Gnocchi with white beans and spinach

I was cruising around the interwebs looking for something interesting to add to our dinner rotation this week and I stumbled on a recipe for skillet gnocchi with white beans and chard from EatingWell.com. I wasn't thrilled by the recipe as presented but used it as the inspiration for the recipe you see here.  This turned out to be a nice, warm pasta dish for a bitter cold night.  At about 500 calories a serving (4 servings), this dish packs a lot of flavor without layering in much fat.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cracked red pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup chicken stock*
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 15-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

*To make this dish vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock or water for the chicken stock

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic.  Season with cracked red pepper, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper. Saute for 1 minute.  Deglaze the pan with the 1/4 cup of wine.  Reduce heat to medium and add chicken stock.  Cook until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes.

 Onions and garlic sauteing with chicken stock, cracked red pepper, salt and black pepper

Add oregano and basil. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it starts to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.

Spinach melting into the onions and garlic

Stir in tomatoes and beans and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the gnocchi, cover and allow to simmer for 3 more minutes. Check the seasoning again, add salt and pepper to taste.

Red, green, and gold coming together in the pan

Transfer the gnocchi mixture from the skillet to an 8"x8" casserole dish.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.  Place the casserole dish under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbling and slightly brown, about 2 minutes.

Just out from under the broiler

Allow the pasta to stand for three minutes before serving.

A heaping helping of the finished product

Enjoy!

Creamy mac and cheese

Are you seeing a theme? Comfort food perhaps?  Well, this blog post will offer more along the same lines - this one pulled from the pages of October's Cooking Light magazine.

This Mac and Cheese variant uses the starchy sweetness of butternut squash to develop its creaminess without all the added fat of a bechamel.  If you're looking for a super rich, homestyle mac and cheese, dripping with cheddar, parm and pecorino, well, look elsewhere.  But if you're willing to give a relatively healthy, tasty substitute a whirl, even if it doesn't have the same traditional elements, you're in for a treat.

3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk (whatever kind you have on hand)
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1 pound uncooked cavatappi
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

A nice bright pile of squash, before its trip into the pot

Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure the lid on the blender. Place a clean towel over the opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

 The pasta and sauce, ready for its topping

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot pasta mixture.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

One delicious borough

The morning dawned bright and sunny, albeit a little chilly with the wind.  We started our morning out with a trip back to the Tasty Deli for breakfast.  Pancakes, eggs and/or french toast later we were back on the street headed the Green-Hill Cemetery again to do the exploring we were timed out of the night before.

 Dex about to munch on some banana at breakfast

Once we arrived, Dave's mom found a grave on the map that she was keenly interested in visiting, that of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a graffiti artist from New York who died in 1988 of a heroin overdose at age 27.  However, his grave was at the absolute back of the 640 acre cemetery.  But with nice sunny weather we decided we'd give it a whirl anyway. I would guess the walk was a little over a mile each way, but we enjoyed each others company along the way, finding all the tombstones with names that could be considered inappropriate.  Finally we arrived at a line of newish graves (there a civil war era graves in the cemetery, so anything in the last 40 or so years you'd consider new).  Let's just say Basquiat's grave was more than a little anti-climactic.  As a well known artist, we were expecting something large, ornate and a little out there.  But his tombstone was of normal size with his name and dates of birth and death, sitting side-by-side with grandmothers, war veterans and others, all in a line.

Strolling through the cemetery on our way back from Basquiat's grave

After deciding we'd had enough of the cemetery we headed back to the hotel to regroup and decide on a venue for lunch.  Yet again, Dave's yelp-ing ways didn't disappoint.  He had several suggestions for more hole-in-the-wall restaurants, this time near Prospect Park.  So we hopped on the subway and away we went. 

Gotta love the NYC subway - RODENTICIDE

Amy, Alyce, Dex and Patrick on the subway. This is one of several times Dex decided she was offended by Patrick, took one look at him and proceeded to get quite upset.  Poor Patrick. 

We arrived at "The Islands" to find a TINY takeout restaurant that specialized in delicious Caribbean food with its only seating up a crazy steep staircase in what felt like the inside of an old ship. 

The frighteningly steep stairs leading to the seating area at "The Islands" (pic stolen from Alyce)

One end of the crazy ship-style seating

Amy and Tony inside the tiny restaurant

While the place had a menu, we had arrived after prime lunch time and many of its specialties were already gone for the day, so we had to choose between just a handful of their remaining dishes.  But we learned that they make more of their best dishes so we were able to enjoy some amazing things, even with the limitations of our arrival time.  Amy, Tony, Jody, Patrick, Ben and I, who were all at one end of the crazy ship seating decided sharing was the way to go and settled on four large dishes to split, including two orders of the BEST jerk chicken I've ever had, garlic shrimp and curry goat.  All of them were delicious and made the long wait and cramped quarters completely worth it.

