0 True Confessions (and Baked Ravioli)

During this season of Lent, our family has been practicing confession of our sins, our shortcomings and frailties at the dinner table.  We have this wreath in the center of our table with a little dish of toothpicks.  We stick a "thorn in the crown" representing our sin.  We have done this during this pre-Easter season for the past few years.  It is so convicting and powerful.  [If you don’t know of this ritual and want to know more (and the beautiful conclusion)- read about it HERE].

My kids have really engaged with this practice.  They quickly grab for the toothpicks, ready to confess.  They are aware of their struggles and the ways they have lived out of a selfish place.  This humility and self awareness seems so important.  (We have had a lot to confess lately- as we've had some rough days). It has been a beautiful and convicting experience to have my children model conviction for me.

One of the most humbling parts of it this year has been the repetition of sin in my days.  As I ponder the day's words, thoughts and deeds, I find that I repeat the same sins over and over.  The other day, I followed my kids’ lead by grabbing a toothpick.  And then I just held onto it.  My daughter asked, “Are you going to share your sin?” I said, “I’m thinking.” She replied with some suggestions of sins from my previous week, (thank you very much) “What about self pity, judging, impatience?”  Yep. Those are the ones.  The ones that keep surfacing.

The silver lining of this disappointment is that it has made me sick of myself! I have thought, “NO MORE SELF PITY!! THIS IS GETTING OLD!” And it has prompted me to resist when the urge to “compare and despair” rises up in me.   I have been fighting the temptation to let my comparison lead me to judging myself or others. (My comparison typically tends to lead to one or the other.)

While I’m confessing, here’s another. (Not nearly as ugly.)  I am tired of dinner.  I am tired of dinner planning, of preparation, of dinner itself.  I wish that we could just make a peanut butter and banana sandwich, or have a salad, or open a can of tuna, or take some "dinner pill" and call it a night.  But I have people in my house that like a real meal for dinner.  Sigh.

I am grateful for the longer days of sunshine, as it helps with my motivation.  My friend Lindsey was telling me this week that last month she planned out the entire month of dinners for her household.  I'm so impressed.  She said she went ahead and bought all of the non-perishables for the month and then bought perishables each week.  I think this is brilliant (and ambitious) and I'm hoping that maybe she will just give me her month-of-menus and I won't even have to think! We like the same kinds of meals, so I would be happy to adopt her plans. 

If my daughters had it their way they would choose pasta every meal.  I really try to limit it to one dinner a week.  I felt like I needed to add another pasta dish to my repertoire.  I was trying to think of something easy but different and delicious to make.  I didn’t want to do a meaty lasagna- for the sake of cost and trouble and my meat-adverse people.  My family loves ravioli.  I found a recipe from Martha Stewart's EVERYDAY FOOD for Baked Ravioli.  It is so simple and is lasagna-like in that it has the pasta, cheesy and savory filled, with red sauce in between, but much less work. 

I followed her recipe, and even made the sauce she instructed to make.  It was so delicious.  I think next time, I confess, I might just make it with jars of good quality pasta sauce. The homemade sauce didn’t make that much of an impact.   Then the recipe would be even simpler!!  I also think I'll attempt to sauté some vegetables to layer into the dish- maybe zucchini and squash to incorporate some healthiness.

Baked Ravioli

(adapted from Martha Stewart’s EVERYDAY FOOD)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 ½ tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

2 (1 lb. bags) store-bought frozen cheese ravioli

2 cups shredded mozzarella

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 [OR if you are making it with bought sauce- omit first 8 ingredients and replace with 2 jars of pasta sauce. ]
And, if you are making for a smaller crowd, you could make it with one bag of ravioli and one jar of sauce and make it in a square baking dish.

Preheat oven to 425˚ degrees.  Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced (about 20-25 minutes).  OR heat up 2 jars of quality pasta sauce.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling water, salted.  Cook for just a few minutes- until pasta rises to the top of the pot.  Drain pasta.

Toss sauce with pasta.  Pour into a large baking dish (13 X 9).  Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly.  Cool slightly before serving.

chop

simmer

boil for 3 minutes

pile in a dish

stir in sauce

top with cheeses and bake

Done!

I hope you are having a lovely beginning of spring, a meaningful season of Lent (if this is something you practice), and inspired dinners!

Detail: True Confessions (and Baked Ravioli)

0 Chicken Bryan A.K.A. a party in your mouth

At the beginning of my blogging adventure, two years ago, I wrote about a tradition of ours called "The Celebration of Daves". It's a celebration meal honoring Dave Hunt and David Thomas – two incredible, food-loving men, prepared by their food-loving, food-preparing wives.  This tradition has stood the test of time.  (We think it's been about 14 years). The four of us (David, Connie, Dave and I) are all highly motivated to continue this sweet annual ritual. We love this tradition because it is food and friends, period. We don't get to spend much time together, especially as couples.  And we all love good food, so this dinner is one we cherish and anticipate all year long.

connie and me a decade ago
aproned and cooking for the
Celebration of Daves

(In addition, Connie and I love to work together in the kitchen and it's such a rare treat).  We most often hold this celebration in late July or early August.  However, this year, with schedules and an early start to school, we just finally had our dinner last week!


