Thai anyone??

Now that we're in our new house and (kind of) settled in, I'm anxious to try making some Thai food. Anyone have any easy Thai recipes? Pad Thai or Pad See Eew? Lemongrass chicken?

My new favorite...

Buttered Linguine with Romano, Tomatoes, and Basil - from Confections of a FoodieBride

1/2 lb Linguine
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp basil, chopped/chiffonade
3/4 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated
Salt, to taste

Cook pasta 6-8 minutes, or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.

Toss hot pasta in a large bowl with butter, pepper, tomatoes, basil, and cheese. Add 1/4 cup pasta water and toss to moisten. Add additional water if necessary. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

Yields: 3 servings (entree)
Source: Heavily revised from Everyday Pasta, 2007


Julie's notes:

• I used pre-grated Parmesan (the kind in a green "can") once in a pinch, and it worked ok, not great.
• I like to let the pasta cool just a little before adding the cheese. I found I got lumpy, stringy, melted cheese otherwise. I like sprinkling it on just before serving.
  

Return to Wordless Wednesday (WW)

CO surfing.

We will now return to the regularly scheduled broadcast

The travels are over. We're... I'm unpacking. We're back in the city in the South, and CO started school last Monday. Thank heaven, internet was installed this afternoon.

Hopefully I will return to blogging normally.

Anyone still read this? Dad?

Things we'll miss about OZ

CO and I made some lists to help process our return to the US.

Here's our "things we'll miss about OZ" list

• People - another list to come
  
• Bells sessions
• AFL (Aussie Football League) - especially the Western Bulldogs
• Taking trams - in particular #16 and #96
• The Esplanade and our apartment there
• The Prahran Market and the Pasta shop there (yummy gnocchi!)
• Great wine easily accessible
• Docklands church
• Bunnings, Woolworths/Safeway, and Qantas commercials
• The train to Werribee
• Visiting our aunt and uncle's farm in Murgheboluc
• Excellent Thai food
• Coopers beer
• Kath & Kim (the Aussie version)
• Currency exchange rate! (instant 30% discount!)
• Sales tax & tip included in prices
• Glen from the morning show and his "infomercials" every 10 minutes
• Albert Park & Albert Park Lake
• Today Tonight with Anna Coren, Matt White, and that new girl
• Rove!!
• Living "simply" - only 2 bags each!
• St. Kilda sunsets
• Little penguins on the St. Kilda pier
• Great fish - yummy!
• Traveling, exploring a new place
• Shortening words in the Aussie way (ie breakfast = brekky, biscuit = bikkie)
• The mx (the free paper on the public transport) & "easy" Sudoku there that we can't finish
• The people at the internet cafes
• The buskers outside Safeway (Reub's in particular - "the first cut is the deepest")
• Kettles in every apartment or hotel room

A boring old recipe...

I know recipes can be a little boring to read, but hey, this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites and I think it's well worth having stored in your google reader for a rainy day.

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries with Rosemary and Garlic - as seen on Pinch My Salt

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
2 T. olive oil
2 medium sweet potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Using a mortar and pestle, mash together the garlic, salt, and rosemary to form a paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, put ingredients into a small bowl and mash the garlic, rosemary and salt against the side of the bowl with a fork. It takes a bit more effort, but you’ll be able to work it into a paste.
3. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and garlic paste; set aside.
4. Scrub sweet potatoes and cut off any blemishes that you wouldn’t want to eat. Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into 1/2 inch pieces. Stacking two pieces together, cut potatoes into 1/2 inch strips. Do the same with remaining potato.
5. Put potato strips into a large bowl; Add oil mixture and toss well until all potatoes are well coated.
6. Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (the parchment is optional, but makes for easier clean up!). If you don’t use parchment, make sure to grease the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or some extra olive oil.
7. Roast potatoes for 30-35 minutes, checking every ten minutes and rotating the pan for even browning. Every once in a while check to see if the potatoes are browning too much on the bottom. If that’s the case, turn them over. I didn’t have that problem, but you never know! Keep a careful watch towards the end and remove as soon as the smallest pieces just barely start to blacken on the ends.

yield: two servings

Recipe notes: Two medium sweet potatoes will serve 2-3 people as an appetizer. I think you could toss in one more potato without needing any more garlic paste or oil. But if you are cooking for a crowd, double all the ingredients and plan on using two baking sheets. Remember to keep the potatoes in one layer and don’t crowd them too much or they won’t brown evenly. These fries are best served right out of the oven!

Julie's notes: I never seem to have rosemary, so I add in whatever spices I seem to have in the house - namely my "mixed herbs" which are mainly oregano, parsley, and basil. And they're all dried. Also, I have substituted sea salt for kosher. I always end up using more oil as well, and then the oil ends up on the pan in the middle of baking and the fries end up soggy in one area. Lessons from that - use a pan with sides and use the right amount of oil!

Back in the good ole' US of A

We're back on US soil. It took a little longer than expected - I'll write more later.

Soon we'll be heading off to spend Christmas at my sister's... on yet another delayed flight. 

Merry Christmas :)