The Fig Sauce

Several friends tonight raved about the Fig Sauce which accompanied our pork loin, so here is the recipe, from Giada de Laurentiis' "Everyday Italian."

2.5 C Port
1.25 C Chicken broth
8 Dried black mission figs, coarsely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 cinnamon sticks
1 T honey
2 T unsalted butter cut into pieces
.25 t salt
.25 t freshly ground pepper

In a medium sized, heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine the port, chicken broth, figs, rosemary, cinnamon, and honey.  Boil over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 30 min.  Discard the rosemary sprigs and cinnamon sticks (some rosemary leaves will remain in the port mixture).  Transfer the port mixture to a blender and puree until smooth.  Blend in the butter, salt, and pepper.  (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  Warm over medium heat before using.)

Enjoy!

Third Thursday Dinner

I've mentioned before that I love to cook for my friends, and more than that, to share meals with them.  As a result of that pleasure, I've decided to host a little dinner party for my friends on the Third Thursday of every month.  Tonight was the first of many more to come, and I think it was a great success!  The menu was:

Roasted Pork Loin with Fig Sauce
Cous Cous with figs and pine nuts
Green Spring Vegetables with Shallots

The famous "Artichoke Dip" was on hand as an appetizer, and the heretofore known only to Burr and me "Oreo Ice Cream Cake" was the dessert.  Yum.

Pata Pata

I LOVE this song by Miriam Makeba; it's just impossible to listen to it and not have a lift in the mood.  For whatever reason, I've felt a little blue this afternoon, so I treated myself to the entire "Pata Pata" album on iTunes.  It's having the desired effect... elevating my mood, so that I'm now motivated to go shop for groceries and cook for the evening!

Losing my "Muchness"

Last night I saw the new film "Alice in Wonderland."  One of the themes that kept coming up in the first half of the movie was that Alice didn't seem Much like Alice.  She had changed as she had grown up, playing the role that society demanded of her, and losing confidence in herself and her gumption.  She had lost her "Muchness."  (Of course, as one expects, over the course of the story, she rediscovers herself, etc...) :)

I don't ever want to lose my "Muchness."  Over the last couple of years, I've gone into places in myself that I didn't know were there, and that I would rather not go again.  I haven't always felt "Much" like Rachel.  I've felt like a different person; trying really hard to be what I felt like I 'should' be, instead of being true to myself and throwing all of my Rachel-ness out into the world.  I should be as Much Rachel as I can be; it's who I am and I'm learning to explore my feelings, express them, and share myself with the world and the people that I love in the most authentic way that I can.  It's scary sometimes; authenticity also equals vulnerability, because there are no longer any walls or barriers up to prevent the world from seeing me in all of my Rachel-ness.  But authenticity is far less terrifying than the notion of losing my "muchness."

Don't lose yours; be all that you are, all the time.  Be as Much Yourself as you can be.

With Muchness,
rmf

The Garbage Truck

My friend Dianne sent me this little message in an email forward.  I usually just skim through forwards and don't spend much time with them, but I really liked this one.  Sometimes I feel really "dumped on," and this is a good reminder for taking it all in stride.

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

 

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
Your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

So ... Love the people who treat you right.

Pray for the ones who don't.

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

Top Picks - Dried Mango

And the winner is... Safeway Brand dried Philippine mango!  It was soft, sweet, and as an extra bonus, the cheapest of the bunch!

If you can read...

then you can cook.  At least, that's what my mom always told me.  As a result, I've never been intimidated by a recipe, or afraid to try something new in the kitchen.  Gaining that mindset is one of the best things that could've happened for me growing up; I love to read cookbooks, try new recipes, cook special meals for my husband, and have dinner parties and events for my friends.

I'll start posting recipes that I've cooked, give a little review of the result, and try to show a picture of the meal as well.  Sadly, my pictures of my food never look as great as the meal does in "real life."  Ah well... you'll get the idea, and hopefully forgive my novice photography skills!  (Perhaps I should next read a book on photography...)

This is orechiette with broccoli rabe and spicy sausage.  It's featured in Giada de Laurentiis' "Everyday Italian" cookbook, and was pretty tasty!  I used a mild Italian sausage; I wish that I had used one with a bit more heat, because against the starch of the pasta and broccoli the mild sausage flavor got lost.  It's a meal that I would repeat, however.  Served with a nice green salad with a sweet vinaigrette and some crusty bread - great dinner!
 

"Orechiette with Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe"
Salt
2 bunches of broccoli rabe
12 oz. orechiette pasta, or other small shaped pasta
3 T olive oil
1 lb spicy pork sausage, casings removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the broccoli rabe until crisp tender (about 1 min).  Strain the broccoli, reserving all cooking liquid.  Return to boil and cook the pasta to al dente, about 8 minutes.  Drain pasta, and reserve one cup of cooking liquid.

In a large heavy skillet, heat oil over med-low flame.  Add sausage, break up, and cook until brown, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant.  Add broccoli rabe and toss to coat.  Add the pasta and enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup/time to moisten.  Stir in the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  (This yields about 4 main course servings.)

When I Grow Up

... I want to be this couple!  There's just no way that you can watch this and not smile and be happy!

Top Picks - Fast Food Milkshake

I've been brainstorming for quite a while about my favorite this and my favorite that... not that I think you care too much about what I like, but on the off chance that you're looking to try to something new, I'm going to occasionally blog on "Top Picks."

So - today's Top Pick - Best Fast Food Milkshake.  And the winner is Jack in the Box, small chocolate shake.  They hand-dip, which means that the shake is made to order from real ice cream - not out of a machine.  I had one for lunch yesterday and it was just fabulous.  Such a great mid-week treat!  I have to be honest, not much else on this restaurant's menu intrigues me, but I'll go out of my way once every couple of weeks to swing by for their chocolate milkshake.  Indulge yourself.  It's worth it!

http://www.jackinthebox.com/menu/

Pairs Skating

I'm watching the Olympics tonight... and I have to admit, indulging in my favorite event... pairs figure skating!  It's so romantic... what girl doesn't want to be twirled and lifted and held by a big strong man whilst spinning across a sheet of ice in coordinating outfits to beautiful music?  Really.  What could be better?  I always make up love stories for the couples on the ice, and replay the love story of Ekaterina Gordeeva and her husband/skating partner Sergei Grinkov.  Their story was magical, and watching them skate was just wonderful.  Sigh.  Guess I'll put on some socks and go slide across my hardwood floors. :)