And so it comes to pass, another year has come and gone. Where oh where do the days go? Looking back, this was a particularly momentous year for me: I took my first trip to Vegas with my youngest sister; my folks moved "up north" and for the first time in a very long time they live 15 miles from me; I changed positions in my department; and the Husband came home from a two year tour in Iraq. I think that's enough change for one year.
What didn't change was my continued exploration of new recipes. But before I give the final recipe tally for the year, I have the last reviews for 2007. Oh my goodness! I just realized I forgot to take any pictures! Drat and bother...I will have to work on that in the new year.
Classic Waffles (Ckng Lght BB/allrecipes.com) 6
These were good. They were a rather sweet waffle that baked up nice and golden. The recipe also made about 14 waffles for me - about 7" circular size. So a nice amount was frozen for later breakfasts. I would make this recipe again.
Roasted Pumpkin and Winter Squash Soup (Ckng Lght Nov 07, pg 258) 6
This used up the last of my 2005 pureed pumpkin, although I did need to modify the recipe just a tiny bit to do so. The recipe calls for roasting cubed pumpkin and butternut squash, then adding to the onion and chicken broth before pureeing the whole batch. I just roasted the butternut squash and combined the pureed pumpkin to heat. Love that immersion blender!
Frosted Sugar Cookies (c/o Karen Z, co-worker) 8
My intent was to make cut out cookies, but time was running out and the dough was ultra sticky and I said screw it and just rolled the dough into balls and squished flat before baking. What I like about these cookies is the almond extract rather than vanilla extract. It gives them just a little extra pop! These baked up into nice soft cookies. I also omitted the frosting and just sprinkled them with colored sprinkles.
Turkey Alfredo Pizza (Ckng Lght Dec 07 ) 8
This was so easy to make - shredded turkey or chicken, drained spinach, Alfredo sauce, fontina cheese and a Biboli crust. That was the base of the pizza. I added artichoke hearts because it just sort of seemed to call for it. Mix the shredded poultry with the spinach and spread on the crust. Add the artichoke hearts and top with about 1/2 cup of the Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle cheese over all - but not to much! Bake and eat. The flavors were good, but as a whole it was bit bland for us. We found ourselves sprinkling ground sea-salt on top. I will be making this again - probably tomorrow night in fact - and I will be adding some procuitto for a bit of seasoning. Mmmm....
Barbecue Spareribs (Cooks Illustrated, Jan/Feb 06, pg 11) 8
Oh, my oh, my! Absolutely incredible. And so easy! A seasoning past is made out of mustard, chili powder, Cayenne pepper, and a couple of other things which I am not recalling. This is wrapped in plastic and put back in the fridge for several hours. It was supposed to be for 8-24 hours, but I managed 2 (didn't read the directions far enough in advance). Place aluminum foil in the bottom of a large sheet pan and put a baking rack on top of that. Sprinkle finely ground loose leaf tea on the bottom and put the ribs on the rack. Yes, that's right. Loose leaf tea. Now cover everything super snug and put on a preheated baking stone in a 500* oven for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 250* and carefully pour 1/2 cup of apple juice in the bottom of the pan and close the foil back up again. Bake for another hour or so.
Remove the foil and broil each side for 7-10 minutes.
It seems like a lot, but I was surprised at how easy and smooth everything went. And the taste? It was honestly, melting off the bone tender with a nice spicy zing to it. I only bought one rack of St. Louis baby back ribs (about 2 lbs) and I wish I had bought another one for more leftovers. So we had enough for 1 dinner (feeds 2) and 1 leftover lunch for the Husband.
Barbecue Beans (recipe from the Husbands Sister, source ??) mixed review
I had some leftover pinto beans in the freezer from a chili I made several weeks ago and this seemed an opportune time to try this recipe out. It was pretty simple - pre-made bbq sauce (or homemade works too, but I had a little jar I needed to use up), ketchup, mustard, molasses, maple syrup, and brown sugar and mix with the beans and cook. Now the sauce was fantastic - sauce-y, tangy and spicy. The beans...well, if there were some way to scrape the sauce off the beans and pitch the beans I would have. Somehow, between making the beans, freezing the beans, thawing the beans and reheating the beans they became even more crunchy and starchy than before. I really wish I had used bottled water when making them.... oh well. I'll try this recipe again with better beans.
Sourdough starter (The Bread Bible by Beth Henspberger)
A while back, in one of his homebrew magazines, the Husband found a recipe for making sourdough starter from the dregs of the homebrewing process. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to find the article since then. But after pointing out several of my baking books, he found an acceptable substitute and last week he started the starter. It is a combination of organic rye flour, AP flour, plain natural yogurt, the dregs from 3 bottles of homebrew topped off with warm water and sugar. This has been carefully tended and stirred and sniffed. Yes, each morning we anxiously sniff the starter trying to determine if it smells "citrus-y", "tangy", and well, "right". Yesterday he fed the starter for the first time and whoo! by mid-morning it was happily percolating away. Folks, I think we have a success! We'll be making a batch of Sourdough Rye Bread on New Years Day.
And to end the year, I have started a batch of Homemade Vanilla. I don't have a specific recipe, but pulled from several sources. Basically, a bottle of vodka and 5 sliced vanilla beans. Let sit 3 months or longer. Shake every couple of days or so.
And (drum roll please.....) the recipe tally for 2007 is:
118
My goal was 120 so I am satisfied with where I hit. Next year I am aiming for 134.
Here is a comparison of past years:
2006 - 103
2005 - 137
2004 - 143
2003 -154
2002 - 129
Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Recipe Review 12/17/07
Here we are, 2007 is winding down, Christmas and New Year’s Eve is almost upon us, and I’m frantically trying to make 120 new recipes this year. It’s going to be close, real close! I need to do some baking to help bump up those numbers, perhaps some cookies, or holiday bread, maybe some muffins...mmmm, all of those sound good.
In the meantime, I have a couple of main dishes for review:
Green Chili-Chicken Enchiladas (Ckng Lght, Dec 2007, pg 126) 7
These go with the Green Chili Sauce I review next. Pretty simple to make, especially once I made a couple of modifications. The recipe calls to boil 4 - 6oz chicken breasts in chicken broth, with diced onion and garlic. I personally thought it would be a heck of a lot easier and more flavorful to just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it ahead of time. So I did. And yes, it did make assembly easier. The chicken is then mixed with sour cream and chopped onion and rolled into the corn tortilla’s and topped with the green chili sauce and cheese. Overall, this was tasty, but I still thought the chicken/sour cream mixture could have been a bit more flavorful with the addition of red or green peppers and maybe something else.
