not much to report...i've fallen head over heels for this YA fantasy-ish novel that's consuming all my spare time not spent averting my eyes in terror at dexter season 4 (the trinity killer season!) the novel is SOOOOO good. i almost missed my stop yesterday on the way to work and back because i was so deeply burrowed in it. the dotytron is itching to get his hands on it. it's kind of like a feminist lord of the rings. he was all like, "i want to read it after you." and i was like, "really?" and he's like, "dude. have you met me?" which is true, because FEW people in the world love their falcor and fantasy as much as that guy.
that guy was also enormously proud of his cheeky self for handing me this burned DVD:
tonight for dinner i went super simple and made us one of my cheap, quick, dinnertime standbys, linguine with clam sauce. so easy...doesn't even warrant a recipe but i'll post one anyway at the end of the post. i jazzed it up by throwing in 1/2 a can of drained diced tomatoes i had left over in the fridge from the chilaquiles last night. i served it with chopped romaine tossed with the last of my caesar salad dressing and that was that. ate it one-handed while my nose was buried in my book propped up with the other hand - eating solo because the dotytron was giving a guitar lesson.
these are the lemon bars i made the other night...i think i mentioned it before but i wasn't happy with how much crust there was...i prefer a higher filling to crust ratio, but with a small bit of tweaking, these would be perfect. super puckery, bright, lemon filling with a good amount of set from the egg whites. the other things on the plate were gifts for the dotytron from T at work...there are little meringue-y pecan "cookies" that are kind of like southern divinity - little crunchy-chewy puffs studded with the toasty goodness of nuts. the round cookies are fresh mint cookies that she dipped in chocolate and white chocolate. i'm telling you, T is CRAZY. WHO DIPS COOKIES DURING THE WORK WEEK?!? you will never catch me doing a rolled AND dipped cookie, EVER. i hate rolled cookies as is. so fussy with the rolling and the cutting. and then decorating them? get outta here.our buddy jewfro S came over for a quick visit with his jewfro completely out of control. it's insane.
now i'm going to quietly, regretfully finish my book and then be sad that the next thing i read won't be half as good.
fin.
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linguine with clam sauce
serves 4, main course
1lb box of linguine (i exclusively buy di cecco or barilla)
3 T. unsalted butter
3 T. olive oil
1 large spanish onion, diced
2 heaping T. of minced garlic
a splash of white wine (like, 1/2 c?)
2 cans of canned clams, drained and rinsed
1 bottle of clam juice
chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
- in a big, wide, pan large enough to toss the pasta in, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat
- add the onion and garlic and cook, without allowing it to colour, until translucent and fragrant
- add the white wine, allow to reduce until it's almost gone
- add the clams and the clam juice and simmer on low heat until the liquid is gone by about half (not a big deal). season with salt and pepper
- meanwhile, cook the pasta as per package directions until al dente, drain, and toss with the clam sauce and chopped parsley
