Details at 11:00

If you're even the most casual of food blog readers, you've no doubt heard of Columbia Pictures' film "Julie & Julia" (hated it). Well, Blogger Dot Com Pictures proudly presents, for this weekend only, a Blog O. Food Production: Jamie & Julia.

Friday's showing:

Shell Pasta with Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce - by Jamie Oliver

Seating begins at 7:30 PM.

Saturday's showing:

Boeuf à la Bourguignonne - by Julia Child

Reservations for 8:00 PM only.

Miss Muffy, accompanied by the Doyenne of Chebeague, Ms. Natalie is descending on Southampton for the weekend, and I am playing host. I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl right now.

So, something light on Friday to whet the appetite, and then the real show stopper Saturday evening.

I've got my shopping lists, I've read and re-read all the instructions. I feel confidently that I could prepare both dishes in my sleep. On Sunday, results will be posted.

Stay tuned - Blog O. Food

An Exercise in Far Eastern Sensibilities

I almost broke down and ordered Chinese food tonight. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's not as if I'm on some sort of deprivation kick (although I freely admit to being a colossal food snob), it's just that it kills me to spend good money on bad take out. Even when I'm in absolutely no mood to cook, digging into the junk draw for the menus piled at the bottom of all the detritus we collect is an act of last resort. But the hankering for something Asian remained. What was in the cupboards?

Pasta in all shapes and sizes, sesame seeds, soy sauce, even the dregs of some peanut butter. The chill chest held a sad looking piece of ginger from god knows where, and frozen chicken breasts. The mind reeled.

Double Happiness Chicken Asian Noodles - by Blog O. Food

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves ⅛ cup sesame seeds ¼ cup peanut butter, I like chunky 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ Tbsp fresh ginger, minced 2½ Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp rice vinegar ½ tsp hot sauce 1 Tbsp light brown sugar 8 oz Perciatelli* pasta ½ Tbsp Asian sesame oil ½ Tbsp peanut oil 2 green onions, thinly julienned ½ carrot, grated *Long strands of pasta. Fatter versions of spaghetti that have a hollow center running the length of the noodle.

Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reserve a half-tablespoon of sesame seeds in a small bowl.

Along with the peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce and brown sugar, pour the remaining sesame seeds into the bowl of a food processor, set with a steel blade. Purée until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

With the machine running, drizzle in just enough hot water to form a creamy consistency to the sauce (a couple tablespoons). Set sauce aside.

Preheat the broiler on your oven, and place the broiler rack 6 inches away from the heat source. Heat the rack. Meanwhile, bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot.

Spray hot broiler rack with vegetable spray and set chicken breasts to broil until lightly browned on top, about 6 minutes. Carefully turn breasts with tongs and continue to broil until internal temperature reaches 160°, another 6-8 minutes. Transfer breasts to a cutting board, lightly tent and allow to rest. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces.

While chicken rests, add noodles to boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Drain thoroughly, then pour into a large mixing bowl. Toss noodles with sesame and peanut oils to evenly coat. Add chicken, green onions, carrot and peanut sauce and toss to combine. Divide among soup bowls and sprinkle each with reserved sesame seeds and a little extra green onion for color. Enjoy with an ice cold Chinese or Japanese beer, or warm sake.

Again with the rinsed noodles, I know, I know!!! I've made sesame noodles several times now, and if you don't rinse the starch off the noodles after cooking, the next day's lunch is more of a gummy peanut butter paste than a pleasant reminder of last night's dinner. Ordering take out would most definitely be justified then. Also, most recipes call for a whole tablespoon of sesame oil for tossing with the noodles. I always think the dish tastes slightly burnt that way, so I cut the sesame with a little peanut oil and get, I think, just the right amount of toasty sesame flavor. Two breasts and a half-pound of noodles ought to serve 4 people.

