a better pickle sandwich

Last time I was at Costco I got a giant (2.5 qt) jar of pickles. I had been a little worried about that big of a pickle purchase, but felt I was up to the challenge. While eating my way through the jar- yeah, it's already long gone- I found the most amazing sandwich. It was my lunch, dinner, and snack more often than I'm going to admit. Take one piece of bread, spread on some mayo and dijon mustard, then put a pickle in and wrap the bread around it. It's like a hot dog but crunchy and awesome and not as easy to cut into shapes. Now who wants to take me to the store for more pickles?

creamy dill dressing

These past few days I think I've had more salads with my meals than since I went through that salad-for-everything phase in grade school. There are a couple of reasons for this- one is the ridiculously large (yet cheap!) tub of salad mix I found at Costco. But really I've gotten that before and all the good intentions of eating it could not make me pull the container from the back of the fridge. So the real reason must be this creamy dill dressing recipe I found. I'll gladly eat anything if you put mayo on it.

Creamy Dill Dressing
via cooks illustrated, kinda

1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced (I ran out of garlic and used garlic powder, which tasted fine)
1 T. fresh dill (I only had dried dill weed, which I just added to taste)

Mix. Yum.

lemon risotto

Sure, there really is no reason for me to have a Costco membership. I mean, yeah the samples are nice and I do enjoy the novelty of seeing a freezer completely devoted to waffles, but come on, I live alone. I do not need 36 toaster pastries and yet, I just love a bargain! I can't pass them up! Which is why I now have a 5lb bag of lemons and a case of broth. Necessary? Maybe not. But under what other circumstance would I be searching the internet for savory lemon recipes, find this one for lemon risotto, and then realize I have all the ingredients already? I didn't really see it coming, but this recipe got a 'this is so awesome' fist pump after I tried it. Super good.

Now if anyone has a recipe that uses up a lot of pears, let me know.

Lemon Risotto

Bon Appétit | May 2002

Ingredients

6 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped (I used one yellow onion)
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

cherry + almond butter

This is my new favorite snack creation. I got a HUGE bag of dried cherries from Costco the other day and am finding it hard to not eat a handful every few minutes.

thanks costco

Costco gave me an amazing gift last week. Leek and morrell jack cheese. As of today I have eaten exactly half of this circle of magic. So good!