Krispy snuggling with her kitten, Otis.

Lounging in Brighton

The days before vacation were a bit of a downer, though. The weekend before we left, I noticed my 11 1/2 year-old cat, Krispy, did not look so good. She was being very reclusive, lethargic, and she was getting sick. I suddenly noticed that she had lost a great deal of weight and I started to panic. On Sunday night at 2:00 a.m., I woke up to a cat getting sick — she seemed wobbly and she was having trouble peeing. I rushed her to the emergency vet.

After a couple of days in the pet ICU, it became clear that her kidneys were not functioning properly; chronic kidney disease is not curable. There was the possibility I could take her home and give her all sorts of medication and treatment which may have stretched her life out by a few weeks, but they wouldn’t be happy ones for her or for me. I made the decision to put her down. It was a tough decision.

I adopted Krispy in October 2000 — the fall after I graduated college. She was a runty little kitten and she we quickly bonded. She was not always friendly to everyone, but she always loved me. She slept on my chest and perched on my shoulder like a parrot would on a pirate. She’d “groom” me. She’d groom the dog and our other cat.

She was so, so pretty. Krispy came when I called her name and would sit in the bathroom with me every morning when I showered. She lived with me in Brighton (where she escaped, got knocked up, and had a litter!), West Newton, and both of our condos in Waltham. She was so snuggly and I miss that. I miss her.

It was probably good that I got away when I did because being around my family and friends was just what I needed to help lift my spirits after making that difficult choice and losing a pet that meant so much to me. This is a recipe I made up while we were on vacation. We stayed in a villa and had lots of food left in the kitchen by our last day — so I used all of the ingredients Chopped-style for our good-bye cocktail party. This was the favorite dish that I made and decided to reprise it with a few tweaks this week for dinner.

Tropical Cilantro & Shrimp Pasta Salad
Serves 4

A tropical island in a bowl.

1 small bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. honey
Salt, to taste
6 oz. Greek-style yogurt
1/2 small pineapple, diced small
1 small mango, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1/2 small red onion, diced small
1 avocado, diced small
4 oz. queso fresco, crumbled
1/2 lb. pasta (bowties, rotini, penne), cooked, drained, and cooled
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 lb. small shrimp (41-50/lb), cooked, cooled, and peeled

In a blender or food processor, puree the cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, yogurt, and honey. into a smooth dressing. Add a pinch of salt and blend.

In a large bowl, toss together the pineapple, mango, red pepper, onion, avocado, queso fresco, pasta, lettuce, and shrimp. Add the dressing and toss until the dressing mixed evenly throughout the salad.

Tonight, I decided to try to make jalapeno popper macaroni & cheese. I was inspired to create this recipe from all of the jalapeno popper recipes that I’ve seen popping up on Pinterest.

I made a stove-top type of macaroni and cheese rather than a baked version because it’s a week night and I just wanted to get dinner on the table — by on the table I mean in my lap as we watched TV — and didn’t want to wait an extra 30-minutes to heat a casserole through. To save time, I also cooked the entire recipe in just one pot. I cooked the pasta, drained it, and then made the rest of the recipe in the same pot.

This mac & cheese came out nicely spicy but not over-the-top. The three cheeses I used all brought something different to the party: sharp cheddar for pop, goat cheese for creaminess, and Parmesan for saltiness. Plus, I used bacon so there’s no way it can be bad. I’ll be making this again, for sure!

A little spice and everything nice (read: cheese!)

2 slices of bacon, diced small
1/2 small onion, diced small
1 jalapeno pepper, membrane and seeds removed, diced small
1 poblano pepper, diced small
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 oz. goat cheese
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt, to taste
4 cups cooked pasta of your choice (elbows, shells, bowties…)

Heat a medium pot over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon renders and starts to turn brown and crispy. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic. Stir. Cover and turn the heat down to medium-low.

Cook the vegetables and bacon for about 5 minutes or until the onions and peppers are cooked through and soft. Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir to combine well. The flour will appear to get sucked up by the vegetables.