Well, I saved about twelve dollars in food and delivery charges and can still look myself in the mirror. That made me doubly happy. I'm not judging anyone who picks up the phone or heads to the drive-thru instead of facing the dilemma of what to put on the table. There just may be an easy, tasty, money-saving alternative. I'm just sayin'!

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food

You... You Bean Eater, You!

On the whole, I'd have to say that a career built around the academic calendar is a good thing. Lots of 3-day weekends, plenty of holiday breaks and flexible summer hours. If it weren't for the students, universities would be ideal working environments. (I kid, I kid!) After returning to New York from Pop O'Food's desert pleasure palace, I had an extra week between Christmas and New Year before our offices re-opened. I was just full of energy. I exhausted that winter surplus in a 3-day burn of transformation. My apartment went from retro college dorm room to a New World Order of tidiness. Anything that hadn't seen the light of day in six months or more went straight down the garbage chute, no exceptions, save for this one: I stumbled on a stack of Cook's Illustrated magazines tucked behind some old day planner binders. Are you familiar with this periodical? You should be. It's sort of a stand-alone companion guide to America's Test Kitchen as seen on your local PBS station. The magazine is intuitive,  straightforward and always user-friendly. So, taking a little break between organizing bath linens and lining kitchen drawers, I did a little once-over twice with the recipes. I set aside about 8 magazines for further perusal. The remainder await an uncertain fate with the recycling bin, or maybe my ever-expanding recipe notebook. The jury's still out.

I was going stag on Long Island this weekend, a great excuse for pizza and Chinese food, but I resisted those ever-constant cravings. No, I would have a cold weather soup instead. Recipe author, Charles Kelsey, did admirable research for a cannellini bean stew, and in homage to those efforts, I put his recipe to the test. The title of this post is a half-hearted insult founded on Mr. Kelsey's claim that Tuscans are known as mangiafagioli, or "bean eaters", since legumes often top the bill of fare in Tuscany. The way I figure it, if it's good enough for Firenze, it's good enough for Southampton, so why not poke fun of it!

Fortuitously, I was in the mood for something hearty and (mostly) healthy. Something that would tide me over through Sunday afternoon without a lot of fuss or fancy ingredients. Kelsey's twist on a classic Tuscan dish was a long, slow baking at a low, low temperature, preventing beans from exploding into mush over too high a heat on the stovetop. He just may be on to something here.

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew - adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Table salt 1 lb dried cannellini beans, rinsed and picked over 1 Tbsp extra-virgin alive oil 8 oz pancetta*, cut into ½-inch cubes 1 large onion, chopped medium 2 celery stalks, cut into ½-inch pieces 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces 10 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 3 cups water 2 bay leaves ½ bunch kale or collard greens, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed 1 sprig fresh rosemary Ground black pepper Thick slices of rustic French or Italian bread, toasted *If you are a reader from the hinterlands, Lewisburg, PA, for instance, replace pancetta with thick-cut bacon.

Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt in 4 quarts of cold water in a large container. Add beans and soak at room temperature over night. Drain and rinse well.

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 250° F. Heat oil and pancetta (I did say mostly healthy) in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta is lightly browned and fat has rendered, 6-10 minutes. Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, all their moisture is cooked off, and they are lightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, water, bay leaves and soaked beans. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are almost tender (very center of beans will still be firm), 60-75 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and stir in greens and tomatoes. Return pot to oven and continue to cook until beans and greens are fully tender, another 45-60 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and submerge rosemary sprig in stew. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and rosemary and season stew with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, use the back of a spoon or emersion blender to break down some of the beans and thicken the stew. Serve over thick toasted bread slices and drizzle with extra olive oil.

Hearty doesn't begin to describe this soup . Just try to imagine all those whole firm beans, substantial vegetables, salty pancetta and big garlic flavor. Now you're beginning to get the picture. I adjusted the recipe's cooking times just a bit as my beans were ever so slightly chewy at the first turn. I also nudged up the garlic intake. It is, after all, an Italian dish and I was alone. Who was gonna complain?

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food