 Garlic shrimp with Jasmine Rice

Curry goat with Jasmine rice

Amazing jerk chicken with rice and beans and plantain

When we'd eaten our fill (and we basically cleaned all the plates) we got the bill and all shook our heads at the marvel of $27/couple for the delicious meal we'd just had. Yes, you're reading that right. $27 per couple for lunch in New York.  Proof that if you know where to look good food doesn't have to be expensive.  Way to go, Dave! Again! 

While we were quite full all of our mouths were burning from the extreme spice of our meal.  So Jody whipped out her trusty Iphone to find us some dessert that would cool us off.  Five blocks later we were standing in Blue Marble Creamery for some tasty treats.  It had many interesting flavors including cinnamon, pistachio, and blood orange sorbet.  Everyone found something they liked.

Ice creams in hand we headed back out onto the street for the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  We arrived at 430 giving us about an hour and half to explore the five floors filled with galleries.  We split up as soon as we got inside, each couple choosing to pursue our different interests. Ben and I spent a fair amount of time in the Contemporary Art galleries.  Being from the Detroit area, the piece pictured below was my favorite from the museum.

Ignore my reflection in the glass

A metaphor for the auto industry

At about 545, Ben and I headed back downstairs for a much needed seat on the benches, thinking we'd have a few minutes to wait for everyone else. Alas, everyone was a tired as we were and within 5 minutes we had all congregated on the benches to chill for a few minutes before the museum closed and we had to be back on our feet.  A few minutes later we were rather unceremoniously tossed out onto the street headed for the subway and our hotel.  Sadly, Amy and Tony had to depart for their puppies and we had to say our goodbyes as we would be leaving before they came back to the city on Sunday.  After they left, we all retired to our rooms for a few minutes of much needed rest and relaxation before meeting back downstairs at 730 for dinner.

Unfortunately, as our little group started to reassemble in the lobby my cell phone rang.  I answered to hear Alyce telling us that Dex, who had been a little fussy all day (we assumed the travel was just not agreeing with her) had spiked a fever and that they would be staying in for the night.  I'm not sure if we were more disappointed for poor Dex, feeling gross and being away from home, or for Alyce and Dave having to handle a sick baby without their normal comforts either.  In the end, we went on to dinner without them, but all three were greatly missed.

While we'd been waiting in the lobby, Patrick had done some more Iphone searching and had located a restaurant near the Brooklyn Bridge called Noodle Pudding that had great yelp reviews, was decently priced and was cash-only (a good sign for Italian restaurants as we were told by both Jody and Patrick who used to reside in Boston's little Italy).  One very long wait for an R train and a 10 or so block walk and we had put our name in and found a seat at the bar to wait the approximate 45 minutes required to get a table.  Once we had an appetizer and a drinks, beers for Ben and Patrick and Prosecco for Jody and I, the 45 minutes went quickly and we were soon seated.

One annihilated appetizer plate (it was an antipasto platter when it started)

We'd spent a good part of our time at the bar deciding what we'd have for dinner since we were all ravenous.  We started with two orders of beef carpaccio, piled high with arugula and shaved parmesan.

Mmm...thinly sliced raw meat!

For our main courses, Ben and I both selected the gnocchi with butter and sage.  These little potato dumplings were homemade and absolutely perfectly prepared, tender and buttery!  Patrick ordered the ravioli with a tomato sauce, eggplant and ricotta salata.  It too was extremely delicious.  Finally, Jomo order lasagna which Ben dug into so fast that I didn't get a picture but the bolognese it was made with was fantastic.  If you can't tell, we're big time food sharers, all of us, which means everybody gets a bite of everything.  It's a great way to eat! 

Gnocchi with butter and sage

House rigatoni pasta with eggplant and ricotta salata

Since everything we'd shared had been good, we decided we had to sample the dessert too.  Jody and Patrick shared a warm gooey brownie with hazelnut ice cream.  Ben and I shared spicy chocolate gelato (he ate the gelato and I ate the berries).  Both were tasty and a nice, sweet end to the meal. Since it was after midnight when we finished dinner, we hopped a cab back to the hotel for another shot at sleep.  All in all, a wonderful day.

A Healthy Remake on Spaghetti and Meatballs

Mostly, I think the Food Network Magazine is a lot of flash and not a lot of substance.  But I still have a subscription for it for the two odd recipes per month I find useful (Fleur de Sel caramel for example).  This month, I was not disappointed.  With a whole section devoted to lighter options catering to the New Years Resolution crowd, a crowd with which I sympathize with wholeheartedly, I found a tasty Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe made with ground turkey that surprised me with its tastiness.

