#86 - tony bourdain!

i just love this man!

i read a couple of his books and quite frankly, they were awesome! kitchen confidential and a cook's tour were great books for me, nonstop exciting and interesting stuff. the first about his career in the kitchen, where if you don't know any chefs it's a total eye-opener. the second is tony traveling around the world, eating everything in sight, making a show while writing a book. he is upfront with his opinions and makes many valid points. i agree 100% with him on sandra lee (semi-homemade). i HATE that show and her as well, as much as i could hate a person who i don't know who is seemingly harmless, trying to help people who have no idea make food. i am in no way ever tempted to make food she makes. yuck.

i love tony. i mean he's got a show about food, eating, drinking and traveling. what else is there? he always says "i'm a pleasure-seeking person". i totally know what that means and i am sooooooooo the same way. i do things because they feel good or taste good. food/eating makes me happy.

he says very intelligent things despite sounding like an ass sometimes. he is so funny and entertaining. he's got this thing about/against vegetarians and i was one once. i am now not, because i love meat. i love ribs, salami, fried chicken, bacon, lamb, ham, beef brisket, etc. why deny myself? i also love vegetables and tofu and vegetarian foods. i mostly cook and eat veggie but enjoy just about every piece of meat i've ever eaten.

the things he says about the endearing people of third world countries and traveling making you a different person are totally just honest and true. everyone around the world is basically the same. we all need to eat and traditionally it is where people come together. food and drink brings the world together. the majority of people around the world cannot afford to make a choice to eat meat or not, they are just trying to survive. i am so priviledged and lucky to be born in the country/family that i was. i will never really understand the other side no matter how many of those countries i visit or how many people i meet. that's just how it is and so i have to do what i can with it. appreciate it!

#59 - lasagna with greens

lately i have been cooking according to what new seasons has on sale that week. this week the things that interested me were: chard, bacon, smoked mozzarella. i have also been craving lasagna so it quickly became a great idea in my head. when i was at work i saw ina garten on the food network make a portobello mushroom lasagna and it looked and sounded awesome! it all came together perfectly in my head. so i went shopping and ended up with a nice bag of groceries, i couldn't wait to make it!

smoky bacon chard lasagna

1. bring large pot of salted water to a boil and cook 1 lb lasagna noodles according to directions. cook just before assembling so if it's fresh, wait until later because it only takes a few minutes.
2. make white sauce: melt 1 stick of butter in a large saucepan. add 1/2 c flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. pour 4 c (1 qt) whole milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. [recipe says to heat milk first, which i didn't do and it turned out fine]
3. wash and clean 1-2 bunch(es) chard (swiss, green, rainbow, or red). [mine was extremely large so i just needed one] chop stems and leaves. chop 3 strips bacon.
4. heat 1 T olive oil in very big pan, add 1 minced garlic clove and chopped bacon. after a minute or so, add chard stems. cook for 2 minutes then add chopped leaves. cook until slightly wilted.
5. shred 1 lb smoked mozzarella cheese.
6. assemble lasagna in 9x13 pan: a little bit of white sauce, lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, white sauce, chard, mozzarella cheese, then repeat a couple times. for the top layer - noodles, white sauce, mozzarella cheese. bake at 375F for about 45 minutes, until all bubbly and slightly brown. let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

so how did it turn out? good enough to share but it definitely would've been better if i added some sauteed mushrooms. it is very rich and probably horrible for you cause it has bacon, cheese (although the ricotta was part skim!), whole milk and butter. it was worth the calories though. i will try to get a picture of this lasagna tomorrow. i love eating!