apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

just wanted to say i made a twist on the cavolo nero recipe posted here awhile ago last night i my quest to atone for my xmas eating indulgences

my recipe follows
bitter greens + white beans in brodo
first, i toasted sliced garlic in my dutch oven, then added anchovy paste, then canned (sigh) white beans
next, i cut half a bunch of cavolo nero into big strips and added to the oven
next, i shredded a head of raddichio and added to the oven
next, more cavolo nero cut into strips
finally, i added some low sodium chicken broth and put the lid on
i let this bubble slowly, evvvvver so slowly for about 45 minutes
it made for a lovely mix of textures, the kale on the bottom was boiled, and the kale on the top was lightly steamed
after adding some minced garlic at the end (for punch) plus some salt, pepper and red chili flakes, i served it to the adoring boy (also atoning for his culinary sins) over a bed of raw arugula with a wonderful crunchy baguette from Falai Paneteria, with a goregous Vouvray from September
it was an all LES night of nummy, healthy eating!
woowoo!

similar abstemiosity here...
roasted a firm white fish (Lake Victoria Snapper, totally afraid to find out what THAT is) over a bed of onions and a splash of fennel and lemon infused olive oil (thank you, Alice Waters and Chez Panisse)

Lovely and subtle, and a perfect pairing to leftover roast veg and braised fennel/olives from Xmas

i'm not ready to repent my gastronomic sins just yet! i just made loads of these cookies (i make them every year for the holidays): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1582 and this year instead of ice cream sandwiches, i made them into whoopie pies. but the cookies are really good alone, too.

Reef... Thanks again for the trifle recipe you posted before Thanksgiving. I'm finally going to attempt it this week. I received some homemade blackberry preserves for Christmas. And that inspired me to run over to Sur La Table to pick up and inexpensive trifle bowl. I'm combining your recipe's with Nigella Lawson's traditional trifle recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out!

"an" not "and". harumph...

Hey everyone I made a pretty great dish last night... need help naming it. Right now it's called "Italian Casserole" because "Italian sausage, pepperoni, bell peppers, pasta & cheese" sounded too long.

Pictures and recipe are here:

http://www.myaimistrue.com/archives/2005/12/italian_casserole.html

Leave comments and help with naming the dish?

I may be half sleep, but nothing made me laugh so hard as reading whoopie pies. In my head I read it as WHHOOOOOPIIIIEE! It just sounds fun. Okay, more coffee.

Okay... managed to get the first 3 parts of my first attempt at trifle done, using Nigella's "Proper English Trifle" recipe from her "How to Eat" book. I think I overcooked the custard, but strained it into the trifle bowl. Hopefully, no one will notice after I add the final layers of whipped cream, orange caramel, white chocolate shavings and toasted almond slivers tomorrow night before the dinner party... PS I had a 1/4 cup left of the Grand Marnier-sweet Marsala wine-fresh-squeezed OJ dunking mix left. So I shook it up with ice and an equal part of vodka, and served it up in brown sugar-rimmed martini glass with 2 blackberries. It didn't look pretty, but it sure tasted good.

Um, never mind about that leftover-trifle-booze-mixture cocktail... Way. Too. Sweet.

Bleh.

a friend cobbled together a trifle from two different recipes (one from epicurious) and it was actually very satisfying in an uber british way. there's hope for the trifle as a dessert category, anyway, i guess!

oh, and question: anyone have a good winter salad that they recommend? i was thinking of shredded beets and something....

Enrique, one of the handy things about trifle is that you can throw everything in it and not have leftovers.

It also is the best possible use of tiny jars of jam, if any elderly aunties visit Knotts Berry Farm and insist on giving you a gift (ahem)

Anyway . . . you could reduce that sauce next time and drizzle it in, and leave the cocktails to the limes where they belong...

Good point, Guido. I was just afraid of making the bottom layer of the trifle too wet. BTW, I just finished the top layers whipped cream, orange caramel and white chocolate shavings. I've toasted up the almond slivers to sprinkle on top tonight. It's looking good so far... But now that I know how much sugar and cream and how many egg yolks are used in the recipe, I think I'll make myself a salad for lunch. (And probably do some cardio this afternoon!)