The recipe claims to be four servings, which for you WW followers translates to 14 points per servings, but can easily make this a six serving recipe which breaks the points down to 9 per serving and it's plenty of food.  The highlight of this meal really is the meatballs, by adding ricotta to the mix the dryness problems that you often encounter with very lean turkey just don't materialize.  This combined with the fact that they are well seasoned makes them very tasty! Oh, and I highly recommend using the Parmesan rind, it adds a great nutty, salty tang to the sauce.  You can buy parm rinds in bulk (10ish per container) at most Whole Foods or gourmet grocery for a pretty small price.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic (4 smashed, 1 minced)
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 cups water
1 small piece parmesan rind (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping
1 slice stale whole-wheat bread, crust trimmed, bread chopped
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
12 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

Directions


Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juice, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup basil, the parmesan rind, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Discard the parmesan rind, if used.

Chop the remaining 1/4 cup basil, then mix with the turkey, parsley, bread, ricotta, parmesan, egg white, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl using your hands. Form into 4 large or 12 small meatballs; add to the sauce and simmer, turning, until cooked through, 6 minutes for small meatballs and 12 minutes for large.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and return to the pot. Toss with some of the sauce, then divide among bowls. Top the spaghetti with the meatballs, the remaining sauce and more parsley and parmesan.

Christmas Comfort Food

This Christmas, Ben and I spent a week at my parents house helping out.  My mom had her hip replaced and couldn't be left alone for her first week post-op.  With limited mobility that also meant no cooking, no laundry, no household chores of any kind.  That's where we came in.  And since we had to stay close to home for the duration of our week, I passed the time cooking.  While I made a few tasty meals to speak of, one stands out.  That meal, Spaghetti with homemade Bolognese sauce, is allowed to claim fame because my father, the pickiest eater on the planet, couldn't stop eating it.  The recipe is below, courtesy of Tyler Florence. I would STRONGLY recommend halving it.  Even at 50-percent this recipe yields enough for two meals for normal people or one meal in which my brother and dad eat.

(The sauce simmering on the stove. I'm going to concede here that it looks a little like dog food.  However, make it and you won't ever worry about that again, it's so tasty!)

Ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese

Extra-virgin olive oil (one generous turn around the pan)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
8 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt (this is my addition since you're intended to sweat rather than caramelize the mirepoix)
2 pounds ground veal (if you object to eating veal or can't find it ground readily, just double up on lean ground beef)
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
3 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
2 quarts chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk
1 pound dried spaghetti
Large spoonful ricotta cheese
Handful freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil


In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and salt and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are very tender but not browned.

Raise the heat a bit. Take the ground veal and beef, break it up into chunks and add it to the pan. Cook, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Then add the tomatoes and stock and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer very slowly for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring now and then, until the sauce is very thick.

Now add the milk - the milk will make the meat tender and will give a creaminess to the sauce- and simmer again until thickened, another 20 to 30 minutes. Taste again for salt and pepper. Mash the sauce against the side of the pan to really blend it. Transfer half of the sauce to containers and refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to several months.

Bring a big pot of lightly salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. When you're ready to serve, drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm (al dente) 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and put the spaghetti into a big pasta bowl. Return the sauce remaining in the pot to a simmer and stir in the ricotta cheese. Pour the sauce over the drained spaghetti and give it a good toss. Garnish with a handful of grated Parmigiano, the basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.

The Atwood at last and an Iberian adventure

When I was in grad school, my friend Jill and I stopped into the Atwood Cafe for a drink on more than one occasion, but that's all we ever got because, being graduate students, even that was more than we could afford.  So when Teresa and I were deciding on a location between her office and my hotel for dinner, the Atwood was my first thought, followed closely by, "and now I can actually eat there (at least this once!)."

I was able to make a reservation online the night before and when we walked in for our early dinner, we were escorted to a great table, the seating for which was composed of blue velvet settees rather than chairs.  The Atwood has a simple menu that, while fairly small, offers lots of flavors nonetheless. This is great for me, as I easily fall prey to menu overload. Of course Teresa and I launched right into chatting and annoyed the server no end since she had to keep coming back to our table to see if we wanted to order.  Finally, we shelved the chatter and perused the menu.  Every possible selection looked delicious.  In the end, Teresa chose a beef brisket and goat cheese ravioli while I selected a port wine braised short rib.  Both meals were fantastic!  I attempted some photo taking, however, I only had my cell phone on me so the quality is pretty poor.

