Taco Salad. Ole!

Yet another winner from The Best 30-Minute Recipe cookbook.

Taco Salad
Serves 4
Salsa, sour cream, & minced cilantro also taste great on this salad. Keep your eye on the beef mixture while it cooks, because it has a tendency to burn. Serve this salad with tortilla chips or in-store bought tortilla bowls.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
Salt & ground black pepper
1 recipe Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette (see below)
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces (10 cups)
2 tomatoes, cored & chopped medium
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, & cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
Tortilla chips (for serving)

1. SAUTE AROMATICS: Heat oil in 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion & chili powder & cook until onion is softened, 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic & cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. BROWN BEEF, ADD SAUCE, & SIMMER: Stir in beef & cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce & simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste, & set aside to cool slightly. (While beef cools, make vinaigrette.)

3. DRESS & ASSEMBLE SALAD: Toss lettuce with 1/2 cup of vinaigrette. Portion beef on top of salad & sprinkle with tomatoes, avocado, & cheese. Sprinkle remaining vinaigrette over top of salad, or pass separately. Serve with tortilla chips.


Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Makes About 1 Cup
Freshly squeezed lime juice is key for flavor here.

5 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I used 3 limes)
1 shallot, peeled
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed & seeded
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Process lime juice, shallot, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, cumin, & 1/2 teaspoon salt in *blender until shallot & garlic are finely chopped, about 15 seconds. With blender running, add cilantro, then oil, & continue to process until smooth & emulsified, about 15 seconds.

*Either my blender sucks, or these directions are a lie. I had to use my food processor. My blender wouldn't chop shit.

This Is Why We're Not Having Kids

About 2 months ago, John saw a video on YouTube of a man teaching an abandoned wolf cub to howl, so it could be re-released into the wild. Apparently this video had John at, "Aaaahh oooohh." John immediately got down to the very important business of teaching Linda how to howl. He kept saying she could do it, but only for him. Uh huh, whatever. Then one day, as I was pulling out of the garage, I heard her. She was, in fact, howling. But I still hadn't seen her do it. For whatever reason, she wouldn't do it if I was in the room. Until now. Enjoy.

Sunday in Photos

We had a full weekend. Friday night we headed across the river for Carolyn's surprise birthday party, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Carolyn had no idea & she's pretty hard to surprise, so good job party planners. Saturday we had 2, yes 2, weddings to attend. The 1st one was at 5 & the 2nd one was at 6:30. We had a good time, but no dinner + open bar = 1 pair of drunk Baldwins. See the proof here.

Yesterday got off to a rough start, but we manged to get some stuff done, i.e. cutting the grass for the 1st time in about a month. You can see how high it is in the pictures. So back in April we bought 6 trees from Lowe's & planted them in the back yard in an attempt to block our weird neighbor's mystery rust garden. The trees died. John had to dig them up & take them back to Lowe's for a refund. They came with a year warranty & luckily we kept the receipt. Now we've got to find something else to plant there.

I finally got a bike. Well, kind of. It's John's old, college mountain bike. His friend Joe had been using it, but he doesn't ride it anymore, so he gave it back to John. He put road tires on it, which apparently makes it a hybrid. I still haven't ridden it, but I will soon. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll report back.

As you can probably tell by the pictures, I did a whole lot of nothing yesterday, aside from leisure reading & carb-loading at Cracker Barrel. That's what 100 glasses of wine & no dinner will do to you. Overall, good weekend though.

Blah Blah Blog

For anyone not reading The Blonde Mule in Google Reader, you may have noticed some format changes. I've spent the past couple of days updating the format. I added a link to follow me on Twitter, as well as Facebook. I changed it so anyone can leave comments, not just people with Google accounts. I put the Flickr gadget back up, which I believe links to my actual Flickr Photostream. Also, I streamlined & alphabetized my Blog Roll. It just looks cleaner to me, opposed to the way I used to have it. I added a Search box as well. If you type in "How I Became the Bomb," every post mentioning them will come up.

Lastly, I added Labels to my blog posts. This is what took me so long to do. I had to go back through all of my old posts & label them. I'm a fan of labels. If for whatever reason you want to look back at an old post, if you can vaguely remember what it was about, you can hopefully find it by clicking on its label. For instance, all posts involving Mr. Mule can be found under the label, "Hubs."

