together on a plate

I recently discovered the Instagram app and I love it. It's part photography, part social media, all in one fell swoop. Here are some things that have been making me happy lately, with the help of Instagram:

cinnamon roll from Amycakes with caramel and pecans

jason's newest love, the '74 mini

what was left of our dinner tonight: betsy's mushroom risotto with fried spinach and pork chops.

Sometimes, you just need things, and those things come in the form of creamy risotto and pork meat together on a plate. I found a great food site, TasteSpotting, which was listed in my girl Gwyneth's (you know the one) newsletter of great food blogs. It aggregates photos and recipes from lots of different sites in a very nice presentation. I searched for risotto recipes because I finally had a free night with enough time to actually make risotto, and I found this recipe.I followed their method, but changed it up by using some of the liquid from reconstituted shitake mushrooms like our friend Betsy does with her risotto, and chopping up the mushrooms to add to the rice. It was perfect. Instead of lamb, I decided on pork chops. The spinach gets cooked in the juices from the pork and makes a delicious in-between layer of greens. 

So sometimes, if you're lucky, your wife will come home on a night that she doesn't have class or work and will fix you a scratch meal that takes awhile. Because taking awhile tastes better, usually.