Green Chili Sauce (Ckng Lght, Dec 2007, pg 128) 7
This was simple to make and nicely tangy. Six Anaheim peppers are blackened under the broiler and steamed in a zippy bag to allow the skins to slip right off. Onions are sauteed on the stove, to which broth, the peppers and seasonings are added. Once everything has softened, it’s blended together to make the sauce. The recipe calls for using the blender, but if you have a handy-dandy immersion blender (my favorite!) it simplifies things greatly. If it wasn’t for this sauce, the enchilada’s would have been really bland.
This was simple to make and nicely tangy. Six Anaheim peppers are blackened under the broiler and steamed in a zippy bag to allow the skins to slip right off. Onions are sauteed on the stove, to which broth, the peppers and seasonings are added. Once everything has softened, it’s blended together to make the sauce. The recipe calls for using the blender, but if you have a handy-dandy immersion blender (my favorite!) it simplifies things greatly. If it wasn’t for this sauce, the enchilada’s would have been really bland.
Moroccan Chickpea Stew (Ckng Lght, Nov 2007, pg 228) 7
This is my lunch today, and, well, for the next week. I love these flavorful soup/stews because not only are they easy to assemble, but they make the perfect amount for the week for lunches. Onion, carrots, garlic and jalapeno are sauteed until soft. Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes, butternut squash (my substitute for forgetting to buy potato's), chickpeas and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. I went 30 because my squash was still a bit crunchy. Recipe recommends serving with couscous or brown rice, but I didn’t have time to make either last night. I will do so later this week.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Recipe Review 12/10/07
So Sunday rolled around and I was on a mission! Suppers! Lunches! Munchies! I was chopping and mixing and stirring and baking...and doing a little knitting in between while watching the Packer game. It was chilly out so it was nice to warm up the house and infuse it with all sorts of good smells.I also made some good progress on the pantry reduction project/challenge. Here’s what got used up:
1 bag (2 ½ lbs) frozen apples from 2004
1 bag cranberries from 2004
partial bag of frozen corn
bag of pinto beans from 2006
tube of ground turkey from the MIL’s
In order it was made: 
Chunky Spiced Applesauce (CL Oct 07, pg 140) 7
It was my original intent to use up the frozen apples in apple butter, but I forgot. So when this recipe showed up I was like...hmm, I can also use the frozen cranberries! Since I had frozen apples I needed to modify the recipe just a tich and skip the first step of dousing in lemon juice. The cranberries were mixed with sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon and brought to a boil until they popped (that is so cool!) and then the apples are added and everything simmered till nice and mooshy. A slight application of a potato masher and ta da! Cranberry applesauce! I thought the sweetness was nicely balanced by the tart berries, and my only complaint was the little residual cranberry skins are a bit unpleasant in the mouth.
Chunky Spiced Applesauce (CL Oct 07, pg 140) 7
It was my original intent to use up the frozen apples in apple butter, but I forgot. So when this recipe showed up I was like...hmm, I can also use the frozen cranberries! Since I had frozen apples I needed to modify the recipe just a tich and skip the first step of dousing in lemon juice. The cranberries were mixed with sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon and brought to a boil until they popped (that is so cool!) and then the apples are added and everything simmered till nice and mooshy. A slight application of a potato masher and ta da! Cranberry applesauce! I thought the sweetness was nicely balanced by the tart berries, and my only complaint was the little residual cranberry skins are a bit unpleasant in the mouth.
Harvest Creamy Corn "Choup" (Every Day with RR, Sept 07 pg 101)
What I like about RR’s recipes, or at least the ones I pick, is they are simple to assemble yet abundant in the flavor dept. This one was also easy to pull together. I had one modification right away - after frying the bacon, I removed them bits and drained some of the bacon grease off. I don’t like soggy bacon and I didn’t need nor want 1/8 cup of bacon grease for flavor.
Otherwise it was a pretty straight forward soup/chowder (ie "choup"). Saute onion, red pepper, zucchini and potato in bacon grease, add seasonings and flour, add chicken broth and bring to a boil and simmer. Add a cup each of cream and milk. This ended up being way to much liquid, so I cut back the milk to ½ cup. I should have also cut back the cream as I would have preferred it more chowder-y than soup. Still, I love these vegetable soups.
Pecan Topped Pumpkin Bread (CL Nov 07, pg 214)I have not yet tasted this bread as it is nicely wrapped up and frozen for later this week. I thought I was going to miss the annual office party, but circumstances dictated otherwise. So, I planned ahead and made a couple loaves of pumpkin bread. Super easy recipe: mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients, combine and bake for an hour. Where I modified was I used 2 eggs for the ½ cup egg substitute. Smelled great, looked nice, and I over baked the loaves by about 5 minutes. Oh well! When all sliced up nobody will notice...
Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins (CL Nov 07, pg 218) 8Now I couldn’t very well make a pumpkin treat and not have *something* for the house! These muffins were the perfect thing and also super easy - wet ingredients meet dry ingredients add in cranberries and bake. What I like about both of these recipes was the minimal oil used. So often zucchini muffins, pumpkin breads, etc all use upwards of a full cup of oil and the end result is a greasy muffin. The pumpkin bread used 1/4 cup per loaf and the muffins were 1/4 cup for the whole recipe. These were moist, flavorful, and delicious (especially while still warm from the oven). I’ll be making these again.
Beef and Beer Chili (CL Sept 07, pg 216) 6*
*I will be the first to admit, I do not care for chili with ground beef in it. And I will also say, I do not care to eat anything that has come out of the MIL’s apartment. So thus it was the Hubby brought home a tube of ground turkey from the MIL’s and we now needed a way to use it up. I came across this recipe and thought perfect! HE can eat the chili for lunch! It was also my intent to make Green Chili Enchilada’s for dinner on Sunday but an emergency run to the Vet ended my cooking for the day. And so I found myself eating chili with ground stuff from the Mother in Laws.
*I will be the first to admit, I do not care for chili with ground beef in it. And I will also say, I do not care to eat anything that has come out of the MIL’s apartment. So thus it was the Hubby brought home a tube of ground turkey from the MIL’s and we now needed a way to use it up. I came across this recipe and thought perfect! HE can eat the chili for lunch! It was also my intent to make Green Chili Enchilada’s for dinner on Sunday but an emergency run to the Vet ended my cooking for the day. And so I found myself eating chili with ground stuff from the Mother in Laws.