Speaking of Hubs, I've thought about asking him to be a guest blogger. Would anyone be interested in that? I have no idea what he'd blog about as I haven't actually talked to him about this, but, rest assured, it will be interesting. Keep an eye out....

And speaking of blog posts.... if there's any topic you'd like to see more or less of, please let me know. More house vs. less food? More weight vs. less exercise? Whatever your preference, I'd like to know.

Lastly, I'm also trying to attract more Followers. If you're a regular reader, think about subscribing &/or becoming a follower. I think anyone can do it, although it may be easier if you have a Gmail account.

So in doing all of these format changes, I learned that since I gave birth to The Blonde Mule on 12-4-07, I have posted 324 times, which I believe averages out to about 1 post every 2 days. Not bad.

Thanks for reading!

Simple Fried Rice

John & I are big fans of Chinese takeout. Not so much now that we've moved into our new house, but back when I lived closer to Green Hills, we had Chinatown easily once a week. Over the past year, we've made fried rice a few times, but it's never been very good. It seems like it would be such a simple thing to make, but we could never get it quite right. Until now.

This recipe calls for shredded chicken, pork or beef, but we skipped that step & just used the frozen mandarin orange chicken from Trader Joe's. It was delish! Here's the recipe:

Simple Fried Rice
Serves 4 to 6
Don't try to make this dish with hot or even warm rice, it will turn out incredibly mushy. Use only cold or slightly chilled rice.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 cup (6 oz) frozen peas, thawed
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups shredded or thinly sliced cooked chicken, pork or beef
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
1 cup bean sprouts
5 medium scallions, sliced thin

1. COOK EGGS: Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in 12" nonstick skillet over medium high until shimmering. Add eggs & cook without stirring until just beginning to set, about 20 seconds. Continue to cook eggs, stirring constantly, until eggs are cooked through but not browned, about 1 minute; transfer to small bowl & set aside.

2. STIR-FRY VEGETABLES, RICE, MEAT, & SAUCE: Add remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons oil to skillet & return to high heat until just smoking. Add peas & garlic & cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice, meat, soy sauce, & oyster-flavored sauce & cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes.

3. ADD SPROUTS, SCALLIONS, EGGS & HEAT THROUGH: Stir in bean sprouts, scallions, & reserved cooked eggs & cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Serve.

This recipe called for 3 ingredients that I had never bought or used - bean sprouts, scallions, & oyster-flavored sauce. I easily found all 3 ingredients at Publix & they definitely added to the authenticity of the fried rice. Also, we used a wok instead of a 12" nonstick skillet.

John & I loved this dish. Loved! It's definitely going into the rotation. Enjoy!

Fall TV

I love TV. I mean, love. I live for this time of year when all the old shows come back on & all the new shows debut. My TiVo has been at maximum capacity lately. Here's a rundown of what I'm watching & what you may be missing.

Anthony Bourdain No Reservations
I've been aware of this show, but for whatever reason, I've never watched it. Recently TiVo recorded a random episode & I watched it & fell in love. Now I have a Season Pass. In one of his more recent episodes, he visits the outer burroughs of NYC. Such a fascinating episode. I couldn't believe all of those crazy, hidden places in Queens. Also worth noting, this is one of the few shows John will watch with me.

Mad Men
I heart you, Don Draper. Everyone knows about this show. If you don't, shame on you. Best show on TV, period. AMC, Sun. nights, 9pm. Also if you have Comcast, you can watch all the old episodes OnDemand for free.

Drop Dead Diva
While watching DDD this past Sun. night, I realized the show had jumped the shark. It's a show about fat girls, I get it. The main character is a size 16. I don't need to be hit over the head with it via guest appearances by Rosie O'Donnell & Delta Burke. Yes, Delta Burke. Seriously DDD, tone it down or I'm cancelling my Season Pass.

The Rachel Zoe Project
OMG, I die. Seriously, I heart this show. I love Rachel & I super love Brad. Taylor, I'm getting a little annoyed with you. We get it, Taylor. You're over your job. Blah blah blah, poor you. There are thousands of girls & gays that would cut off a limb for a chance to do your job. Get over yourself.

