Fire and Ice

Hi Laurel here...Mark and I just sat down to another full day of 90210, beginning with "Fire and Ice".  I made us creamy papperdelle pasta with bacon and leeks that is pretty heavy hitting in the calorie department but worth it.  Mark made us a lemon rosemary syrup that you are supposed to drink with vodka, but we found we both prefer it with cava.

So this episode Brandon meets a real nice girl at the ice rink (he is playing hockey and she is a figure skater) but even though she really likes him it turns out she is too busy to have a boyfriend, and ends up going back to Texas (???) to pursue her skating career.

I'll let Mark tell you about Brenda...

Mark here...first I'll give a shout out to Laurel for a delicious meal.  When she first said she was making pasta, I wasn't 100% sold, but the combo of bacon, leeks and cream sauce was amazing! So well done Laurel!!

On to the episode...basically this was a boring but inoffensive episode.  Boring, because who really cares about Brandon dating a figure skater?  Inoffensive because there's no Andrea!!  Anyway, there's also a subplot about Brenda getting a job as a sales girl with a bitchy boss who steals her commission. But once Brenda tells Cindy, they devise the most ridiculous comeuppance scheme.  It involves Cindy dressing as a "rich woman" and letting the boss think she's going to get a huge commission and then not buying anything.  Hilarity ensues, but Cindy's outfit makes it worth it...let's just say it involves a head wrap.

The quote of note this episode has to be when said figure skater breaks up with Brandon and says, "I'll always remember you as the guy who gave me my first burrito"  Really, watching the episode was worth it for this line alone!

The style award goes to...Brenda's bed, although it was a tough call,  what with Cindy's ensemble and a scene with Brandon and Steve's shirts, but really, this bed is hideous!!

Creamy Pappardelle with Bacon and Leeks

Hey guys!  This recipe is originally from Bon Appetite but I found it here at Epicurious.  We are still slogging through season 2 of 90210.  I am serving it with an arugula salad to make us feel better about eating a pasta with sauce made of cream and bacon fat.

It turned out really good!  I did it pretty much according to the directions but I left out the oil and butter in the beginning, which seemed like bringing sand to the beach.  I had been planning to serve it with a poached egg on top to make it more brunchy but I forgot.  It was great on its own.  I will definitely make this again!

Also I wanted to let you guys know at Trader Joes they have this amazing applewood smoked bacon that is around $10 a pound, but they also have "ends and pieces" of the same stuff for $3 a pound which was perfect for this recipe.  I bought a condo so I am frugal now.


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano

Preparation:

Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring often, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 5-8 minutes. Add leeks and season with salt. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until leeks begin to brown, 5-8 minutes. Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.

Add pasta, Parmesan, and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce and stir to coat. Increase heat to medium and continue stirring, adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta.