Amy's version of Cassoulet

6:40pm
Terri: What are you doing right now?
Amy: Driving home from the gym.
Terri: Oh… then I guess you wouldn’t want to get a drink.
Amy: Oh…… I’ll drink! We can meet somewhere or you can come over. I have wine, vodka, gin…… well, a ½ bottle of Cotes du Rhone and a ½ bottle of Rioja.
Terri: Should I stop by Ralph’s and get a bottle and have you thought about food?

Have I thought about food? I don’t think I ever stop thinking about food. I did a quick inventory in my head of what I had in my fridge. I decided to make some sort of white bean stew; a quicker version of cassoulet, minus the big cuts of meat. I figured something hearty and comforting would pair well with the rest of my E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone.* I’ve also been on an Iceberg Wedge kick so I asked Terri to pick up a head of lettuce.
Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness, so follow the cooking instructions in order.

Retraction

I would like retract a statement from an earlier post titled "Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich". The post mentioned that Amy, Terri and Erika were the members of the lunch group leaving out a key member: Thad Foucher. We at ATE and myself, Erika Kennedy, would like to sincerely apologize to Thad Foucher and would like to offer him an ATE coupon for one key lime pie as a peace offering. The writers at ATE take all posts seriously and our intentions are not to offend any of its readers and followers. We appreciate all of our readers and followers and thank them for their dedication regardless of my careless mistake.

Sincerely,
Erika Kennedy
(The one who left Thad out and is really really sorry and will make him a delicious key lime for his forgiveness)

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich

Thad, Amy, Terri and I have been alternating each day making lunches for each other. Its been fantastic and a great way to stay healthy/save money. My day was quickly approaching and my mind drew many blanks as I tried to gather what would be DELICIOUS and easy.... I was stressing about lunch. My palms were sweaty and I was overwhelmed (you'd think that my culinary degree would help me out here) and quickly realized that I would be horrible on Top Chef. Then I sat at home and DING! PULLED PORK SANDWICHES! I borrowed Amy's crock pot and picked up the best pork butt on the market and was ready to make some good ole' fashioned bbq. It takes about 12 hours to make so I recommend doing it during the day while you work for a tasty dinner when you get home.

Lemon-Cream Sandwich Cookies

I think it's only fitting that the first post on this blog be about the darn lemon cookies that everyone loved. I found this recipe in the January 2009 Bon Appetit magazine. I was flipping through it at Amy's house one day and the recipe caught my eye - I HAD to try these. I snuck the magazine out under my arm when she wasn't looking (I think I may still have it; sorry Amy). After 3 trips to the store and some creative improvisation with a champagne flute instead of a cookie cutter, I had WAY more than the 24 cookies the recipe says it makes. I brought them into the office the next day, and haven't heard the end of it since.
I haven't had the original ones from Citizen Cake yet, but if they are anything like these, they're worth the trip up to San Francisco.
Enjoy!
~T