Intervention
The great irony of this show is that everyone who watches it, is addicted to it. I love that. This is also one of few shows John will watch with me.

Biggest Loser
I get made fun of for watching this, but I so don't care. I love Biggest Loser & I watch it every season. I love Bob & Jillian. The contestants are my least favorite part, but so far, I like them this season. I really enjoy watching their work-outs & learning about what they eat. It's a fairly informative show, with about an hour of bullshit reality show drama thrown in. I love it.

The Good Wife
This is Ridley Scott's new 1-hour drama on CBS starring Julianna Margulies & Chris Noth (aka Mr. Big). Carolyn & I were talking about this yesterday, how we never watch anything on CBS, but now that this show has come out & Medium has switched to CBS, we guess we'll have to now. I watched the 1st episode last night & really, really liked it. I've been a fan of Julianna's since ER. And who doesn't love Chris Noth? Give this show a chance. I bet you'll like it.

The City
I saw on my TiVo To Do List that The City comes back on next week. I'm so excited. I loved this show last year. Granted, I love anything based in NYC, but still, this show is good. Whitney is a tad annoying & of course I hate Olivia, but overall, I'm a fan.

So You Think You Can Dance
You all know I watch this show. Get over it. It's good! They're still in the audition phase, which I don't particularly enjoy, but once they get down to the choreography, I'm hooked. I love this show.

Glee
This show was getting so much hype, that I went ahead & got a Season Pass. I typically like anything with singing & dancing (see above), so I assumed I'd like it. I've watched the past 2 episodes & I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. For one thing, I feel like it's too long. I might be more inclined to watch it if it were just half an hour. I do love Jane Lynch's character, Sue Sylvester, but so far, she's the only thing keeping me coming back. I'll keep watching, but I have a feeling, this one may fall by the wayside.

The Vampire Diaries
I didn't even know this show existed until last week when MK emailed me to make sure I was watching it. I wasn't, but I am now. OMG, this show is so good, especially if you're a Twilight/R. Pat fan like I am. It's a complete, 100% ripoff of Twilight, but I don't care (Stephenie Meyer probably does). It's good & the main character/vampire, Stefan is hot. It comes on The CW, Thurs. night, 7pm. It's only 2 episodes in, you won't be far behind.

Parks & Recreation
This show came back on last week & didn't disappoint. The opening scene where Amy Poehler's character rapped the entire "Parents Just Don't Understand"? OMG, so funny. This show has grown on me. I didn't love it at first, but I did/do love Amy Poehler, so I kept watching. I have a feeling it's going to be better this season.

The Office
John & I both love this show. We watch it together every Thurs night. I heart this show. I'm curious as to how the whole Pam baby/pregnancy thing will pan out though.

Community
Ehhhhh..... I watched this show last week & wasn't that knocked out with it. I'll keep watching, but I don't have high hopes. I like the cast & I was expecting it to be funny, but somehow, it just wasn't.

Project Runway
I have watched & loved every season of Project Runway. This season, by far, is my least favorite. I don't know if it's the contestants, the LA instead of NYC setting, or the fact that it changed from Bravo to Lifetime, but something is off. Notably, the 2 main judges, Michael Kors & Nina Garcia, are never there. But also, the contestants are weird this season. Is it just me? That horrible Johnny guy that left last week? How in the hell did he even make it on the show? And Qrystal? Please. Who are these people & how did they get on here? I think one huge step in the right direction would be to take the show back to NYC. I can't imagine that I'd ever quit watching this show, but I don't know. It needs work.

Making Over America with Trinny & Susannah
God bless TLC. I love Trinny & Susannah & have missed them since I quit paying for BBC. I'm a huge fan of What Not To Wear & this is an awesome replacement while WNTW is on hiatus. If you're unfamiliar with Trinny & Susannah, watch this show. In almost every episode so far, Susannah ends up in some form of undress, which I love. In one show, she pulls up her dress, pulls down her Spanx & slaps her fleshy underbelly, the result of 3 kids. Seriously, love her. This show comes on Fri. nights on TLC.

