nutella ricotta mousse.

I bought some ricotta cheese on sale last week at Trader Joe's and have been trying to find a way to use it all. I found a recipe that made a single serve dessert and I decided to modify it a bit to suit our tastes.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 tbps sugar
1 tbsp (or more) Nutella
1 tbps plain or vanilla yogurt (I only had vanilla yogurt on hand and it tasted great but the vanilla flavor did compete with the Nutella flavor so I'd go with the plain variety next time)

Method:
Combine and pulse all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, thick and creamy. Spoon into a ramekin and sprinkle with some crushed walnuts, or salted sliced almonds. Mr. Sachinky dislikes nuts so I tossed some shredded coconut flakes on his, instead.

linguine with shrimp.

I had some tomatoes languishing in the vegetable drawer and a bag of frozen cooked shrimp that was bought on sale and after scouring the internet for some inspiration, I managed to turn this into a fabulous dish.

As always, start with boiling the linguine and defrosting the shrimp. I usually just hold it under running hot water for several minutes.

Heat pan. Drizzle some olive oil, a tiny sliver of butter and sautee some minced garlic till it gets brown and burnt. Throw in some diced tomatoes and let it release those goodly juices. Add in some marsala wine and some capers (I had both of those on hand - it added some complexity to the flavor but if you're in a pinch I am sure you could do without those). Add in the cooked pasta and the shrimp. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and red pepper flakes. Let the pasta soak in the sauce. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley.

SO EASY AND SO FUCKING DELICIOUS. I am calling this a total win. 

mushroom appetizers.

Man, have I been ignoring this blog or what? Suffice to say, this is one of my many 2013 resolutions. Cook more, eat in and less take-out. And document it all on this blog, of course.

Presenting my latest love. These mushroom appetizers that Suzanne brought to my Christmas potluck are delish and surprisingly easy to make.

Dice mushrooms and onions finely. I recently purchased a food processor and it has been used solely for this purpose so far. Sauteed in a bit of butter till the onions turn translucent. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Add a dollop of sour cream, mix well and let cook for several minutes.

Now as far as the shell goes, Suzanne makes her own but it sounded like too much work. And too much cream cheese and butter. So I opted for the easier option. Store bought puff pastry. Anyone who knows me knows I can't make my own dough. Or roll it, for that matter.

Cut the pastry into squares. Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle, close the seams and primp the sides with a fork. Stick into a preheated 450F oven for 10-12 minutes.

You can make them as big or as small and dainty as you want them. You can make a big batch and freeze 'em, too. Just toss them into the oven whenever you need a quick fix. I like to make slightly big ones and just have one or two for dinner. 

ultimate chocolate chip cookies.

You are all going to love me so much.

Here's the recipe for the easiest, best, ultimate chocolate chip cookies ever.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) bag semi sweet chocolate chips, or chunks
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt

--Heat oven to 375F.
--Melt butter in the microwave.
--Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla extract till creamy.
--Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips and fold with spatula.
--Heap a spoon of cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet.
--Bake for ten minutes.

I can't believe HOW good these babies were. First time baking chocolate chip cookies from scratch -- total win. 

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garlic sesame noodles.

Sunday dinner. Garlic sesame noodles. Easy as apple pie.

Heat oil in a wok. Saute minced garlic and diced spring onions. Boil noodles in a pot with a dash of salt.

Add your favorite stir-fry vegetables. I had chopped cabbage, diced jalapenos and sliced mushrooms. Add a scrambled egg. Or two.

Add the boiled noodles to the wok and stir fry for several minutes. I like the brown-burnt parts on noodles.

In a bowl, mix together two tbsp soya sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and one tbsp of sesame oil. Add a dash of salt.

Mix the sauce with the noodles and let the noodles soak up the sauce. Add a dollop of Sriacha for some heat.

Serve with sprinkled toasted sesame seeds. 

bacon meatloaf.

Tonight we're making meatloaf! With BACON!

This is my first attempt at making meatloaf. Baking at 350F, a delicious tomato-ey, beef-ey smell is pervading through the kitchen.

--Soak six slices of white bread in one cup of milk.

--Mix ground beef with Parmesan cheese, parsley, three eggs, minced garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and the milky-bread.

Add caption

--Layer the meat mixture on the roasting pan in a loaf-shape.

--Cover the meatloaf with slices of thin bacon.

--In a bowl, mix one cup ketchup with Dijon mustard, a large dash of Tabasco sauce and brown sugar.

--Spread the tomato mixture over the bacon slices and stick it into the oven for an hour.

smells heavenly!

I know the pictures ain't much but it was a mad good meatloaf.