Slowly whisk in the milk. Turn the heat up to medium and continue to whisk. Once the milk begins to simmer and thicken, add the cheeses. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the cumin and add salt to taste.

Add the cooked pasta to the pot and stir until all of the pasta is covered with the cheese mixture. Serve — and smile as you scarf it up!

This soup gets a deep, rich flavor from the heavy-handed use of various chili powders and gets brightened up with the garnishes — which are half the fun of eating tortilla soup. I added barley to my soup which isn’t traditional, but adds an interesting texture to the soup (plus an extra dose of fiber.) This recipe made many bowlfuls — enough for lunches this week and dinner tonight. I hope this twist on chicken soup will help Sean’s body mend itself ASAP.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 12

Make sure you add the lime!

1 quart chicken stock
1 quart water
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 large poblano peppers, diced small
2 large red bell peppers, diced small
1 large jalapeno pepper, diced small
1 medium onion, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
2, 28 oz. cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 lb. dried pearled barley
1, 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1, 15 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed
1, 15 oz. can frozen corn (I just used an empty bean can to measure it out)
1, 28 oz. can water (I just used an empty tomato can to measure it out)
Salt, to taste (I used 2 tbsp. for my soup — your mileage may vary)
Garnishes — tortilla chips, shredded cheese, lime wedges, Chipotle Tabasco sauce, cilantro, sour cream

In a large soup pot, add the chicken stock and water. Place the chicken thighs in the pot, cover, and heat on high until the the liquid comes to a boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until the chicken thighs are cooked and super tender. Remove the chicken. Pour the liquid into a pitcher or bowl to use again later.

In the pot, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Remove the cover and add the spices. Stir up to combine well. It will look like a paste of vegetables and spices. Stir in the tomatoes and stir well to combine. Add the reserved liquid from cooking the chicken. Add the barley. Stir. Turn up to high and cover. Once the liquid comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 40-minutes or until the barley is cooked through.

Meanwhile, once the chicken is cooled, shred it. Once the barley is cooked, add the shredded chicken, beans, and frozen corn to the pot. Simmer for 10 more minutes until the beans and corn are heated through.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a squeeze of lime, crumbled tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, hot sauce…whatever you like. I do think that the lime adds a very important acidity to the dish, so don’t miss that!

Patiently waiting to get in for breakfast.

Hungry, we turned to Yelp to give us some guidance and we found the Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery. I knew of the Neighborhood — they’ve catered many of our free Thursday lunches at work and are known for deliciously sinful cream of wheat, so we headed there.

The best cream of wheat in the entire universe.

My Crabcake Eggs Benedict

I actually think these are the best pumpkin pancakes I've ever eaten.

Of course, there was a line but we added our name to the list, grabbed some cornbread and coffee offered for waiting patrons, and tried to stay dry under the awning. Fortunately, we only waited for about 20 minutes and were seated in the small and bustling dining area.

All diners get a choice of cream of wheat or fruit salad plus orange juice and coffee. I had talked Tonya into at least trying the cream of wheat after a lot of protesting — she hates cream of wheat and things it tastes like sand. I promised her that the cream of wheat here is like eating warm, sweet, creamy pudding so she gave it a whirl … and LOVED it! I’m not sure HOW they make their cream of wheat, but my gut tells me lots of sugar and at the very least lots of whole milk.

We each got different meals — I got eggs benedict with crab cakes, Sean got homemade corned beef hash, and Tonya got pumpkin pancakes with mascarpone butter. All of our dishes were really yummy and everything was clearly homemade. My favorites were Sean’s hash and Tonya’s pancakes which were spicy and surprisingly light and fluffy for pumpkin pancakes which have a tendency to get very dense. We also got a plate of toast made from homemade bread and a muffin to share. Tonya said it’s the best toast she’s ever eaten.

 
 
What I really loved about this place is that they didn’t make us choose — they do so many things really well and just give them to you without needing to choose and you get a huge bang for you buck.

