Girls' Night In

I had another awesome craft night with my friend Anna last night.  We both had to take the Foreign Language Proficiency exam on campus at 3, so we carpooled to that, and then headed to her place to unwind.  (She's pretty sure she passed, and I HOPE I did!)  

It was so great to chill out and throw together an easy meal before vegging out on the couch and watching Project Runway (yes, I've finally gotten sucked in :).  We also watched an episode of Househunters International that was AMAZING.  An American couple with 6 kids looking for homes in Normandy.  I have a few new dream homes now.  :)

While we watched, we worked on our latest projects.  Sneak peek!

Anna had a recipe from Ina Garten for Orzo with Roasted Vegetables that was so delicious, and while we were waiting for the vegetables to roast we made Little Fellows (her great-grandmother's recipe for lemon tartlets).  I rolled out the pastry dough while she made the filling.  I don't know why, but there's something incredibly satisfying and relaxing about rolling out pastry dough.  (Not so for cookie dough, for some reason I find rolling out cookie dough to be so frustrating).  

I found the recipe for the Orzo here.  And I'll post it below.

I'll ask Anna if she'll do a blog post for her great-grandmother's Little Fellows and I'll link to it.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

• Ingredients:
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4 inch diced
• 1 red bell pepper, 1 inch diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 inch diced
• 1 red onion, peeled and 1 inch diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb orzo pasta or 1/2 lb rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice  (2 lemons)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

To assemble:

• 4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
• 1/4 cup pignolis, toasted (pine nuts)
• 3/4 lb good feta, 1/2 inch diced (not crumbled)
• 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

• Directions:

  1. 1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. 2.  Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan.
  3. 3.  Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
  4. 4.  Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender.
  5. 5.  Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.
  6. 6.  Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
  7. 7.  For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables.
  8. 8.  Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil.
  9. 9.  Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.
     
     
     Yum :)
     
     
  
  
  
  
  
  edited to add:  
  Anna's already posted about her lemon tartlets here!  Check out her blog too, I love the Marie Antoinette decor.  For last night, we actually used a sweet pastry crust recipe from joyofbaking.com.  It was fantastic.  Thanks, Anna!