Okay my friends, this is going to be a quickie because I have a Packer playoff game to get ready to watch, but I made something so delicious for breakfast this morning (afternoon technically) that I feel that I need to share it right away. I don’t think that I have ever seen Dan so excited about something that I have made to eat before- he even declared that it transcended eggs and cheese and became a “miracle.” Whoa.
My mom got this recipe from her college roomate and it is called “Baked Roquefort Eggs.” My mom would make them for me when I was growing up when I begged her to… they are not the healthiest, but so delicious!
Ready to go into the oven
Here is how my mom wrote the recipe in the cookbook that she made for me about 10 years ago: “You need an oven proof dish- custard cup size. I put about a tablespoon of butter in the dish. Add 1/4 teaspoon spaghetti sauce seasoning. Then I put this in the oven briefly until it melts. Then crumble bleu cheese or roquefort cheese (amount is your choice) into the melted butter. Crack the egg and add it to the dish. Put a little more butter on the top (optional), salt and pepper and let it bake 10-12 minutes in a hot 450 degree oven. The 12 minute time will give you a hard yolk. This is good with toast.”
When I woke up this morning I knew that I wanted to make these for breakfast- Dan gave me four custard-size dishes for Christmas for the purpose of making these eggs- but I had neither bleu cheese nor spaghetti sauce seasoning. Instead of running to the store, I decided to adapt the recipe. My first instinct was to use a hard parmesan cheese that I had purchased at the Willy Street C0-op. Then I grabbed a softer white cheese and pondered that for a moment before finding a container of shredded parmesan that my mom had left behind in our refrigerator. Upon discovering that the shredded cheese was from Illinois I disgustingly put it back in the fridge- you do not use cheese from Illinois on Packer game day. Searching further I opened some moldy-looking feta (when my mom comes for Christmas from Oklahoma she brings the contents of her refrigerator to merge with our fridge here and always leaves me some goodies behind), threw it away and returned to my original plan of the Wisconsin parmesan cheese. It was a good call. Instead of the spaghetti sauce seasoning, I found some Country French Vinagrette seasoning from Penzey’s Spices. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly as written (except I used about half the amount of butter).
Ready to eat
We enjoyed these eggs with a piece of whole wheat toast, as my mom suggested, and coffee. Cue Dan declaring the bit about these eggs transcending food. Yum. I am off for a quick run to burn off some of that butter and then it is Packer time. Go Pack Go. Happy Sunday!
We had breakfast (homeade blueberry pancakes, Wisconsin maple syrup, fake sausage patties and lots of coffee) with our good friends Derek and Lanore this morning before they hit the road for Virginia (I was supremely jealous as I watched them drive away). Derek, a fantastic singer/ songwriter who has collaborated with Dan (including on this song– one of my favorites), was in town to play a show at The Frequency last night. In addition to “Old Fashioned,” Derek wrote an anthemic song about the Pine Cone truckstop off of I-94 between Madison and Milwaukee and can do a soul-bearing cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless.”
Derek and Dan at Isenroo 2010
Unfortunately Dan and I missed Derek’s set last night because we had an important task to do, which I will share in a future post…. We did however catch a set by The Snowbirds, a band out of Green Bay and Milwaukee. They were a little bit country (the good kind of country- like Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard) and even covered a song by one of my new favorite old bands, The Flying Burrito Brothers. It was a really good show- I enjoyed watching Gary doing a lot of foot stomps and rocking out on acoustic guitar and Dan was enamored with the pedal steel guitar. But one of my favorite parts of the whole evening was when I got home from the show and realized that the wrist band I had received at the door declared, “I am allowed to drink booze.” Well I suppose I am.
This morning Derek requested that I post that recipe for whole wheat pasta that I mentioned in my previous post. So I will start with that for my continued list of holiday highlights.
Highlight #4: Pasta dinner with my parents and Dan…
Whole wheat pasta with zucchini and goat cheese
The night after my parents arrived from Oklahoma my mom and I made this recipe from The New York Times. We served it with a loaf of good bread and roasted cauliflower and laughed hard about the time that my dad and his friend were watching Dairyland Jubilee and drove to the local tv station in an attempt to polka dance with Miss Whithee Bell. The story gets better from there but I think I might get in trouble if I say anymore. Here’s the recipe for the pasta (we doubled it for four people). It was delicious- I can’t wait to make it in the summer when the zucchini and basil are in season (and possibly grown in my garden).
