Another Aside

There was an eleven year period where I ate zero long pasta. I ate spaghetti every Wednesday night for the first 18 years of my life and when I got to college I shunned (SHUNNED!) long noodles in all forms: spaghetti, linguini, fettuccine, ramen, lo mein, every and anything.

It's only in the past few months, when I've been trying to cook quick weeknight meals, that I've turned back to long pasta. But I keep forgetting this crucial component. When I cook short pasta, I toss it with the sauce and all of the noodles are covered and moist, and no one's the wiser. With long pasta, it's not that simple. It needs a bit more moisture to take to the sauce. When I was growing up, my mom always rinsed the spaghetti in a colander with water. A friend tosses her long pasta with olive oil. Either way, the moisture helps the pasta intermingle with the sauce and make a more palatable quick weeknight meal.

Next time, I'll remember.

By the Label

In an ideal world, I would project an image of at least some degree of thoughtfulness and weighty intelligence. But the truth is, in some matters, I'm pretty superficial.

"How superficial?" you ask. Well, let's just say that I chose my undergraduate institution by the quality of its marketing. I shouldn't admit this, I know. And it's not entirely true, but it's not entirely not true either.

I could make excuses: Oh, I was only 18. Oh, the academic variety was impressive. Oh, but you should have SEEN the referential advertisement for Commander Salamander. Hel-looo! Regardless of the excuses, we'd end up at the same result.

This is how I pick my wine too. Taste matters. But taste comes after aesthetics. I'll never taste a bottle of wine for which I don't like the label. I can't swear this unequivocally--for example, I dislike the Barefoot wine logo, but it is cheap; I started buying it in grad school, and I do still buy it occasionally.

That said, if I'm picking a new wine, I pick based on the label. I look at font and texture and design and all of those things. I'm not even that embarrassed by it. Should I be? Maybe. Am I justified? Maybe.

Check out Grub Street's article and nice little pie chart (via The Kitchn). The author has devised some sort of faux taste/label correlation graph. This is my kind of analysis.

As a case study, the chardonnay above (from Bodega Elena de Mendoza) is actually the cheapest chardonnay available in the little market in my apartment building. I picked it up for the first time because the label has raised lettering and design, I like the colors and fonts on the label, and I'm intrigued by Argentinean wines. On the Grub Street label scale: somewhere between Diluted French, Graphic Design Subclass: Letterpress, and Graphic Design Subclass: Pottery Barn Catalogue. This translates to a taste scale that's a mix of dirt and wine; smooth wines that are not super-fruity or super-earthy; vanilla-scented candle. I'm slightly offended by the vanilla-scented candle analogy and this label really looks nothing like that Cupcake label, so I'll remove that from the mix.

At the end of the day, smooth wine that's not super-fruity or super-earthy but a mix of dirt and wine is pretty accurate for this chardonnay. And it's a pretty good wine for the price. AND, it justifies me picking wine by the label. Ring me up a few more bottles.

Something Simple

Some nights, I just want lunch for dinner. Nothing complicated, nothing time-consuming. But still something delicious. Is that too much to ask? Not with this tuna melt. Easy, warm and a hearty pesto kick.

Ingredients
1 English muffin, split
1-2 Tbsp. pesto mayo (in case it's not obvious, make your own pesto mayo by mixing pre-made pesto and mayonnaise)
Broccoli sprouts
1 can tuna, drained
Freshly ground salt and pepper
2 thick slices of a fresh, juicy, in-season tomato (they're not in season here yet, but I can dream)
1 slice Provolone cheese

Directions

• Mix the can of tuna with salt, pepper and a little pesto mayo.
• Spread the remaining pesto mayo on both halves of the English muffin.
• Top each half with broccoli sprouts, the tuna mixture, a slice of tomato (if it's in season for you), and half a slice of Provolone cheese.
• Heat together in a small skillet over low heat until the cheese melts.

Serve & enjoy!

Okay, Martha

Martha Stewart makes me feel a little too domesticated. Yes, I like to cook. Yes, I have a subscription to Real Simple. But I'm not all matchy-matchy. No one's ever described me as a great decorator or housekeeper--in fact, some might argue that the apartment I've lived in for a year and a half still looks like I just moved into it. Nothing to brag about; all just to illustrate that I don't look to Martha Stewart as a model in my life.

Nevertheless, I picked up her magazine, Everyday Food, in line at the grocery store the other day. Ummm, yum. Every single page was filled with recipes that I wanted to cook or bake. So I bought it, and I'm on a little bit of a Martha Stewart food kick now.

Take this recipe for Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage, for example. I didn't find broccoli rabe at my grocery store, but I found broccolini instead, and the sausage with the broccolini and the garlic, red chili pepper flakes and generous helping of olive oil made this dish stand out. Here we go:

Ingredients
3-4 sweet Italian sausages, casing removed and crumbled (this preparation is key for cooking the sausage evenly)
1 lb. orecchiette
1 lb. broccolini, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Place sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a bowl; set sausage and skillet aside.
• Bring 4 quarts of heavily salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add broccolini. Cook 1 minute and transfer broccolini with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
• Bring the water back to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente, 5 to 8 minutes; drain.
• Place reserved skillet over medium-high heat and add oil, broccolini, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Return sausage to the skillet along with the orecchiette. Stir to combine, adding reserved cooking liquid if pasta seems too dry.
• Sprinkle with cheese and freshly grated pepper, and serve immediately.

Listening and Vegetables

Contrary to a few posts that may indicate I haven't been opposed to vegetables lately, let me just tell you: I have been opposed to vegetables over the past month. I just haven't wanted any. At all. Yes, there was the Cobb salad, but let's face it--there are practically no greens in that "salad." And there was a sandwich with sprouts and cucumbers, but the proportion of green vegetables to other ingredients (cheese, bread, mayonnaise) was slim. Beyond these posts, I've been eating only pizza or sandwiches or candy or eggs and bacon. And no vegetables at all.

As payback, I haven't been feeling great lately. Not sick, just meh. Nothing's been sitting in my stomach right, and I've been exhausted. The heat did me in this weekend. We were up to 95 degrees F (102 on some thermometers), and I finally had no other choice than to listen to my body crying (whimpering at this point) for vegetables.

Since I caved, there have been a lot of salads in the past few days, not really special recipe salads, just regular salads: heirloom tomato, mozzarella, tofu & arugula; spring mix, mandarin oranges, tofu, artichoke hearts, avocado, olives; tomato, cucumber, arugula & bleu cheese. They all do the trick.

This was the salad I made for lunch today: Cabbage Peanut Salad from Look! I Made That. I forgot a lot of ingredients as I was making it before work today, I changed it a little, and I'll change it a little more the next time I make it. What follows is what will be the whole recipe the next time:

Peanut Dressing
1/3 c. peanut oil
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 c. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
3 grated garlic clovers
1 finely minced jalapeno

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Salad
1/2 head small green cabbage, thinly sliced (I need to work on my thin slicing)
1/2 head small red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 red or green bell peppers, thinly sliced
6 green onions, sliced
1/2 c. packed cilantro, roughly chopped
Handful of shitake mushrooms, re-hydrated and sliced
3/4 c. chopped extra firm tofu, pan-fried in walnut oil and ginger
1/2 c. roasted peanuts

Toss all of the vegetables and fungi together. Drizzle peanut dressing over the vegetables and toss again. Top with tofu and peanuts.