Creamy Fettucine with Leeks, Corn, and Arugula

Saying "arugula" makes me sound like I have a somewhat endearing but nevertheless pitiful speech impediment. Perhaps that's why the man at the farmer's market gave me what must be a 2-lb. bag of it. He felt sorry for me! I am scrambling to find uses for it before it goes bad. Any suggestions? This recipe is from the latest issue of Real Simple.
Despite being chock-full of vegetables this dish looks oddly monochromatic. All the leeks and corn and garlic (and most of the arr-oo-goo-luh) sank to the bottom. IT tasted delicious but was not very attractive. Maybe I should stick to baking.

R.I.P.

Nothing made me happier than seeing this little Elf (see also: "Mystery," "Rainbow in the Dark") pop onto Andy's TV screen on Metal Mania at 4 a.m. Holy shit, holy diver!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pizza

I'm not sure "pizza" is the appropriate word here. Maybe "sphere of gluttony"? "Diabetic Coma"? Andy just kept calling it "giant cookie." Truthfully, it's all of these things. The crust is flattened chocolate chip cookie dough(which unfortunately burnt slightly because I was lax with my parents high-tech oven). The base "sauce" is hot fudge, covered by a peanut butter-cream cheese concoction, then more hot fudge. Now, if only I add 400 regular pizzas, a crew of obese folks, and a heavy dose of pain, I can recreate the experience of Cici's in my own home!
Speaking of my own home, it's going to be somewhere new soon. ESCAPE FROM MIDTOWN 2010! Roaches and drive-bys and car break-ins, be gone! Fingers crossed, I'm putting down the security deposit for a little house in the charming Sea Isle neighborhood tomorrow. With a backyard for Charlotte(and growing food!), a dishwasher, and nary a drug dealer neighbor in sight(for the love of god, hopefully).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alright, I'm back once again after a Graham's-, travel-, and Avon-induced hiatus.(Yes, I am probably the world's most unlikely Avon rep. I get makeup for cheap and make middle-aged ladies happy.) But I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I made these cookies on Monday and pulled them straight out the oven into my purse to take into the Runaways movie. I liked it. It was a bit melodramatic, but I've always like Floria Sigismondi's videos, the Kim Fowley character was exactly as I had pictured him, and it made me feel very pleasantly nostalgic for when I was 16 and getting super obsessed with We Got the Neutron Bomb and L.A. Also, I need more leather in my life. Too bad it's SO DAMN SQUEAKY. Every time I wear my leather jacket I sound like the Tin Man.
Anywho, these cookies did not call for salt. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. That was the something that they lacked. But I will forge on, despite my baked goods failure. You may be wondering when this cake whisperer is ever going to make a cake, but I promise it'll happen! I should probably be the cookie whisperer for now.

Mint "Oreo" Cookies

For the family Easter gathering, I made these alleged "Oreo" cookies with a beautiful mint-colored (and flavored) filling. I guess they are like Oreos, if you call anything chocolate with filling sandwiched in between an Oreo. The cookies were extremely soft, made out of cake mix. Wasn't really sure how that was going to work until they were out of the oven, but it did. I pulled off a major coup with the filling, tricking not one, not two, but THREE Hansom men into eating the cream cheese frosting by simply calling it "icing." And they all liked it! Oh ho ho! I'm the winner!
I was tempted to get a little carried away with the green food dye, but happily I did not and miraculously managed a perfect shade of green without staining everything in sight(just my fingers). I thought it was very festive. And like every girl who wears solid black clothing every day, I have a not-so-secret love for pastels. Everywhere.
But back to food...I need to make some Memphis-restaurant-related notes. In the past few months I have compiled an epic list of restaurants around town that I need to eat at.(Sorry for ending the sentence with a preposition, Mom. You raised me better). In the past few weeks I have actually gone to several of them. Some highlights(sadly unaccompanied by photos):
-the hot butter rum cake at Harry's Detour on Cooper...the best rum cake ever, and I should know, I've toured a rum cake factory.
-the garlicky bread at Lavoro's Pizza Pasta Panini on Summer...you have to (like it's a chore) order an entire loaf, and yr breath will be super stinky, but it's SO WORTH IT.
-the guacomole at Las Delicias on Park...basically just avocado chunks and pico de gallo. So so good. It reminded me of the guac of legend, from that fateful day in Mexico when I took advantage of under-21 drinking and $4 drinks and tried to turn on all the stray pregnant dogs on the beach to the wonders of the best guac ever. Bitches wouldn't take it! What kind of dog behavior is that!(Probably screaming "EAT DA GUAC!!!!" was not the best way to endear myself to them).
That's all for now...

Buttercup Pound Cake

I found this recipe in an ancient cookbook that once belonged to my grandmother. It was the 1950s and convenient foods were the current national obsession. This was one of the only recipes in the whole damn book that didn't involve any canned items. Despite the lack of enticing recipes, this thing is SO FUN to look through. There is a dish called "Clam Dunk"! I was almost crying laughing when I saw that(probably a sign of mental instability, but what are you gonna do).
Anyway, I was drawn to this recipe because of its name, which I thought was seasonally appropriate. It gets its sunny hue(much more impressive in person) from the four egg yolks in it(no whites). Even though I should have learned my lesson last time, I once again baked a pound cake for the full amount of time suggested. Therefore, it burned. I wasn't using a dark pan, the oven was my parent's super nice, not-too-hot one...I don't know what happened. No matter. It still tastes good (if you ignore the edges) and it will be gobbled up by the vultures tomorrow anyway.
SUGGESTIONS? for a treat for the casino? I'm considering lemon meltaway cookies (lots of buttah) or mint Oreo-style ones. Or should I not bring anything and instead indulge in the EPIC BUFFET?!?
EDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!: dang dude, the casino is actually next week. i'm losing it. i will have to make the mint oreos to console myself.

Maple Oatmeal Bread

The real world is hard. It is 11:15 and I'm about to turn in for the night! How did I use to do this? I went to shows 4 times a week and still managed to be at work on time. The Diet Coke addiction must have been it. Really, my energy levels should not have sapped so much from 19 to 22.
You know what else is hard? Taking good photos of the food I've made. Most of the time my fork is halfway to my freshly-produced baked good when I realize I need to document it. I then position the baked good on some part of my comically inadequate counter space, where my shadow gets in the way (hungry, I guess?) for about 5 photos before I give up and dig in. Maybe I'll buy a book about food styling with the colossal (to me) check I'll be getting from my accidental overtime hours. Too bad I'll probably be too tired to cook.
Oh yeah, the bread. Despite its misleading name, the maple syrup did not impart a taste, merely a moist, cakey consistency to this loaf. (What a great word. Loaf!) It was not sweet at all. It tasted really good if you heated it up and put butter on it, but really, what wouldn't taste good if you heated it up and put butter on it?(Don't answer that.) After Andy and I each had a slice, I took it to work to be sacrificed.
Loaf! Loafing around. Loaf-of-bread pose(for cats). What a loaf of shit. (Just kidding. I made that one up.)