I’m officially done my journalism degree! Clearly that means one thing – time to make some kick ass sandwiches.
Okay, but really, this sandwich – a make-shift panini – should be made regardless of whether or not you have a reason to celebrate. It’s inspired by the to-die-for paninis that they make atStella Luna Gelato Café, my favourite neighbourhood retreat.
Why the panini(ish)? Well, I’m lacking a panini maker, meaning that I am forced to go without those fun, aesthetically-pleasing, highly-photographable lines on my sandwich. I’ll just have to deal. Broiling things is far more fulfilling and even sets off my fire alarm once in awhile.
The sandwich was organized neatly, because you know how i get into these neurotic streaks.
Here is what’s inside:
Prosciutto (sheds a succulent, fatty juice upon heating), a fresh panini bun, arugula (king of all greens), a couple of wedges of Parmesan cheese (the likes of which I re-discovered in our fridge’s meat drawer) and a scoop full of creamy, seasoned goat’s cheese (which I have no side comments about).
Stick ’em all together, broil the heck out of it and you get a melty, ooey-gooey mess of sandwich. Sure to please all. But mostly me. While I was studying for my j4k exam reading The Hunger Games.
When it comes to cooking, making dinner with one component is usually enough for me. You know – just pasta or just chicken or just a kooky vegetarian burger. The side dishes that are normally associated with a well-balanced, three-part meal normally come in terms of me eating a tiny piece of chocolate while dinner is being prepared. Or a fresh pita. Or whatever else is on my countertop.
I’m rambling now, but basically what I’m saying is that a dinner hat trick is something I feel I can humbly boast about.
My good friend and old roommate Ariel came over for dinner a few nights ago, and I decided to spoil us. Though I spent the afternoon drooling over Internet images of pumpkin-stuffed perogies, I remembered at the last minute that I had two chicken breasts that needed to be used (don’t worry, the pumpkin perogies will be made and blogged about someday soon). Thus, this dinner came to be.
Here is what old (pre-learning to cook, circa 2010) Hilary and new (cooking, yay!) Hilary think of chicken:
Old Hilary: Okay, so I have this piece of chicken. Even though I’ve had plain chicken for the past three nights, I think I’ll duplicate those “successes” and again fry this on our George Foreman grill until all the delicious juices are oozed out of it. I’ll also slather it in BBQ for good measures and will probably eat it with lots of extra salt. Side dish: plain rice.
New Hilary: Okay, so I have this piece of chicken. Obviously no piece of chicken is complete unless it is stuffed with smooth goat cheese and oven roasted in its own juices with fresh sprigs of rosemary. Oh right, and I have this prosciutto here – sure, that can be a sweater for the chicken in the oven. Four hundred degrees is a little chilly anyways. Let me consult my beautiful, Things Organized Neatly-style cookbook for ideas. Side dishes: hmm, might as well make a fresh arugula salad and potatoes fried in duck fat while we’re at it. (okay, I get it, this sounds super indulgent and gluttonous, but it doesn’t happen often. Mom, I love duck fat. Accept this. Let it be my vice.)
Wouldn't that be better? Me with nothing to say and you in your prosciutto sweater (song lyrics, updated)
Conclusion: New Hilary is slightly more OCD, and is conscious of how judgmental she is of the girl she once was. New Hilary is also more satisfied with dinner and life on a daily basis.
The roasted tomato juices were delicious with the chicken, and it took all my will power to not tackle Ariel and eat her plateful too. A good, balanced meal, exactly what you want before you spend the rest of your night pigging out on Mayfair Theatre popcorn (whilst crushing on George Clooney), licorice nibs and a really yummy gelato-espresso drink. #girlsnight
Dear mother of all things holy this pizza sauce (not to mention the pizza itself) was good. Maybe the best sauce I’ve ever made.
As I may or may not have said in previous blog posts, Pinterest has become my recipe archiver of choice. You’re going to get tired of me saying this, but the inspiration for this pizza wasanother photo I found while perusing page upon page of beautiful images. The nice thing about recipes you find on Pinterest is that you know that they’re going to create visually stunning meals.
Since I’m really into taking traditional recipes (burgers, pizzas, cupcakes) and switching up the ingredients like it’s nobody’s business, the garlic parmesan sauce featured in this recipe caught my eye. I also had a pile of frozen broccoli florets sitting in my freezer, thus this meal also served as a Operation Clear Freezeraccomplishment.
