You could even add cranberry sauce

I spent yesterday on the road, but today we get a very very special Thanksgiving Day ROTW. If you're coming here at 1:00 to get any recipes for today, you're in trouble, but what to do with all that leftover turkey? You could make soup. You could make sandwiches. Heck, you'll probably make soup and sandwiches, and still have leftovers. Here's another idea, which incorporates our second-favorite food here at the Preschool: risotto.
Thanksgiving Risotto

6 cups stock (turkey if you've got it, chicken if you don't)
2 T. butter or oil
1 medium onion, diced small
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
1/2 pound or more cooked turkey, shredded
1/2 cup leftover vegetables (corn is great, carrots and cauliflower is okay, green bean casserole is risky)
1 4-8 oz. package mushroooms, sliced

heat the stock and hold at a simmer.
melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a large, heavy bottomed pan over the same heat level you're using on the stock. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with oil and is slightly toasted. Add the wine; stir until the liquid is absorbed, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the stock by ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup at a time) and stir the rice constantly, adding more liquid whenever the stock is absorbed (this process will take 20-30 minutes). After ten minutes, add the mushrooms and continue stirring. When the mixture becomes creamy and the rice grains are no longer crunchy, stir in the turkey and vegetables. Cook five more minutes to heat the turkey and vegetables. Serves a whole lot of people.

Do the Truffle Shuffle

We're continuing a very special Thanksgiving Week here at BOAD (I'm trying the acronym thing here, maybe it will catch on) with multiple days of recipes. Today we're dipping into our favorite genre: the cookie. This year, we've got a five-hour drive on Wednesday, which gets us to Dad's place too late to have a proper supper, but too early to go to bed on an empty stomach. The solution, clearly, is snacks; and, as long as you're going to snack, you might as well have cookies. Dark brown sugar and dark chocolate give this cookie a deep, complex flavor. I've tried several strategies (the shortening, chilling the dough, etc.) to get (1) the cookies to bake high and (2) the chunks to hold their shape. I've met with limited success. One important point is to keep the chunks fairly large. Small pieces of chocolate melt quickly and blend into the dough - not that that's a terrible thing. You could also add pecans or walnuts to this recipe.


Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries
4 - 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60% - 70% cacao), broken into pieces


Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, water, and orange zest, and mix until fully combined. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients, then add the cranberries and chocolate chunks and stir until incorporated. chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Form the dough into two-tablespoon balls, and arrange the cookies on a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies begin to brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, then move to racks and cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Be My Sweet Potato

The Recipe Of The Week fell by the wayside sometime over the summer, but with Thanksgiving looming, it's time to bring it back. This was inspired by a soup at a Southwestern restaurant in Winston-Salem.


Sweet Potato Soup

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small to medium onion, diced
1 small clove garlic, pureed (to do this, mince the garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then use the flat of a knife or back of a spoon to crush the minced garlic to a jelly-like consistency)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon (or less) brown sugar
salt and pepper
4 oz. mushrooms (any style you like; I use cremini), sliced or diced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup whole milk or half & half (optional)

melt two tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion. When the onion becomes translucent but not browned yet (about 2 min), add the sweet potatoes, garlic, chili powder, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until the onion and potatoes are well-browned (10-15 minutes). In a second pan, sautee the mushrooms with the remaining tablespoon of butter and thyme over medium-low heat, until the mushrooms just begin to brown (8-10 min).
Transfer the onion-potato mixture to a blender or food processor and puree. Return the sweet potato puree to the saucepan and add the stock, milk and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until the soup is heated through. Serves 2-3.

Like you need an excuse to keep vodka around

I have no fewer than six recipes for penne alla vodka in various parts of my kitchen. Each one has some technique or ingredient that sets it apart from the others, but all of them are somehow lacking; not enough vodka, too much vodka (I know, I'm as surprised as you are that it's possible), too sweet, wrong consistency. As this is one of my favorite dishes, I've had plenty of opportunity to experiment, and create my own version, an amalgam of the other recipes. This is, I believe, the first time I've written it down.