Medium
As previously mentioned, Medium has moved from NBC to CBS. No idea why, but whatever. The first episode airs this Fri. night & I'm excited. As anyone who regularly reads this blog knows, I want to be, & sometimes claim to be, psychic. I also have great fondness for Patricia Arquette. This show is a win-win. Hopefully the network change won't affect the show. We'll see.

SNL
John & I are huge SNL fans. The show starts back this Sat. night & I can't wait. Apparently there have been a lot of cast changes, so we'll see. I have high hopes.

It's Fall, Ya'll!

Halloween '07: John was Phil Spector & I was Lana Clarkson, RIP.

I love Fall. I love the cooler weather, shorter days, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice body wash, dark nail polish, jackets, cardigans, tights, boots, soups & chili. My favorite part about Fall? Halloween. God bless Halloween. It's my favorite holiday, always has been. I have dreamed of one day owning a house & being able to turn my front yard into a graveyard, pass out candy, & host a Halloween party that people will look forward to every year. None of this was possible last year because Halloween was the weekend before our wedding. But this year, I'm going all out. I'm talking balls to the wall people. I've already bought every Halloween & Fall themed magazine out right now, not to mention all the ones I have from years past. I want to decorate & have a party. And I want people to dress up. Take heed friends, I have high expectations.....

Music Review: Grizzly Bear Veckatimest

I have no idea how you pronounce the name of Grizzly Bear's latest album, Veckatimest, but I'm 100% into it. I love this CD. Grizzly Bear has always been on my list of music to check out via my cool friends like it. Plus, they're from Brooklyn. I mean, come on, is there a band from Brooklyn that I don't like? (The answer is no.) The CD in its entirety is pretty rad, but I'm especially into track 2, "Two Weeks."

Here's the video:

Book Review: The Red Tent & My Sister's Keeper

I've read two really good books lately, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant & My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

The Red Tent
-Anita Diamant
This book came out in 1997 & I really wish it hadn't taken me 12 years to hear about it. In the past two book club meetings I've been to with MK, this book has come up, always highly recommended. I was vaguely aware of it, I definitely recognized the cover, but I had it in my head that it was a "religious" book & I wasn't interested. Then one day I stumbled across a used copy at McKay's for fifty cents. Sold. I'll read almost anything for fifty cents (see P.S. Your Cat Is Dead).

For the record, this book is fiction, but it's based on real people. The main character is Dinah, daughter of Jacob, sister of Joseph. Yes, that Joseph. While reading this book, I jokingly referred to it as "the bleeding babies bible book." This book is 100% about women, menstruation & childbirth. I realize I'm probably not making anyone rush out to buy this book, but seriously, it's really good. It's kind of like a B.C. version of Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It's a great story of sisters, mothers, wives & daughters. It makes you proud to be a woman. Highly recommend this book.

My Sister's Keeper
-Jodi Picoult
This is my second Jodi Picoult book this summer & I'm still a fan. The woman knows how to tell a story. Similar to The Pact, this book also revolves around a moral dilemma involving a family, a lawsuit & a heart-breaking conclusion. I have a feeling all of her books are the same in this way, but somehow it doesn't matter. You still find yourself wanting to read them all.

In this book, there is an older sister with cancer & a genetically engineered younger sister born to keep the sick sister healthy via bone marrow transplants, etc. The younger sister sues her parents so that they can't keep using her body to help her sister. There's also a delinquent older brother who drifts in & out of the story. This book is long, like 423 pages long, & I shit you not, I read it in 2 days. I couldn't put it down. I did nothing last weekend except read this book. If you're a Jodi Picoult fan, or if you just like having your heart ripped out of your chest, read this book.

Side note for anyone who saw the movie, the ending is different in the book.

Happy reading!

Stir-Fried Pork & Snow Peas with Spicy Orange Sauce

Recipe numero dos from my new favorite cookbook, The Best 30-Minute Recipe:

Stir-Fried Pork & Snow Peas with Spicy Orange Sauce

Serves 4

Canned pineapple works fine in this recipe but you can also uses fresh pineapple, which is often available already cut into chunks.

1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced thin (1 cup)
6 oz snow peas, strings removed (1 cup)
1 (20-oz) can diced pineapple, drained
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

MAKING THE MINUTES COUNT:
Prepare the sauce while the pork cooks. Mince the garlic & ginger while the vegetables cook.

