List of Things to Kill Time, a.k.a, the "Weekend List"

Chill

Dallas

Lafayette

Museums

Historic Sites

Arts & Architecture

Neighborhoods

Parks

Hikes

Food (local & Midwest)

Shopping

Books

Movies

TV

Food to Cook

Music to Listen To

Restaurants to Try

Multicourse Meals

Recipes

Sweet iced tea

Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

  1. Steep tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes. Don’t over-steep.
  2. Remove bags. Stir in sugar until dissolved.
  3. Add cold water. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve over ice.

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Grissini torinesi

Serves 4 ·  24 breadsticks

Ingredients

Method

  1. Combine flour, yeast, salt. Add water and olive oil. Knead 8 minutes until smooth.
  2. Cover, rest 1 hour until puffy.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment.
  4. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Roll each into a thin rope, 10–12 inches long. Sprinkle with sesame or rosemary if using.
  5. Bake 18–22 minutes until golden and fully crisp, rotating halfway. Cool completely on a rack.

Underbaked grissini go soft quickly — when in doubt, give them 3 more minutes.

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Whipped ricotta

Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

  1. Whip ricotta, cream cheese, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor or stand mixer for 2 minutes until smooth and airy.
  2. Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, top with lemon zest and thyme or pepper. Refrigerate until serving.

Make at least 1 hour ahead.

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Caprese salad with arugula

Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

  1. Spread arugula across the platter as the base.
  2. Alternate mozzarella and tomato slices over arugula. Tuck basil between slices.
  3. Right before serving, drizzle with olive oil. Season with flaky salt and pepper. Add balsamic glaze if using.

Don’t dress ahead — tomatoes weep and arugula wilts.

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Melanzane pizza with pesto

Serves 4

Dough (from your meal prep recipe)

Makes 8 portions ( 142 g each). Freeze individually; thaw in fridge overnight before use. Use 1 portion per pizza.

Toppings (per pizza)

Method

  1. Night before: Combine all dry dough ingredients. Add oil and water, mix until shaggy. Knead until dough passes the windowpane test ( 10 min by hand). Divide into 8 balls ( 142 g each), place in oiled containers, ferment in fridge 24–72 hours. Freeze unused portions.
  2. Day-of: Lay eggplant in a single layer, sprinkle with salt, rest 30 minutes. Pat completely dry.
  3. Brush slices with olive oil. Roast at 425°F (220°C) for 20–25 min, flipping halfway.
  4. Place pizza stone or steel on top rack. Preheat oven to maximum (500–550°F) for at least 45 minutes.
  5. Pull dough 1 hour before baking. Stretch by hand to a 12-inch round — no rolling pin.
  6. Transfer to floured peel or parchment. Top with mozzarella, parmesan, then eggplant. Bake 8–10 minutes until blistered and charred in spots.
  7. Remove from oven. Spoon pesto over immediately. Slice and serve.

Pesto goes on after baking — heat destroys basil.

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Brown butter biscoff ice cream

Serves 4 · Make the day before

Ingredients

Method

  1. Brown butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat until amber and nutty,  5 min. Pour into a bowl to stop cooking.
  2. Heat milk and half the cream until steaming. Whisk yolks and sugar. Slowly pour hot cream into yolks while whisking. Return to pan, stir over medium-low until it coats a spoon (170°F / 77°C).
  3. Off heat, stir in browned butter, Biscoff spread, vanilla, and salt. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
  4. Stir in remaining cream. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
  5. Churn in ice cream maker  25 minutes until thick and creamy.
  6. Transfer to container. Fold in crushed cookies if using. Freeze at least 6 hours until firm.

No ice cream maker? Freeze in a shallow dish and stir vigorously every 30 minutes for 3 hours.

Lemon Cake

Special Equipment

Ingredients

Cake:
Glaze:
Instructions