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Comfort Food Saturday: Pasta with Matriciana Sauce

There was a tiny Italian restaurant about 3 blocks from our apartment in NYC called Pasta Fina. Their menu said "Welcome to Pasta Fina, with your host Uncle Louie."  Uncle Louie was an ancient Italian man who was in the restaurant every single time we ate there.  He answered the phone every single time I called for takeout or delivery.  Eventually, he recognized my voice and would say "Oh! Jen!  You need the Matriciana sauce?  It will be sooooo good on this cold night!  I send you free garlic rolls." 

The first time Marcus ordered this dish, I was kind of grossed out by it.  I didn't think bacon belonged on pasta.  Boy, was I wrong.  And boy, was Uncle Louie right.  It's great on a cold night, or a warm night, or really any old night.  We ate this at least once every couple of weeks the first few months after we were married.  Then we went away for the summer to work.  When we returned in August, I was 19 weeks pregnant and craving Matriciana sauce like nobody's business.  Our very first night back in town, we decided to go for a stroll through the neighborhood, then end our evening with dinner at Uncle Louie's.  Imagine the horror we felt as we rounded the corner, expecting to see the traditional red, white and green Pasta Fina sign, but instead, spotting a giant, black shiny sign boasting a BRAND NEW Argentinian steakhouse!  Nooooooooooooo!  I think there were tears involved.  We ran in, demanding to know where Uncle Louie was, and were greeted by a man who explained that Uncle Louie had decided to retire, but had sold most of his recipes to them, so they could probably serve us whatever we'd like from the old menu.  But it wasn't the same.  Just another thing I love that someone discontinued, like Revlon "Wine With Everything" lipstick, Bath and Body Works White Tea and Ginger-scented products and a prefect shade of OPI nail polish whose name it's too painful to recall.

Marcus and I toyed around and used this recipe to make our own Matriciana sauce last night.  It wasn't as good as Uncle Louie's, but it was tasty nonetheless.  Give it a try...I think you'll like it.

UNHEALTHY ALERT!  This has bacon in it.  Lots of bacon. And you should top it with a lot of cheese.  Just thought I should add that because I KNOW it's totally bad for you and I will probably have to do the Shred twice tonight to make up for eating all this bacon.  But MAN is it good!

MATRICIANA SAUCE

• 6-8 slices bacon, cut into small pieces

• 1 cup chopped white onion

• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice (don't drain!)

• 1 can Ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chills with juice

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• 2 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic,minced

• 4 servings of the pasta of your choice

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Fry bacon until just crisp.  Remove from pan and drain out grease.  Add onions to pan and fry until translucent (you want them to still be a bit crisp).  Return bacon to pan and add tomatoes, seasoning, garlic and parsley.  Simmer on low heat until heated through.  Ladle sauce over hot pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

A few notes about this recipe:

*It could benefit from a dash or 3 of red wine.  Just make sure you don't use more that about a tablespoon or it will overpower the rest of the sauce.  If you add wine, cook the onions in it so the alcohol will burn off and it will chill out a bit before you finish building the sauce.

*You'll want to use a pasta that can handle a sturdy sauce. I recommend penne rigate or rigatoni.  We had ours on linguine and the noodles just didn't go with the sauce.  Your sauce will be very chunky and hearty, so make sure your pasta can stand up to it.

*If you have leftover sauce, spread it on a pita, cover it with cheese and throw it in the oven for one of the best quick pizzas ever.

  

This post was happily submitted to BACON FEST on Eat At Home.  Check out all the tasty recipes with the internet's favorite food--Bacon!

Let's Shred

 

It is officially time to get serious about getting healthy.  The baby weight has to come off. NOW.  I had lost most of it in the 4 months following Dean's birth, then last summer happened and it all came back, minus cute baby bump, just chub.  I dropped about 15 pounds this fall when I was walking regularly, but then the holidays happened and most of that returned.  I haven't seemed to be able to get a handle on things, as I have recently renewed my love affair with the Oreo.

