Well, I don’t know about you, but I found watching tv over the last few days while Congress tried to come to grips with the Fiscal Cliff a painful experience – mostly, I turned it off. I won’t go any farther in this post with my feelings about this debacle. But, as I sat down this morning and pondered the fact that I had challenged myself to come up with 90 recipes to try to keep myself occupied until March or so, I got to feeling a little overwhelmed pretty quickly. Ok, that was dumb, I said to myself – 90? Really? Tax overhaul and deficit reduction with a mandatory deadline of a couple of days? Really? What was I thinking? Chalk it up to a little misguided New Year’s Day enthusiasm! (I might send John Boehner and the President some Advil – or, better yet, Ketel One?)
Sometimes I do find myself thinking that if I went to Washington I could be effective – as it appears pretty clear that the people we elected do get awfully tangled up in their underwear on a frequent basis. But, that must just be my “haven’t had enough coffee yet” brain talking. And, sometimes I do think that although we do have the ability to vote out the incumbents every time they come up for election, that maybe term limits are a better idea…. because it is clear to me that some people have been around for too long …….but, there, I went ahead and continued on, didn’t I? Ooooo, sorry………
Ok, this is not a political blog (but, I might just start one). So, how to come up with 90 recipes and fulfill my challenge to myself?
Basically, I had in mind that I needed 90 entree suggestions – truth be told, I wasn’t intending to consider breakfast, lunch or other categories. So, I am going to try to remain truthful to my original intention. In order to make this somewhat workable for me, I think I will try for 10 recipes for 9 days. (This is my equivalent of pushing debate on budget cuts and the debt ceiling down the road!) Here goes:
1. Chicken with Pears – will find this in my file and post
2. Cannellini Beans with Proscuitto from Anne Burrell
3. Sauteed Cannellini Beans with Greens and Garlic from Epicurious
4.Lentil and Garlic Sausage Cassoulet – from Bon Appetit
5. Lentil Stew with Cannellini Beans – from Bon Appetit
6. Lamb Shanks with Lentils – from the New York Times
7.Rack of Lamb with Warm Apple and Lentil Salad
8.Sausage and Lentils from Mary Ann Esposito
9.Barley and Lentil Soup from Mary Ann Esposito
10.Lentil Soup with Chili Oil from Mario Batali
Ok, so I had a major concentration on beans and lentils here, and some of these are a little redundant – but why not? I like to have a basis of comparison before I declare a recipe a “keeper”, anyway. I had a not-so-great piece of prime rib of beef last night and feel the need to reform a bit this morning…….. Tomorrow, it will be something else, I promise. But, anyway, who wouldn’t benefit from eating more legumes? These aren’t all the healthiest recipes ever but I think they sound inviting. My equivalent of the Pres inviting Congress over to try some new ideas in 2013. That’s ok, isn’t it?
(I am particularly intrigued with #7 – The Rack of Lamb with Warm Apple and Lentil Salad – I may just move this up to the top of the list)
I have to drive into NYC this morning to exchange something that has a mandatory deadline……oops, I feel like Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid…….. ok, ok…..that’s enough……..