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This is a recipe from the Dining section of The New York Times, October 12, 2010.
Creamy Pasta With Roasted Zucchini, Almonds and Basil
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 sprig basil, with leaves and stem
3 tablespoons goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti or linguine.
1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss the zucchini and oil with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Arrange zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden and tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a skillet over medium heat until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
3. Simmer the cream and basil sprig in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Whisk in the goat cheese until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and keep warm.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well. Toss the pasta with the cream sauce. Serve topped with the zucchini and almonds.
Yield: 2 servings.
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#5: Our trip to Evanston, Illinois a couple of days after Christmas to visit friends.
In an extremely cozy house built a very long time ago we drank champagne and ate roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Despite being told that they were vegan, I abstained from eating the ribs, but I heard they were delicious.
Brussel sprouts ready to go into the oven
We finally made our way to bed after a sing-along with Dan and Pat. A good time was had by all.
#6: Our Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve Scrabble games.
Christmas Eve Scrabble game
We started playing Scrabble again a couple of years ago. We usually abide by the rules but we have had some ridiculous games (usually to accommodate my sister who used to become frustrated easily while playing, but has recently greatly increased her gameplay) where we allowed words like “jaxed” (as in, “Oh man, you just got ‘jaxed’), “manrib” (?) and “epain” (pain received via the internet).
Dan is generally in charge of naming the competitors and this particular game was a grueling battle between Groggy, Cold and Clean! For once I, Cold, was victorious!
Cold is the winner!
We also honor a tradition established with my cousins at a family reunion in Montana: After the game everyone holds up the number of fingers of their finishing ranking and must have a look on their face that reflects their position. And then we take a photo which is usually pretty entertaining.
#7: Making owl-shaped Christmas cookies in the likeness of Green Bay Packers players.
Clay and Aaron
It was our friend Maggie’s idea and I think she is full of good ideas. Do you think “fans” of other teams do this? I don’t. Go Pack Go!!!!!!!!
GilbertDriver, Raji and Gilbert
#8: Last but not least, Christmas Day.
Christmas Day officially started at my sister’s friend’s parents’ house where we sat around the fireplace and sipped on rum and cokes. My sister and I walked home at about 3 a.m. through the perfectly quiet and snowy streets of our neighborhood. It was one of those nights where you just want to walk through those streets forever. Sneaking in the house around 3:30 we were greeted by our father who has had to deal with our late nights for a very long time. The next morning we opened stockings and a few presents at home and then we were off to our aunt and uncle’s house where we enjoyed mimosas, coffee, egg frittata and fruit salad. In the afternoon we took our traditional trip to the street where my dad grew up to visit his friend’s mom who is 102-years-old this year and an incredible woman.
After that was Christmas dinner at our friends’ house.
Sitting around a familiar wooden table in a candlelit dining room with Japanese rice paper windows we popped open Christmas crackers, laughed at our fortunes and wore colored paper crowns. We ate spinach, citrus salad with pomagranate seeds, potatoes and peppermint stick ice cream pie. We drank wine and cheersed to being together. And at one point our host put on his golden lame suit bequeathed to him by his dear friend and put on a song and dance routine. It was a magical evening.
After dinner we went across the street to the neighbor’s house where people from the neighborhood have started to gather on Christmas night for an outdoor fire. We sipped a little whiskey, listened to a little banjo, and had a grand ol’ time. After we left the fire Dan, my sister and I were off to the Laurel Tavern to see who would show up and to catch up with some old friends. I knew it at the time, but in retrospect, it really was quite the day.
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Happy 2011. Here’s to a healthy, peaceful and happy year with lots of highlights.