1. STIR-FRY PORK & PREPARE SAUCE: Toss pork with soy sauce. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in 12" nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add pork & cook, stirring occasionally & breaking up clumps, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. (While pork cooks, prepare sauce.) Transfer pork to clean bowl.

2. STIR-FRY VEGETABLES & PINEAPPLE: Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to pan & return to high heat until shimmering. Add onion & snow peas & cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add pineapple & cook until warmed through.

3. COMBINE & SIMMER: Clear center of pan & add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, & ginger. Cook, mashing garlic mixture into pan with back of spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooked pork. Whisk sauce to recombine, add it to pan, & bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.


Spicy Orange Sauce

Makes enough for 1 stir-fry recipe

Add more red pepper flakes to taste for even more heat.

1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine ingredients in medium bowl & use as directed in stir-fry recipes.

Kitchen Before & After: A Work in Progress

When we bought our house last year, there weren't a whole lot of things that needed to done, aside from fresh coats of paint in every room, except for the kitchen. The kitchen is okay, I've definitely seen worse, but it needed work. The appliances, though white, are fairly new & the cabinets are in good shape, but the floor is heinous & the counter tops are cheap & out-dated.

We've kind of been ignoring the kitchen because it seems like an overwhelming & expensive room to tackle. I decided the least we could do, was paint it. Prior to last weekend, it was all white -white walls, white cabinets, white appliances & white hardware. Way too much white. So after about a month of testing sample colors, I finally found the perfect color: Gray Feather by Porter Paints.

We painted the walls, then John removed all the cabinets & drawers, gave them a fresh coat of paint & changed the hardware. We had 17 cabinets, which equals 34 hinges. Instead of replacing the rusty brass hinges with $102 worth of new ones, I bought a $3 can of spray paint & spray painted those suckers. John was skeptical, but I was totally right. You'd never know those weren't brand new silver hinges.

Next on our kitchen agenda is a new counter top, tiling the back splash & tiling the floor. We also want to rip out the low cabinets on the dining room side & build a pantry by the back door, where the baker's rack currently is. God knows how long it will take us to do all this, or how we'll afford it, but we'll eventually get it done.

Full photostream here.

September 11, 2001: My Experience

I lived in NYC for 2 years after college. I had been there about 9 months by Sept. of 2001. Tiffany had just moved up there & was staying with me in my boss's apartment. My boss was in Paris for Fashion Week & I was apartment-sitting for her. She lived in a high-rise on 15th & 3rd Ave. Her apartment faced downtown, with a clear view of the World Trade Center. I had The Today Show on while I was getting ready for work in the bathroom. Tiffany was in the bedroom watching TV. We both heard the plane fly over the apartment, but didn't think much of it until The Today Show reported that a low-flying plane had just crashed into one of the Trade Towers. We went to the window & sure enough, one of the Towers was on fire. Literally, everyone on the street, as far as we could see, was stopped, staring downtown. No one knew what was going on yet.

Both of our moms called, asking if we had seen what just happened. We told them we were going outside to get a better view & find out what people on the street knew. Little did we know what the next few hours would be like.

We had noticed a lot of people on the street taking pictures, so we grabbed a camera & headed outside. Like everyone else, we started walking downtown, snapping pictures along the way. We watched the first Tower fall. I think I grabbed Tiffany's hand & we both started crying. For whatever reason, we kept walking downtown. Everyone did. We were pretty far downtown by the time the second tower fell. We didn't see it fall because all of a sudden a mass of dust-covered people came running up from downtown & we turned around & ran. They were telling us that people were trapped & jumping out of 100-story windows. At some point, we stopped running & turned around. Both Towers were gone. It was surreal.

Now keep in mind, we hadn't been near a TV or a radio this entire time, so we had no idea what was going on. People on the street started saying that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon. Someone in an apartment building hung their TV out the window, which is how we learned that we were basically under attack. I can't describe how I felt at that moment. I've never been so scared in my life.