In the end, it looked as though there was a tiny forest growing on my pizza. I also could have warded off the global population of vampires (not to mention men) with my garlic breath. Worth it.
PS: sorry that the photo of the broccoli and spinach pizza isn’t better – I took it in the dim light of my kitchen one evening when I was dashing out. Lack of time = less-than-gorgeous photos and a stomach ache as a result of eating too fast.
I first discovered my love of pesto the summer after second year when I lived with Natalie(yes, this is a blog plug – she just started a new site, visit!).
Natalie is allergic to tomatoes (didn’t click her blog? Do it now because you feel bad that she can’t eat ketchup! KETCHUP, guys!), meaning that she eats a hell of a lot of this basil-pine nut-olive oil deliciousness. And, in proper roommate brainwashing form, she made me obsessed with it. I make pita pizzas with pesto and cheddar cheese on a regular basis.
But enough with my love of normal pesto. I thought I would mix up the Hilary-pesto relationship a bit. We’ve been together a long time. Now we’re experimenting.
SPINACH + WALNUTS (+ a decent sprinkling of kosher salt at the end)
=
A REVELATION
Lets discuss how much I adore the font Futura. I'm feeling very Wes Anderson-esque
I was flip-flopping with dinner plans yesterday. I knew I wanted spaghetti, and also knew that I was too cheap and resembled too much of a bedroom hobo to venture to the grocery store to get any sort of appropriate pasta toppings. Then, as often happens when one is forced into a situation where it seems like there is no way out, something brilliant happened.
I discovered that spinach pesto was a thing. I always have spinach. Mostly because I never make salads ever. It’s a problem. I also happen to have an inordinate amount of nuts lying around. The recipe just presented itself.
One Magic Bullet party later and voila! A new and healthy dinner creation. I packed the pesto-coated spaghetti into my medium-sized food ring and made a cute little carb cube. This was really good, inexpensive, and used up half my walnuts and spinach. Guess what I’m making again tomorrow?
PS: anything with lemon zest or lemon flavouring will always, always taste like birthday cake batter to me. I blame you, Dorie Greenspan. You and your perfect party cake recipe.
Operation Clear Cupboard: walnuts, one bottle of olive oil
Tacos are delicious and tacos are impressive and tacos are the food of summer. And last weekend, it was summer (though sadly not anymore). Therefore, if my calculations are correct, that meant it was Taco Time. Oh baby, I had Taco Time in a big way.
Read on to find out about Saturday Taco Time (which created the beauties you see above)
Taco Time started on Thursday afternoon after my friend Averie mentioned there was a new, mysterious taco stand that had opened in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Hintonburg. It wasn’t there one day, and then it appeared the next. Magic. Later that day, I sawa post from the good folks over at OpenFile Ottawatalking about the same opening. And that was that. Two people talking about tacos is pretty much the tipping point for me.
I had to make those tacos mine.
And so, after corrupting the picnic-planning minds of a couple of friends during a Friday afternoon in the sun, we reconvened at the TacoLot (that’s the name of this new stand, I should have said that earlier) for an evening of new-food exploration.
First impression? I think TacoLot was shocked with the amount of business it was getting and, like any new food place, needs some time to establish itself before it can really find its groove. The tacos were $5 each, which is quite pricy, considering the tacos are about the size of an outstretched palm. I tried the chicken one, which was topped with loads of corn and other goodies. I feel bad saying this, but it wasn’t that great. Like I said, though, grooves must be found. I will be checking back with you, TacoLot!
Two chicken tacos with all the fixings
Of course, the half a dozen SuzyQ doughnuts we got to share amongst the group of us were fantastic. I never have any regrets when doughnuts are involved. +10 points to Hintonburg. TacoLot and SuzyQ are neighbours, in case you’re wondering. That’s right, Hintonburg is now a hipster food mecca.
Heather and Carolyn with our doughnuts
Anyways, Taco Time didn’t stop on Friday night. Nope, it continued right into Saturday morning.
I saw this beautiful photo on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and knew I had to recreate this recipe myself (look at the photos in the original post – they’re all so gorgeous).
My tacos + the original "pinspiration" on my laptop in the background
So that’s exactly what I did, and then I ate this on the front porch and read the newspaper. It was pretty glorious. Oh yeah, and the tacos weren’t too shabby either (though please abstain from putting generous amounts of hot sauce on the taco just because it makes them more photogenic. Trust me. You. Will. Pay.)
Hilary Makes 