And so the week comes to an end...

It's been a pretty good food week for us around Casa Hunger. Knowing we're headed into the time of being a bit more conscious of our food purchases and also knowing our Entertainment book coupons are about to expire, Henry and I headed to our very favorite place - the Wingdome!

We had just been to the rally before the Sounder match and although we didn't have tix we attended, tried to get tee shirts for fan appreciation (they ran out about 10 peeps before us), lent some support and stopped by the Wingdome for an order to go; 2 each orders of 10 wings, 3 alarm and an order of hot cross fries - waffle cut fries tossed in 3 alarm sauce and topped with bleu cheese. While we waited, we got a few drinks at the nearby market and then headed home with our bounty to watch the Sounder FC match. Anyway, suffice to say it was truly wonderful to have a great treat and watch the home team win the last game of the season all with my son and best pal on a Saturday night.

Last weekend I made a yummy cottage pie with lots of vegetables and enjoyed that through the week except for the day the majority of the team did Thai takeout; mmm Mussaman curry. This has been a pretty cool week temperature wise and the cottage pie was a real tasty treat; hearty and savory break for the workday.

Thursday Henry and I attended a meet & greet for Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljundberg from the sounders and afterward he played some football in the parking lot of the Home Depot where the event was held then he suggested the nearby taco truck for dinner; I was pretty surprised but it's one of my favorites so no argument from me. This one is called El Camion and Henry announced "This Rocks!" after the first bite of his tacos de pollo. He tried my gorditas with carne asada and liked that almost as much. He let me know he'll take his Mum there and that he and I can return any time. I love that he's getting more and more adventurous all the time.

Friday I introduced the Younger Hunger to spaghetti carbonara and he decreed it to be awesome. This was a fine frugal Friday evening, usually a night set aside for pizza but I fell asleep on the couch after a big week at work and it was too late to start the dough. Enter carbonara...

Spaghetti Carbonara

• 1lb Spaghetti, dry
• 2 slices Bacon, thick cut - diced
• 1Tbl Olive oil
• 2 Garlic cloves, small
• 4 Egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp Salt, Kosher
• 1/2 Cup Heavy cream
• 2oz Asiago cheese, grated

1. Boil spaghetti & reserve the cooking liquid
2. While the spaghetti cooks, cook the diced bacon in the olive oil over medium heat
3. When the bacon is crisp, add the garlic and turn off the heat stirring to cook slightly
4. Whisk the egg yolks with the salt and add the cream while continuing to whisk together; set aside
5. Add the drained pasta to the pan with the bacon and garlic tossing in the oil & fat - if the pasta sticks, add some of the pasta water to release from the bottom of the pan
6. Add the combined egg yolks and cream plus the cheese
7. Stir the sauce into the pasta, the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs and it must be stirred well to keep from scrambling the eggs
8. Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste and serve

This evening it's been another drear rainy day here in the PNW so I needed something hearty again that would yield a few leftovers so tonight it was mushroom risotto - simple, hearty, rich and an old standby for me. I nearly always have the makin's in the cupboard and it was a fine way to end the week and begin the leftovers for lunches (although I have one portion of cottage pie left, it was a big batch).

Mushroom Risotto

• 2 Cups Arborio rice
• 2 Cups White wine
• 4 Cups Chicken stock, very warm
• 1/2oz Garlic, fresh minced
• 8oz Yellow onion, diced
• 8oz Mushrooms, button or cremini or whatever you have
• 1tsp Thyme, fresh
• 1/4tsp Crushed red pepper
• 1Tbl Olive oil
• 2Tbl Butter
• 4oz Asiago cheese, grated

1. Melt the butter with the oil over medium low heat
2. Add the garlic, crushed red pepper and thyme increasing heat to medium
3. Add the onions and sweat with a pinch of kosher salt until translucent
4. Add the mushrooms and stir cooking until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and it has evaporated
5. Add the rice and stir to coat each kernel with the remaining oil until it glistens
6. Add the wine and reduce the heat to medium low again
7. Once the liquid is evaporated, add 1 cup of the warm chicken stock and stir until all liquid is evaporated
8. Repeat above step until all stock is consumed and the rice is cooked through but still al dente - if needed water can be added until the rice is done
9. Once the rise is done, add freshly grated black pepper & salt to taste
10. Cook stirring until nearly all liquid is evaporated but still a little gravy like
11. Stir in the grated cheese and serve immediately

Tonight, I added some frozen peas and the heat of the risotto thawed the peas quickly and it added a nice green color and another dimension of flavor. Later in the week I can make risotto cakes fried crisp and serve them under braised greens or sauteed broccoli with garlic. It makes and fine leftover lunch as well.

That about rounds up the week, more later...

Hasta