Nobody eat the beef! The beef has gone bad!

Here I am, on my couch, alone on a Tuesday evening. It's just me, my laptop, a Law and Order: SVU rerun and a sushi takeout menu. I know, there's one more thing on my menu, but when I took the steak out of the fridge, I realized that it had frozen and then defrosted into a sickly grayish color that was just about the opposite of appetizing...it's probably not a good idea to eat it. Matt (my husband) is at dinner with some co-workers and I'm on my own here. I tossed the steak because...well, ew. Luckily, it was on super sale, and I had only purchased enough for 2 people exactly, so I only lost about 3 bucks. Maybe I can get to the store to pick up a replacement before the end of the week. Otherwise, we'll just chalk that up to fate and scratch the recipe from the old list, because tonight...tonight is menu-planning night!

Dinner's here!

We've decided that our new grocery shopping day is Friday night. H-Mart is relatively uncrowded on Friday nights - the only time I've ever seen it less than packed! They have a great food court inside, full of wonderful Asian delicacies so we catch dinner there and then do our shopping! I have gym classes on both Wednesday and Thursday nights after work so today's a better time than ever to get this list banged out.


Yesterday I asked you, my lovely faithful readers, what you wanted me to cook over the next few weeks. Alas, only one lonely reader responded. Thank you, Rachel, for suggesting Italian fare. The suggestion of such a vast cuisine couldn't have come at a better time, because today I came home to a delivery: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver! I spoke to Rachel a bit more in depth about what she wanted to learn most about Italian cuisine. She mentioned specifically that she wanted to know how to make lasagna. What a great lesson! But I've decided, because Italian was the only suggestion I received, and because I always get obsessed with new cookbooks, that I will make this menu entirely from Jamie's Italy!

Once we've completed cooking all the recipes I choose for the menu, we'll have a better understanding of some of Italy's greatest dishes, provided of course, with Jamie's special twists. For any of you who decide to purchase the cookbook and follow me through this Italian journey, I'll provide the page numbers of each recipe I choose to use, and of course, how-to pictures!

Who's excited!?

Also, if you are now inspired to send recommendations for menus, I'm always open to them. I'll make a running list and work from it for future menus, so send me your ideas, your questions, and your recommendations!