One a scale of 1 to romantic… where do you fall?

I fall at the medium-low level… let’s call if a 4.6.  Go easy on the candle light, long stem roses, and limo rides (unless there’s a hot tub in back).  I don’t need jewelry, but diamonds are always nice (it’s a paradox, I dunno…).  Carriage rides?  Meh.  Horse rides?  Cooler.  Horse ride followed by margaritas?  Now you’re on to something.

I’m not the heart locket and stuffed animal type.  I’m more the Le Creuset and expensive chocolate type.

I also think large pots of warm rice and chicken are an 8.7 on the romantic scale.

This is a really lovely, one-pot dish, that starts with wine and saffron.

Many good things come from wine and saffron.

Olives, rice, and chicken.  That’s all we’re getting ourselves into.

In a pot together, magic romantic things happen.

Bubble and simmer.  Bubble and simmer.

Everything in the pot, and the rice soaks it all up.

There’s no way to dry the chicken, or otherwise futz up this dish.  If the rice gets burned and crunchy on the bottom… that’s totally the best part.

There are a few tricks… if you’re using a large pot, make sure that you move it around on the burner so that the simmer hits every part of the pan.  Fifteen minutes in the center of the pot.  Ten minutes on one side of the pot.  Ten minutes on the other side of the pot.  Sometimes pockets of rice can remain uncooked if the pan is too large.  Also.. don’t be afraid to add a touch more broth if your rice isn’t cooking up.  No worries.  Keep it easy.

 This Arroz con Pollo is a super classic, ultra-comforting dish.  Listen… if you’d like to claim that your mother makes a better Arroz con Pollo that I do… guess what?  You’re probably right.  This dish is good… really really good.  I just don’t want to do battle with your mother… that’s all I’m saying.

I’d love for you to make this dish for a special someone on, or near Valentine’s Day.  It’s comfort food that should be shared with love.  After dinner you can both stand around the pot with spoons and scrape the bottom of the pot for crunchy rice bits while you finish the bottle of wine.  That’s romance.  That’s friendship.  That’s just love.

Have you ever been to St Louis, Missouri?

I think it might be a magic place… I think it might also be haunted.  Like, seriously.

I’m here visiting my dearheart Rachel.  The light here is like sun shining through milkglass.  There are piles of leaves everywhere.  The houses are HUGE! and beautifully bricked, and scary, and haunted, and regal.  There’s so much beauty and pride here.  And people say hello to one another when they walk down the street.

I’m staying in a house that has a claw foot tub and a lady ghost whose giant dragging skirt can occasionally be heard going down the stairs.  I haven’t heard it yet.  I had a preemptive conversation with the lady ghost explaining that when I get spooked, I also get screamy and punchy.

Beautiful and haunted, this place.

Yea… I’m a little scared

I need stew… like, right now!

I don’t put a lot of meat on my blog.

That’s because I have a tremendous appreciation for butter and sugar.

As Fall pulls into full swing, I find myself wanting to cook anything and everything in my dutch oven.

Soups.  Stews.  Things that have dumplings.

It’s time.

I paired sweet potato with stew beef to create a rich and flavorful stew.

There’s a splash of beer and Worcestershire sauce.  Carrots and onions, of course.  A good dose of tomato paste and beef broth.

It’s profoundly comforting.

This is a pot of food stuffs that is just begging to be shared.

This is a pot of food stuffs that may be best served in over-sized bowls, with couscous or rice, a blanket, a loved one, and a scary movie.

That sounds like a really good life.

Oh!  You should also know that I love mixing sweet potatoes in things.  Maybe you want to get into it too!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos relive summer just a little.

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup comfort town, major.

Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie if you’re thinking of making pie for the holiday… this is IT!  my dad’s family recipe plus a bonus no-roll pie crust.  amazing!

Remember a few months back when I made fresh pasta?  Were we friends then?

I made fresh pasta at the tail end of summer this year.  I wore a snazzy red apron.  I got my hands dirty.  I walked around the house showing off my ball of dough to anyone who would pay attention.  No one really payed attention.  That’s ok.

I have been feeling nostalgic for my summer times of a few months back.  Times when I would spend weekends talking about wine and food with these lovely ladies.  (My friends are gorgeous.  It’s almost weird.)  Times when we would drink way too much Rose and just be downright silly.    Those times will come again… in many months.  For now, I’ll satiate myself with a giant bowl of fresh pasta with this INCREDIBLE Bolognese Recipe.  You should do this too.  No joke.  Pasta is calming and generally makes the world a better place.

For all things pasta, you’ll want to pop on over here and read this.  For all things Bolognese, you’ll want to jump on over and sauce it up.

This Bolognese recipe is one I adapted from Mario Batali.  The man knows a hell of a lot about Italian food and Crocs.  I generally only take his advice on Italian food and not on shoes.

This sauce is so amazing because of its many layers of flavors.  There’s wine, there’s thyme, there’s a touch of sweetness from carrots, there’s onions and garlic and two different kinds of meat.  Yes. Yes. Yes.  If, for some reason, you aren’t so keen on several different types of meat, I would gently suggest you reconsider.  Combining ground pork and veal (or beef) adds a dimension to your sauce that you can’t get with one meat alone.  It’s well worth the effort.  True.

Cream too.  Please don’t skip the cream.  That’s downright criminal.

Three things are true.  Let’s go over some facts.

I’m gullible.  I prefer to think of it as less naive and more trusting.  If you tell me something, in all likelihood, I’ll believe you.  For this reason, let’s keep the April foolery to a minimum this morning.  It’s not really my style, and chances are, if you try to fool me with falsehoods or pranks today, it’ll work.  Let’s not and say we did.

This day reminds me of one particular April Fool’s Day many years back.   I thought playing a prank on my little sister would be ripe with comedy.  It involved a toilet seat, petroleum jelly, and her resulting slippery bum.  As I giggled with success, my little sister busted out her fake (but oh so convincing) cry and I was in a heap of trouble with Mom.  She’s brilliant with the fake cry… award winning.  Well played little sister… I see how you turned that around… Well played.

Lastly, and this is no petroleum jelly joke-  I was featured in the London Times this week!  Check out the interview and the photos… and say hello to London.  Normally I’d tell you how being in the London Times makes me want to yell, and jump and otherwise spaz with excitement.. but I’m trying to play it cool.  You know.. like wearing sunglasses at night, or wearing Converse sneakers with a fancy dress, or putting ham and mustard in cookies…. cool.  Let’s play it cool.

A friend affectionately called these savory pastries, Ham Cookies.  While the name is less than enticing, the description is just about right.  I combined my favorite Dufour Puff Pastry with lovely Dijon mustard, thinly sliced prosciutto and Gruyere cheese.  Roll the dough in towards each other like you would a Palmier, and you’ve got a savory breakfast snack, or a super easy appetizer.  Easy and impressive… that means we all win!