The assembly was quick, I’ll give the recipe that. Saute the ground beef (turkey in this case) with onions and bell pepper. Add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon (my addition) and salt. Add beef broth and a bottle of beer and pinto beans. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes then add corn meal for another 5. Serve.
A quick note about the pinto beans - I had a bag of dried beans in the cupboard and decided to use them up (I now have 2 tubs of cooked beans in the freezer waiting for a home). I soaked the beans overnight, then drained and tossed them into the slow cooker with ½ an onion, bay leaves and a clove of crushed garlic to cook on low for 6 hours. The last time I did this it worked great. HOWEVER, I forgot to get a gallon of bottled water this time and my beans ended up a bit firm. Using bottled water makes a huge difference for us, as our well water adversely affects the soaking and cooking.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Recipe Review 12/7/07
Two book reviews in a row! Time for a recipe review and a pantry reduction update. My oh my, December is zipping by quickly. I don’t know that I am going to meet my goal of 120 new recipes for 2007 this year! It’s going to be close, that’s for sure.
Here’s what got made this week:
Chunky Two Bean and Beef Chili (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 140) 7
I haven’t had chili in a while, and the Hubby wanted to make some. So we collectively picked out this recipe and made a few modifications. I don’t care for stew meat, so we used a sirloin steak instead. Neither one of us cares for kidney beans (I’ve tried...just can’t get past their pasty texture) so I subbed black beans. The spice mixture in this recipe was really good - cumin, chili powder, red chili powder, cinnamon, and oregano. I think this combination really made the dish.
We realized later, while reading Cooks Illustrated, that we screwed up the browning of the meat. We (*ahem*, me) put too much meat into the pot which caused it to steam rather than brown. Then we dumped the remainder of the chili ingredients in and I think the meat was a tich overcooked. Learning experience, but the chili still turned out very good.
Greek Style Gyro’s with Tadziki Sauce (Cooks Illustrated, July/Aug 07, pg 13) 7
The Hubby found this recipe while trying to find a stuffed pork chop recipe. The subsequent recipe was fairly quick to assemble, tasted darn good and made a nice amount that could be eaten in a reasonable amount of time by two people - ie two meals. Garlic, onion, a partial slice of pita bread and seasonings are combined in a food processor, then gently mixed with ground chuck and shaped into patties. This is then fried on the stove top to create the nice crust that tastes so good. The meat patties, tadziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and feta cheese all get wrapped in a pita fold, and if one wishes to get fancy, you can wrap them in aluminum foil just like they do in a restaurant.
The tadziki sauce is whole milk yogurt that has been strained for 30 minutes, then combined with cucumbers, lemon juice, garlic and dill. I have not had whole milk yogurt before and was a little apprehensive to have to buy a whole quart tub for a mere 1 cup. But, much to my delight, I actually liked the taste of whole milk yogurt as much as my usual 2% homemade variety or the low-fat that I occasionally buy. I strongly recommend the Stonyfield Farms brand - 6 active cultures, no strange chemicals or HFCS.
Cranberry Pancakes (Eating Well, Nov/Dec 07, pg 30) 6
I had errands to run Thursday with the Hubby, so as a morning treat I dug out this recipe (literally, I couldn’t remember where the recipe was so I had my piles of recent magazines stacked up on the table!). This is from Eating Well’s "Cooking for Two" section, which I didn’t realized until after I made a batch, but please note, this can easily be doubled or tripled.
½ cup of cranberries is tossed in boiling water for two minutes, drained, and set aside. AP Flour, WW Flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder are mixed together. Milk, egg, vanilla and oil are whisked separately. Chop the cooled cranberries, add to liquid, add to dry ingredients. That’s it!
The cranberry flavor was more subtle than I thought it would be, and this made exactly 5 pancakes. I decided this wouldn’t be enough for the Hubby so I quick did small bowls of yogurt, granola and banana. This was a nice change from our usual variations on steel cut oats or old fashioned oats. I would make the pancakes again, but double the recipe.
And what, pray tell, you ask, was the pantry reduction for this week? You are going to like this one: Raspberry Pie! I made a raspberry pie this summer and set it aside for later, and later was this week. My only regret was it turned out really, really runny. I had added extra flour to the berries, but I think I should have added some arrowroot as well. Oh well, it still tasted really good.
Here's a peek at what's coming up next week, I started menu planning last night:
Pumpkin bread
Pumpkin and cranberry muffins
Beef and beer chili
maybe veggie enchiladas
"Choup" (a vegetable chowder soup from Every Day with RR)
Here’s what got made this week:
Chunky Two Bean and Beef Chili (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 140) 7
I haven’t had chili in a while, and the Hubby wanted to make some. So we collectively picked out this recipe and made a few modifications. I don’t care for stew meat, so we used a sirloin steak instead. Neither one of us cares for kidney beans (I’ve tried...just can’t get past their pasty texture) so I subbed black beans. The spice mixture in this recipe was really good - cumin, chili powder, red chili powder, cinnamon, and oregano. I think this combination really made the dish.
We realized later, while reading Cooks Illustrated, that we screwed up the browning of the meat. We (*ahem*, me) put too much meat into the pot which caused it to steam rather than brown. Then we dumped the remainder of the chili ingredients in and I think the meat was a tich overcooked. Learning experience, but the chili still turned out very good.
Greek Style Gyro’s with Tadziki Sauce (Cooks Illustrated, July/Aug 07, pg 13) 7
The Hubby found this recipe while trying to find a stuffed pork chop recipe. The subsequent recipe was fairly quick to assemble, tasted darn good and made a nice amount that could be eaten in a reasonable amount of time by two people - ie two meals. Garlic, onion, a partial slice of pita bread and seasonings are combined in a food processor, then gently mixed with ground chuck and shaped into patties. This is then fried on the stove top to create the nice crust that tastes so good. The meat patties, tadziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and feta cheese all get wrapped in a pita fold, and if one wishes to get fancy, you can wrap them in aluminum foil just like they do in a restaurant.
The tadziki sauce is whole milk yogurt that has been strained for 30 minutes, then combined with cucumbers, lemon juice, garlic and dill. I have not had whole milk yogurt before and was a little apprehensive to have to buy a whole quart tub for a mere 1 cup. But, much to my delight, I actually liked the taste of whole milk yogurt as much as my usual 2% homemade variety or the low-fat that I occasionally buy. I strongly recommend the Stonyfield Farms brand - 6 active cultures, no strange chemicals or HFCS.
