Lobster Salad

by Irene Lindvall

This was not the dish I intended to make tonight, but I was glad I had it on reserve. I was wanting to make it for lunch and have a two recipe day sometime this week, but instead felt it was appropriate for tonight since the dish I was planning on was going to take six hours to marinate. SIX HOURS! I actually did read the directions this time, but didn't make it to page two...We'll be having a lovely tuna dish tomorrow.

Back to tonight. In order to turn this dish into more of an actual dinner, I cooked up the rest of the fresh pasta from the other day and topped it with one of my cheap ripe avocados from last week. Eric thought it was very rich in flavor and this may be in part to the fact that I used full fat mayonnaise (recipe wanted reduced fat) and probably in part to the ripe avocado. I thought it was great with the pasta and would probably also be great with a nice bread. It ended up a little runnier than the actual recipe photo, but I could also see it being served on bibb lettuce in traditional salad style.

Things I learned from this recipe:

How to steam lobster. I previously had only cracked the shells and then cooked the meat.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Pepper-Corn Chowder

by Irene Lindvall

I had a very busy day today and it included a stop at our favorite bakery, and I got one of their delicious baguettes to pair with the chowder. The most interesting thing about this dish was pulling out half the corn mixture while cooking, blending it, and then putting it back in the soup. I thought this was a great technique and I hope to remember to use this for future chowders. Overall, I had to add extra cayenne pepper to the chowder to get some flavor. I was left wanting it to be a little bit thicker and a little bit tastier.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I definitely want corn chowder to be thicker.

Would I make this recipe again?:

No

The recipe

Rigatoni with Bacon, Tomatoes and Peas

by Irene Lindvall

A new Real Simple magazine acquired means a new recipe to make. This was the only recipe that caught my eye, and it was worth it. I like the idea of bacon in pasta and it tasted great mixed with the tomatoes and onions. I opted again to switch out the peas for edamame since it was what I had on hand and it was a fine swap. The fresh pasta continues to be the focal point and I think we're headed down a dangerous path of pasta snobbery. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Still going with fresh pasta is superior. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Probably

The recipe

Peanut Butter Cookies

by Irene Lindvall

I'd all but given up on baking, but it became a necessity today as I wanted to eat out for dinner. I picked a very easy recipe for peanut butter cookies from Weight Watchers and I am so glad I did. The mix was supposed to make 24 cookies but I ended up only making 18 because some may have been a little bit bigger. My first thought after the first bite was that I wanted to make them again.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Reese's Peanut Butter Chips are amazingly delicious. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe


Artichoke and Fava Pappardelle

by Irene Lindvall

I've noted it before, but reading the reviews of recipes is a great way to learn what you've signed yourself up to make. I realized why I continue to say this is something I've learned (instead of constantly practice) is because I don't write the post until the dish is complete and I don't look up the link for the recipe until then. I definitely think this recipe is going to help change my thought process on this because upon reading the three reviews not one of them used fresh artichokes. Two used frozen which is something I kept saying I should've done while laboring away with the fresh. Two also said the dish was dry which I definitely agree with. One of the reviewers used edamame and I did the same since I already had some frozen shelled from my dish earlier in the week. Finally, one of the reviewers said it was too much work for the end result and I totally agree.

Even if I had read the reviews it would not have told me the things I would've wanted to know the most. They would not have prepared me for how much work these artichokes were going to be, and they would not have told me that the artichoke leaves did not taste right after sautéing them. The only experience I've had with fresh artichokes is pealing off the leaves and eating about half way up the leaf. Other than that, I cook successfully with frozen. All that said, I am soliciting opinions on cooking with fresh artichoke leaves or thoughts on where I went wrong. I'm not really interested in eating this again, but I clearly did something wrong because I don't think what I made is what Sunset had in mind when they included it in their magazine.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Fresh pasta is AMAZING.

Would I make this recipe again?:

No

The recipe