The Last... and the First Recipe- 4/23/09

Tonight I made the last recipe of April that I will be making. If you are keeping track, I have made 50 out of 51 recipes in the April 2009 Gourmet. The one recipe I will probably not be making is the Cocktail of the Month, The Waldorf. This recipe is made with absinthe, a spirit that until recently was illegal in the United States. The local liquor stores do not carry it, they only carry an absinthe style liquor called absente that costs $40. I just can't rationalize spending $40+ for one ounce of liquor. I am still going to try to to find this drink at a bar on our trip. I should really entertain some bartender somewhere with that request!

Ok, back to the last recipe. Tonight I made the Ham and Rice Croquettes on page 4. I was really struggling with where this recipe would work best. I am not very familiar with croquettes and initially assumed they were a breakfast food. When I looked them up online, I found they are more of a snack than a real side dish but I made these little fried snacks to go along with a main dish. The croquettes were much like fancy hush puppies. Thankfully, the rice and ham filling was moist and flavorful, unlike most hush puppies. I liked them, and Richard really like them. I fried them a little too dark but we liked the crunch.

Now for the first recipe... I mentioned that Richard has a business trip and I am tagging along. We were supposed to leave this last Sunday but a phone issue postponed the trip one week, then two. We probably won't leave until May 3rd and we'll be gone for at least 3 weeks. That doesn't leave many days to make May's recipes if I don't feel like cooking in a hotel, which I don't! So I'm going to go ahead and start May's recipes now, giving myself at least a ghost of a shot of finishing the recipes in May's Gourmet. Tonight, to go along with the Ham and Rice Croquettes, I made the Penne With Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula on page 73. The toughest thing about this recipe was getting the sun-dried tomatoes. I had some in the fridge so I didn't bother to buy any at either grocery store I went to today. When I went to make the dish, however, I found out the tomatoes in my fridge had white fuzzy stuff growing on them. So I had to make a last minute trip to the third grocery store for the day. The flavor of this pasta was excellent. I love all the components of this pasta, from the pancetta to the basil. The arugula was a nice addition. It added some a freshness and complexity to the pasta. This was one of my favorite pastas in this project. A great way to start May!

Ham and Rice Croquettes- B
Cost- $8.47
Calories per serving- 209 per croquette

Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula-A
Cost- $12.82
Calories per serving- 680

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