Well Rounded

I titled this post as I did for two reasons. 1. The details of this post are making me more round. 2. As I write about all these girly recipes, I am watching the College World Series. Go Longhorns!

Everyone kept on asking how I was doing this weekend and the honest answer was “I’m fine”. Really, I was. But cooking is my therapy, so I did a lot of it as extra insurance. I ended up four for four for (ha, bet English majors never thought they’d see that) good recipes. You may want to try, so…enjoy!

1. Asparagus, Feta, and Lemon Pasta – I based my recipe on one from Smitten Kitchen. I have never had a recipe go wrong from her and her photography is awesome. (Oh…food porn…) My (lame-ass) grocery store didn’t have goat cheese, so I used a tub of crumbly feta with red pepper and garlic. I was taking this to a bbq, so I knew it had to keep at room temperature (hence the crumbly feta.)

2. Strawberry Limeaid Bars – These were based on a recipe in the Sunday paper (scroll down almost all the way on the link to “Strawberry Lemonade Bars”.) I only had a lime, so I used lime zest and some juice. I did use lemon juice (from a bottle…shh, don’t yell). Oh, and I used whole wheat flour instead of regular. I think it made the crust a little drier, but hardly worth noticing. Very tart, but very good.

3. Parmesan and Squash Cakes – Ok, for this one, I didn’t have shallots so I used a small onion and added some garlic. Also, I have an aversion to parsley, so I used marjoram from the garden. (Also used for the chicken burgers, so made the food pair up well.) Healthy and very easy.

4. Chicken Burgers – The bulimic Italian does it again. Use a good amount of Pam on your grill (careful, they stick!), but these burgers are great. I burnt the buns, so we had untoasted, still very good and felt healthy. Since I can’t do anything by recipe… I used marjoram instead of rosemary. (How did I not get a rosemary plant this year??)

Bonus recipe: Birthday Cake Cocktail from Reata Restaurant in Ft. Worth, Texas (I stumbled into Reata when I was looking for a good closing dinner place for one of my associations this February. Dinner was so good I bought the cookbook!)
One Drink:
-1 oz. Frangelico
-1 oz. Vanilla vodka
-1 oz. cranberry juice
-1 oz. pineapple juice

Put all ingredients in a drink shaker and gently shake twice. Rim a glass with granulated sugar and fill with ice. Pour in drink and top with a few flakes of sweetened coconut. Yum-O!

Bon appétit!