Today, I purchased 30 Day Shred.  Along with Frema and some other ladies around the net, I will embark on a 30 day journey of toning up, eating well and probably calling poor Jillian Michaels (the host) every mean name I can think of.  She's ferocious, that one.

I cannot believe I'm about to post this on the internet, but here goes nothing:

Weight: 145 lbs. (DEAR. LORD. Don't tell my grandmother.)

Waist: 34 1/2 inches

Hips: 41 inches (Baby got back!)

I'll check back in once I've done it. Yee haw!

ETA:  I just finished my first workout and I loved it!  The way the sections are broken up is pure genius. Just when you start to really feel it, you move on to something else.  The jogging and jumping killed me at first, but I think it will get better.  The abs section is awesome.  I am going to hurt like crazy tomorrow, though.  But MAN I'm gonna look good come July!!!

See you in September?

This just made my day:

 

Mama's gonna need to go to San Francisco, y'all.  BLOGHER FOOD!  It's like BlogHer, but with FOOD!  I like FOOD! I like to write about FOOD!  I need to find a sponsor.

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!

Who's with me?

Comfort Food Saturday: Garden Herb Chicken

Affectionately referred to by my husband as "Butter Chicken," this dish is quickly becoming a summertime staple in our house.  Our cute little parsley plant has turned into a parsley bush, thanks to the ample rain we've gotten this spring, and our dill is thriving.  One night, we decided to make a simple chicken recipe using our lovely home-grown herbs.  The result was this super-tasty chicken that's just as good leftover as it is hot off the grill.  We've yet to make it with chicken on the bone (my favorite, since it's jucier), but have made it a few times with boneless, skinless breasts.  You can slice them up the next day and toss them on top of a salad.  I'm even including my favorite easy salad dressing, courtesy of my husband.

GARDEN HERB CHICKEN

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or bone-in if you prefer)

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Chopped fresh dill and parsley to taste (we use lots)

Rinse chicken and place in a plastic zippy bag.  Add all other ingredients, rubbing to coat the chicken.  Let sit for 30 minutes, then grill and serve.

For a salad with the leftovers...

Marcus's Super-Easy Italian Dressing

1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix--mix with vinegar and oil as directed on package, EXCEPT...

 See where it says "mix in (this much) vinegar"?  Replace plain vinegar with rice wine vinegar.  Yum.

This post was linked up to EAT AT HOME's ingredient spotlight post featuring fresh herbs. Check it out and while you're there, browse Tiffany's other great recipes!

IRL*

*In internet-speak, that means In Real Life.

I met Ilina last night.  Oh. My. God.  Had I known what fun meeting one of my internet friends would be and how happy it would make me, I would have booked a flight months ago!  (Vancouver, Indy and Chicago, I'm lookin' at you...)  Marcus kept asking me if I was excited about my "blind date," and I kept reminding him that I was meeting my FRIEND.  Sure, we've never seen each other IRL, but about 3 seconds into our conversation, it was obvious that we were friends.  Ilina is so pretty, sweet and smart.  The conversation was never, ever strained, it just flowed naturally, as if we were catching up after being apart for a long time.  At the urging of my collegues in Greensboro, we hit a local Irish Pub called McCoul's and indulged in some fantastic food.

 

Behold, the King's Platter. At least, I think that's what it's called.  We actually ordered the Pot O' Gold, which was a mixture of hummus, beef tips and veggies, but were served this wonderful concoction instead, a mistake we were happy to accept.  The squash surrounds a generous pile of mashed potatoes topped with beef tips in a balsamic vingar reduction with onions, tomatoes and other yummy things.  Tasty stuff, that.  We dined on the roof in perfect weather and truly enjoyed each other's company.  It was so nice to have another mom, another WOMAN who gets it, to talk to.  We shared stories about the trouble we have had making other IRL mom friends, talked about how we met our husbands, our pregnancies, celebrities we admired and, of course, food.  My only regret is that I had "airplane hair." (F L A T)

I had honestly forgotten how good it feels to go out with a girl friend.  My Meredith lives fairly close-by now, but we still don't get to see each other as much as we'd like.  That will be changing soon, as I think we both need it for our continued mental stability.  My husband is, without a doubt, my best friend, but sometimes you just need another woman to talk to about jewelry and clothes and current events and LIFE.

