned a little black, but they still tasted awesome. Two thumbs up from my less than enthusiastic fan of brussel sprouts husband.

Chicken Alfredo, low-fat style!

Of course, I had tons of leftover chicken after my crockpot chicken. I'm never one to just eat plain leftovers, I like to get a little creative. Tonight? I went with a chicken alfredo recipe.

I used this recipe for the sauce. It's pretty basic. I ended up adding a bit more milk and cheese to the mix to stretch the sauce out. I also diced some tomato, and then put about one cup of the shredded leftover chicken in the dish. Next time, I think I will add some frozen peas or broccoli (you could really add whatever you had on hand.) I threw in a bit of sage for color and a little bit of a flavor kick, but I think this was a misstep.

I tossed the sauce with pasta, served with a salad and it wasn't so bad!

Leftover success!

Crockpot chicken.

The Friday following Thanksgiving, I awoke at an ungodly hour to go shopping. No, I wasn't in dire need of any Black Friday special. My family has tradition of where we get up and hit the mall at 7:00 a.m. We are at Chili's by 10:30 for an early lunch, then home by the early afternoon. It's great fun, and mostly a bonding experience.

I did, however, snag a fancy new crockpot for the low price of $19! (THANKS, TARGET!) I'd been wanting another one, and this one was slightly bigger than my old beat-up tried-and-true fella. Of course, I had to break it in immediately. I made gumbo on one night. The following night, I made a whole chicken.

I'd bought the chicken in anticipation of roasting it, but after perusing the small guide of recipes in the crockpot book, I knew I had to try it out.

The recipe for a whole chicken (per my adaptations and additions):
-1 whole chicken (4-6 lbs), rinsed, sans giblets
-half an onion, chopped
-one lemon
-butter
-thyme
-rosemary
-paprika

Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the chopped onion. Set the chicken in the crockpot base. Rub it all over with butter. Drizzle the bird with the juice of that  lemon. Sprinkle with the seasonings. (I don't measure, I just do it til it looks pretty.) I used fresh thyme because I had it on hand and dried rosemary, but any combination of seasonings to your liking would work. Cook on low for ten hours.

TADA!!!

On the side, I was in the mood for some fresh green beans.

Sauteed green beans recipe:
-Approximately one lb of green beans, cleaned and trimmed
-Half of an onion, chopped
-garlic, minced
-butter
-olive oil
-fresh grated parmesan

I boiled the beans in hot salted water for four minutes, then shocked them in cold water. While the beans were boiling, I melted one tablespoon of olive oil with one tablespoon of butter, then sauteed the onion and garlic. (I love a lot of garlic, so I used three smallish cloves, but you can do this to your taste.) After the onion began to appear clear, I tossed in the beans and sauteed for about 5-10 minutes. I like them still crunchy, not mushy, so cook until they are to your desired texture. I removed from heat, sprinkled with some sea salt and fresh grated parm, and it was delish!

Another Sunday dinner success!

A disaster, followed by victorious pasta.

My parents were in town for our usual Sunday night dinner, so of course I had to make something special. I found this recipe for a seemingly easy crostini...carmelized onions, goat cheese, French baguette. Sign you up, right? Well, things were going swimmingly as I followed the recipe until I decided that a lovely touch would be to broil the finished bits.

Looking good to start, right?

The result of two too many minutes of broiling. Oops.

A little thyme? My dad still gobbled them up, serious burnt crust and all.

For the entree, I attempted to recreate one of my favorite dishes, rigatoni alla boscaiola, a pasta dish with Italian sausage, tomato, cream, and mushrooms.

This is pre-addition of the cheeses and cream. I eliminated the peas since both P.I.C. and my mom hate them.

Decadent and fabulous, right? I went with one of my favorite dishes and added some fresh sage.

Side salad to accompany? Add apples, blue cheese, and some walnuts and  it feels so fancy.

And what is a Sunday dinner without a lovely glass of wine to accompany?

My adjustments to the above recipe? Next time, I'd add more sausage, a spicier. When reheating the leftovers, we enjoyed throwing in some crushed red pepper for a little kick and I liked it better.

As for the appetizer? I'd be way more careful with the broiler.

Crockpot Gumbo!

With the chill in the air becoming ever more prevalent, my need to stew things all day long has become insatiable. I made chili last week, and have often taken to slow cook a roast, so I was up for something new. Gumbo was my random selection to which the husband said, "Yes please!"

I followed this recipe:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/gumborecipes/r/bl108c14.htm

Making the roux...I have this awesome whisk that is perfect for this purpose.

Practicing my photo skills with my ingredients.

Set it to low, cook for seven hours.

Served with rice, it was quite a hit in my house.

I used turkey sausage instead of regular which probably meant it didn't taste quite as good, but the use of chicken thighs was spot on. Delicious dark meat really rounded out the protein in this dish. I also added about two cups to the mix once I put it in the crockpot. I felt it needed some more liquid. I also cut the shrimp into smaller bites to spread them throughout the dish.

Two spicy thumbs up here!

Butternut squash and apple harvest soup.

After two lovely weeks spent traveling Spain and eating as many tapas as I could handle, I was ready to get back into my kitchen and make a mess, sans jamon iberico. Since we returned to gold and rust-colored leaves on trees and an undeniable crispness that could only be autumn, I opted for a soup and some squash. My recipe? Thanks to allrecipes.com, I found this one, a bisque chock-full of veggies and an apple for a little bit of an unexpected sweetness. As I am prone to do, I chopped all of my ingredients, then presented them to myself. (I do like to pretend I have my own cooking show.)

Lots of chopping involved in this one.

Such a pretty vegetable.

Soup cooking away, making the fruit and veggies soft and ready for the immersion blender.

The end result: soup and a salad, adorned with some more apple, goat cheese and some toasted walnuts.

Of course, some crusty bread on the side too.

Both P.I.C. and I relished our lovely dinner in our own kitchen made from my own hands. It was lovely to be back home. As for the soup? I highly recommend it. It tastes like creamy fall in a bowl. I used half and half instead of light cream and also added some shakes of cayenne pepper (per a reviewer on allrecipes) to add a little bit of a kick, and it was delightful