When Connie and I were on the phone discussing menu options, we were tired and stumped about what to make.  We decided to ask our honorees if they had any requests.  When I asked Dave, he said, "Oh, it doesn't matter!" and then, "What about Chicken Bryan?"  I said, "Oh that would be delicious and special, however, it requires grilling, which I fear will be tricky for us to pull off with all of the rest of the cooking inside without someone to monitor the grill."  (I wanted to protect him from managing the grill on his birthday celebration meal.)




Then Connie asked David to which he replied,  "What about that chicken from Carrabba's restaurant that yall have made before?"

OKAY! I think we have a clear sign, what we should make.
So we decided to make Carrabba's Chicken Bryan.
Have you ever been to this restaurant? It's an Italian chain. The food is really tasty.

If you have been there, have you ever ordered the Chicken Bryan?
I must admit I would NEVER, NEVER have thought to order a grilled chicken dish at an Italian restaurant.  Maybe chicken parmesan, but when I think Italian, I think pasta: baked ziti, ravioli, linguini, or lasagna, but grilled chicken wouldn't be a thought of mine.
However, one day I was with a friend and her mother who ordered it and I tasted it.
And my taste buds celebrated! It's grilled chicken with a white wine/butter/onion/garlic/fresh basil reduction poured on top with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese.  I'm telling you.  It's special.

I dug around online a few years ago and found a recipe for Chicken Bryan and it's a darn good replica.  It's not an all-the-time dish, as it requires some effort AND lots of butter!
Dave describes this dish as a "a party in your mouth".
It is so flavorful and complex in its textures and tastes.  It is creamy and tangy and rich.

We chose to serve Pasta Raphael with the Chicken, which is a delicious tomato, onion, artichoke pasta sauce recipe from The New Basics Cookbook.  Connie was served this dish by our friend Whitney years ago and she introduced me and it's a favorite of ours.  It is a superb sauce.  I highly recommend you try it sometime. It's more work than a simple red sauce, but it is a beautiful and flavorful dish.

If you are looking for a special dinner menu, this would be great.
Dave told me the other day that this dinner was one of the best meals he has had in his life.
To which I scoffed. To which he said, "I'm for real." I do think there were other contributing factors: We were sitting on the screened porch on a lovely night (David T. actually commented that it was the temp he would like his house to be set on if electricity bills were not a concern), with dear friends, eating a special meal.  I'm not so sure these other factors didn't play into his bliss.  After all, my mom always said, "it's the company that seasons the meal."




The Menu
Bruschetta - a staple of the Celebration of Daves
(served while we are preparing the main course)

Simple Green Salad tossed in lemon vinaegrette
Chicken Bryan
Pasta Raphael
Artisan bread with dipping herb oil

and for dessert- one of the favorites of the Daves: Ooey Gooey Butter Cake


Chicken Bryan

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. minced yellow onion

2 Tbsp. butter

½ cup dry white wine (or cooking white wine)

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup cold butter- sliced

the butter and wine 

1 ½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. pepper

6 skinless chicken breasts

olive oil for brushing

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

8 oz. goat cheese

Sautee garlic and onion in 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat until tender.

Stir in wine and lemon juice into skillet, increase heat to medium high, and simmer to reduce by half. 

the party

Reduce heat to low and stir in cold butter, one slice at a time.

Stir in tomatoes, basil, kosher salt, and white pepper; remove from heat; set aside.

Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill chicken on hot grill 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Immediately after removing from the grill, place equal amounts of cheese on each breast.

Spoon prepared sun-dried tomato sauce over chicken.

the beginnings of Pasta Raphael

Pasta Sauce Raphael

borrowed from The New Basics Cookbook

2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts

¼ cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. dried basil

1 Tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper

½ tsp. salt

pinch of dried pepper flakes

1 can (28 oz.) plum tomatoes, with their juice

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

the last addition of fresh, flat leaf parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley

Drain the artichoke hears, reserving the marinade.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, and reserved artichoke marinade.  Saute´ over medium-low heat until the onions and garlic are soft and translucent – 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the artichoke hears, Parmesan and parsley. Stir gently, and simmer another 5 minutes.

Enough for 1 pound of pasta

dinner is served

Unfortunately the photos are limited and aren't the best at capturing this dish (as it was busy, dark and the honorees were anxious to eat, not have their plates photographed). 

  

Detail: Chicken Bryan A.K.A. a party in your mouth