Cranberry Pancakes (Eating Well, Nov/Dec 07, pg 30) 6
I had errands to run Thursday with the Hubby, so as a morning treat I dug out this recipe (literally, I couldn’t remember where the recipe was so I had my piles of recent magazines stacked up on the table!). This is from Eating Well’s "Cooking for Two" section, which I didn’t realized until after I made a batch, but please note, this can easily be doubled or tripled.
½ cup of cranberries is tossed in boiling water for two minutes, drained, and set aside. AP Flour, WW Flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder are mixed together. Milk, egg, vanilla and oil are whisked separately. Chop the cooled cranberries, add to liquid, add to dry ingredients. That’s it!
The cranberry flavor was more subtle than I thought it would be, and this made exactly 5 pancakes. I decided this wouldn’t be enough for the Hubby so I quick did small bowls of yogurt, granola and banana. This was a nice change from our usual variations on steel cut oats or old fashioned oats. I would make the pancakes again, but double the recipe.
And what, pray tell, you ask, was the pantry reduction for this week? You are going to like this one: Raspberry Pie! I made a raspberry pie this summer and set it aside for later, and later was this week. My only regret was it turned out really, really runny. I had added extra flour to the berries, but I think I should have added some arrowroot as well. Oh well, it still tasted really good.
Here's a peek at what's coming up next week, I started menu planning last night:
Pumpkin bread
Pumpkin and cranberry muffins
Beef and beer chili
maybe veggie enchiladas
"Choup" (a vegetable chowder soup from Every Day with RR)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Recipe Review and Pantry Challange!
I trust everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. For the first time in five years, I did not host the Big Meal. The honors when to the Mother this year as they recently moved into my neighborhood and it made sense to have the Big Meal there. For one, they have the room and the big table, and two, no hounds for my allergy prone sister to deal with.
But that is not to say I haven’t made any new dishes! No! Indeed not! In fact, the Pantry Challenge tied in quite nicely with the many meals made this past weekend.
Pantry Reduction for 11/19/07:
Cranberries from 2004
Pumpkin from 2005 (went in pumpkin pie - already reviewed recipe here)
Goat cheese (expiration date of Nov)
Butternut Squash from the garden (‘07)
(Confession - I did throw away the frozen watermelon cubes and the smelt from 2001. Ew.)
Let’s start with dessert:
Apple-Cranberry Pie (CI Nov/Dec 07, pg 24) 7
I knew I had two packages of vacuum sealed cranberries frozen in the freezer. What I didn’t realize was how old they were! The date (yes, I date things!) was...2004. Ooo...much embarrassment. This pie would be perfect to use up one bag: the cranberries are combined with oj, sugar and spices and brought to a boil and then simmered on the stove until they reach a jelly-like consistency. As they are cooled, peeled apples are combined with arrowroot (my substitution for cornstarch because I was out) and spices and then simmered on the stove till sticky-glazed. Now this was a major departure from the recipe. The recipe had one doing the apples in the microwave, but I don’t own a microwave and had to modify greatly. Later I read the article that accompanied the recipe and they didn’t recommend simmering the apples because it made them mushy. My apples were mushy to begin with, so eh, do what works.
Other than I think I need to start pre-baking my bottom crusts, reports were very favorable toward this pie. The cranberries added a nice sweet-tart counter point to the apples. I would make this again. Very festive.
Glazed Brussel Sprouts (Duluth News Trib, Wed, Nov 14, Taste Section) 5
This sounded really good, but I confess I managed to screw this recipe up. First, I cut the butter in half, but forgot to cut the brown sugar in half as well. Glaze ended up very runny. Then I over cooked the sprouts. I think this would have been really good if I had paid more attention to my cooking and less to cleaning up dishes.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots (Fine Cooking, Nov 07) 8
I’ve made similar squash dishes and they don’t get much easier than this. Peel and cube a butternut squash. Peel and quarter four shallots. Toss with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed fresh rosemary. Bake. Eat. Yum!
However, the best dish of the weekend wasn’t even a turkey dish! This dish was fantastic and has now become my favorite BBQ Beef recipe:
Barbeque Beef Subs (Everyday with Rachel Ray, Dec/Jan, pg 60) 9
First, I did greatly modify the recipe to make it in the crockpot rather than on the stove top. As the recipe directed, I did cube the beef into 2" chunks and browned them on the stove before putting them in the crock pot. I deglazed the pan with some beer (water or beef stock would also work) and added the liquid to the beef. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.
Meanwhile, combine ketchup, cider vinegar, brown mustard and brown sugar, and warm to blend the flavors. Refrigerate till later. When the beef is done, drain and shred. Add pre-prepared sauce and re-heat. Now here is what really made these stand out (beside the sauce), slice and warm a french baguette, add bbq and serve. Oh. My. Goodness. Fantastic.
I served these with broccoli slaw (broccoli slaw, mayo, sour cream, white wine vinegar and crushed red pepper). When I ran out of baguette, I tried some ciabiatta take-and-bake rolls and those were just as yummy. Leftovers were delicious.
One other note - the recipe as written had some quantity issues. It called for 6 lb beef brisket (!) - I bought 3.5 and that was enough for about 4 meals (with two sandwiches apiece). And even though I halved the beef quantity, there wasn’t enough sauce so I had to double the sauce.
And last, but not least:
Squash, Black Bean and Ricotta Tamales (Eating Well, Dec 2007, pg 89) 7
Ole! A bit of prep on the front end, but a very tasty meal on the back end. This was also venturing into new territory for me - tamales - all the corn stalks and wrapping and what not. But with all said and done, I would do it again.
The dough - masa flour, ricotta, corn grits, oil, baking powder and water are mixed together and set aside.
The filling - pureed squash, black beans, canned diced green chilies, and goat cheese.
Corn stalks are soaked until pliable (note - it takes more than 30 minutes as the recipe states). Dough is smeared down, a dollup of filling placed on top and everything carefully rolled and tied into a nice little bundle. Steam for an hour and eat.
I thought they turned out a tich on the dry side, but I am informed that tamales are like that. I served with some steamed asparagus and a nice meal was had by all.
But that is not to say I haven’t made any new dishes! No! Indeed not! In fact, the Pantry Challenge tied in quite nicely with the many meals made this past weekend.
Pantry Reduction for 11/19/07:
Cranberries from 2004
Pumpkin from 2005 (went in pumpkin pie - already reviewed recipe here)
Goat cheese (expiration date of Nov)
Butternut Squash from the garden (‘07)
(Confession - I did throw away the frozen watermelon cubes and the smelt from 2001. Ew.)
