a new dinner!

My break is almost here! I'm at that point in the quarter where I have a few more hours to put into housework, crafting, watching old movies (Annie Hall and North by Northwest the other night) and cooking. Especially on the cooking and housework fronts, my boyfriend deserves a break - he has to do almost all of it during the thick of the quarter, so once my schedule frees up, I like to start treating him back, as a way to say "thanks!"



So, last night I made the Pressed Chicken with Chestnuts, Porcini, and Cipollini Onions from Sunday Suppers. I served it on the carrot puree that they made as well. It was really, really good! New things are hit or miss around here, and he did NOT like the last recipe I made from them (a salad of watermelon and mint with caramelized onions and feta - I thought it was awesome, by the way), so he was really skeptical. But, a total hit this time. We'll definitely be doing this again.



I paired it with a pear crisp loosely adapted from Gordon Hammersley's Bistro Cooking at Home: I cored and chopped 5 pears and mixed the fruit with about 1/2 c. dried cranberries, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, and about 1/4 c. sugar. Mix together, pour into a glass baking dish. Top with a crumble topping made of oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. I don't bother measuring this anymore, but there are lots of options on epicurious if you need a little help. Bake at 350 F for 40-55 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and topping is lightly browned. (We top ours with a splash of cream.) Yum!