And you might have noticed that my recipe review dates don't actually match the dates they are posted on. You are entirely correct - I post my recipes the week after I made them. For example, this is titled 3/19/07. This is because this is the week I was making the recipes. Then I post on the following Monday. Odd yes...but it works for me! But let's discuss food rather than dates (unless it is a date that involves food...).
Spiced Roasted Chicken (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 07, pg 195) 7
The temperatures hit 48* on Saturday and how could I not grill something? This recipe called for the chicken to be baked, but there is just something about the smell of roasting meat outside in March that just gets the taste buds excited (and the neighbors envious). This was a very simple recipe - mix together oregano, crushed coriander, salt, cumin and olive oil. Make into a paste and spread under the skin of the bird. I then liberally spread olive oil all over the skin as well and topped with a dash of salt. As I had a 6lb bird (!) I grilled it at 375* for about 2 hours (my thermometer registered 175*).
You'll get a kick out of this! I realized at the conclusion of cooking, while I was admiring the rotisserie like skin and golden hue, that I had cooked my bird upside down! Oops. Oh well, those breasts stayed incredibly moist. I should have taken a picture.
Couscous Salad with Chickpeas and Tomatoes (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 07, pg 172) 6
My eating habits begin to shift this time of year, moving away from heart stews, whole grain breads to more lighter fare. Not wanting another soup this week, I chose this simple yet tasty salad. I did sub Israeli couscous for regular (I prefer the texture and size) otherwise the rest remained the same: chickpeas, diced tomato, feta cheese, calmata olives, parsley and minced red onion all tossed in a very simple olive oil vinaigrette. This dish is very reminiscent of something I've had before but I haven't taken the time to dig through my notes. Still, a very nice lunch when combined with a few crunchy chips and some grapes.
Lemon-scented (Raspberry) Cupcakes (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 07, pg 162) 6
These were a grand prize winner in some Ckng Lght recipe contest and originally made with blueberries. I had impulse bought a little tub of raspberries and decided they would work just as well. For being a grand prize winner, I was slightly disappointed in these cupcakes. I felt the lemon scent was hardly there (and I used fresh lemon rind) and they just weren't very...cupcakeish. The cupcake recipes I reviewed a couple weeks ago were much better.
Now it could also be that I didn't add the frosting. Maybe the frosting made the little cake, but in my opinion a little cake should stand on it's own without frosting.
Roasted Salmon with Fresh Veggies (CL Jan/Feb 07, pg 196) 7
(Darn system is doing that funky thing again.) I really liked this recipe. It was simple, it was quick and most importantly, it tasted good! A baking potato is cut into wedges (please keep in mind I cut this recipe in 1/4's) and is tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper and green beans. The potato wedges are at 450* for 10 minutes. The green beans, tomatoes (also now tossed in olive oil and seasonings) and salmon are added. The salmon is drizzled with Worchestershire sauce and lemon juice and everything goes back in for 18 minutes at 425*. This dish came out perfectly! In fact, I made it again the next night on the grill because my power was out when I got home. Turned out just as good.
3 comments:
I don't know how you find the time to do all this cooking. Oh, yeah, I remember--you spend a lot less time on the computer than I do. :)
I made one new recipe this weekend--a meatball soup out of Taste of Home, which I was given a subscription to. It made a lot, and it's only so-so. But I'll get a few meals out of it before I get tired of it and throw out the rest.
Oh, and interestingly enough, I've been thinking of making cupcakes, too. And then the new issue of Taste of Home arrived, and it was devoted to cupcakes. There must be something in the air this month.
I actually don't spend that much time cooking. A couple-three hours on the weekend and maybe one small meal mid-week. I tend to pick recipes that I can assemble then walk away from (soups, stews, grilled chicken, bread). Or short to prepare recipes (fish, chicken, pasta, cookies, cupcakes). Then I eat the same thing for lunches/suppers for 4 or 5 days.
Or like last weekend I made sweet potato samosas. The recipe makes like 14 little pies so I baked three and froze the rest into individual servings for May when I won't have any time to cook because of work.
I just made cupcakes yesterday! A lemon-poppysead with a raspberry jam filling. I skipped the frosting. Yummmm...
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