Let’s start with dessert:
Apple-Cranberry Pie (CI Nov/Dec 07, pg 24) 7
I knew I had two packages of vacuum sealed cranberries frozen in the freezer. What I didn’t realize was how old they were! The date (yes, I date things!) was...2004. Ooo...much embarrassment. This pie would be perfect to use up one bag: the cranberries are combined with oj, sugar and spices and brought to a boil and then simmered on the stove until they reach a jelly-like consistency. As they are cooled, peeled apples are combined with arrowroot (my substitution for cornstarch because I was out) and spices and then simmered on the stove till sticky-glazed. Now this was a major departure from the recipe. The recipe had one doing the apples in the microwave, but I don’t own a microwave and had to modify greatly. Later I read the article that accompanied the recipe and they didn’t recommend simmering the apples because it made them mushy. My apples were mushy to begin with, so eh, do what works.
Other than I think I need to start pre-baking my bottom crusts, reports were very favorable toward this pie. The cranberries added a nice sweet-tart counter point to the apples. I would make this again. Very festive.
Glazed Brussel Sprouts (Duluth News Trib, Wed, Nov 14, Taste Section) 5
This sounded really good, but I confess I managed to screw this recipe up. First, I cut the butter in half, but forgot to cut the brown sugar in half as well. Glaze ended up very runny. Then I over cooked the sprouts. I think this would have been really good if I had paid more attention to my cooking and less to cleaning up dishes.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots (Fine Cooking, Nov 07) 8
I’ve made similar squash dishes and they don’t get much easier than this. Peel and cube a butternut squash. Peel and quarter four shallots. Toss with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed fresh rosemary. Bake. Eat. Yum!
However, the best dish of the weekend wasn’t even a turkey dish! This dish was fantastic and has now become my favorite BBQ Beef recipe:
Barbeque Beef Subs (Everyday with Rachel Ray, Dec/Jan, pg 60) 9
First, I did greatly modify the recipe to make it in the crockpot rather than on the stove top. As the recipe directed, I did cube the beef into 2" chunks and browned them on the stove before putting them in the crock pot. I deglazed the pan with some beer (water or beef stock would also work) and added the liquid to the beef. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.
Meanwhile, combine ketchup, cider vinegar, brown mustard and brown sugar, and warm to blend the flavors. Refrigerate till later. When the beef is done, drain and shred. Add pre-prepared sauce and re-heat. Now here is what really made these stand out (beside the sauce), slice and warm a french baguette, add bbq and serve. Oh. My. Goodness. Fantastic.
I served these with broccoli slaw (broccoli slaw, mayo, sour cream, white wine vinegar and crushed red pepper). When I ran out of baguette, I tried some ciabiatta take-and-bake rolls and those were just as yummy. Leftovers were delicious.
One other note - the recipe as written had some quantity issues. It called for 6 lb beef brisket (!) - I bought 3.5 and that was enough for about 4 meals (with two sandwiches apiece). And even though I halved the beef quantity, there wasn’t enough sauce so I had to double the sauce.
And last, but not least:
Squash, Black Bean and Ricotta Tamales (Eating Well, Dec 2007, pg 89) 7
Ole! A bit of prep on the front end, but a very tasty meal on the back end. This was also venturing into new territory for me - tamales - all the corn stalks and wrapping and what not. But with all said and done, I would do it again.
The dough - masa flour, ricotta, corn grits, oil, baking powder and water are mixed together and set aside.
The filling - pureed squash, black beans, canned diced green chilies, and goat cheese.
Corn stalks are soaked until pliable (note - it takes more than 30 minutes as the recipe states). Dough is smeared down, a dollup of filling placed on top and everything carefully rolled and tied into a nice little bundle. Steam for an hour and eat.
I thought they turned out a tich on the dry side, but I am informed that tamales are like that. I served with some steamed asparagus and a nice meal was had by all.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Recipe Review and Pantry Challange!
Date: 11-12-07
Mission: Recipe Review and Pantry Reduction
To find that forgotten, misplaced, buried, long ago forgoten pantry item and find a recipe to use it up!
This weeks items:
Pumpkin (frozen 10/05)
Squash (1 of 29 harvested from this year’s garden. I’ve given away about 10, time to start using the rest)
Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup
The Recipes:
Pumpkin Pecan Pie (Penzey’s Spices Catalog, Holiday 07) 8
Okay, maybe this was cheating a bit starting with frozen pumpkin, but it’s Fall and nothing goes with a Fall Sunday dinner better than a fresh baked pumpkin pie. And this was a really good one. Super simple to assemble - mix pumpkin, sugars, spices, egg and put into a pie crust. Bake. Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, pecans and chilled butter until crumbly. Add to pie and bake 25 more minutes.
This turned out really good. The streusel topping was one of the better toppings I’ve had, though the Hubby felt there was a bit too much. A bit of fresh whipped cream would have tempered the sweetness a bit, but as it was, delicious!
Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables (Cooks Illustrated, Nov/Dec 07, pg 9) 8
Can’t have a Fall Sunday dinner with out some kind of mashed potatoes. I had some parsnips and carrots in the crisper so I just needed a few potatoes. This was another easy and great dish (thinking Thanksgiving worthy here!). In a large saute pan, melt butter until foamy, add diced parsnips and carrot and saute until browned. Add a bit of chicken broth and potatoes and steam (yes! steam!) until done (about 25 minutes). Mash with warmed ½ n ½. Serve. The only way I deviated from this recipe was I didn’t peel the potatoes. This makes a lovely, slightly chunky mashed potato that’s just a tich bit different. Yum!
Pinner’s Pork Roast (Penzey’s One, Vol 1, Issue 5) 8
And of course, the meat! A 3.5lb roast is seasoned with olive oil and a dry rub mixture consisting of Penzey’s Northwoods Seasoning, thyme, cracked rosemary, garlic powder, and onion powder. I let this sit for about an hour, then baked at 325*/350* for two hours with a splash of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan to help keep it moist. Not only was it nice and moist, but I had enough drippings to make a pork gravy (I am gravy impaired and this actually turned out!). Lot’s of yummy leftovers for the week.
Butternut Squashed - Baked.
Peel and cube 1 butternut squash. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake 45 min at 350*. Eat! This has become one of my favorite ways to prepare squash. It bakes up so nice and you can season it anyway you like. Super simple and super tasty.
