I thought you were a Fungi. I ain't got Thyme for this. Zzzzz....

You've met that guy.  Or maybe you are that guy.  You know.  The one who only wants really basic food, salt and pepper is okay, but don't go crazy with those spices, and forget about going out to any restaurant but a steak house or a pizza place.  That guy annoys the crap out of me.  But for some reason, yesterday I was that guy.  I really just wanted chicken. With mushrooms. And maybe some vegetables.  The foodie in me was horrified for seeking out foods that so simple - I should really be challenging my taste buds as well as my culinary knowledge...But as we all know, the heart wants what it wants, and who are we to question it?

Recipe #33: Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Recipe #34: Chicken with Thyme Mushroom Sauce

Choice of libation: Beringer Pinot Grigio. In general, I find Beringer to be fine, as in slightly better than 3 buck Chuck.  It's crisp and dry enough to cook with, and pleasant enough to drink.  Also, $4. So.

Choice of music: The Nat King Cole Trio's "Hit that Jive, Jack." I listen to it at least once a year. I have no idea why, but Nat King Cole's voice has always meant autumn to me.  I guess because it's as smooth as a soy chai latte and as comforting as a plum colored pashmina.  

Truthfully, I chose this side because I really didn't feel like making a salad. Also because we had garlic I was afraid would go bad, so I minced up a crap ton and tossed it in.

Lemon, garlic and Parmesan are not only great together, but we also happened to already have them in the fridge.

So it turns out I should have gotten thinner pieces or at least pounded them out a little because it messed with the cooking time a bit.

While the chicken baked in the oven, I started on the mushroom sauce. Mushrooms and thyme sweat it out till you add the booze and the other liquids. 

"With enough butter, anything is good." - Julia Child. And, now, me.

The acidity of the lemon on the garlic-parm broccoli and cauliflower really did balance the richness of the thyme mushroom sauce on the chicken.  I was actually really pleased.

But here is a prettier picture of what the chicken is supposed to look like, stolen from the website I got the recipe from.  I figured you deserved to see what it looked like without the awful yellow tint from my kitchen lighting.

5 cups broccoli and cauliflower florets

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

lemon juice

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

generous handful of Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet 

In a large bowl, mix the florets, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper

Spread the bowl's contents onto the baking sheet

Sprinkle with juice of 1 lemon and a handful of cheese

Bake for 15 minutes

stolen and adapted from www.droolworthydaily.com/

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs  (just make sure they're not too thick)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup white wine

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter 

Preheat oven to 400F.

Season chicken breast with garlic salt and pepper. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cook for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and thyme; saute for 4 minutes or until mushrooms are slightly browned. 

Stir in wine, broth, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce starts to bubble and thicken. 

Remove from heat; add butter, stirring until butter melts.

Pour mushroom mixture over the chicken and return to the oven; bake for another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (I actually had to bake for 15-18 minutes, but it didn't dry out...)

HELP! HELP! My caramel apple was a-SALTed: Adventures in French Toast Casseroles

It's autumn, y'all.   And like many a girl from Seattle (where it is perpetual autumn), I love this season.  Not only because my closet consists mainly of boots, sweaters, and adorable light jackets, but because the flavours associated with fall are just drool-worthy -- pumpkin spice lattes, curried butternut squash soups, and glorious apple everything.  Ooh.  Especially apple with caramel.  Ooh especially salted caramel with apple.  Yes? YES.

Recipe #32: Salted Caramel Apple French Toast Casserole

Choice of libation: Chad, who makes excellent beer, has never made a cider before.  This one does not disappoint.  Crafted in time for the opening of the show "Isaac's Eye" at Writers Theatre, it was aptly named "Isaac's Cider." I hate it when hard cider just tastes like apple juice, and this one doesn't.  You can tell it's a little boozy and because he added some ginger, there's a little bite to it.  

Choice of music: Food, Kelis's amazing new album. Of course I would love it.  It's a lot of throwback R&B soul.  AND IT'S CALLED "FOOD." I have rotating favorite tracks on this album, but right now, I'm jamming on the first two, "Breakfast" and "Jerk Ribs."

Spiced rum obviously goes with all those fall flavours.  Also, the recipe called for it.  Well.  Vanilla extract.  But whatevs. 

I tend to like my french toast really cinnamon-y, so I actually put a lot more in than the recipe calls for. Ditto for the nutmeg.

Make sure that each bit of the bread is soaking up some liquid before you put in the fridge overnight. 

You don't want no dry french toast casserole.

There.  That's better.  It looks gross, but in the morning, you will be not be sorry.