Beef Brisket and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Port Wine Braised Short Rib

While I was waiting in the lobby for Teresa to arrive, I had talked with my friend Nicole, who had worked at the Atwood Cafe when she was in college at Loyola Chicago.  As soon as she heard we were at the Atwood, she immediately blurted out, "get the bread pudding!"  With that gleeful a recommendation, Teresa and I decided we couldn't ignore it and ordered that to share for dessert.  Sadly, it's not banana season and some of the bananas in the dish, which is actually called warm-roasted banana, white chocolate bread pudding, were a little bit hard, but in general, the flavors were great and I see why Nicole holds a place in her heart for this treat.

Warm-Roasted Banana, White Chocolate Bread Pudding (I know, the picture is terrible!)

Since Teresa lives in the Chicago suburbs, she needed to catch the 7:40 train back home, so we parted on State Street, her for Union Station and me for the giant Filene's Basement to kill a half hour before meeting up with my friend and former Chicago roommate, Emily.

After perusing Filene's and a quick cab ride from downtown to River North, I was seated in the bar at Cafe Iberico with Emily, who had been Ben's and my roommate in Lincoln Park in 2004.  Since we'd both already eaten dinner, we opted for drinks in the form of the Cafe's well known red sangria.  The interest thing here is that I've had better sangria, even better sangria in Chicago.  But I have a soft spot in my heart for this happy tapas location (and if you decide to eat, they do have fantastic tapas), having spent a new years celebration here and several office happy hours, one of which ended with a stunning tale of a good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) falling off a bar stool, a story still makes us both laugh.  The bottom line, while I could pay more for better sangria elsewhere, sitting in the bar at Iberico makes me smile.

Even better than the fun memories this locale evokes, was the chance to catch up with another old friend.  Over a half pitcher, we caught up on jobs, friends, men, you name it.  It was wonderful to see her again and I'm hopeful that it won't be years between visits this time. And now I'm trying to lure her to DC for a visit. (Come on, Em, you know you want to!)

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

But yummy comfort foods are so delightful.

The DC area got dumped on today with its first snow of the winter. I think all of an inch stuck when the snowing stopped and gave the melting a chance to catch up.  For those of you who aren't familiar with what happens in DC when it snows, let me boil it down for you - PEOPLE FREAK OUT.  I have never encountered a place with a higher concentration of educated, capable people who dissolve into frightened children at the mere mention of our flaky friend Mr. Snowflake.  Seriously, people, it's snow, not a nuclear meltdown.  Allegedly the panic is a result of the melting pot of people we have here.  Diplomats and their staffs from across the globe, many from countries that rarely if ever see snow, west coast and southern transplants who suffer the same inexperience with the blanket of white, etc, etc, etc.  Growing up in Michigan and spending my grad school years in Chicago, however, have made me intolerant of those who can't handle snow in a way I can scarcely describe.  But it boils down to this - if you're afraid to drive in the snow or just don't know how, that's okay - STAY HOME!!! and out of my way!

But all my harping and whining about people who can't drive in the snow aside, I'm a Michigan kid and the sight of snow makes me happy. Even for the two and a half hours it took Ben and I to negotiate our way to the post office, Safeway and Whole Foods (a trip that normally would take an hour and a half tops!), I was giddy like a kid on Christmas morning.  He has other, less happy feelings about snow, most of which begin and end with "I hate it!" but that's his perogative.  I was blissed out.  Here's a pic of what our street looked like when I woke up yesterday morning.
 

To combat the snowy weather, I opted to make an adult twist on a childhood comfort food favorite and tried out Ina Garten's Grown Up Mac anc Cheese.  Totally delicious.  Only change I made to the recipe was to use about a half cup store bought breadcrumbs instead of making my own with white bread and a food processor like she does.

Ingredients

4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed (sub 1/2 cup store bought bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.

Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Fringe Benefits

As part of my office's reorganization we planned a three-day offsite meeting in San Diego to bring together all of our staff from across the country, our Border Patrol and Army Corps partners.  But between meetings and dinners and getting-to-know-yous with our staff, some of my favorite coworkers and I were able to squeeze in some fun including walks along the marina, a trip to the USS Midway, seeing New Moon and dinner at a great little artisan restaurant just outside the Gaslamp District.

Before I started this job I had never been to California, this was my sixth trip overall and my second to San Diego.  And just like last time the weather was gorgeous, perfect for walking the marina and enjoying the sun!