After breakfast, we drove just a few minutes to the Taza Chocolate factory for our tour. Since it was Saturday, no chocolate was being made, but the tour was very informative and we learned a lot about making chocolate and the company. Taza is a bean-to-bar chocolate company. They have personal relationships with chocolate growers in the Dominican Republic where the coffee is grown and harvested — then the dried beans are shipped to warehouses in New Jersey where the beans are stored until moved to the Somerville factory where they are roasted, ground, and molded into their signature disks and bars.

Store display and samples (yum!)

Taza chocolate is different from lots of other chocolate on the market. It’s stone ground in a traditional Oaxacan (Mexican) style which helps contribute to it’s signature texture which is not smooth but granular. Taza chocolates come in lots of interesting flavors that we were able to sample along the tour and in the shop. Our favorite by far was the salted almond — and the most interesting was the salt and pepper. We were also super addicted to the chocolate covered cocoa nibs…I think between the three of us, we ate all of the sample jar (sorry, Taza — but we bought bunch to bring home, too!)

Thanks to the Neighborhood Restaurant and Taza Chocolate, we had a fun rainy day in Somerville!

Tonya and Sean are ready for the tour!

Each of these sacks holds 150 pounds of cocoa beans.

Our loot!

Vintage bean roaster.

Recently, it seemed that someone was nipping all of the Rice Krispy Treats from the 100-calorie variety packs. All of the boxes were totally full of the other snacks and completely void of any Rice Krispy Treats. I’m actually not sure it was any one person, but it was certainly clear that Rice Krispy Treats are the most popular of all of the snacks.

This got me in the mood to make some homemade Rice Krispy Treats to bring into the office. And tonight, I finally made them. Of course, I can’t just make plain treats — I jazzed them up with a bunch of mix-ins both sweet and salty: chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, crushed up Oreos, and pretzel sticks!

Kitchen Sink Rice Krispy Treats
Makes 24 Large Treats

1 GIANT Rice Krispy Treat?

Or many squares for sharing!

1 stick of butter
1 16 oz. container of Marshmallow Fluff
10 cups of Rice Krispies
1/2 cup pretzel sticks broken into small pieces
20 Oreo cookies broken into small pieces
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

In a small, non-stick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the Fluff, and stir, stir, stir until the Fluff and butter are combined and the Fluff is melted.

In a large bowl, dump in the Rice Krispies, pretzels, and Oreos. Pour in the Fluff mixture and stir, stir, stir until the Fluff is mixed in evenly with the Rice Krispies. Once everything is mixed and cooled down a bit, add the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and stir just a few times until mixed well (any more time and the chocolate and peanut butter might start to melt.)

Pour into a 9×13 pan and push in to mold to the pan. Once the treats are cooled, cut into 24 squares.

Because of the icky weather, though, we were stuck going to the gym tonight — fortunately it was Survivor night so we had something good to watch for an entire hour giving us good, quality time with the elliptical trainer! Sean and I are big Survivor fans and have been watching it together for years — we like the game aspect of it and have been known to talk Survivor strategy during long car rides. We have opinions on how people should play and the decisions they should make but neither of us would ever want to actually experience it (the Amazing Race is another story though; we’d love to be on that show!)

Since we had to get to the gym by 8, it was nice to have a quick meal using some of the chuck roast that I cooked yesterday in the slow cooker. I made braised beef and egg noodles which was sort of like a stroganoff without the sour cream. It was tasty and really quick — it came together in about 20-minutes. I’d definitely make it again.

Braised Beef and Egg Noodles
Serves 2

A perfect, quick weeknight meal.

1 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
8-10 button mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp. flour
1 cup beef stock
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 oz. braised beef, shredded
2 cups cooked egg noodles

In a medium frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are soft and slightly brown and the mushrooms are cooked through and slightly brown.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion and mushroom mixture and stir to combine (it will look like it’s kind of disappeared as it’s stuck to the mushrooms and onions.) Stir in the beef stock and mix well. Add thyme and paprika. Stir to combine. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to medium and let this simmer for just a couple of minutes — the stock will get thick. Add the beef and cook for another couple of minutes to warm up. Toss in the egg noodles and combine with the beef mixture.