Sesame-Whole Wheat Bread (The Bread Bible by Beth Henspergers, pg 82) 6
I needed some bread for the week and the Hubby requested something whole wheat. Often I find, when picking a bread recipe, so much depends on what I have available in the cupboard - it seems like I am always missing one little ingredient or another. The first recipe I picked out I didn’t have any sunflower seeds. For this one I had everything necessary. A pretty basic recipe that had three different rises: one for the slurry, and two for the dough. There was an error in the recipe where I had to wing it a bit, when making the ww slurry, it called for milk in the instructions, but gave no amount in the ingredients. I estimated one cup and it worked okay, I made note that if I make this again to perhaps do ½ -2/3 cups. What was unique about this bread was the cornmeal and sesame seeds called for.
Overall, this made a decent loaf, a bit on the dry side but that could have been due to milk quandary (and perhaps a bit over baked).
Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup (reviewed previously on my old Yahoo site) I pulled this out to have with grilled cheese. Quick, simple, warm. Also happens to be my lunch today.
Next weeks mission: goat cheese and dried pinto beans!
Mission: Recipe Review and Pantry Reduction
To find that forgotten, misplaced, buried, long ago forgoten pantry item and find a recipe to use it up!
This weeks items:
Pumpkin (frozen 10/05)
Squash (1 of 29 harvested from this year’s garden. I’ve given away about 10, time to start using the rest)
Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup
The Recipes:
Pumpkin Pecan Pie (Penzey’s Spices Catalog, Holiday 07) 8
Okay, maybe this was cheating a bit starting with frozen pumpkin, but it’s Fall and nothing goes with a Fall Sunday dinner better than a fresh baked pumpkin pie. And this was a really good one. Super simple to assemble - mix pumpkin, sugars, spices, egg and put into a pie crust. Bake. Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, pecans and chilled butter until crumbly. Add to pie and bake 25 more minutes.
This turned out really good. The streusel topping was one of the better toppings I’ve had, though the Hubby felt there was a bit too much. A bit of fresh whipped cream would have tempered the sweetness a bit, but as it was, delicious!
Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables (Cooks Illustrated, Nov/Dec 07, pg 9) 8
Can’t have a Fall Sunday dinner with out some kind of mashed potatoes. I had some parsnips and carrots in the crisper so I just needed a few potatoes. This was another easy and great dish (thinking Thanksgiving worthy here!). In a large saute pan, melt butter until foamy, add diced parsnips and carrot and saute until browned. Add a bit of chicken broth and potatoes and steam (yes! steam!) until done (about 25 minutes). Mash with warmed ½ n ½. Serve. The only way I deviated from this recipe was I didn’t peel the potatoes. This makes a lovely, slightly chunky mashed potato that’s just a tich bit different. Yum!
Pinner’s Pork Roast (Penzey’s One, Vol 1, Issue 5) 8
And of course, the meat! A 3.5lb roast is seasoned with olive oil and a dry rub mixture consisting of Penzey’s Northwoods Seasoning, thyme, cracked rosemary, garlic powder, and onion powder. I let this sit for about an hour, then baked at 325*/350* for two hours with a splash of chicken broth in the bottom of the pan to help keep it moist. Not only was it nice and moist, but I had enough drippings to make a pork gravy (I am gravy impaired and this actually turned out!). Lot’s of yummy leftovers for the week.
Butternut Squashed - Baked.
Peel and cube 1 butternut squash. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake 45 min at 350*. Eat! This has become one of my favorite ways to prepare squash. It bakes up so nice and you can season it anyway you like. Super simple and super tasty.
Sesame-Whole Wheat Bread (The Bread Bible by Beth Henspergers, pg 82) 6
I needed some bread for the week and the Hubby requested something whole wheat. Often I find, when picking a bread recipe, so much depends on what I have available in the cupboard - it seems like I am always missing one little ingredient or another. The first recipe I picked out I didn’t have any sunflower seeds. For this one I had everything necessary. A pretty basic recipe that had three different rises: one for the slurry, and two for the dough. There was an error in the recipe where I had to wing it a bit, when making the ww slurry, it called for milk in the instructions, but gave no amount in the ingredients. I estimated one cup and it worked okay, I made note that if I make this again to perhaps do ½ -2/3 cups. What was unique about this bread was the cornmeal and sesame seeds called for.
Overall, this made a decent loaf, a bit on the dry side but that could have been due to milk quandary (and perhaps a bit over baked).
Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup (reviewed previously on my old Yahoo site) I pulled this out to have with grilled cheese. Quick, simple, warm. Also happens to be my lunch today.
Next weeks mission: goat cheese and dried pinto beans!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Recipe Review 10/29/07 and Pantry Challange!
After much waiting, the recipe reviews have started again! Now, I must apologize in advance, as next week already there won’t be very much (deer hunting trip to western MN kinda got in the way), but I have made myself and my readers the promise that I will get back on the "chuck wagon" and review some food!
I have found a new way of attacking the pantry reduction and I’m going to invite you to play along! I know you all have those items in the cupboard and pantry and freezer that you are going to get to "some day" or that you bought for one meal and didn’t use the rest of, or you bought then never got around to useing (I know you have them....). Well! It’s time to move them along!
The challenge is simply this - find one item, say...that bag of pinto beans. Now! Find a recipe to use them up! Such as...BBQ baked beans. And then come back and tell us about it.
In the mean time, before you scurry off to find that lost, forgotten, pantry item, I have these reviews to offer:
(Banana) Chocolate Chip Waffles (Ckng Lght Annual 04, pg 20) 6
I was in need of a fairly quick meal and the thought of a fried egg over a waffle sounded very appealing. A quick search through my cookbooks and I dug this recipe up. It was pretty basic, flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, milk, chocolate chips - I added the banana. What was different was in the egg. You beat the egg white into stiff peaks and fold into the batter. The end result was okay - I had trouble with the batter sticking to the iron and the banana flavor wasn’t real pronounced. Still, it made a nice batch and I had plenty to freeze for later.
Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie (Ckng Lght, Sept 07, pg 172) 6
I am always on the lookout for a good potpie recipe and this one grabbed my attention (it helped that it was on the cover of the Sept issue). It also used a nice amount of veggies: a potato, sweet potato, celery root (new veggie for me!), and frozen veggies (it called for peas, I used what I had in the freezer). The root vegetables were boiled in chicken stock and removed, and the stock then thickened into the nice thick gravy that we associate with a good pot pie. I had pre-cooked chicken ready to go, so that didn’t need much but re-heating. Then everything was seasoned and combined into a 9x13 pan and topped with a puff pastry. Here I made a tiny mistake: I forgot to vent my puff pastry so it didn’t puff very well. This made a lot (9x13), but it’s been decent for leftovers so far.
