Treatin' the Body to Manicotti

OK, so we watched an episode of ATK this morning and they made this pretty rad looking tray of cheesy manicotti. We fixated on it all day, so much so, that we ventured out in -4°, yes I said MINUS, to get the necessary ingredients. We riffed a bit on the filling-skim ricotta, 2 eggs, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley and nutmeg, along with shredded mozzarella, parmesan, and asiago. The best tip from the show this morning was that instead of using manicotti shells, they soaked sheets of no-boil lasagna pasta in hot water for about 10 minutes and then rolled the filling in them. We defrosted our summer marinara, assembled the tray and baked at 400° on a middle rack for 25 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered and topped with cheese.

Maeun-Tang

This spicy Korean-ish fish stew started with carrot, daikon, ginger, garlic, and onion softened in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Then we added 4 cans of chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of Korean red pepper paste, red miso, chopped swiss chard, hard-boiled eggs, and two raw whitefish fillets, cubed. We brought everything to a simmer for about 15 minutes and then served over brown rice.

Split Pea and Barley Soup

These are the days of nourishing soups and stews. We've been experimenting with the silly idea of not adding a stick of butter to every dish, so this one is actually very low on the fat side and the salt side. We started with onion, garlic, red bell pepper, carrot, potato, and celery browned in a scant two tablespoons of olive oil. When soft we added low-sodium chicken stock to cover, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, basil, black pepper, split peas, barley, and tofu sausage. We brought up heat and simmered for 20 minutes, then added 2 tablespoons of miso.

SUCRÉ

Downtown Madison has a lovely new dessert bar and patisserie called SUCRÉ. On a recent visit we sampled thee attractive items. I'm afraid I don't remember what they all were, but it was a super-sweet time and we will be sure to return.

Also, here is a very quaint story about their wood flooring:
http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/13663987.html

Antipasto-ish salad

Bite into 2008 with this salad topped with smoked mozzarella, hard salami, shaved carrots, kalamata olives, pomegranate seeds, and a lemon vinaigrette.

Nummy New Year!

We had an impromptu Num Years Eve party last night, and floated lazily into 2008 on a river of sangria... Our mix: 3 bottles cheap Trader Joe's cabernet, 1 1/2 cups each cointreau and brandy, sliced oranges, lemons, limes and pomegranate seeds. Happy, happy, happy!

Satchel's Pizza

My friend Satchel is a man of many talents, most of which glitter brightly at his jewel of the south- Satchel's Pizza. During a recent day trip to Gainesville, FL I was lucky to discover why this place is known as the pie paradise, the mozarella mecca, the shangri-la of sauce. I ordered a slice with tempeh, spinach and roasted red bell pepper. I'm partial to thin crusts and this one was at once crispy, rich and pillowy down to the last bite. The sauce was sweet and aromatic, yet did not overpower the fresh flavors of the toppings. Everything at Satchel's comes with a side of pure magic, which you're sure to experience at every turn and is 100% homegrown. Do yourself a favor: http://satchelspizza.com/