String [cheese] Theory

I love pasta. If I had to pick my favorite pasta dish it would be this one. It has all of my favorite things; creamy sauce, shrimp, tomatoes, onion, garlic…

Or it might be this one, creamy orzo. When I make it, I add smoked sausage. Oh yum! The peas put it over the top.

Maybe I should categorize my list of pasta favorites.

Lasagna: from Paula Deen. Although my version is from Shannon and we've both modified it.

Fresh Rollatini: I had this once at a restaurant (and had no idea what it was before that), came home and googled it. I found this recipe which was pretty close to what I remembered from the restaurant.

Alfredo: This one is so simple and pure. I have other alfredo recipes that are thick and filling and delicious.

Then there's this next one, also a pasta dish that I had no idea what it was until I saw it made on tv. Capellini al Forno. It's like a pasta pie. Don't make it for just two people though. Make it for a group of four or six.

Okay, so what do all of these pasta dishes have in common? If you're lactose intolerant, it's your enemy.

Cheese.

Cheesy Mozzarella, cheesy Parmesan, cheesy Romano, cheesy cheese.

Cheese which turns into a gooey mess the instant you put it into a sink full of hot, soapy water.

That's not actually my theory. It's fact.

But I love cheese, so I'm going to keep making pasta. And I'll keep washing dishes. And I'll keep having gooey messes.

Entertaining and such

We love to entertain. I've talked about it before when I've written posts about all the different things I've cooked. Today I want to talk about the "leftovers". Not the food, but the dishes. Our dishwasher is an older model, circa 1977. I know, that's amazing that it's still going. We had a brand new (GE?) dishwasher back in Jersey. Bill installed it (he only shocked himself a few times) and it was great. But we barely used it. Sure it came in handy after parties, but with just two of us it would take a whole week to fill it. Especially because we have so many "fancy" dishes/pans that instruct the owner to "wash by hand". When we moved here we realized the beauty of the dishwasher here. It can wash everything. Crystal, glass, stainless steel, ceramic, Corning ware, Tupperware, it can take it all. It can do small loads or large loads. It even cleans up after parties. Sometimes we're lazy and we don't start the dishwasher until the next day, but it's not like the dishes are going anywhere. I know some of you have been here and have seen the model we have, for those of you who haven't, it's the EcU brand. It's really well built and, like I said, even as old as it is, keeps on going.


Of course I am talking about me. Someone asked me the other day what kind of dishwasher we had and I foolishly answered, "We don't have a dishwasher." But sure we do, and that dishwasher is me. I really have come to enjoy it, it's sort of a zen time for me. The only downfall is when I get behind (so I try not to) and in the winter, my hands get dry.

I hope you enjoyed my cheeky post, I took a page out of Bill's book.