After cooking the fettucine I returned the pasta to the pan, and added 2 eggs and skim milk which i had whisked together. My mistake was that even though the burner was off, the pan was still way too hot for the eggs. It ended up scrambling the eggs. Oh well. I added lots of cracked black pepper (in fact my grinder broke and dumped a whole butt load onto the pasta- nothing went right on Wednesday) crushed red pepper and parmigiano reggiano and salt. It was great.

this looks totally gross, but believe me. it’s no stranger than lo mein or fried rice with scrambled eggs in it.

Shrimp Quesadillas w/ Garlic Chipolte Black Beans

Marinate shrimp in lime juice, garlic, cilantro, 1/2 chipolte pepper, salt and pepper:

Heat 1 can of black beans in a sauce pan with 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped, the other half of the chipolte pepper, salt and pepper. After they are bubbling, smash with a potato smasher.

Grill 1/2 red pepper chopped up, 1 portobello mushroom, chopped up, 3 scallions, chopped. Set aside:

Grill shrimp, about 3 mins each side. Set aside, and chop when they are cool enough to handle:

Throw two tortillas on the grill for 30 seconds on each side. On the second one, keep on the grill, put down 1/4 c monterray jack, then shrimp, veggies, 1/2 avocado chopped, and put a tiny bit of cheese on top so that you can “glue” the top tortilla to it. Press down for 3 minutes, flip. Cut into quarters. Quesadilla serves 2.

I made a little cucumber salad on the side too – 1/2 cucumber, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper.

Boil a pot of water for the pierogies, boil for 6 minutes, drain. Slice kielbasa, zucchini, onions and throw on the grill. As the pierogies are boiling and meat and veggies grilling…mix together 1 tbsp of course grain mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper, and dill in a bowl. When you drain the pierogies, toss them into this mixture. Serve w/ kielbasa and veggies.

Kielbasa, zucchini, onions on ‘the grill’ aka my grill pan

mix together this schtuff

ja!

The first recipe I made from this book comes from the island of Sardinia and it’s Cauliflower with Olives & Cherry Tomatoes. ALTHOUGH, i didn’t have tomatoes! whoops, so just disregard that. haha Basically the recipe involves sauteing the cauliflower for a long time to really get some dark brown color on it – the olives are there to add a salty bite to cauliflower, along with the addition of ‘pepperoncino flakes’ aka crushed red pepper. It was delicious! Really gave a somewhat bland vegetable for a side dish, some depth!

For your enjoyment:
1) we had an amazing meal of grilled steak and lobster! not too shabby!!!!!! Here’s the meal (and the game!):

2) And here is a comical photo of mom and dad during the game. Mom’s wondering “WTF is happening?” and dad has just given up…

With Lauren’s biz cards happily in the mail to her – I got to work on the banner for the top of her website. Also – check out her recent cakes for a few baby showers. She is doing great work. Hire her!

Spinach Fettucine
serves 2
1/2 lb fettucine
1 tb butter or olive oil
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tb flour
1 cup chopped frozen spinach
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 a small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Bring water to a boil, salt the water, and drop your fettucine into the pot. Finely chop your onion and garlic. Add butter/olive oil to pan and add onions, garlic, 1 tsp salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. saute – without browning the garlic- for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, defrost spinach and peas in microwave for 1 minute. Add 1 tbsp flour to the onions and garlic, stir around and cook for 3 minutes (this helps get rid of the flour taste). It will look all clumped up. That’s ok. Turn up heat to medium high, add chicken stock and whisk as the sauce simmers and becomes smooth. Continue whisking; tt will begin to thicken. Once its thickened. Add the defrosted spinach and peas. stir and taste to check seasoning. Combine with fettucine.

Top with parm.