If any of you would like to come to Montevallo, lemme know.  We'll visit our one coffee shop and go to the Piggly Wiggly. (On second thought, I'll work harder to get my employer to send me to YOUR towns.)

Dean head-butted me in the mouth and knocked out all my "create a clever title" cells

I got home from my week of freelance work on Saturday.  We had the hotel room through Sunday, but the bed was awful (meaning SOFTY MCSQUISHY SQUISH) and they didn't have cribs (!!!!!!!!), so Dean was sleeping between us, which is never a good thing.  SO we decided to head home on Saturday evening.  Marcus and Dean had re-joined me in Montgomery on Friday and Dean was MAD AT ME! This is the longest we've been apart since he was 9 weeks old, so he wasn't thrilled that I'd been away.  I held out my arms to take him and he buried his face in Marcus's chest and clung to him.  Hello, broken heart because my baby stopped loving me while I was out of town! Ok, so he actually got over it pretty quickly, especially once he figured out I was the one who knew where the milk was.  Friday evening, we had a lovely dinner with some friends I worked with in grad school and their adorable daughters.  Dean started to crash around 8, so we headed back to the hotel. We bathed him, gave him some milk and read his bedtime books, then tried to put him down to sleep.  He jumped up, slid off the bed and commenced to run around the room for THREE HOURS.  He went to sleep just after 11.  He was wild. He tried to eat my hairbrush, unpacked all the socks from the suitcase and threw them in the bathtub, hid all his books in a dresser drawer, demanded that I spin him around in the swivel-chair again and again and tried to play in the toilet.  We finally caught him and bundled him in a towel picked him up gently and put him in the bed and turned off the lights.  We tried to be as still as possible and FINALLY, he fell asleep.  I'm pretty sure it was after I fell asleep, though.

The play I worked on was fun.  I had a great cast and an awesome director.  The play itself was very interesting and sparked a lot of discussion. It was a truly collaborative process, which I love, and I think we all gave valuable input that will help the playwright with his next step in the writing of this play.  Our reading for the public was on Saturday and was followed by quite the post-show discussion!  Folks get passionate about these plays, which is what makes the project so much fun.  My only disappointment of the week is that I didn't get to eat at El Rey, my favorite burrito place in Montgomery.  They have stopped opening for lunch and that was the only free time I had to go.  So sad.  That means we'll be making another trip soon.

On the way down last week, guess where we stopped for lunch and shopping?

 

OMG, can you believe there's ANOTHER one?  This one's south of us.  We actually had a great lunch at the Islamorada Restaurant inside Ye Olde Bass Pro Shop.  Dean likes fish and chips, apparently. This trip also inspired Marcus and Dean to pick me up a little prize while I was gone:

 

Why, yes, that IS a pink and purple fishing rod!  I plan to use it on vacation next month.  Even if I don't catch anything, won't I be cute and prissy?

By the way, THIS Bass Pro Shop had some "bling" for the camo truck we saw at the last one:

Yep.  For $29.99 you too can own antlers for yer truck.  Go git u sum!

God bless the deep south.

On Wednesday, I head to North Carolina for a training session at the SETC central office.  I'll be learning the software for my job as state-auditions-coordinator-chickie-with-the-pink-and-purple-fishing-rod.  But what I'm REALLY excited about is my first IRL meet-up with one of my blog friends!  On Wednesday evening, I will have the pleasure of Ilina's company! Ilina writes for Deep South Moms and Foodie Mama, as well as her own awesome blog.  She is extremely fiesty, smart, funny and just plain cool.  This makes me feel somewhat better about not being able to go to Blogher this year.  I'm seriously considering figuring out ways to get my job to send me to all of the towns where my favorite blog friends live so that I can visit more of you.  Tis a good plan, I think.

