This Little Piggy made a Multi-Cheese Quesadilla

After hosting a supper club mixer at my apartment on Saturday, I was left with the remnants of various cheeses that had been left unfinished.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I decided I would throw all the smaller pieces together and make a quesadilla.  I have absolutely no clue what they were, though they varied from a soft cow's milk to a harder pecorino type cheese.  I used about 4-5 of them and it turned out to be incredible.  All the white cheeses blended together deliciously and I was so pleased.  So... when you have smaller pieces of cheese and you're not quite sure what to do with them (besides obviously eating them whole), I highly recommend making a quesadilla.  Oink oink!

The night I made MExican food (Mexican just for Me!)

Sunday night I decided I would try to make something for dinner.  Initially, I was just going to heat up some soup, but a friend told me that was sad.  Truth be told, I wasn't in a very pleasant mood, so I decided I'd try to cheer myself up by cooking, if for no other reason so I'd have something to post about.  I threw some things together (specifically goya black beans, cheese, sour cream, homemade pico de gallo, sliced avocado and a tortilla) and bingo, I had  MExican dinner.  Que bueno, it was delicious!

Lesson learned: the beans in the can are already cooked, putting them in the saucepan is done only to heat them.  Who knew?!  What would I do without Felicia?!

This Little Piggy made Vodka Cream Sauce Pasta

It's true.  I made pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce (from scratch) all by myself, and for someone who spends very little time in the kitchen, I must say... it was Tasty!  I'm typically not a Rachel Ray fan.  Yeah, she is pretty cute, and I guess she has done a decent job with her show.  Heck, I wish I had her job.  But, she did rudely crash David Chang and Mario Batali's book discussion at The Strand... Anywho, years ago my mom sent me Ray's recipe for vodka cream sauce, named "You Won't be Single for Long" vodka cream sauce pasta (I'm sure the title is a shocker).  I will admit, I agree to some extent with many of the not so positive comments in the response section of the link... it was a little runny and can be a little bland if the right balance in ingredients isn't achieved.  Not to worry though, if you make some alterations to the recipe, ie, add bacon, maybe more cream, definitely some salt... it ends up tasting pretty good!  At the very least, it's worth giving a shot, which is why I'm including the recipe below!

(n.b. I highly suggest making this with some delicious, fresh pasta. Any from Murray's Cheese Shop comes highly recommended from moi!)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.
Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread.

This Little Piggy (hearts) Goat Cheese

I love goat cheese.  Really, I do.  I think you could put goat cheese on anything and it would taste amazing.  You can eat it alone, on crackers, on bread, on an apple, on a salad, in pasta, on a steak, on a burger.... even a goat cheese cheesecake.  You can eat it for breakfast, a snack, for lunch, dinner, or dessert.  I really think it is one of the most delicious things ever. 

If my memory serves me right, one of my first encounters with the delicious chèvre was at Montana's, a fabulous restaurant in Hillcrest, CA that closed sometime back in the 90s, likely because it was too good to be located in San Diego.  They use to have an incredibly simple hors d'œuvre of toast, goat cheese and roasted garlic.  It would make you smell for days, though it was definitely worth the friends you may have lost due to the aroma.  It has been at least 12 years since I've enjoyed it and I figured with my new year's resolution to cook more and all, this would be an opportune time to give it a shot.  It went remarkably well, especially for an amateur. 

Here is the skinny on how to make these delectable toasts with goat cheese and roasted garlic:

- Take a garlic, or two, or three... Cut a thin slice off the top off, as to reveal the magical treasures (also known as "cloves") inside.  Take a piece of aluminum foil (one per garlic), place the garlic on the foil and drizzle with olive oil, scrunch up the top of the foil.  Bake at 350-400 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour.  Remove.

-  Cut a baguette into slices and broil at 400 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, or until toasty.  Remove.

- Spread goat cheese on toasts, arrange on plate along with garlics and a knife for spreading.

et Voilà!  The easiest, most delicious appetizer around.  Oink oink!

Making Green Bean Casserole

So we weren't doing the normal Thanksgiving feast, but why not make a favorite dish right? Right. That's why I found myself shopping for Green Bean Casserole first thing this morning at the corner market.  A very simple dish, yes, but with a few changes.  Here you go:

-  I decided I would try to make Green Bean Casserole.

-  I bought the ingredients, a total of $16.49 at your NYC Corner Market (mind you, this costs $12.00 outside of NYC)

-  Go by the recipe on the side of the French's French Fried Onion can, minus the milk (makes it runny = no bueno), add one jar of sliced mushrooms (preferrably Green Giant sliced mushrooms), and half a pack of 8 oz. oscar meyer bacon (or any bacon, but why skimp on the fat... it's Thanksgiving)

-  Mix ingredients, minus half large can of fried onion and half pack of 8 oz. bacon fried into bits.

-  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

-  Top with remaining fried onions and bacon bits.

-  Serve.