that girl allison

The first dish I tried making was from a recipe I found a few weeks ago in the New York Times.  I left out the onions, and it’s basically a simple baked pasta, but it was good!  As evident by the above photo, it was difficult to snap a picture that didn’t make the food look gross.  

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup diced onions
• 1 table spoon sliced garlic
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 cup Sardinian sheep’s milk ricotta
• 1 cup torn basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan  cheese
• 1 box penne
• 2 tablespoons butter

Recipe:

1. Boil a pot of salted water.
2. Heat oil in a medium sauce pan heat over medium heat, add onions and saute until translucent; add garlic, and saute for another minute.  Bring tomatoes and red minute.  Bring tomatoes and red pepper to a simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Cook pasta in water for five minutes, then drain.
4. Place pasta in the man with sauce.  Stair until coated well.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesan over pasta.  Turn heat off and add butter, basil, and ricotta.  Stir and pour in a 12”x9” baking dish.  Put remaining parmesan on top and bake in a 425* oven for 20-30 minutes until the top is crown and crispy. 

Last Friday night after one of the last performances of The Science of Guilt, I came home and made shrimp scampi for the first time in a while.  It came out well, and though I think that there’s always a need for more lemon juice, it tasted good and I left well-enough alone.  It’s a super simple, and quick, dish that I had for the first time last January while visiting some family up in Maine.  So while this technically wasn’t a “new” dish, it was one I hadn’t made in a while, so I thought it could still kind of count.  

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
• 3/4 pound linguine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 lemon, zest grated
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
• 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
2. Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
3. When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

(Original recipe source.)

I’d bought some asparagus a week or two ago and when I remembered and discovered that it was still good, I decided to make this recipe that I found.  Instead of Ricotta, I used Mozzarella and I used spaghetti instead of a thicker noodle.  I also cooked the asparagus in olive oil and balsamic vinegarette.  

I guess you could say I made the recipe my “own.”  But it was good, and I have some left over for lunch tomorrow!

So, I’ve made Oreo Truffles (via RamshackleGlam) several times in the past, but when I was thinking of a “baked” goods to bring to a few people last week, I decided that this was the way to go.  It’s unbelievably easy recipe and they are astoundingly delicious.  In the spirit of the show these gentlemen work at, I covered them in coconut shreds, red sprinkles, and some I left plain.  (It was also, conveniently, everything I had in my apartment.) 

This is a poor picture of them but by the time I wanted to take a picture, they were already tied up with a bow.  I didn’t get to try one, but I hope they came out well.  (The recipe [see above link] is so easy that it’s really, really hard to screw them up!)

So last night, we continued our bi-weekly (or sometimes once-monthly) tradition of getting together (Mallory, Amy, and myself + whoever else wants to show up) and cooking a delicious meal.  (Of course, it’s Mallory that usually ends up doing most of the cooking, but Amy and I do what we can.)  We made chicken pot pie, after Mallory had suggested we have an Irish feast a week or two ago over email.  We ended the night with Amy’s delicious brownies (and ice cream).  After dinner we watched ‘Ponyo’ - Disney’s first attempt at Anime.  It was adorable!  Jason taught me how to do a Tim Tam Slam too, which was… kind of awesome?

We ended making dinner for 8 people for a total of about $45!  

What better way is there to spend a rainy Saturday night?