And finally:  Grey's Anatomy season finale.  Holy cow.  Discuss.

Comfort Food Saturday (on Sunday): Vietnamese Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup

While in Montgomery this week, I had the pleasure of eating lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in town:  Saigon Deli.  It's a tiny Vietnamese noodle shop where we used to eat between shows on two-performance days. I had my old favorite:  Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup. It is the ultimate comfort food for cold, rainy days.  I like mine with a side order of spring rolls or mini-egg rolls.  Some folks like to put steamed rice in theirs, but I'm more of a purist.  I had a version of this in NYC once where they served it with a side of noodles. It was good, but nothing beats it "straight."  I was somehow able to sweet-talk the chef into giving me her recipe. (THANK YOU, Lihn!) If you're ever at a Vietnamese restaurant, I highly recommend getting a bowl of this soup, even if it's just as your appetizer.  If you're not a fan of shrimp, they usually serve a pork version, too.

VIETNAMESE HOT AND SOUR SHRIMP SOUP

(Serves 4-6)

12 - 16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (they always leave the tails on at this particular restaurant)

Flour or cornstarch for coating shrimp (approx. 4 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons cooking oil

4 tablespoons chicken stock (you can also use fish stock or water)

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced or julienned

1 ripe pineapple, cubed

1 large tomato, cut into small chunks

1-2 red chili peppers, diced

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 shallots, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons bean sprouts, rinsed

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh cilantro for garnish and flavor

In a large bowl, dust the shrimp in flour or cornstarch.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet.  Add shrimp to skillet and stir-fry until pink, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the chicken stock over medium heat.  Add celery, tomato, pineapple and chili peppers and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, add bean sprouts, then stir in fish sauce, sugar and salt.   Allow to simmer.  Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in skillet, and stir-fry shallots until golden. Add shrimp to soup, stirring to combine well.  Remove from heat and serve, garnishing each bowl with shallots and cilantro.

A step back in time

I am sitting at the desk where I spent a great deal of my time as a graduate student between May of 2000 and August of 2001.  To say this week has been surreal would be an understatement.  Walking into ASF, I was immediately whisked back 8 years.  The smell of coffee, though not as strong now that they've switched to a coffee vending machine instead of "real" coffee, the frigid cold rehearsal studios, the grey nameplates gracing each door, they were all he same.  Most of the faces have changed,though.  I was greeted by a new receptionist who asked if I needed help finding the stage management office.  I chuckled to myself and said, "No, thank you."  Even 8 years later, my feet seemed to go on auto-pilot, winding down the seemingly endless stairs to the sub-basement office.  Imagine my surprise when no one was in here!  Apparently someone got wise and gave the SMs a satellite office on the same level as the rehearsal halls (Brilliant!).  Once I trekked back up the million and three stairs to the main level, a harder job now that it was when I was 24 and super-skinny, I was greeted by one of my favorite mentors from my grad school days.  Tanya was one of the three resident stage managers who trained me during my 15 months here and she recommended me for the job I'm currently here to do.  Catching up with her has been a blast.  We've both been through a lot in the past 8 years.  This morning, we were talking about mutual friends and where they are now, and suddenly she said "I'm so proud of YOU and all you've done!"  I was so, so touched.  To hear that from one of the people who literally held my hand as I figured out how to do what I love was incredible. 

Back in ye olde grad school days, this building often gave me indigestion.  If you've been reading for a while or know me in real life, you may have noticed I'm a bit of a perfectionist. (wonder where I get that, DAD?)  Usually, the stage management grad classes that come through here have 2 students.  I was the only one in my class.  This meant I did not have a peer to whom I could compare myself to make sure I was up to or above par.  So, in true Jen form, I compared myself to the professionals who were training me and worked with all my might to be as good as they were.  It was probably ridiculous of me to put myself through that, seeing as I was 24 years old and had been doing this job for about a minute in comparison to their 20 + years of experience in the field.  But setting the standards that high pushed me to do well, pushed me to expect more from myself, pushed me to learn more. 