Penne alla vodka

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. prosciutto, diced (optional)
1/2 cup vodka (don't be afraid to use good stuff; maybe not your $60 bottle of Stoli Elit, but for pity's sake don't use the gasoline in the plastic bottles)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 28-once can crushed tomatoes (or a 35-ounce can of whole tomatoes, with juice, run through a food mill)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half (heavy cream is better if you want to go all out)
4-6 basil leaves, torn into pieces (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
1 pound penne or other tubular pasta
1/2 cup (or more) finely grated parmesan cheese

heat the oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot (preferably large enough to hold the pasta and the sauce, but I guess it's not necessary). Add the shallot and cook until it begins to soften, about two minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic and shallot become fragrant, about one minute more. Add the prosciutto, stir, and add the vodka and crushed red pepper. Allow the vodka to simmer for several minutes before stirring in the tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer, and let the sauce cook for at least twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in 4-6 quarts of boiling salted water. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup or so of the liquid.
Stir the half-and-half and basil into the sauce, and return to a simmer. Turn off the heat, and stir in the pasta and parmesan, plus cooking liquid if the pasta is dry. Serve with crusty bread, a nice romaine salad, and the rest of the vodka.

Coke: It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

I've been almost as lazy about cooking my own meals as I have been posting recipes of late, so a slow-cooker recipe seems appropriate. Northerners are always surprised by the secret ingredient; Southerners, on the other hand, usually guess it right away.

Coca-Cola Pot Roast

one 3-5 lb. beef roast (sirloin or london broil both work well)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 onion, diced
1-2 medium carrots, diced
1-2 ribs celery, chopped
1 whole peeled garlic clove
2 boiling potatoes, quartered (optional; I often serve this with mashed potatoes, which make these kind of redundant)
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1 12-oz. can cola

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Rub the meat with salt and pepper, then brown it in the skillet for 3 - 5 minutes (remember, you only want to sear the outside). As an optional step, once the meat is browned, remove it from the skillet and cook the onions, carrots, and celery in the juices for 2-3 minutes (no longer). Place the meat and all vegetables in a slow cooker, cover with the cola, and cook on low for at least 4 hours (8 is better).
You can serve the roast with the juices from the cooker, or you can thicken the juices in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of flour. Serves 6-10.

By Popular Demand

When I posted the recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies a while back, it was suggested that I post my peanut butter cookie recipe as well. Since I'm low on original recipes these days (I am beset by frequent cravings for macaroni & cheese - it's a darn good recipe, but not mine), this seems like a good time to put up a new dessert. Plus, it's got peanut butter in it, so I know it will be popular with a certain portion of my demographic.
The key to the peanut butter cookie is a) lots of salt and b) lots of peanuts - thus, it is recommended to use salted butter AND salted peanuts AND extra crunchy peanut butter. I also prefer dark brown sugar to light brown, but use what you've got.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted peanuts
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a food processor, chop the peanuts until they are approximately the consistency of bread crumbs (about 15 seconds on the closest setting you have to "grind"). Set aside.
Mix together the butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in the peanut butter, then mix in the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the ground peanuts until well combined.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or use a silpat). Taking approximately 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet. Use a fork to make a cross-hatch pattern on the top of each cookie (tip: rinse the fork with warm water every 3-4 cookies). Bake 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are brown on the edges - they won't look done, but they'll finish cooking out of the oven. Let the cookies cool on the sheet about 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Festeja Adelante, Garth

There is a lot of food in this house right now. I am knee-deep in leftovers from yesterday's Cinco de Mayo party, plus I've been gnawing my way through a pan of homemade cornbread all day.
Yesterday's fiesta was quite the spread. Last week's chicken recipe was, of course, a big star. Also in attendance were fresh guacamole, homemade pico de gallo, a fantastic bean dish from my friend Jennifer, and today's selection, a slow-cooked pork roast that drew raves from the carnivores.
My favorite thing about slow-cooking is starting the dish the night before, and waking up to an entire downstairs that smells like the afternoon meal. It's all I can do to not to start eating right out of the crock-pot at 9:00 in the morning. Make this, and spend your day contemplating the merits of delayed gratification.

