Tuesday, February 23, 2010

recipe #4: spaghetti and meatballs.

this year, i spent valentines day with 9 amazing people and (1 amazing dog) in a creepy/cool home tucked away in the vermont mountains. i love these folks because we could spend four days cooped up laughing about 80s workout books and 3-D dog pictures without feeling crazy. on the final night, maddy, josh, rizan (in spirit) and i teamed up to prepare the ultimate meal of homemade comfort for the group: spaghetti & meatballs. ahem, meat-hearts.
recipe #4: spaghetti and meatballs.
the soundtrack: frank sinatra - nothing but the best (although my rad sous chefs let me cook to a playlist no one wanted to listen to instead)  
ingredients: 1 lb ground chuck, 4 slices of dried bread - ripped up into small pieces, 2 eggs, 1 cup mushrooms, 1 medium sweet onion, 1 clove garlic, olive oil, 4 jars of pasta sauce (okay so we cheated), 4 boxes of whole wheat spaghetti, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary and basil.
the plan: cut up onions, mushrooms and garlic into tiny pieces. in a skillet, sweat onions over low heat in olive oil until carmelized, then add mushrooms and garlic, salt and pepper until cooked. mix ground chuck, eggs, breadcrumbs and mushroom/onion mixture together in a bowl as well as oregano, rosemary and basil. next, heat sauce in a soup pot over low heat. make balls of meat mixture (or hearts, if you're maddy) and in an olive oil-coated skillet, brown until cooked halfway through and then dump into the sauce and let cook for about 45 minutes. cook pasta when sauce and meatballs are about 15-20 minutes away from being done. then serve, enjoy and make as many "that's what she said" jokes as possible.









Saturday, February 13, 2010

my heart-shaped (music) box.

in honor of matters of the heart, i've assembled a playlist with some of my favorite songs of adoration and agony. and yes, i realize there is a severe lack of old-school country croons. anyways, enjoy and happy valentines day! click here for a free download of this playlist.


my heart-shaped (music) box:
1. "night and day" - ella fitzgerald
2. "a little lost" - arthur russell
3."evergreen" - the fiery furnaces
4."i can see the pines are dancing" - aa bondy
5."in the heat of the morning" - david bowie
6. "the book i read" - talking heads
7."the star-crossed lovers" - duke ellington
8."i'll believe in anything" - wolf parade
9."ram on" - paul mccartney
10. "temptation" - new order
11. "hey, that's no way to say goodbye" - leonard cohen
12. "handle with care" - traveling wilburys
13. "let's stay together" - al green
14. "lullaby + exile" - m. ward
15. "dreams" - fleetwood mac
16. "wouldn't it be nice" -the beach boys
17. "the way you look tonight" - tony bennett
18. "baby, we'll be fine" - the national
19. "let's get lost" - chet baker
20. "something" - the beatles (paul performing live on george's ukulele) 
21. "gentle hour" - yo la tengo
22. "i don't want to get over you" - the magnetic fields
23. "i'd have you anytime" - george harrison
24. "moon river" - frank sinatra
25. "strange vine" - delta spirit
26. "can't help falling in love" - elvis presley
27. "love will tear us apart" - joy division
28. "bullet proof... i wish i was" - radiohead
29. "laudate dominum" - mozart
30. "signed, sealed, delivered i'm yours" - stevie wonder


p.s. it's over...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

recipe #3: chicken wings.

good wings are hard to find. i have even been recommended an iphone app for this plight by a caring and similarly wing-conscious friend. so! instead of continuing this trial and error, this year i made my own brand of wings to slop all over myself while watching the super bowl.
Chicken Wings
Time: 1.5 hours
The Soundtrack: Prince's Purple Rain (since i think we can all agree that that he was the best halftime performer we're ever going to get)
Ingredients: 20 chicken wings (or in this case, drumsticks since i couldn't find any wings at the store. sigh.), 1 cup frank's red hot, 1 cup soy sauce, 2 TBS melted butter, garlic powder and pepper. 
The plan: mix red hot, soy sauce and butter in a bowl until consistent and marinate wings (or drums) with mixture for at least an hour, leaving 1/4 cup of the marinade for later. wrap in aluminum foil and cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn wings, douse in more marinade and cook for another 10 minutes. Then turn heat down to 400 and cook for another 10-15 minutes until cooked through, constantly turning to make sure they don't burn. 
remove from oven and sprinkle both sides lightly with garlic powder and pepper. let cool then enjoy, while wistfully thinking about a time when the patriots were good enough to be in the super bowl and we get a bonus round of ogling tom brady.
Things I learned: to not to wait until the last minute to buy chicken wings for the super bowl, because they will be sold out and you will have to use drumsticks instead. i also learned that when friends are drinking and the wings are good, you can get dangerously close to consuming a drink called a "wing bomb."