Author: arielleclementine

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Lemon Zest

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Good evening, gentle reader! (Continuing the theme of sharing my gross childhood eating habits…) When I was little, one of my very favorite things to eat was straight up buttered noodles mixed with huge spoonfuls of cottage cheese.  Have you heard of this? I’m not sure how my parents thought of it, or if it’s a legitimate meal all across the country, but when I mention this noodle + cottage cheese combo to people now they typically react with undisguised horror. Poor cottage cheese gets a bad rap, I think.  A lot of people just don’t like those milky little curds! Well, anyway, this is my grown-up replacement for that comforting bowl of buttery noodles and cheese.  It is totally delicious, and wonder-of-wonders, it has vegetables in it! Martha’s original recipe calls for half a box (8 oz) of orecchiette pasta, but I just use the full pound.  Because yay for noodles! Really, give this dish a try- it’s a great weeknight meal!
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Lemon Zest
from the ever delightful Martha Stewart
Ingredients
  • 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into very small florets
  • 1 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 1/4 cup salt-packed capers, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 16 ounces dried orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta)
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss together cauliflower, onion, capers, and 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. 
Spread vegetables in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Roast, stirring halfway through, until cauliflower is tender and browned, about 40 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add
 pasta, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain.
  4. Toss hot pasta with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the parsley,
 and lemon zest. Add cauliflower mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Gently toss to combine.

Austin Bakes for Japan & Other Fun Things!

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Good morning, readers! Today is bakesale day in Austin! Check out the five locations around Austin, and swing by and pick up some treats! My baked goods are available for donation at the south location, Hotel San Jose on South Congress (right next to Jo’s Coffee).  Here’s what I contributed (along with help from two lovely ladies, Molly and Jen!):
Aged Cheddar and Chipotle Jam Thumbprints! These aren’t particularly photogenic, but are crazy delicious.  The recipe is my adaptation of this winning recipe from food52.  I just replaced the blue cheese with a dry Grafton cheddar, and the fig preserves with a chipotle berry jam from the farmers’ market!
 
Homemade Oreos! These are from Martha Stewart’s awesome cookie book, and are always popular! They’re big crunchy chocolate cookies sandwiched with a sweet sweet vanilla cream.   Here’s the recipe!
 
Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies! Another one of my faves from the Martha cookie book! These are flavored with lemon zest and juice, and are the size of your head. Yeesss. Here’s the recipe.
Other fun things!
The Hill Country Conservancy is hosting an event on Earth Day, April 22 with a dinner from the Salt Lick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and a concert with Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers!  The proceeds benefit the conservancy, which works to protect open space and water quality in Central Texas, so attend if you can! It’ll be swell! Check out this page for more information and to purchase tickets!
 
I was lucky enough to eat at Barley Swine last night, the new restaurant from the folks who brought you Odd Duck!   The food is incredible, and the service was wonderful too.  If you don’t mind starting early, you should try to get there before six to avoid long wait times.  If they’re still on the menu, you have to try the fried brussel sprouts, grilled carrot salad, and jerk rubbed pork belly- they were all jaw-droppingly delicious. Oh! and the desserts were crazy-time amazing too!
That’s it for me! Have a happy weekend!

Casa Alde

arielleclementine9 Comments
Whatever “foodie” cred I may have had is going to be completely obliterated by the following story.  Growing up, especially when left to my own devices, I was a disgusting eater.  To wit: every day in high school, my sister and I would each get three crisp dollar bills for lunch.  Mine were usually spent in one of the following ways: 
  1. On a ‘Little Charlies’ pizza, which I would flip over and then proceed to eat only the crusty bottom, leaving a sheet of congealed cheese and “pepperoni” bits on the greasy paper on which it was served. 
  2. On a deep-fried burrito (Yay Texas! This was a cafeteria staple).  Much like the pizza, I would eat only the deep-fried tortilla casing, and leave behind a mound of greasy beef filling. 
  3. On one large buttery roll and a big chocolate chip cookie from the snack bar.

When option three was selected, it meant that I had $2.25 cents left over from my three dollar lunch allotment, which would be pocketed and earmarked for a couple breakfast tacos from Casa Alde.  This, dear reader, is one of the very few gastronomic rituals from my youth that I can be proud of.  These are damn fine tacos. We’ve eaten dozens of breakfast tacos from places all around Austin, and the tacos at Casa Alde are so far undefeated for sheer deliciousness.  Here are some highlights:

This is my favorite: potato, sauasage, and cheese.  The potatoes are perfectly cooked, the sausage is finely textured, and the cheese is straight-up shredded cheddar.  The tortilla is really what makes these sing- they’re handmade every morning by Grandma Helen, and they are pitch perfect.  Slightly thick and chewy, with the lightest dusting of flour still clinging to the freshly griddled tortilla.

  
The “fattie” is one of the classic tacos at Casa Alde- it’s got potato, bacon, egg, sausage and cheese, and is shown here with avocado too, natch. Tell me what’s not to like about that! It’s all your favorite breakfast foods in one taco!
 
This is Andy’s partially-eaten barbacoa taco.  They make the best barbacoa around, for reals. The meat is intensely flavorful, and the taco leaks clear grease with every bite.  That might not sound super-delicious, but it shows how juicy the meat is. Yarm.
Last but not least, the Migas taco.  This is hands down the best migas you’ll find anywhere.  Tons of freshly fried corn tortilla squares, cooked quickly with scrambled eggs, and topped with queso(!).  It’s sheer brilliance.  Other taco purveyors take note- if you’re not topping your migas with queso, you absolutely should be- it’s the bee’s knees.

They don’t have a website, but all the info you need can be found on their facebook page. Check it out when you’ve got a hankering for a delicious breakfast taco! Austinites: it takes me 15 minutes to get from my house in South Austin to Casa Alde, in Buda, so don’t let the address get you down!