Cedar Creek Carnitas
For the dry rub:
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar

one pork loin roast (1.5 - 4 pounds)
6-8 whole unpeeled garlic cloves

combine the dry rub ingredients - if you can, further mince the garlic after combining it with the other ingredients (I don't, because I cringe at the thought of what chopping salt is doing to my good knife). Coat the roast with the dry rub, using 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of rub for each pound of meat. Allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours.

There are two methods for cooking the pork:
Method 1: Preheat oven to 275°F. Place the pork and garlic cloves in a heavy dutch oven or roasting pan, preferably one just larger than the roast. Cover the pan and cook until very tender, about 1 hour per pound (plus maybe 30 minutes extra).

Method 2: Place the pork and garlic cloves in a slow-cooker (if your cooker is much larger than the roast, wrap the pork and garlic cloves in aluminum foil, then place the whole package in the cooker) and cook on low setting for 8-12 hours.

Remove the pork from the pan and shred. If you can, allow the pork to rest for about ten minutes first (my experience, however, is that the roast falls apart upon removal). For additional flavoring, mash the cooked garlic cloves in with the shredded pork. Serve with tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, queso fresco, etc.

Festeja Adelante, Wayne

Growing up in Michigan, I did not spend a lot of time in Mexican restaurants. There was Carlos Murphy's, the Irish-Mexican place (yes, you read that right) on the other side of town, but I think I usually got the ribs there (barbecue being a staple of both Irish and Mexican cuisine). These days, I live in a town with almost as many Mexican restaurants as churches (stay tuned for our follow-up visit to Fiesta Grille), and thanks to a preponderance of good ingredients, I spend a lot of time cooking dishes that are, at the very least, Mexican-inspired. This week's recipe, despite my cilantro-deprived childhood, has been a family favorite, courtesy of my Aunt Muggs, for almost two decades. Of the things I miss about my youth (besides youth itself), our family "fajita nights" are high on the list.

Mexi-Marinated Lime Chicken

2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime's worth)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 cup medium salsa (I actually prefer Pace Picante, which is not, strictly speaking, salsa, but that's a post for another time)
2 chicken breasts, halved and skinned
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup medium-hot taco sauce

Combine first four ingredients to form the marinade. Marinate the chicken at least 35 minutes (preferably a few hours; this is the sort of thing you can do in the morning if you're planning to make the chicken that evening. Marinating overnight is overkill, but it won't hurt anything).
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat (if you're using an electric skillet, 350 degrees). Remove the chicken from the marinade (do not throw out the marinade!) and cook 5-8 minutes, turning, until golden on both sides. Add the marinade and taco sauce to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium low (250 degrees) and cook, covered, for an additional ten minutes.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and shred into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken to the skillet and stir until coated. Serve with warmed tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, grated cheese, etc.

Little Rice, With a Little Pig

Tonight, I indulge my decade-long obsession with risotto. Real risotto is a pain to make, because you have to add stock slowly, and stir constantly, and you've got to be careful not to have the heat too high, or too low, or run out of stock, or... there are dozens of things that can go wrong. But when it goes right, it's totally worth the effort. At some point, I'll put up my recipe for chocolate risotto, but this is one of my dinnertime favorites.

Spinach-Bacon Risotto

5 cups vegetable stock
1 red onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound bacon, shredded
2 cups short-grain rice (e.g., arborio)
4-6 ounces beer (I like Miller Lite for this)
8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
1 10-oz package spinach or baby spinach, washed
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

In a large saucepan, heat the stock to a gentle simmer.
While the stock is heating, put the onion, garlic, and bacon in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or risotto pan. Heat until the bacon fat renders and cooks the onions translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the rice, stirring until each grain is coated and begins to toast.
Pour in part of a can of beer, stirring until the rice absorbs the liquid.
Drink the rest of the beer. By the way, here's a tip: once you get the stock to its gentle simmer, try to have the risotto pan at the same heat level.
Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the stock, and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice becomes creamy, about 12-15 minutes (you'll have used about half the stock at this point). Add the tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.
While the rice is cooking, cook the spinach in a large covered pan over low heat. Yes, this recipe requires a bit of forethought, or three hands. You can do it. Remember, "stirring constantly" doesn't necessarily mean stirring continuously.
Continue to add stock to the risotto until the rice is thick, another 10-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the cooked spinach and grated cheese. Serves 4-6 as a meal, 8 as a side.