And now I'm back.  I'm 8 years older.  I'm a wife and mom.  I'm a member of our professional union. I teach stage management.  I've got 8 years of solid work experience under my belt.  The young lady who was so terrified of making mistakes that she would sit at this desk for an extra hour each evening chewing Tums and proof-reading schedules and reports and making checklists to be sure she hadn't forgotten anything is now a little older and wiser and about 1000 times more confident.

I spent some time today with one of the current grad students, talking about what her plans are for after graduation.  It reminded me of all those crazy feelings I had back then:  excitement that the entire world was at my fingertips, complete and utter terror that I was leaving the comfort zone I had come to consider my professional home, and along with it, the mentors who had been at my disposal 24 hours a day, and the sense of accomplishment that I'd made it through a rigorous training program and was now ready to start a career doing what I love.  I felt a slight twinge of nostalgia, remembering late-night trips to Taco Bell during a break from reading play after play for theatre history class.  Then I realized I haven't had indigestion for one single minute during the two days I've been back working here.  Growing up's not so bad after all.

Quick update from the road

We've arrived safely!  And this hotel suite is bigger than our NYC apartment was.

Dean is sacked out in the middle of the bed. The hotel doesn't have portable cribs. Even though their website and the amenities list in the room say PORTABLE CRIBS.  He has really enjoyed exploring the room.  He and Marcus leave tomorrow to go back home until Friday, when they return to pick me up and take me home on Saturday. (I think. I may not be done til Sunday.)

Have a good week! I forgot the white cord thingy that attaches the camera to the computer, so I'll have to wait until I get home to upload pictures.

In my absence...go read my friends on my blogroll and check out Foodie Mama!

Comfort Food Saturday: Citrus Teriyaki Spareribs

This week's recipe is one my cute husband made up just yesterday.  He found some spareribs on sale at the Piggy Wiggy (Piggly Wiggly) and made them for dinner last night.  They were AMAZING.  The Lane men know their way around a grill.  My father in law makes amazing teriyaki ribs, incredible grilled chicken and lots of other yummy grilled things that I can't think of at 6am.  (My brain? She is fried from 6 days of getting up before 5am with Mr. I"m-so-happy-the-sun's-up-let's-plaaaaaaaaay!  I almost made today's recipe COFFEE, but I figured you guys already knew that one.)

Here's the recipe for some ribs that will knock your socks off.  We have no idea how much of each ingredient we used.  Make them as saucy and spicy as you like!

CITRUS TERIYAKI SPARERIBS

1 full rack spareribs (more or less, depending on how many of you there are)

Orange juice

Teriyaki marinade (we used Kikkoman)

Garlic powder

Onion Powder

Cut rack of ribs into four pieces.  In a zippy bag, soak ribs in orange juice, at least one hour, in the fridge.  Meanwhile, place charcoal in 1/2 of grill (only half!), light as usual.  When coals are ready (still a little bit of flame, but not all the way on fire--just a little flare), put ribs on grill over coals and brown.  (Just get grill marks.) Take browned ribs back to plate, brush with marinade and sprinkle with garlic and onion powder. Place ribs on side of grill without coals, around the edge of the grill. Cover grill.  About every 20 minutes, flip and rotate ribs so that they will cook evenly.   This cooking process will take about an hour and a half, depending on how many ribs you cook and how thick they are. Just be sure to keep the grill covered the entire time you're cooking.

The result?  Slightly sweet, slightly tangy, slightly garlicky, tender, porky goodness. I think next time, we might add a dash of cayenne pepper. Because really, cayenne makes everything better!  We served ours with basmati rice and fresh speckled butter beans.  I would have enjoyed a nice, crisp salad, covered in soy ginger dressing, too. We'll do that next time because we will DEFINITELY be making these again!

Everyone have a great weekend!  Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!