Last Night's Dinner - Baked Rigatoni

Dale and I were in great need of comfort food last night.  We turned to our old standby of baked rigatoni.  Dale had chocolate cake for dessert with a chocolate ganache frosting.  I had chocolate with a sea salt and caramel frosting.  I never would have thought salty frosting would work. This worked.

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight called for comfort food and pot pie is just what the doctor ordered. For the pot pie we used the same recipe that's in the February 9, 2011 post but this time I added a little sage. Dale found a new recipe for green beans amandine that he made for a dinner party we hosted not too long ago. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and was submitted by Brenda DuFresne.

Green Beans Amandine

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring beans and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook almonds in butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and seasoned salt if desired. Add beans and heat through.

Everything was very delicious and also very comforting.

Dinner with Lisa, Janine, Gus, Kathy and Kathleen

Last night Dale and I had over our friends Lisa and Janine and their son Gus. Also joining us were our friends Kathy and Kathleen. Dale made baked rigatoni and green beans amandine. Lisa and Janine brought over a salad and Kathy and Kathleen brought dessert. I served as drink mixmaster. We pulled out the leaf on the table for the first time since probably last December. Dale pointed out this morning that the table looks very inviting. I agree.

Baked Rigatoni - The Finished Product

Yum

Silver Hour with Baked Rigatoni - Wednesday March 2, 2011

Dale was out of town last week so we didn't get our 'Silver Hour'. He's back home and we're both looking forward to the one tonight. Dinner will be baked rigatoni which is very much a comfort food for us.

Here's how we make the rigatoni:

20 oz. ground turkey or Italian Sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 and 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce

parmasan cheese to taste

Put in baking dish and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

A Mini High School Reunion

The world keeps getting smaller and now because of Facebook it's smaller still. A couple of years ago I joined FB and reconnected with a number of high school friends and acquaintances just before my high school reunion. Some continue to pop up. Recently one of these people, Mike, approached Dale at the gym because he recognized him from a picture posted on my FB account. Dale told me of the meeting and, long story short, Mike and his wife Charisse came over to our place for dinner tonight. It was wonderful to reconnect. We had both forgotten in what class we met but determined that we had at least been in Spanish together in 8th grade and also a government class as seniors in high school. There was a lot to reminisce about including teachers, classmates, classes, et cetera. I observed how I find it interesting that in high school one spends so much time trying to define how one is unique and different. Yet years later you realize that you really had a lot in common with everybody, namely your age, school, neighborhood, city, era; things we never would have considered unifying at the time.

Mike and I had martinis before dinner. Mike's was vodka and mine gin. Dale and Charisse had wine. For dinner we had lasagna which I've made for years and is based on my mom's recipe. I remember Mom making it for the first time when I was about 12 years old. I absolutely loved it and now consider it one of my favorite comfort foods. Here's how I make it now:

1 - 1&1/2 pound Italian sausage (or ground beef/turkey)

1&1/2 jars a spaghetti sauce

lasagna noodles (I use about 11 or 12)

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg

chives

4 cups mozzarella

Fry off meat and add spaghetti sauce to the pan. Prepare noodles but only cook them for about half the recommended time as they will bake in the oven. In medium bowl combine ricotta and cheese and set aside. Begin layering items in greased pan. Spread some of the meat mixture on the bottom of the pan and cover that with about four lasagna noodles. Spread some of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles and then cover this with some of the mozzarella. Repeat until ingredients are used up. Cover with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, oregano, and nutmeg. Oven should be heated to 350 degrees. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Cover and let cool for about 10 minutes.

[Note: for a healthier option we use ground turkey, "light" dairy products, and egg whites. For high octane we go with fattier ingredients.]

Dale made green beans and garlic bread.

I find lasagna to be great for entertaining because it can be made ahead of time and you can have cocktails with guests while it cooks.

Silver Hour - Wednesday February 9, 2011

When the days are bitter cold and the nights still long, it's nice to have something to look forward to during the day. The kids at school have been inside for recess for nearly the last two weeks and are starting to go buggy. This in turn is making ME go buggy. I love looking forward to dinner and cocktails. Tonight's dinner is a mostly homemade chicken pot pie. When I say 'mostly' I mean that we're not getting a frozen Swanson pot pie. We use a pre-made Pillsbury pie crust, a store bought jar of chicken gravy, a couple cups of grozen mixed vegetables, a couple cups chopped up chicken breasts, and a little thyme. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes and your comfort food is ready.