And It Goes On...

As promised, here is my Tuesday night dinner. It was light, summery and delicious:

Penne with Artichokes, Black Olives and Peas

12 marinated artichoke hearts (1 can)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 lemon, cut in thin circles
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup black olives, pitted
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet peas
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound penne pasta, cooked
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Coat a saucepan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and place over medium heat. Blot the artichokes dry then add them to the pan. Add the garlic, shallot, lemon slices, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Pour in the stock, cover, and let simmer for 8 minutes to soften the artichokes. Remove the lid and add the olives, basil, tomatoes and butter, stir to incorporate. Add the peas and remaining oil; season again with salt and pepper. Cook pasta al dente and top with the baby artichoke sauce. Remove the lemons and bay leaves, and sprinkle with grated cheese before serving.
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

This was really a very nice dinner. Doing the prep work ahead of time really works to one's advantage here, since being able to dump everything straight into the saucepan makes this a 30-minute meal. And for someone who didn't enjoy olives and artichokes not so long ago, I say good on me!! :)

Sean and I watched another Icelandic movie last night - Nói albinói. Why do my countrymen feel the need to make such incredibly depressing movies? Who the hell would want to visit Iceland after seeing these depression-fests that pass for movies? Holy crap! I barely want to go there myself now! I think I need to have a serious discussion with my moviemaker cousin about this mess. I need a comedy!!!

Speaking of funny thing... THIS is my favorite thing in a while.

Monday Night Dinner

I took it easy Monday night and made one of my favorites: White Pizza. That's simply a pizza without any tomato sauce. I had some store-bought dough (I'm not very good with any baking that includes yeast) and I brushed it with olive oil and minced garlic. I then baked that for about 6 minutes to intensify the flavor and bake it really well into the crust. I then topped the pizza with 3 onions that I sliced thinly and caramelized slowly for about 40 minutes. I then topped that with some mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and baked it for another 8 minutes. Delicious! Perfectly baked crust and the cheese and onion were so gooey and tasty... I'm hungry now.

Sean and I played hooky from work yesterday afternoon to partake in the opening day festivities for the Washington Nationals. Translation for Icelanders: It was the first game of the season for DC's baseball team. We met up with some friends to see the hometown boys lose badly to the Florida Marlins. I hope that's not an omen for the season to come. I enjoy going to baseball games. The atmosphere is fun and it almost feels like a vacation.

I'm reading a new book: Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time. It's about the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, and the people who survived it. It's really fascinating stuff to read, and a good reminder for those who suggest that mankind cannot adversely affect its environment. The Dust Bowl was the largest, most catastrophic meteorological event of the 20th century - and it was all caused by people.

I've just selected tonight's recipe for dinner. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!!

Sunday Dinner

Sean and I discovered a great cooking magazine, Cook's Illustrated. It's very bare-bones and straightforward, and is heavy on instruction and advice. We got one for free in the mail and have been using it a lot. I made the best brownies ever from that, and there's also a recipe for green beans that's better than anything I've ever had before. Tonight, I used their recipe for pork chops with mustard and dill sauce. Their secret to juicy pork chops: Start them on a cold pan, and put a tiny dusting of sugar on one side to get good browning action. It was delicious. Juiciest chops I've ever made, period. On the side, I served brussel sprouts (rosakal). I know, most people hate them, but Sean and I have really come to love eating them. The secret: Blanch them in chicken stock first, then throw them into a skillet with shallots, olive oil, salt and pepper and give them a good cooking. They become soft and super tasty. Finally, dinner was completed with a nice spinach salad with carrots, scallions and toasted pecans. Very balanced, and lots of veggies and herbs.

Last night, we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Lauriol Plaza. The occasion was that my good friends Andrea and Brjann were making a 3-day stop in Washington on their way to Hawaii to get married. It was really nice to see them and we had a fun time, complete with margaritas and that most American of pastries for dessert: Krispy Kreme donuts! They fly to the 50th state on Tuesday, via San Francisco. I hope they'll have a great time, and I can't see how they could not!

I continued my "tradition" of going to see a movie during my free afternoon at Elderhostel. This week I saw The Namesake, based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel. I really enjoyed it, and had actually been looking forward to seeing it for a while. Also saw Stranger Than Fiction on Netflix. That was pretty good.

I finished my book, Mayflower, at the hotel last week and didn't bring another, so I was "forced" to go to Barnes & Noble to get a new one. I had intended to get Cormac McCarthy's The Road, but apparently that bitch Oprah just chose it for her book club, so the only available version has her frakking name and logo all over it. No way in hell am I buying that! Instead, I bought McCarthy's last novel before that one, No Country For Old Men. I really enjoyed that one - in fact, I finished it yesterday. Tonight I get to indulge in one of my favorite things to do: Choosing a new book to read. I know. I'm a nerd. I've learned to live with it, and suggest you do the same. :-)