My Cuisine Regins Supreme

There was a time when I got a lot of my recipes from Iron Chef; I'd see something interesting, say to myself, "hey, I could make something like that," and off I'd go. This one sticks with me, though. One night, as my friends and I were watching, and commenting on how often we thought the dishes sounded terrible (clearly, we do not posess the palate of the Japanese upper class), and I asked, "have you ever seen one of the judges say that a dish is terrible?" We all agreed that we had not. Two minutes later, we were floored when we heard Asako Kishii say, "this is awful! Just terrible." Tonight, you get the first dish I ever saw panned on Iron Chef. My theory is that Iron Chef Kobe was hampered by having to use chocolate. This makes a great side dish to a pork roast.

Spicy Sliced Bananas with Garlic

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 small cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 crumbled Tien Tsin peppers or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bananas, sliced
salt
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the bananas and a pinch of salt, and stir until the bananas are browned, about 2 more minutes. stir in the sugar until it makes a paste coating the bananas. Serve warm.

Cylons Bake The Best Brownies

A while back, I was discussing desserts with a friend, and when the conversation turned to brownies, she mentioned that she used to get Andes Mint brownies at Starbucks. Emboldened by drink, I claimed that I would not be outdone by some cruddy coffee chain. Of course, the next day, it occurred to me that I had never made brownies from scratch before. After extensive (read: almost thirty minutes) research, I stitched together this recipe from several sources. You could probably leave out the mint chips, but I've never tried it, as they are the recipe's raison d'être. They are particularly nice as a complement to a spicy main course.

Andes Mint Brownies

2/3 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 squares (2 tablespoon) unsweetened chocolate
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Andes mint chips (about a third of a bag, or you could make them yourself; chop up 15-20 mints)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a double boiler or reasonable facsimile (I use a pyrex bowl, propped up by foil balls, in a pan of water), melt the chocolate and butter over barely simmering water until the mixture is smooth. Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
While the chocolate mixture is cooling, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
When the chocolate has cooled for about ten minutes, whisk in the sugar until combined, then add the eggs and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients and the mint chips.
Pour the batter into a greased 8"x8" baking dish. Bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and center of the pan comes out not quite clean, about 20-24 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Makes 16 brownies.

So Much For My Atkins Diet

I love pasta. I could eat it for every meal, and some days I do. I've grown a bit from my teenage days of pouring cold Prego right over hot noodles, but when I don't feel like spending a lot of time cooking, nothing beats a quick bowl of spaghetti with some olive oil and parmesan.
Anyone can boil noodles, so the key to good pasta is the sauce. My personal favorite is garlic oil, a can of diced tomatoes, and spices, but tonight I was in the mood for something different. After a couple of minutes of staring at everything in my refrigerator and pantry that I had ever considered putting on pasta, I had this week's recipe.

Rotini with Roasted Tomato Pesto
10-12 oven roasted tomatoes (slice roma tomatoes in half, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sugar, bake at 350° F for 3 hours)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup fresh basil (I was out, so I used a tablespoon of dried basil)
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound rotini pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

Place first tomatoes, garlic, artichoke hearts, pine nuts, spices, and parmesan in food processor, adding salt and pepper to taste. Puree to a thick paste. While running the food processor, drizzle in olive oil.

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain the noodles, reserving up to 1 cup of the pasta water.

Heat the cream over medium heat. Add the pesto to the cream and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Toss the pasta and pesto cream in a large serving bowl, adding pasta water if the mixture is too dry. Serves 6.