I love this man. And I truly love being on the road. What sparked this love of the open road may have been a road trip that my family took to Maine and back in a lime green Ford Pinto when I was five-years-old. On that trip we experienced many adventures, including one night at a hotel in Buffalo Port Jervis, New York where, at least as I recall, the swimming pool was the color and consistency of pea soup and, according to my dad, contained barracudas- we all swam despite these conditions. Or it could have started much earlier with countless car trips to Iowa to visit my grandparents (often with my sister and I fighting over the ubiquitous line in the backseat). I have memories of spilling my chocolate milk all over my grilled cheese at a chain-type restaurant in Canada or Michigan and an image in my mind of a drawing (done while driving through Pennsylvania?) where a family of octupi are eating Pizza Hut (I believe this was a subtle hint). I remember being woken up by my parents at 5 a.m. in a motel in Indiana where they declared, “Let’s flee,” because some loud truck had been parked outside of our room all night and another time fleeing our reservation at a place on Cape Cod because it was found to be less than desirable. At the age of 10 or 11, I once cried upon arriving at our hotel in St. Augustine, Florida (after 16 hours in the car with my mom, 16-year-old sister, and our two friends) when I discovered that the doors weren’t as blue as the Atlantic Ocean as our guidebook had promised. I’ve been driven through Washington D.C. and Boston (without stopping), counted my mosquito bites under a tree in Ithica, New York Burlington, Vermont while my sister was on a whirlwind college campus tour, and gotten car sick along the windy highways of California. I suppose it could have gone the other way, but a wanderlust for traveling the country via the highway began and I have had it ever since.
Last spring Dan and I took a two-week road trip with stops in Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. This trip was full of family, good friends, and many magical moments including this dessert (inhaled at the Lincoln Cafe in Mt. Vernon, Iowa);
Dessert at the Lincoln Cafe, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
finding my new favorite dress at this store in Norman, Oklahoma;
Birdie in Norman, Oklahoma
finding a road sign in New Mexico for the town named in one of my all-time favorite songs (Willin’ by Little Feat) ;
So that’s where they were talking about…
getting snowed on in Arizona on April Fool’s Day;
April Fool’s!
and realizing that my dear relatives from Montana were ordering mochas in the same cafe in Moab, Utah where Dan and I had decided to eat breakfast. What a serendipitous meeting that was that morning.
Eklectica, Moab, Utah: The cafe (with delicious vegetarian breakfasts) where I randomly ran into my relatives from MontanaRunning into my mom’s cousin in Moab led to our first trip to Arches- she told us that we had to visit the park and even gave us the money for admission!
On that trip we played Scrabble with my mom while listening to a cd of bird calls; met multiple different groups of people with connections to Wisconsin; attended a 3-day wedding in Scottsdale bringing together people from Green Bay and Germany (a perfect match) where we taught our German friends how to play bags and our Arizonian bartender how to make old fashioneds; got our tent blown away by torrential winds outside of Moab; and listened to our first Brewers game of the season because they were playing the Rockies as we drove through the mountains of Colorado on our way to Denver. I didn’t want the trip to end- it’s one of the only times that I can remember that I wasn’t ready to walk in the door of my house, drop my bags and sleep in my own bed. I wanted to keep going. In fact, I cried as I drove my car down the empty streets of Madison at 5 a.m. on the last morning of our trip.
Along the way Dan played six shows- we called it his “Lake Effect” tour.
Tour poster in Moab
Traveling the country with a musician can be one of the most fun ways to travel. You figure out where and when the shows are and then you get to connect the dots in between, which allows you plenty of freedom and adventure along the way. We lucked out and were able to book Dan shows pretty easily. For an entertaining review of Dan’s show in Flagstaff, click here and scroll down. I like the title at the top about “Midwestern weirdness…” I’m not sure how they knew about the accent….
The open road
But, being on the road with a musician can also mean late, late nights, unpredictable schedules, unpredictable bar patrons, and unpredictable meals. It can mean eating potato chips for dinner, no dinner, or tacos at 4 a.m. (albeit they were my favorite black bean tacos from Burrito Drive on Willy Street in Madison- the pickled red onions are a MUST). This is what happened on our latest road adventure this past weekend as we drove between Madison, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Concord (the suburbs of Sullivan/ Ixonia), Madison, Manitowoc, and Madison in a five-day stretch. And all of this leads me to lentil soup. On Friday I received a text message from my mom saying that she was making bean soup for dinner (my mom has taught me an enduring appreciation for the deliciousness and comfort that is soup) and it was practically all I could think about for the rest of the weekend. So last night I finally got my soup. And it made it all worthwhile.
