Last night I had a severe craving for Fettuccine Alfredo. Since I have to be in a bathing suit in less than a week, I tried with everything I had not to go through with making this dish, but finally caved knowing that nothing I ate or tried to eat to make up for this creamy, cheesy, carboload dish would come close to the real thing. 

However, I didn’t need to make an entire pound of pasta for one person seeing as I don’t plan on eating it for the next 6 nights (alright 3 since I eat more than one portion at a time because it’s just that delicious). 

I chose the Williams-Sonoma’s recipe, but instead of making the whole thing, I cut the recipe in half. Not only did it satisfy the craving, it is definitely at the top of the Alfredo recipes that I have tried to make, and as a bonus, I now have leftovers for tonight that I can easily reheat on the stove with a little added cream. 

I frequently cut recipes in half if I only plan on eating them for the 1-2 meals. For soups and stews, I tend to make the whole recipe and freeze them in individual quart containers for later. 

Here is my dish from last night that I added mushrooms to in order to make myself feel like I at least at some sort of vegetable while indulging. 

1. Au Cheval – part of Hog Salt (i.e. Publican, Gilt Bar, etc.) this place really does serve the best burger in Chicago. They don’t take reservations, but we went at 5:30 on a Sunday night and sat down pretty quickly. Their burger is out of this world with caramelized onions and we added bacon (you must do it) you’ll never go back to another place for a burger. I don’t think I’ll ever look at a burger the same way again.

2. This recipe from Ina Garten for mussels in white wine, but I put my own spin on it. Instead of cooking the onions and garlic in olive oil and butter. Cook 2 ¼" diced slices of pancetta first and use their flavorings. Remove before putting in the onions and add it back in with the rest of the ingredients before the mussels. Also add ½ cup of heavy cream with the pancetta and this makes for a meal in itself. (And everything is better with heavy cream!)

3. Superbowl Appetizers – the best part of Superbowl Sunday – in my world at least – is the food. We are attending a friend’s party this weekend and I can’t wait for the appetizers. I will be making these mini pigs in a blanket c/o Martha Stewart.

Have a great weekend!

A few weeks ago I went apple picking with some friends and my bf. With all of the apples we picked, there was no way I could eat them all before they spoiled, so I made a pie. 

My favorite Food Network chef is Ina Garten, so naturally I used her recipes to make the apple pie and pastry. You can find them here.

This pie had the perfect amount of sweetness that was brightened by the acid from the lemon and orange juice and zest. Next time you have an abundance of apples, make this pie.