Cooking up a storm

Wonder of wonders, my claim to cook more once I moved into my new apartment is actually not total B.S.! I’ve been a baking more than ever, and Saturday night Todd and I whipped up a whole meal. I thank the fun food-related books I’ve been reading (and I still have two Ruth Reichl’s to go!), Dorrie’s blog, my slightly more user friendly kitchen, and the fun of cooking with another person instead of just with Camilla. She’s really not a lot of help, after all.

Todd and I found ourselves in Union Square on Saturday, so we decided to take advantage of our proximity to Trader Joe’s. We bought bottle after bottle of cheap wine to try, then ventured over to the food market to see what they had. We came home with the fixings for a meal that would easily have cost us twice as much at a restaurant: lemon and herb marinated ahi, mushroom risotto, green beans, and multigrain french bread. And, to top it off, we made (aka microwaved) mini chocolate lava cakes for dessert. I was impressed with our success; everything turned out really well!

Everything, that is, except my left thumb, which I, like a genius, stuck in the giant shaft of steam pouring up and out of my steamer. I’m not disheartened, though; all those Top Chef contenders are peppered with burn scars, proving that even the pros make these boneheaded moves now and again.