Two notable items, 1) the chicken could easily be left out and the veggies increased, 2) if one didn’t want to buy a frozen puff pastry, a pre-made/bought pie crust such as Pillsbury can be baked ahead of time and put on top just before eating. I’ve done that for a different recipe with very satisfying results.
Multi-grain Breakfast Porridge (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 131) 9
Yum yum YUM! Wheat berries are boiled till plump and tender, then rolled oats are added, and grits (I used polenta). Maple syrup and milk are stirred in (this is also where I added dried cranberries and cinnamon). This nice and warm concoction is topped with toasted chopped walnuts, and in my case, a little extra half and half. It was so tasty I had two bowls! The rest I set aside for the coming week. I’ll be making this again!
Susan Brackett’s First Prize Apple Pie (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 143) 5
This was just...okay. It baked up just lovely with a beautiful crumb topping, but as the day went on, the apples really condensed and the crumb topping got very soggy. Even more disappointing was how gummy the bottom crust was. Perhaps I should have baked it right on my baking stone, or pre-baked the crust slightly, but I haven’t had that problem before. I would consider making this again, but doing something different for the bottom crust and adding pecans to the topping (and doubling the crumb mixture).
*Please note that the Ckng Lght recipes can be found at CookingLight.com or myrecipes.com
I have found a new way of attacking the pantry reduction and I’m going to invite you to play along! I know you all have those items in the cupboard and pantry and freezer that you are going to get to "some day" or that you bought for one meal and didn’t use the rest of, or you bought then never got around to useing (I know you have them....). Well! It’s time to move them along!
The challenge is simply this - find one item, say...that bag of pinto beans. Now! Find a recipe to use them up! Such as...BBQ baked beans. And then come back and tell us about it.
In the mean time, before you scurry off to find that lost, forgotten, pantry item, I have these reviews to offer:
(Banana) Chocolate Chip Waffles (Ckng Lght Annual 04, pg 20) 6
I was in need of a fairly quick meal and the thought of a fried egg over a waffle sounded very appealing. A quick search through my cookbooks and I dug this recipe up. It was pretty basic, flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, milk, chocolate chips - I added the banana. What was different was in the egg. You beat the egg white into stiff peaks and fold into the batter. The end result was okay - I had trouble with the batter sticking to the iron and the banana flavor wasn’t real pronounced. Still, it made a nice batch and I had plenty to freeze for later.
Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie (Ckng Lght, Sept 07, pg 172) 6
I am always on the lookout for a good potpie recipe and this one grabbed my attention (it helped that it was on the cover of the Sept issue). It also used a nice amount of veggies: a potato, sweet potato, celery root (new veggie for me!), and frozen veggies (it called for peas, I used what I had in the freezer). The root vegetables were boiled in chicken stock and removed, and the stock then thickened into the nice thick gravy that we associate with a good pot pie. I had pre-cooked chicken ready to go, so that didn’t need much but re-heating. Then everything was seasoned and combined into a 9x13 pan and topped with a puff pastry. Here I made a tiny mistake: I forgot to vent my puff pastry so it didn’t puff very well. This made a lot (9x13), but it’s been decent for leftovers so far.
Two notable items, 1) the chicken could easily be left out and the veggies increased, 2) if one didn’t want to buy a frozen puff pastry, a pre-made/bought pie crust such as Pillsbury can be baked ahead of time and put on top just before eating. I’ve done that for a different recipe with very satisfying results.
Multi-grain Breakfast Porridge (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 131) 9
Yum yum YUM! Wheat berries are boiled till plump and tender, then rolled oats are added, and grits (I used polenta). Maple syrup and milk are stirred in (this is also where I added dried cranberries and cinnamon). This nice and warm concoction is topped with toasted chopped walnuts, and in my case, a little extra half and half. It was so tasty I had two bowls! The rest I set aside for the coming week. I’ll be making this again!
Susan Brackett’s First Prize Apple Pie (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 143) 5
This was just...okay. It baked up just lovely with a beautiful crumb topping, but as the day went on, the apples really condensed and the crumb topping got very soggy. Even more disappointing was how gummy the bottom crust was. Perhaps I should have baked it right on my baking stone, or pre-baked the crust slightly, but I haven’t had that problem before. I would consider making this again, but doing something different for the bottom crust and adding pecans to the topping (and doubling the crumb mixture).
*Please note that the Ckng Lght recipes can be found at CookingLight.com or myrecipes.com
Monday, October 15, 2007
Recipe Review 10/15/07
Last week was a good new recipe week. This week isn't going to see so many again - I found I needed to do a bit more in the freezer reduction department plus I have a couple of social engagements that are going to take me out of the kitchen.
Salsa de Jitomate Del Norte - Northern Tomato Sauce (The Cuisines of Mexico, pg 301) 7
We borrowed this cookbook from a co-worker who spoke very highly of the recipes therein. The Hubby picked out a salsa recipe for our Sunday Football Feed (homemade nacho’s and buffalo wings) and it was up to him to make it.
This was amazingly similar to the salsa we have at a local Mexican restaurant. It is more saucy and not chunky thick like say a Pace or Old Dutch brand. I really liked the flavors and we both agreed it could have been a tich thicker. He was hesitant to add any tomato paste as it might impart an off taste. So we left it and enjoyed it!
Arroz a la Mexicana - Mexican Rice (The Cuisines of Mexico, pg 288) 6
I was planning on making the black bean burritos below, and decided I wanted to have some Mexican rice to go along with it. That same co-worker talked about this recipe (plus it was book marked) and what better way to try out a potential cookbook than to make something! This was a neat recipe - rice is soaked and drained, then sauteed in oil for about 10 minutes to make it a lovely golden brown (except mine didn’t turn golden brown). Chicken broth, peas and carrots are added and let it simmer again. When it starts to shoot steam through little vents, cover with a paper towel and a cover and set aside. Wah-la! Mexican rice!
Tomato Soup (Classic Vegetable Ckbk, pg 315) 6
This was another Hubby pick. He’s had this vegetable cookbook for years and we often refer to it when looking for something different to do with veggies. He picked a homemade tomato soup and had it assembled in probably 45 minutes - most of that cooking time. Here again, pretty basic - saute tomatoes, add some garlic, simmer with vegetable broth, puree. Wah-la! Soup! He thought with the initial tastings it was a bit bland, but I thought it tasted pretty good and the flavors would develop in the next day or so - as we were making this ahead anyway. I made up some homemade bread to make grilled cheese. Yum! Yum!
