For the last three months my experiences in the kitchen have been limited to microwaving, toasting, and the occasional nachos or buffalo chicken dip in the oven. As Harry Truman said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen". Personally, I can't during the summer, so I try to keep my distance from that very small room in my apartment.
With the arrival of Earl, the temperatures have dropped to a much more comfortable level and I am more inclined to consider the idea of using my stove top. Tonight, I decided to make my triumphant return by making a pasta sauce. I had some canned tomatoes and sauce that were begging to be put in a frying pan. As I began tossing in spices and cheese, I remembered a recipe that my friend sent me for sauce that involved a stick of butter. It sounded weird to me too, but being high of the smells of freshly made dinner, I just let my hands work and in went a few lumps of butter. Holy moly, so tasty! I highly encourage you all to try it next time it is pasta night, the butter really did make a difference.
Seriously, is there anything butter doesn't make better?
I said it. I feel better. Sometimes, you just have to come clean.
I didn't even realize that I was a bacon cooking virgin until I got ready to make the Bacon Pasta Salad for an afternoon BBQ. As I grabbed the product out of the fridge I paused.
What did I do last time? Wait - was there a last time? Oh My God! I have never made bacon!!!
Of course, my first response was to call my dad. He is in charge of bacon for any big breakfast in our household. His first response to me asking what to do - laugh. Then ask, "you really never made bacon before?"
I get it! This is a ridiculous situation to be in at 26 years old without bacon experience, but is it my fault I have been surrounding myself with prize bacon fryers? No. Clearly I keep good company and now I can proudly say I make some really good crispy bacon.
If anyone is unsure what to do, I'll give you the secret. Just put bacon in a frying pan and don't turn the heat up too high. Easiest recipe ever. Please remember to have a grease jar ready once the pan cools down as you don't want to pour that down the drain!
This website provides suggestions to the lazy cook. The best part is if you click on the meal it suggests, the website connects you to a recipe. This will be bookmarked on my computer!
This weekend I will be heading back to RI for a super fun bbq. My friend just got her Master's in Marine Affairs (and sadly, no, that does not mean she gets to stare at men in uniform all day). Conveniently, her graduation coincides with her moving into a new apartment, so of course, a party was a must.
My original plan was to make some bacon pasta salad*. Then life happened and now I realize I will be home and available to cook for maybe an hour between now (Friday at noon) and when I must leave to get to RI (sometime around 3:30 tomorrow). I would rather avoid the stress trying to get the pasta salad made, so I will probably go with option 2. Beer.
Just as I was about to write yet another post about bacon, I checked my email. In my over stuffed inbox I found an old one advertising a bacon scented candle. Could not make this up if I tried. I don't know how I feel about this product. Do I really want to smell like bacon if I didn't get to eat any??
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*Bow Tie Pasta Salad
1 (16 oz) box bow tie pasta
1 – 1 ½ bottles Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Raw veggies (i.e. red peppers, green peppers, pea pods, etc.), cut up
Cooked bacon (approx. 4 - 5 slices), crumbled in pieces
Salt
Pepper
Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Rinse pasta with cold water, drain, and put in large bowl.Chill for about a half hour, and then add enough Ranch dressing to keep it from sticking.Chill again. When chilled, add cut up veggies, salt and pepper to taste, and enough dressing to coat the pasta. Toss well.Add bacon before serving, and toss again.
If you can't find it at the Christmas Tree Shop where do you go? Oh right. That would be Job Lot!! Or for those of you not from Lil' Rhody, Ocean State Job Lot. This store has it all and I have been waiting for my chance to go home and shop there since I moved in here. This store has it all! Rugs to patio furniture to knives to food to clothing to everything under the sun.
My main objective to going was that I needed spices. They are so expensive in the grocery stores. At Job Lot you can get a huge container for 75 cents. Sounds amazing right? I stocked up on all the major spices I probably need; Oregano, Basil, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, etc...
In addition to purchasing spices, I was able to acquire those grip mats you put under throw rugs, a box of Sugar In the Raw Packets (25 packets for $1) and sandwich baggies (75 for $1). Had I the time to really stop and think about it, there was potential that I would come away with a new foot stool. There were some great wrote iron foot stools with curled up feet and cushy tops. Oh well, maybe next time. The place does have just about everything! :)
Oh by the way, I had called my mom to let her know I was back in South County but had to make a few stops before heading home for the Pats game. When I said I was headed to Job Lot, she said "oh your sister is headed there right now. She decided to come home from college for the weekend too". Gotta love that both of us felt it necessary to stop at Job Lot before seeing our parents. Can't say no to a bargain!
My kitchen is full of dirty pans, plates, bowls and serving utensils. My stomach is full, my feet are up, and I am just doneskies. I have been slowly getting back into the groove of cooking for myself regularly, and well, I think I am feeling good about my culinary instincts. Honestly, part of my new excitement for cooking comes from having complete control of my kitchen for the first time ever, but the other part is my desire/need to stay within budget.
I had a number of awesome friends who helped me move in here and I am slowly trying to formally thank them all by cooking for them. Tonight I had one of them over to show off my place and my skills with the stove/oven. He was impressed by all. Here was tonight's menu:
Mom's meatloaf (complete with a great tomato based sauce with a bit of tang)
Smashed potatoes (shout out to my fav none-benny lava kickballer for the use of her smasher)
Steamed green beans w/ toasted almonds and plumped craisens (steamed in a combo of water and oj)
Oh, and this was of course paired with Honey Moon and Harpoon Hefeweizen. Everything came out wonderfully, especially given this was my first attempt at this particular dish. I called my mum a few times to be sure I understood what I was doing and she just laughed and answered my small questions.
I did use the most of my time since there were occasions where I had some cooking "down time" you know after the meat went into the oven, but before I had to put the potatoes on or then later the beans. So I was able to not only clean up the house but also...
HANG UP THE PICTURE FRAMES! Yay. There might just be a few extra holes in my walls. That mainly has to do with the fact that I picked some softer places in the wall to put some nails, which meant they weren't going to hold. Then I also was a little to rushed to use the level right at first and things weren't lining up as well as I had hoped. Fortunately the pictures are hanging over the extra holes so no one can tell what had happened.
As much as I enjoyed cooking tonight for a friend, really I had a great time singing to some trashy B. Spears while doing so, I really don't feel like tackling the last of the dishes. At least I know that I did the first round of prep dishes already and I just have serving and eating stuff left for the most part. But I just can't bring myself to attempt a good clean up. My kitchen sink will just stay full of dishes until tomorrow. Fortunately, I think I can live with that. :)