This is a recipe that I have made a bunch of times, but I have to say that this was my best batch. The only thing that I really did differently was that instead of using 6 cups of water, I used one cup of old red wine and 5 cups of water. I also used all brown lentils and I really liked their texture. I served it at 9:30 p.m. with steamed broccoli with lemon and a sourdough baguette and it was oh so good to be home again (this time).
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This recipe is from the cookbook, “The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Soup.” (I received this cookbook from my mom for Christmas several years ago with the inscription, “For obvious reasons.”)
Lentil Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic; minced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons curry powder*
1 cup canned diced plum tomatoes, with juice
1 1/2 cups dried brown or pink lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock or prepared broth**
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach
salt and freshly ground pepper
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and bay leaf and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and their juice, lentils, stock*, and lemon slices. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the lemon slices and bay leaf.
Just before serving, stir in the spinach, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the spinach is wilted but still bright green. Season to taste with salt and pepper.**
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls*** and serve immediately.
Makes 4-6 servings****
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*I think I add more than two teaspoons of curry powder and I also add chili pepper flakes.
**Since going veg I don’t use chicken or beef broth but I also don’t like the flavor of store-bought vegetable stock. I have used water every time (and now I will use a little wine too).
***Warming the bowls does sound like a nice touch- I have yet to do this.
****For once Dan and I did not eat all of the “4-6” servings and I am looking forward to the leftovers.
Enjoy this soup at home any time and revel in being in your own kitchen with a warming and wholesome meal. But when you are ready to be on the road again, fish out your atlas, grab the tent, pack up the car (don’t forget the healthy snacks), and blast this song as soon as you hit the highway. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.
Want to know a secret? Sometimes at the end of a run I like to sprint down my neighbors’ street so that they think I run really fast. The best case scenario for this situation is that they are sitting out on their deck drinking beer so that they get to see me run really fast and then offer me a beer to replace my fluids. Once in awhile I lace up my running shoes just to sprint past their house a few times and try to get offered a free beer. No, that last part isn’t true.
On to the mac-n-cheese. The official title for this log entry is “Do yourself a favor and make this recipe for skillet macaroni and cheese immediately if not sooner.” It is soooooooooo crazy delicious!!!!!!! I found it on a New York Times website featuring vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes. It’s made with whole wheat pasta, broccoli and mushrooms and you can use skim or low-fat milk (I used 1% and it was super creamy) so it has some redeeming qualities in terms of health. Oh! And you use real butter so you can avoid that poisonous stuff that comes in the tub. So, there you go! It’s health food! I omitted the tarragon because a) I gave up looking for any on the sticky spice shelf above my stove after about 2 1/2 seconds and b) I know that I have heard of tarragon, but I don’t really know what tarragon is (Is that terrible? Am I missing out?). I figured that red chili pepper flakes would be the perfect substitution for the tarragon and I was right.
This photo does not give justice to how good this tastes
The amazing thing about this recipe is that I usually have to double or triple the sauce part of recipes in order to make dishes saucy enough for my taste. I love sauce. But this recipe actually satisfied my desire for sauciness (that is a strange-looking word) as it is written. I didn’t even add all of the milk because it seemed like it was going to be too much, but, in retrospect, I could have added it all. It says that this recipe provides 6 side-dish servings. All I can tell you is that Dan and I polished it all off in one sitting but I had been sprinting back and forth in front of my neighbors’ house in hopes that they would give me a beer. I accompanied the dish with a salad of delicious spinach greens (with olive oil and lemon juice) that I risked my sanity in obtaining at the indoor farmer’s market this past Saturday. Enjoy.
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This is a recipe from the Health section of the New York Times website.
Skillet Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Mushrooms
This skillet-supper version of the classic is quicker and easier to make. This hearty comfort food easily functions as the main dish for vegetarians.
Ingredients
4 ounces grated Cheddar2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or other hard cheese1 tablespoon unsalted butter1 small yellow onion, chopped
6 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups low-fat or fat-free milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced tarragon leaves or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces dried whole-wheat pasta shells (not the large ones for stuffing), cooked and drained according to the package instructions
4 cups small broccoli florets, cooked in boiling water for 1 minute (broccoli can be added to the pasta during the last minute of cooking, then drained with the pasta in a colander)
Preparation
1. Mix the Cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large, high-sided, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and it comes to a simmer, and then reduces by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir well to coat.
