Arg! Read Recipe First

Yes, Yes, it says at the beginning of the book that it is a good idea to read an entire recipe before beginning to ensure you have all the ingredients and etc.... Well, I guess I forgot because I planned to make Flank Steak with Horseradish sauce on Sunday night with a few sides. Sunday at 6pm I pulled out Bon Appetit - instruction one is "Whisk first 6 ingredients..... Add steak... cover and refrigerate overnight."

Lucky for me, my wonderful husband had a meal planned so we had pork chops that evening. I tried to recover some of my free time and baked Banana-Walnut bread (pg493) because Scott's brother and sister with significant others will be in town this weekend. I love no rise breads. This was easy to whip up and became nice and toasty brown in the oven. My new favorite ingredient is powdered buttermilk. I hate buying a half gallon of buttermilk when all I need is half a cup, so I found it in powered form at the store. You simple add the power and the same amount of water the recipe calls for - so far, I haven't noticed a taste difference and the convenience is worth it. The larger bread pan took a long time to cook and I eventually took out the bread while still a little gooey in the center just so I didn't over bake it. I'm hoping it firmed up while cooling - we'll see.

Next I made the ravioli (pg 191) with goat cheese and arugula. I used wonton wrappers I'd had in the freezer forever and thawed in the fridge. I quickly minced the shallots and they sauteed much quicker than I expected (I did halve the recipe). You add arugula to wilt, then took this off the cooktop to mix with parmesan and goat cheese (my two favorites). The wrappers made making the ravioli easy and I'm finishing up the recipe today. That means I need to make a tomato-pancetta butter before lunch... better reread over the recipe. :)

As a side note, my little herb garden is doing very well this spring. Just about a week ago I planted basil, parsley and cilantro. My hardier plants from last year returned so I have rosemary, marjoram, three types of thyme, oregano, sage, tarragon, chives, and lavendar. :)