Over the weekend I was flipping through an old issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine — there was a recipe for slow cooked chuck roast and lots of ideas on how to use the meat. This inspired me to buy a couple of roasts and cook in the slow cooker for dinners this week and to freeze for later.

Today, the beef cooked all day long and when I got home, it was perfectly tender, juicy, and delicious. Tonight, we had these sandwiches which were a cross between a Chicago Italian Beef sandwich and a French dip. We ate them on rolls that Sean made this weekend from his Italian bread recipe. It was a perfect, quick weekday meal.

All seared up and ready for the crock-pot!

Season the chuck roasts well with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Once the pan is hot, sear the chuck roasts on all sides (about 2-3 minutes per side so that each side is nicely browned and crispy.)

Put the onion, carrot, and beef stock into a large crock-pot. Add the roasts. Cook on low for 10 hours until the roasts are very tender. Use some of this for shredded beef french dip sandwiches (see below.) Also would be great in hash, stroganoff, soup…let your imagination run wild!

Shredded Beef French Dip Sandwiches
Serves 2

Ready for a dip!

1 tsp. olive oil
1 large bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium onion, cut into strips
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
4 tsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 crusty rolls
10 oz slow cooked beef chuck roast, shredded
1 cup beef jus from slow cooked beef chuck roast

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the peppers and onions until soft and slightly browned.

In a small bowl, stir together the horseradish, mayonnaise, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the rolls in half. Spread with horseradish mayonnaise. Top with beef, peppers, and onions. Split the jus into two bowls for individual dipping.

Dad can't wait to slice into that amazing bread!

Last weekend, my father invited himself over for dinner via a Facebook message, so I asked, “What do you want?” He replied, “Something I’d like. Pasta.”

Dad slices off the first piece.

And so, I had both of my parents over for dinner and an epic game of Mexican train dominoes. I’d had an idea for a cajun-style seafood pasta in my head for awhile — and being the weekend of Mardi Gras, it was a perfect time to take a stab at it. The dish turned out incredible like a cross between fettuccine Alfredo and jambalaya — spicy, creamy, and decadent!

While I was inventing my dish, Sean spent some time making a loaf of Italian bread. This recipe came from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book which is one of our two go-to, all-purpose baking cookbooks (the other being the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.)

The bread was simple, though it took a lot of time as it started with a sponge that had to rest over night. It also required two more risings after the sponge and the rest of the ingredients were mixed together. This bread came out so perfect, if I hadn’t watched Sean make it, I would have thought that he picked it up at a bakery in the North End. In fact, I loved it so much, I made him make another batch this weekend!

Overall, our dinner date was a fun one (even though I did not win at dominoes…Mom was on fire!) and I can’t wait to make this pasta dish again soon.

Cajun Seafood Pasta
Serves 4

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

1 lb. small shrimp (I used Maine shrimp), shells removed and reserved
1/2 lb. bay scallops
3 tsp. olive oil
4 oz. Andouille sausage, diced small
1/2 medium onion, diced small
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
1/2 poblano pepper, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 Roma/plum tomatoes, seeded and diced small
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock (see below)
1 cup half and half
1 lb. fresh fettuccine pasta, cooked and drained

In a small pot, add the reserved shrimp shells and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve for a later step.

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shrimp until just cooked — slightly under cooked would be better. Remove from the skillet and reserve. Do the same for the scallops.

Add the last teaspoon of olive oil to the frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion, garlic, and peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften and the sausage starts to brown. Add the tomatoes. Cook for another 3 minutes until the tomatoes start to cook. Add 1 cup of reserved shrimp stock (strained of the shells) and cajun seasoning.

Cover and let this mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes until all of the vegetables get very soft and the tomatoes cook down to a sauce-like texture. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the half and half. Toss the shrimp and scallops in for a minute or two until they are re-heated. Taste your sauce and add salt and extra cajun seasoning if necessary. Toss the pasta into the frying pan and use tongs to mix and make sure that the pasta is well coated with the sauce.

