easy no-knead loaf bread

You know what’s annoying? Trying to type a blog post when your cat is grooming herself in front of your keyboard.

You know what’s annoying-er? When said cat decides to stop grooming and instead starts batting at the mouse arrow sweeping across your computer screen. Sigh. Sometimes I think she doesn’t understand that she’s totally blog-blocking me. Other times, I think she knows EXACTLY what she’s doing (“La la la, groom groom groom, you should probably just pet me, since you can’t reach around me to type, la la la…”). Touché, kitty cat. Touché.

Luckily, other than occasionally getting under foot, this cat hasn’t figured out how to slow down my groove in the kitchen. Which is good, since I couldn’t possibly try out (and share with you) AWESOME recipes like Alicia’s No-Knead Bread from Posie Gets Cozy without my uninterrupted kitchen time.

For a long while, I’ve been on the hunt for a quick and easy, no frills but still delicious, loaf bread. The stuff from the store is so blah and thin, and I just knew that there had to be a better way.

Alicia’s bread takes only a few minutes to go from ingredients to dough. It rises for just 50 minutes. And thirty minutes of baking gives you TWO (I split my dough up, since my pans are in the 8″x4.5″ size range) loaves of buttery, flufferly, loverly bread. That’s a huge ROI (Return on Investment, for those of you who don’t speak in office jargon all day).

Make this, eat this, love this. And while you do that, I’m going to try to teach this lazy bum cat to blog.

Her posts will probably be very fish-focused, but they’ll also be exceptionally cute.

baked mushroom risotto with caramelized onions

This past week, for the first time in months, I have been able to go without my puffer jacket, woolen beanie, and leather gloves. It’s been warm in these parts. In fact, it’s been downright hot, and I love it.

My joy over the ushering in of spring/summer after a long winter can’t be overstated. My toes are painted, my sun dresses are out in full force, and–perhaps best of all–I can drive around with the windows down while blasting my favorite tunes. Sidebar: Do you also secretly hope that someone will drive up next to your car when you’re blaring your 90s alternative mix and think, “Wow, I am totally impressed by this stranger’s musical selections and can tell that she is unquestionably, effortlessly cool.” No? Just me? Okay, moving on…

I bought the ingredients for this risotto when it was cold out. I made it when it was 90 degrees. So I speak from experience when I say that this dish is awesome in any weather. It’s hearty and flavorful and everything a risotto should, nay, must be. And this is coming from a risotto aficionado.**

**Just so we’re clear, in my world, “risotto aficianado” = eats a lot of risotto. But you probably figured out that for yourself.

Make this, okay? You won’t be sorry.

chicken b’stilla

There’s a restaurant where I live called Casablanca. And as you might imagine, it serves Moroccan fare. But what makes this particular restaurant extra awesome is the kitschy decor (so much fake gold leaf!), the giant pillows that you sit on instead of chairs, and the belly dancers that shake and shimmy around you.

I’ve been to Casablanca a bunch of times–it’s one of my favorite places to take guests, since it’s so over the top. Better still, the food is actually really good. My favorite starter has always been the B’stilla, which is essentially a savory chicken pie covered in a phyllo dough topped with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. It may sound a little strange, but It. Is. Awesome.

I found this particular B’stilla recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. And while it’s not the simplest recipe around (nor is it the quickest), it is really, truly delicious. Better, I think, than its nearby counterpart. Maybe it’s the soupçon of love added in? Or perhaps it’s just the honey. Either way, yum.