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can do most of the work the night before, so that if you're, say, hosting an all day marathon of Lifetime movies at your house and you'd rather not spend the whole morning in the kitchen, aside from a few simple steps, all you have to do that day is pop it in the oven!

And here is a picture of badly diced apples.

Oh, did I mention, YOU GET TO MAKE YOUR OWN CARAMEL SAUCE? 

Yeah.  Good morning.

                           
                         \ 

Then you stir those badly diced apples into that caramel sauce.  And your kitchen will smell divine.

Now.  You could just sit around and do nothing while you wait for the glorious casserole to bake.

OR.  You could do something productive and educational, like ask your hilarious and adorable friends to read aloud excerpts from Tori Spelling's memoir, "Unchartered TerriTORI." While I don't have video of that, I do have a clip of Tori Spelling in the Lifetime movie, "Death of a Cheerleader."

Yeah, that was Becca from "Life Goes On." BACK OFF, MONICA.

But back to the reason all of us are here.  I did mean to take a picture of the casserole, all pretty on a plate, but we kind of ate all of it before I could do that.  Needless to say, you should probably make this for your next fall brunch.  Caramel, sea salt, apples, carbs, rum...YES.

stolen then adapted from www.ambitiouskitchen.com

1 1/2 pound of cinnamon bread, cut into 1 inch slices
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 medium apples (I used golden delicious), peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (OR SPICED RUM, and maybe 4 tablespoons...)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (though I put in 2 teaspoons, and I wasn't sorry about it)
pinch of nutmeg

Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond milk, maple syrup, "vanilla", eggs, egg whites, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over the bread, making sure to soak each cube. If there are some dry pieces, simply press them down a bit to soak up some of the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Once ready to bake, place small saucepan over low heat and add brown sugar, butter and maple syrup; whisk occasionally until butter is melted and combined with sugar. Add salt and diced apples to caramel and stir to combine. Drizzle apple caramel mixture all over bread cubes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the french toast bake is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes then cut into 12 servings. Serve with warm maple syrup.

ABSOLUT VODKA SAUCE: The only way to get me back in the kitchen

A month.

I HAVEN'T BLOGGED FOR A MONTH.

I know how terrible these past few weeks have been for you, the three people who read this blog, and for that I am truly sorry and offer only my profoundest apologies and vodka wishes with vodka cream sauce dreams. Truth be told, I well never turn down pasta. And I will seldom turn down vodka.  So it's shocking that I have really only dreamed of making a vodka sauce, and now, with a high dosage of strong cough syrup, a nice glass of red, and you three blog followers cheering me on, I have made my dream a reality...

Recipe #31: Pasta with Creamy Vodka Sauce

Choice of libation: Castaño Monastrell. We mainly bought it because nothing on the label sounded familiar to us, but we typically enjoy Spanish wines. Also.  $7.99 before tax. Turns out it is a cuvee made from 100% Monastrell vines.  Very smooth finish, and the same subtle fruit and complexity that a lot of Spanish wines have. It'll pair well with a lot of things.  

Choice of music: Bishop Allen's Lights Out, is as delightful as every other one of their albums.  Melodic with a driving beat, it also pairs well with lots of things.

Okay, okay.  First thing's first.  DO WE HAVE ENOUGH VODKA? Yes. I think so.

I really didn't feel like making a salad to go with this, so I thought I'd add vegetables INTO the pasta. Look.  I hadn't cooked in like a month.  I'd gotten lazy

I got the biggest and cheapest can of crushed tomatoes I could find.  

Nothing but the best for this vodka sauce.

This is it when all starts to come together.  There's nothing like that beautiful pink color signifying a good amount of heavy cream in your pasta sauce. Yummm.

Oh, look guys. Basil! More greens...Everybody now,  "IT'S BASICALLY A SALAD!"

And of course. Calcium. According to the recipe, I did this too soon. But I just couldn't wait.

You guys.

Simple? Yes.  Delicious. YES.

Make this sauce because it's good.  

AND.  There will be leftover vodka.

stolen then adapted from food.com

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti, cooked aldente

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 large zucchini, thinly sliced

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 pinch hot pepper flakes

3/4 cup vodka

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Pour the olive oil into the pan and add the onions, zucchini and garlic.

Turn on the heat to medium-low and gently cook for a few minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes cook 1 minute add crushed tomatoes.

Raise the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the vodka and a pinch of salt and pepper simmer uncovered for about 8 minutes over medium-low heat.

Add the cream and lower the heat, add drained pasta and toss in basil.

Stir to coat well and grate a generous amount of parmesan into the pasta

Serve immediately sprinkled with more parmesan, and red pepper flakes.