Carrot orzo and Lane Kim

Every Tuesday night, I make dinner with friends. At first it was always with HEO, but lately the crowd has grown. The draw of "Gilmore Girls," good friends, homemade food, wine, etc makes for a good evening.

Last week, I was planning on making a dal, but one friend doesn't eat lentils so I had to rethink my menu. I combed around epicurious and found a recipe for carrot orzo. Who knew how tasty it would be? The carrot gives an earthy and sweet flavor. Green onions, rosemary, parmesan cheese finish it deliciously. Also, for those of you who may want to try this at home, I substituted olive oil for the butter.

It's healthy comfort food. I made it again today for T and J for lunch along with some spicy blanched bean sprouts. When a vegetarian and a meat & potatoes kind of guy both wolf something down with gusto, it must be good. I think I've found a new kitchen favorite. We're making fondu this evening... Nerb has taken off for a week in Los Angeles and was kind enough to bequeath his Emmental cheese... So we will make the most of it and also look forward to some possible blogging from LA.