When the Trade Towers fell, everyone in NYC lost their cell phone reception because the cell phone towers were on top of the World Trade Center, so neither Tiffany nor I could make calls. When we finally got back to the apartment, we learned that the land lines were down as well. Thankfully my boss had cable internet, so we quickly fired off mass emails letting everyone know that we were okay. My roommate, Anjeanetta, was in our apartment in Williamsburg by herself. She couldn't get into Manhattan & we couldn't get to Brooklyn. I don't think Tiffany & I left my boss's apartment for the rest of the day. I just remember we sat on her bed watching CNN all day. I also recall that neither one of us slept that night.

The days that follow are a blur. A safety net had been placed over Manhattan, so no one could get on or off the island. The subways were shut down & no one could go below 14th St without proof that they lived there. My boss's apartment was one block above the cut-off. It was a surreal few weeks. Because my boss was in Paris & couldn't get back into NYC, I didn't go to work. Tiffany & I spent a lot of time in Union Square, where a lot of people were. I remember candle light vigils, fences erected to display the thousands of missing persons fliers. Firetrucks & ambulances racing by to thunderous applause. Above all of this, I remember the smell. The whole city, even inside the apartment, smelled like fire, smoke & dust. Every now & then, especially in the fall, I get a whiff of that smell & I have to stop & catch my breath, even now.

I ended up having a lot of anxiety issues that arose from September 11th. I had a really hard time going back to work because my office was on the 40th floor of a midtown high rise & the windows behind my desk faced where the Trade Towers had been. It sounds silly, but I literally sat there all day watching for planes. I never felt safe there again. And to this day, I have a profound fear of heights & fire. The panic attacks quit for the most part when I finally left NYC.

New York was never the same for me after September 11th. There were daily reminders that the city was no longer safe: armed guards on the subway, fighter jets flying over Manhattan, missing persons posters on what seemed like every inch of the city, and, of course, the smell & the smoke coming from downtown. It wasn't until I left that I realized how substantial an effect that day had on me. Eight years later & it still seems like yesterday.

I love you, Tiffany & I love you, New York.

Closet Cooking Blog

I discovered a new blog today that I'm already in love with. It's called Closet Cooking. I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you like to cook & are looking for new recipes. I just found the blog today & I've already got a list of things to try:

Hot Cheesy Corn Dip
Pumpkin Quesadillas
Asparagus and Gruyere Tart
Creamy Pea and Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
Pistachio Pesto
White Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Dip

The list goes on & on. I think I'm in love...

Ikea Heights

Has everyone already seen this? These people have somehow managed to film a sitcom in a Burbank Ikea without anyone finding out. It's so freaking funny. I just learned about it today on Young House Love. Definitely worth the next 5 minutes of your day.

Ikea Heights - Episode #4 from DaveAOK on Vimeo.

Italian Sausages with Peppers, Onions, & Potatoes

From The Best 30-Minute Recipe cookbook by Cook's Illustrated.

Italian Sausages with Peppers, Onions, & Potatoes

Serves 4

We like to use a combination of red, yellow, & orange bell peppers in this dish. Balsamic vinegar can be substituted for the sherry vinegar here. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the savory sauce.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage, cut into 1" lengths

1 lb red potatoes, cut into 1" wedges

Salt & ground black pepper

2 bell peppers, cored & sliced thin

1 onion, sliced thin

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Making the Minutes Count:

Before cooking, cut the potatoes & slice the onion. While the sausage browns, slice the peppers. While peppers & onion cook, mince the garlic.

1. Brown Sausages: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown sausages lightly on all sides, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to plate & set aside.

2. Microwave Potatoes: Meanwhile, toss potatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, & 1/4 teaspoon pepper in microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap & microwave on high until potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (with-out removing plastic) to toss potatoes halfway through.

3. Saute Peppers & Onion: Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add bell peppers & onion & return to medium-high heat until peppers begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste & garlic & cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Cook Sausages: Stir in wine, water, & oregano, scraping up any browned bits, & bring to a simmer. Nestle sausages & potatoes into vegetables, cover, & reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until sausages are no longer pink in center & potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

5. Season: Stir in vinegar & season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve.

This is definitely one of those recipes that will get better with time. I was trying to cook this last night while simultaneously participating in an online class discussion. I'm fairly certain I messed the last few steps up. The flavor was great, it was just a little more liquidy than I expected. I'm 99.9% sure it was user error. Regardless, it was good & I'm definitely going to try it again.

9PM Photo Shoot with Linda McCartney