January 30, 2011

Sunday

Sundays are my homebody days. I love staying my jammies and flipping through my cookbooks while sipping coffee and puttering around my house. Today, though, Ellen called and proposed a morning ski. It was another bluebird day and, remembering last weekend's happy ski, I immediately said yes despite the pull of laziness and my sore ass (thanks again, Body Pump). A small group of us went up the same trail I hit last weekend. On the way, we stopped to take photos of ice-covered branches, sparkling like a Neil Lane showroom: 

it was bling-ier in person
 
We chatted while we skied, and I was sweating and red-faced by the time we got to the top, but cooled off on the fast, icy route back. We all congratulated ourselves on the fact that no one bit it on the way down. It was great.
 
I still felt like cooking when I got back, so I thumbed through recipes looking for dinner ideas. Every weekend I think, I should cook some meals ahead for the week. Then I can come home from work, pop a dish in the oven, and relax with a glass of wine and a magazine. Doesn't that sound nice? I am sure it would be. I will let you know if it actually ever occurs. 
 
I did pretty well today, though, and made two main dishes and a dessert. First, The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie.  If you haven't yet discovered The Pioneer Woman's website, please go there right now. She's an amazing cook and a gifted photographer, but it was her goofy humor that hooked me. I stumbled across her recipe for cinnamon rolls one time, and had to make them after reading that they'd earned her multiple marriage proposals. They are indeed a powerful weapon. Just looky: 

hello, butter

Her Chicken Pot Pie was equally fabulous. I think this dish, generally speaking, gets a bad rap. Many traditional pot pie recipes are heavy and gluey and not very flavorful. But this one is - let me say it again - FABULOUS. Savory and velvety and comforting, with juicy chicken and tender vegetables in a light thyme-scented gravy. And a homemade buttery crust. Although the recipe didn't call for them, I added some diced potatoes, too, and that was a good choice. Here's the final result: 



Even my picky eight-year-old liked it.  Here he is, entertaining me while I cook:
 
clearly he gets his fashion sense from his mother
 
I had opened a bottle of wine while I cooked (WHAT the recipe called for it), and after a little sippy or two figured, well, okay, I can do it! I'm gonna make another meal for this week! So I made PW's Simple, Perfect Enchiladas, too. I left out the cilantro, because it tastes like soap to me, and the black olives, because the child's complaining is just not worth it. And I also used green and red enchilada sauces, just because I like to mix it up. I split the recipe into two pans, and put one in the fridge for this week, AND one in the freezer for a future week. I KNOW. Two extra dinners!


 
Lastly, and then I'll stop, I just have to share today's last, best, and most thigh-dimpling creation:  Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats from Smitten Kitchen. You are just going to have to trust me when I tell you these are the best rice krispie treats you will ever have in your life. I have made them dozens of times, and have gotten at least one good involuntary groan of pleasure from every person I've served them to. They are sweet and salty and nutty and gooey and the 'salted brown butter' aspect makes you seem like a gourmet foody person despite the fact that they are very easy to make.
 
 So. All in all, it was a damn good Sunday. I am pretty much bursting with pride. And butter. *burp*
 





2 comments:

  1. Serioulsy you are going to make me fat and so is the PW. Yum. Checking it out now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Аnd in a serieѕ, as ѕoon as she finishes the
    firѕt book she can doωnload the ABC аpp to ωatch cаble TV
    on Ipad deviсeѕ.
    Buyіng music directly fгοm the app would make a lot of
    thіngs.

    ReplyDelete