5. Whisk in the milk in a steady, thin stream until creamy. Then whisk in the mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to bubble and the liquid thickens, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in three-quarters of the mixed cheeses until smooth. Then stir in the cooked pasta and broccoli.
7. Preheat the broiler after setting the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Meanwhile, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the ingredients in the skillet. Set the skillet on the rack and broil until light browned and bubbling, about 5 minutes. (If your skillet has a plastic or wooden handle, make sure it sticks outside the oven, out from under the broiler, so the handle doesn’t melt.) Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before dishing up.
Yield: Makes six side-dish servings.
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Two signs today that a Wisconsin winter is on its way: I ran all the gas out of the mower this afternoon and alternate-side parking starts tonight. This means that I get to annoy my neighbors (not the ones with the beer) when their side of the street doesn’t get plowed because of my car. Oh joy. At least we have macaroni and cheese. Here are a few photos from last winter.
Snow Day, December 2009Lake Wingra, December 2009
Snowman on our way to snow day beers at the Laurel, December 2009
Tonight I am cooking up a stir-fry with bok choy, broccoli, kale (it’s delicious), and garnishing with some parsley that I discovered going strong in the garden today as I ripped out the straw-like tomato and pepper plants from this summer. While wandering around Willy Street Co-op today I decided to make up a sauce with coconut milk, lime juice and probably some pepper flakes. I’m winging it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
We sat next to each other at the picnic table the other day. Me: Disheveled hair. Brown eyes. Aspiring writer. You: Nice laugh. Pizza lover. Prospective reader. Coffee?
Wading in Lake Michigan, June 2008
And so it begins. Inspired by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette fame, I have decided to, as Molly wrote, “stick my neck out there” and hold myself accountable to something. With a Journalism degree in my pocket that was put on the back burner, I still crave the rush of seeing my name in the byline. While I used to fantasize about being the next Woodward or Bernstein, I then began to picture myself as Carrie Bradshaw, staring blissfully out of the open window of my walk-up apartment with a martini in my hand and a brilliant revelation at my fingertips. I now want to write children’s books, food articles and everything in between. I love to cook and take photos. I stopped eating meat (besides fish) one year, one month and three days ago. When it comes to pizza, I believe what my boyfriend, Dan, says and that olives are the new sausage. I love swimming with my family in a lake in Iowa in the late summer afternoon when the sun starts to hang lazily in the sky, ready for happy hour, not quite ready for bed.
On this site I hope to write about food, Wisconsin, road trips, music and the things that make me (and hopefully you) happy, like seeing dogs being driven around in bike trailers intended for children. Or blasting this song at exceedingly loud volumes. Let’s get this party started.
I woke up today to a gray and rainy morning desperately seeking spinach and scones. The last farmer’s market on the square was last weekend and so Dan and I begrudgingly (after retrieving coffees from EVP) drove downtown to go to the indoor market at the Monona Terrace (after parking the car we got to play with an eight-month old corgi). The indoor market is disorienting for many reasons, including the hallucinogenic orange carpeting, the fluorescent lighting and the fact that I no longer know where to find my favorite vendors. Dan managed to find the spinach man and after purchasing spinach and a rutabaga we fled the indoor market and escaped back into the cold and blustery day. I had my heart set on a scone from Lazy Jane’s Cafe but first we decided to stop by the memorial dedicated to Otis Redding whose plane crashed in Lake Monona in 1967. A million years ago- before Dan and I were dating- we attended a wedding at the Monona Terrace and a group of us left the reception to find the memorial and ceremonially pay our respects to Mr. Redding. This visit was a bit more brief. And sober.
Otis's memorial
And we were off to Lazy Jane’s where we sat upstairs- in the sweltering heat- and were joined by Stosh, who is visiting from Pittsburgh. I laughed as Dan and Stosh told stories about Ford’s Gym and nibbled at a lemon cream scone while we waited to hear the cooks downstairs yell my name throughout the cozy house-turned-cafe telling us that our food was ready. And when that happened, I devoured a curry tofu scramble with a side of some damn good potatoes. Yum.
Lazy Jane's
Lemon cream scone and coffee
Nice kitties
And there you have it. My first entry. In the coming months I hope to share recipes, photographs, and tales of my adventures around Wisconsin. For now, sweet dreams.
WISCONSIN FUN NEXT EXIT 