For the most part, new Food Network hostess Mary Nolan has gone unnoticed and unheralded since her episodes began airing this summer. To be perfectly honest I mostly tune in because I really like her hair. Although, she absolutely freaked me out during the “Posh Picnic” episode when she repeatedly touched raw meat, followed by the blender, and finished off her germ spreading spree with a good hard pull on the refrigerator handle. Most of you probably didn’t even notice, but I’m a total germaphobe. I practically went into apoplectic shock after they discontinued the Dawn “Wash ‘n’ Toss” because that meant I would have to use sponges to wash dishes. Sponges seriously gross me out.

Even after all of those cooking missteps, I still wanted to try some of the recipes from Mary’s show. Her hair must really be impressive, right? Seriously though this salad is absolutely delicious. The tangy sugar laced dressing is amazing paired with corn and creamy avocado chunks. CK and I ate this for three days and never complained once. So Mary you (or at least your Orzo Salad) get our stamp of approval. PS: I know your Food Network kitchen is fake and all, but just try to wash your hands once in a while, OK?

Orzo Salad (recipe courtesy of Mary Nolan)

1 cup whole-wheat orzo pasta (Note: I used regular Orzo)
3 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed from cob (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Bring a pot of generously salted water to a rapid boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package directions, adding the corn in the last minute of cooking, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside. Pour the lime juice over the avocado and coat evenly (this will minimize discoloration). Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, sugar, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Drizzle over the orzo and add the avocado with lime juice, tomatoes, and parsley. Mix until combined and serve warm or at room temperature.

CK and I are really enjoying our weekly Boston Organics deliveries. We even purchased a cooler to leave in the lobby for the nice delivery man to transfer our yummy fruits and veggies into for safe keeping until one of us wanders home from work.  I had to revive my lettuce a few too many times before I realized…oh duh…maybe this stuff needs a better home than a green plastic tote for eight hours.

So all in all it’s going very well.  Except for the avocados.  Over the last five weeks I’ve thrown out five avocados.  How horrible is that!  I feel guilty every time I have to toss the poor guys into the trash, but I just haven’t been able to think of a anything to do with them other than possibly make guacamole.  The thing is…I sort of hate guacamole and until Sunday morning I sort of disliked avocados.  I’d eat it if you put it in front of me, or you wrapped it up in sushi, but I’d never go out of my way to buy or use them.  But then CK shared a post on Google Reader about making Avocado Toast, and our friend Anna chimed in with a resounding email response of, “This is totes my favorite snack!!!!”  It appeared imminent that avocado and I would be forced to meet once again, and meet we did — spread on warm toast with a simple concoction of spices. It was a phenomenally good time!  From now on I promise that CK and I will be fighting over the avocados in our house and I vow to never throw one out ever again.

Avocado Toast (Based on Dani’s original recipe at Messy Cookin via Projectionist)
Makes 3 slices of delicious avocado topped bread

1 avocado
3 slices of bread (Note: I used Arnold Country White.  When I’m “bad” I’m very very bad).
Red Pepper Flakes
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Toast the bread.  Slice the avocado in half, remove the flesh and place into a small bowl.  Mash the avocado with a fork and spread onto the toasted bread.

Sprinkle the toast with Red Pepper Flakes, salt and pepper, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

I’ve been on a bit of a popcorn bender lately. It all started innocently enough. One evening a few weeks ago I was settling in for the night, all snuggled up in my cozy comfy bed, when I came across an Alton Brown episode about popcorn. And then I started craving it. The only problem was that I’d never made popcorn the “old fashioned” stove top way. We had one of those air poppers when I was a kid that made something resembling the texture of fluffy cardboard, and I distinctly remember an alarming incident at my grandmother’s where we attempted to make popcorn in the fireplace with a fancy contraption from LL. Bean. My mother somehow managed to catch it on fire and melt off the little knob that served as the lid handle. And of course I’ve consumed my weight in the microwave brand, but there was something incredibly intimidating to me about making popcorn on top of my stove.

Fear of the unknown forced me to do what any clueless girl would. I polled all my girlfriends via mass email asking them to assuage my fears and impart on me all of the “knowledge and wisdom” I would need to make a yummy batch of popcorn (and not catch my kitchen on fire). These brilliant ladies all agreed with Alton Brown that the keys to great popcorn were lots of salt and good oil (but not too much). After a tentative start, and a few searing hot kernel burns (do not remove the pot lid too hastily) I did manage to make a pretty yummy first batch of popcorn and I didn’t even need to use any butter.

I definitely don’t recommend using a heavy pan to make popcorn. I practically gave myself carpel tunnel trying to shake one of my All-Clad saucepans. I switched to an old lightweight college cast off after that. It’s now become the official popcorn pan. I’m completely juvenile and really enjoy the fact that it has a see-through lid. I admit it. I totally dig being able to watch the corn popping.

On my way home from Crane Beach one weekend I even branched out a bit and bought some fancy “Crimson Jewel” dark colored popcorn kernels at Russell Farms (a local farm stand / winery). The popping of this corn finally allowed me to answer a nagging childhood question that was brought about by countless marathon readings of Tomie dePaola’s The Popcorn Book. Of course I’ve always known deep down that all popcorn pops into snowy white kernels, but the five-year-old Erin that still exists somewhere inside of me was a bit skeptical. Fortunately grown-up Erin now has delicious proof.

Simple Ingredients

Big Fluffy Results

We’re obviously all more than aware that I can cook, but I bet you didn’t know that CK can also hold his own in the kitchen. The below dish is actually a replication of the first meal that Chris ever made for me. We both had a bit of a crush on Giada de Laurentis and spent many lazy Sundays watching the Food Network together, so it was only appropriate that he made a recipe from her show. This dish of farfalle pasta topped with mushrooms, peas, and freshly grated cheese is very hearty. You can also vary the flavor of the meal by using different types of sausage. In the past we’ve used Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, but in the below instance we bought Spicy Italian Sausage. I actually prefer the spicy version as it gives the dish an unexpected “eyebrow raising” tang.

Grocery Shop	Remove From Casings
Brown	Ask Erin to Assist
Boil	Bake the “Fake Bread” in the Oven
Set Sausage Aside	Add More Olive Oil
Saute Mushrooms	Pour in Peas
Combine	Re-add the Sausage
Stir in the Pasta	More Olive Oil
Top With Parmesan	Seriously Impress Your Girlfriend