San Diego Marina and Marina Walk

My pelican friend at the Marina

After our walk on the Marina we stopped in at the USS Midway for a tour of the incredible ship. Decommissioned and made into a museum in the San Diego harbor, the aircraft carrier is a really interesting place to visit, made more so by the accompaniment of a coworker who had flown helicopters in the Navy off similar ships (although he mostly flew off cruisers and destroyers).  Walking through the various decks we were able to see living quarters, ready rooms for pilots, boilers, engineering, you name it.  Within minutes of exiting the main entry area I was wondering how anyone could find their way around the floating city we were visiting.  With no windows or contact with the ship's outside, I couldn't tell where I was or even on what deck.  Thankfully there were lots of signs to help out me and I'm sure the countless others who came before with the same concern.

(The USS Midway on approach from the Harbor)

(Entering the Midway)

(Bunks for the enlisted men.  This is only worse on a submarine)

(One of the many fighter planes on the deck)

(A coworker inside a Sea King helicopter on the deck of the Midway)

After our trip the the Midway, two coworkers and I saw New Moon in the most perfect way.  It was just the three of us in the theater.  Meaning we could ridicule the teenage angst without bothering anyone else.  I think the low point of the film was, "i'm sorry you hit your head on that rock, let me take my shirt off in full view of the camera to blot your head."  All that said, how does a 17 year old get a body like that? And where is his neck? Yikes.

After the movie we hit Cafe Chloe, just a few blocks out of the Gaslamp and Amy's find on Chowhound.  Deliciousness! This artisan restaurant prints their menus daily to keep up with what's new and fresh and delivers a delicious combination of American comforts with Friench inspiration.  My mac and cheese made with pancetta and blue cheese brought exactly that.  Try it out the next time you're in San Diego!

And lastly, I leave you with the funny sign we saw at The Field, a Gaslamp pub known for wonderful live Irish music.

Lasagna from Scratch!

This recipe started out as Anne Burrell's recipe for lasagna rolls.  But 10 minutes into making her sauce I decided I thought the recipe was too bland and that I'm too lazy to handroll so I changed things up and made normal lasagna.

To make the sauce:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 oz. diced pancetta
1 small diced yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic, smashed then minced
2 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2? cup good red wine
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes

Pour olive oil into a stock pot over medium high heat.  Add diced pancetta.  Brown pancetta in oil, stirring frequently, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add diced onion.  Allow the onion to soften and begin to brown, about 4 minutes.  Salt liberally.  Add minced garlic, red pepper flakes, basil and oregano.  Allow the spices to toast, about 1 minute.  Increase the heat to high and add the 1/2 cup good red wine (I don't actually know how much I used, I just eye-balled it). Allow the alchol to cook off, about 1 minute and reduce the heat to medium.  Add the tomato paste and San Marzano tomatoes.  Smush the tomatoes in the pot with a wooden spoon.  Allow the mixture to come to boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  With an immersion blender, blend the mixture until all the large tomatoes are gone and the sauce is homogenous in texture.  Allow the sauce to simmer for 2 hours.

The lasagna:

1 16 oz box lasagna noodles
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 Tbsp grated pecorino cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesano reggiano cheese
Sauce


When the sauce has 30 minutes left to simmer, fill a large pot with water for the lasagna noodles and bring to boil.  Be sure to liberally salt the water. Add the lasagna noodles when the water is at a rolling boil and cook until al dente, approximately 10 minutes.  While noodles are cooking prepare a bowl with ice water (to submerge noodles in to stop the cooking process).  In a medium bowl mix, the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the pecorino cheese and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese.  Remove cooked noodles from pot to ice bath.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  To assemble lasagna, ladle one to two ladles full of sauce into the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.  Layer the lasagna noodles into the pan, slightly overlapping one another (should require approx four noodles).  Spread approximately 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles.  On top of the cheese mixture, layer one to two ladles full of sauce and spread evenly. Layer the noodles, cheese and sauce two more times.  On top of the final layer of sauce sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and 1/4 cup of parmesan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese on top is brown and the lasagna is bubbling up at the sides.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Enjoy!

Three Cheese Baked Penne

Quick, easy, really delicious, and again, pretty good for you! Courtesy of Cooking Light. When I made it I went heavier on the crushed red pepper and used one spicy and one sweet Italian sausage because both Ben and I love a little more zip! Great comfort food as the weather starts to get cold.

2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne (about 8 ounces tube-shaped pasta)
Cooking spray
2 (4-ounce) links sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
10 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of salt
1 (8-ounce) can garlic-and-herb tomato sauce
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients (through salt) to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

CALORIES 326 (30% from fat); FAT 10.9g (sat 5.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 1g); IRON 3mg; CHOLESTEROL 47mg; CALCIUM 211mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.9g; SODIUM 641mg; PROTEIN 20.8g; FIBER 4.9g