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December 07, 2006
Last Four Temptations of Me
1. The air of a two-block stretch of my nightly run is filled with the fabulous, fried fragrance of KFC. So far I have resisted, but I may celebrate finals with a big ole bucket of chicken.
Really, it's almost as bad as college, when I lived across the street from both a tacqueria AND a 24-hour donut shop. I attribute 8 of my sophomore 15 to them. The other 7 I attribute to having two roommates with boyfriends, when all I had was Chinese homework. Bu hao.
2. After 5 days of non-stop studying, I couldn't take it any more and bought a Christmas tree! So many pretty lights to stare at.
3. My soon-to-be employer sent me cookies again. This year they did not include a calorie count, but somehow I don't think this makes the cookies any more helpful to my ass.
4. Last night I made some of Rachel Ray's Sicilian Sausage and Fennel Pasta*, AWESOME. But now I have Sambuca in my apartment.
Temptation, temptation everywhere.
What were your last 4 temptations?
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*Sicilian Sausage and Fennel Pasta
3/4 lb bulk sweet sausage (also called mild italian sausage, and could also substitute toulouse sausage, or I just used pre-packaged Aidells' apricot and ginger sausage from Ralph's and it was really good)
1 bulb fresh fennel, tops and outer layer trimmed away
1/2 medium white onion
3 cloves garlic (I just used minced in a jar, fine)
A pinch allspice
Black pepper, to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup Pernod or Anisette liqueur (I used Sambuca)
1 lb penne, cooked until al dente
3 tablespoons (twice around pan) heavy cream or half-and-half (I used h&h)
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for the table (so easy with my new microplane!)
Break up sausage in deep skillet and brown over medium heat. Cut fennel and onion into chunks and process with garlic in food processor or mince by hand.
Add the fennel, onion and garlic to pot. Sprinkle with allspice and pepper. Give the pan a good shake**. Add broth. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, until fennel bits are tender.
Uncover and bring heat up to medium again. Let the broth reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Douse with liqueur. Bring mixture back to a boil. Drain pasta (uh, Rachel, when we supposed to put it onto boil? I think a good time was about when you cover the skillet to simmer). Add cream to sauce and give pan a shake. Toss immediately with the pasta. Serve with plenty of grated cheese and extra black pepper.
**If you don't have a deep skillet, like me, stirring will do just fine.
Posted by jen at December 7, 2006 09:52 PM
Comments
I love your Christmas tree! Good for you. I need to stop my rollercoaster ride for a bit and get a tree, also. Unfortunately, I think I'll be fitting it in between a haircut and a dinner with friends. =( Don't worry about the 15 pounds, either. Boys like girls with curves... not those skinny little wenches.
Posted by: carrie at December 8, 2006 04:23 AM
Too lazy AGAIN this year for a Christmas tree. I hold out hope that somehow one will appear in my apartment, but apparently there's no Christmas tree fairy swinging by anytime soon.
Posted by: gloria at December 8, 2006 08:45 AM
I don't think I'd know what fennel was if it kissed me on the lips. The pasta sounds good tho'.
Posted by: kim at December 11, 2006 02:58 PM
how do you manage to decorate a christmas tree perfectly AND cook a dish like that during finals time?! honestly, i can barely hold down bathing regularly and eating tortilla chips for three meals a day. woman, i salute you!!
Posted by: Neeta at December 11, 2006 05:05 PM
No one wants to reveal their last four temptations, is that what's going on here?
1. Ice cream last night (successfully avoided).
2. Buying an Enid Collins bag on Ebay for $150 (successfully avoided...so far).
3. Sleeping until 45 minutes before work. (Succumbed to temptation.)
4. Watching My So-Called Life re-run instead of writing holiday cards. (Jordan Catalano, come on, what would you pick?)
Posted by: Librarian Girl at December 12, 2006 11:46 AM