Ashley's Test Kitchen

"I hear your risotto is tremendous."
"It is tremendous, sir."

- The V.U.P. and the maitre d' in "Ocean's 13"

Occasionally I get bored with my usual menu, and for good reason. Left to my own devices, I'll make one or two things and eat leftovers for two weeks.

It's a hazard of living alone.

This week, however, is a Test Kitchen week. Every once in awhile I gather up some of the recipes I've considered possible for group meals and try them on myself. Last night was an appetizer night; tonight, a feast of epic proportions.

The non-Test-Kitchen part was chicken (marinated overnight in wine) grilled on many first-edition George Foreman Grill (a hand-me-down from my mother and one of the things I use most often) with vegetables, topped off with fresh basil. Tasty. The scary part? I finally attempted risotto.

Let me tell you -- it wasn't nearly as difficult as expected.

Although it did almost take longer than my attention span could last.

I'm actually not 100% sure it turned out right, largely because I have nothing with which to compare it, but it was fantastic. Seriously. As in eating-it-out-of-the-pan-with-a-spoon good. I highly recommend finding a recipe and trying it yourself. Don't be intimidated. Just be patient.

The meal wasn't complete without dessert, and ironically enough, this one came about thanks to a craving for ... frosting.

Not just any frosting. My mom's "Snow Peak Frosting," something I haven't had in ... wow. At least eight years.

In any case, I wanted this frosting, and the best way to eat it is on an angel food cake -- which, not coincidentally, was my birthday cake for every birthday I remember up to about age thirteen.

Can I tell you a secret?

Baking purist that I usually am, I have only made an angel food cake from scratch once. I love the stuff, but I don't find it worth the effort (or the 12 wasted egg yolks). Nor do I cook with the gusto of my mom's mom, who made it from scratch without an electric mixer. (If you're confused, that means she whipped 12 egg whites to stiff peaks by hand. Some stories about my grandmother truly astonish me.)

Anyway, I use a box mix. No particular brand -- just a box. And it turns out. Every time.

The frosting is what makes it worthwhile, though ... Two egg whites, some hot corn syrup, and somem time. Yum.

It's just too bad I don't have food coloring. [Author's note: why the heck don't I have food coloring?!] I could have really gone for a pink cake today.