Milk's Best Friend (No, Not Cheese)

During my summer of unemployment, I kept myself in movie money by selling cookies to friends and acquaintances. The peanut butter cookies were my biggest seller (the bartenders at a local watering hole had a standing order for three dozen every Friday), but I preferred to make Grandma Light's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, my first favorite food, and the first thing I learned how to bake.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups (one 12-ounce package) chocolate chips
1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift together flower, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream together shortening, butter, and sugars. Beat in eggs, water, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and walnuts.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and drop scant two-tablespoon balls of dough onto the sheets. Bake each batch 10-12 minutes, and cool on wire racks. Makes approximately 60 cookies.

Genetically Modified Super-Rice

I've eaten well this weekend. Friday was leftovers (rotini and sweet sausage), because I was busy preparing Saturday's dry-rubbed, slow-cooked carnitas feast. Saturday, the carnitas for lunch (with spicy rice and fresh-made guacamole), and dinner at a local Greek place. Today, the leftover pork went into some hashbrowns, and now I have a new batch of tomatoes roasting in the oven.
So, which of these is your Recipe Of The Week? Well, the pork roast is cribbed in large part from a cookbook. Not that the Velvet Elvis is something no one's ever seen before, but I feel like I should at least be able to make a dish without having a book open on the counter before I call it my own. With that in mind, you get my Southwestern Rice, which I've been making for years, and heretofore has existed only on a post-it stuck in another cookbook. The post title is the way one of my friends described it the first time I served it to other people.

Southwestern Rice
2 T. olive oil or butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. Mexican oregano (Mexican oregano is less sweet and more piquant than the Mediterranean version)
2 cups long-grain white rice
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup jalepeños, diced
1/2 cup diced red vegetables (my favorite is roasted peppers, but unroasted peppers and tomatoes are also extremely good)
1 16-ounce bag frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces grated monterey jack cheese

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir until well-coated. Add the stock and vegetables and increase heat to high. When the pot begins to boil, stir for a few seconds, then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let stand for 25-30 minutes. Stir in the milk and cheese. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and cilantro. Serves, oh, let's call it 12.

My only real problem with this recipe is that it makes a lot of rice, which means I'm eating this all week. Fortunately, it's pretty versatile stuff, and tasty besides.

Thankya, thankya very much

It's time for the Recipe Of The Week. Tonight's dinner was asparagus milanese with a fried egg (I found recipes in both of my recent cookbook acquisitions), a surprisingly easy and tasty dish. But that's not the recipe you're getting tonight. Tonight, you get an old favorite, inspired by last week's suggestion that I be more family-friendly (by including peanut butter).

Velvet Elvises

8 slices sandwich bread
peanut butter (I prefer creamy here)
two ripe bananas, sliced
12 strips bacon (about 1 pound)

heat a skillet and begin frying the bacon. Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread. Spread peanut butter on each slice, then top 4 of the pieces with the sliced bananas. When the bacon is done, place three strips each on the other 4 pieces of bread, and make sandwiches. For additional flavor, fry each sandwich in the bacon grease, about 1 minute each side. Serve with Lipitor.

These were, reputedly, the King's favorite snack. One taste and you'll know why. You'll also have a fairly good idea why he's dead. But one won't kill you, right?

Women Love A Man Who Can Cook

...or so I'm told. While I'm waiting for my roasted tomatoes to come out of the oven, and for the kitchen to air out (I dropped an oven mitt on the heating element), I thought I'd share tonight's dinner recipe.
A while back, I tried making spinach by braising it in stock. Unfortunately, I used too much stock, so I threw in some extra vegetables and some cheese and cooked it down to an unattractive, but edible, mess. After eating it, though, I realized that I could have just added more stock. This is what I came up with.

Spinach-Feta Soup
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 10-ounce bag spinach, rinsed
4 roma tomatoes, small dice
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
one handful small pasta (I break spaghetti noodles into small pieces, but orzo works well too)
sea salt
black pepper
dill weed
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup feta cheese

heat the oil over medium heat and cook the shallot until sweet (but not browned), 1-2 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, one cup of the stock, the pasta, and the spices. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook until the spinach is wilted, then add the remaining stock, vinegar, and cheese. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cheese incorporates and the pasta is soft. Serve with crusty bread and additional olive oil, vinegar, creme fraiche, etc.

Additions, substitutions, suggestions? I don't have a fork-rating system, but what do you think?