This week we realized that we had so. many. potatoes. We don’t eat a lot of potatoes. We prefer rice or pasta as a side dish. I mean, mashed potatoes are always a winner, but I think to make them taste really good, it’s hard not to add lots of butter and cream. So, they are not such a healthy option for frequent consumption. We do often make oven fries or roasted potatoes, but they take a lot of time on a week night.

So, we had all of these potatoes and couldn’t imagine how we’d eat them all. Enter the new hotness: Pinterest. I had seen lots of crock-pot recipes there and figured I could do a search and find a recipe to start my creative juices flowing. And I did find a recipe for slow cooker potato soup that got me started with my own recipe. Instead of cream cheese, I added half and half plus light sour cream at the blending stage. I also added corn to add some sweetness and used leeks in addition to onions.

The resulting soup was so easy — just set and forget for a few hours and your soup is cooked. Finishing the soup with the immersion blender was a snap. I garnished our lunches with shredded cheese and bacon — the savory icing on top of a very delicious baked potato soup.

Crock-Pot Baked Potato Soup
Serves 10

Cheesy, bacony potato soup? Yes please!

1 large leek, chopped small
1 medium onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp. bacon drippings
5 lbs. potatoes, diced int 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 cup half and half
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a skillet, heat the bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onions, and garlic and cook until soft. Add to a large crock-pot. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, and corn. Stir and cook on high for 4 hours or until the potatoes are soft.

Turn the crock-pot off and add the sour cream and half and half. Blend with an immersion blender until the soup is smooth but there are still some chunks. Just eyeball it until you get the consistency you want. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can add the sour cream, half and half, and half of the soup to a blender to blend until smooth (be careful with a hot liquid in a blender, though. You’ll want to keep the top slightly ajar or remove the middle piece to let steam out otherwise you might end up with a soup volcano — dangerous and messy!)

Stir in salt and pepper until the soup tastes good to you. Garnish with cheese and bacon. Green onions or chives would also be good.

My seat, learning materials, and mixer for the day.

My cake all boxed up and ready to take home.

A couple of Sundays ago, Sean and I made the trek up to Norwich, VT to take a cake baking class at King Arthur Flour. We took a class there about a year-and-a-half ago and we liked it so much that Sean got me this class as a Christmas gift this year. I love driving to King Arthur Flour. They have a great baker’s store where they offer loads of baking supplies which you can also order from their catalog — but I think it’s way more fun to browse the shop. Exciting news: they are building an addition that will upgrade their teaching facilities and increase the size of their shop! Our instructor said it’s schedule to be complete in May.

Sean's mixing it up!

Just a few days after our cake class, we celebrated Valentine’s Day. I really enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day — not for the cheesy Hallmark cards (though I do love my annual Valentine’s Day flower delivery!) — but because it is a reason to really do it up in the kitchen. We don’t go out to dinner for Valentine’s Day because I strongly believe you get subpar food and service on heavy dining out holidays. I’ve also sworn off restaurant week for the same reason.

Fried smelts topped with fried cilantro, chiles, and red onion and nuoc cham on the side -- I'm pretty sure I would have won a Quickfire with this one.

But who needs a restaurant when you’ve earned a very expensive and under utilized culinary degree? This year, we went with a seafood theme: Vietnamese-style fried smelts served with homemade nuoc cham sauce, oysters on the half shell (also tasty with a bit of nuoc cham!), and pan seared sea bass with orange rum beurre blanc sauce and roasted root vegetables. It was all heavenly and decadent. I won’t lie. I literally licked my plate clean of orange rum beurre blanc!

So, that sums up the first half of February — last weekend I had my parents over for dinner and cooked an amazing cajun pasta dish while Sean totally showed me up with a ridiculously delicious and gigantic loaf of Italian bread. But that deserves its own post with recipe. Stay tuned!

Only on holidays can I feel ok with eating a sauce that's mostly just flavored butter.

Who needs to go out to find fine dining when oysters are on sale at Whole Foods for only 0.99 each?