Spicy Black Bean and Cheese Burritos (Every Day with RR) 5
This is the recipe I made the rice to accompany. Saute garlic in some oil (I use regular olive oil, not "EVOO"), and add a can of black beans and a can of diced chilies. Moosh and saute. Add a can of corn and a can of diced tomatoes. Saute. Wrap in a burrito and serve. I think the concept behind this was good, however, a regular diced tomato would have worked fine, as would have frozen corn. Still, for ease of prep, the canned was okay. Recipe said this serves 4 and that is indeed what we got. The Hubby liked this mixture, I wasn't all that wild about it. I have fixin's to make this again, but it would be for the Hubby for lunches.
Salsa de Jitomate Del Norte - Northern Tomato Sauce (The Cuisines of Mexico, pg 301) 7
We borrowed this cookbook from a co-worker who spoke very highly of the recipes therein. The Hubby picked out a salsa recipe for our Sunday Football Feed (homemade nacho’s and buffalo wings) and it was up to him to make it.
This was amazingly similar to the salsa we have at a local Mexican restaurant. It is more saucy and not chunky thick like say a Pace or Old Dutch brand. I really liked the flavors and we both agreed it could have been a tich thicker. He was hesitant to add any tomato paste as it might impart an off taste. So we left it and enjoyed it!
Arroz a la Mexicana - Mexican Rice (The Cuisines of Mexico, pg 288) 6
I was planning on making the black bean burritos below, and decided I wanted to have some Mexican rice to go along with it. That same co-worker talked about this recipe (plus it was book marked) and what better way to try out a potential cookbook than to make something! This was a neat recipe - rice is soaked and drained, then sauteed in oil for about 10 minutes to make it a lovely golden brown (except mine didn’t turn golden brown). Chicken broth, peas and carrots are added and let it simmer again. When it starts to shoot steam through little vents, cover with a paper towel and a cover and set aside. Wah-la! Mexican rice!
Tomato Soup (Classic Vegetable Ckbk, pg 315) 6
This was another Hubby pick. He’s had this vegetable cookbook for years and we often refer to it when looking for something different to do with veggies. He picked a homemade tomato soup and had it assembled in probably 45 minutes - most of that cooking time. Here again, pretty basic - saute tomatoes, add some garlic, simmer with vegetable broth, puree. Wah-la! Soup! He thought with the initial tastings it was a bit bland, but I thought it tasted pretty good and the flavors would develop in the next day or so - as we were making this ahead anyway. I made up some homemade bread to make grilled cheese. Yum! Yum!
Spicy Black Bean and Cheese Burritos (Every Day with RR) 5
This is the recipe I made the rice to accompany. Saute garlic in some oil (I use regular olive oil, not "EVOO"), and add a can of black beans and a can of diced chilies. Moosh and saute. Add a can of corn and a can of diced tomatoes. Saute. Wrap in a burrito and serve. I think the concept behind this was good, however, a regular diced tomato would have worked fine, as would have frozen corn. Still, for ease of prep, the canned was okay. Recipe said this serves 4 and that is indeed what we got. The Hubby liked this mixture, I wasn't all that wild about it. I have fixin's to make this again, but it would be for the Hubby for lunches.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Recipe Review 10/8/07
Last week was an okay week recipe wise. The cooking menu morphed a bit due to this and that: the parents invited us for dinner one night and we were in town late another so we ate out (Indian! my favorite!). Unfortunately, this means my chicken pot pie recipe keeps getting pushed back. I think I’ve had it on the menu for about three weeks now and it’s not going to happen this week either! Oh well, I’ll get to it eventually - I’ve got all the ingredients and I just need the time.
Paddy Burks Pepper Soup (Irish Pub Ckbk, pg 51) 7
This was another Hubby recipe. Two yellow bell peppers, an orange bell pepper and a red bell pepper are combined with some vegetable broth and seasonings (onion and garlic) and simmered till nice and soft. I believe a bit of half and half is added and then everything pureed (he LOVES the immersion blender too!). This turned out really good. The recipe calls for the addition of fresh creme fraiche and this simple "soured cream" really made the soup. It was sweet and tangy all at once. Perfect with some cheese and crackers on these cool rainy days!
Baked Ziti Casserole (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 170) 7
This was a winner! So incredibly simple and not a ton of leftovers. I did make two significant substitutions: I subbed 6oz baby ‘bella’s for the 6oz ground turkey and I used jarred marinara. Boil 6oz tubular pasta (ziti, penne, etc) according to directions. Meanwhile, fry meat or saute mushrooms in a bit of butter. Here I added 2 cups sauce to the mushrooms and let it warm up. Drain pasta, add to sauce, add ½ cup mozzarella and 1/4 grated asiago (or Parmesan) and stir. Put in an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with ½ cup mozzarella and some grated Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serves 2-4. (4 people if you’re having salad and garlic bread). I think this dish has a lot of potential because you can really change it around to suite your tastes.
Pumpkin Waffles (Culinary in the Desert c/o Ckng Lght) 6
I had some leftover pumpkin in the freezer from a previous recipe and saw a pumpkin waffle recipe in Ckng Lght. Unfortunately, I've lost the recipe since then, but Joe over on Culinary posted the recipe after he made them.
These were just...okay. They seemed to go from underdone to over-cooked in my waffle maker in the blink of an eye. Still, they did bake to a very nice dark brown (a bit disconcerting when used to lighter waffles) and the pumpkin flavor was more of a background element than up front on the taste buds. We tried them with pure maple syrup, homemade raspberry sauce and apple butter. I was partial to the maple syrup myself. I would probably make these again, because it was a nice way to use up that odd bit of leftover pumpkin and I can freeze leftovers for later.
Paddy Burks Pepper Soup (Irish Pub Ckbk, pg 51) 7
This was another Hubby recipe. Two yellow bell peppers, an orange bell pepper and a red bell pepper are combined with some vegetable broth and seasonings (onion and garlic) and simmered till nice and soft. I believe a bit of half and half is added and then everything pureed (he LOVES the immersion blender too!). This turned out really good. The recipe calls for the addition of fresh creme fraiche and this simple "soured cream" really made the soup. It was sweet and tangy all at once. Perfect with some cheese and crackers on these cool rainy days!
Baked Ziti Casserole (Ckng Lght, Oct 07, pg 170) 7
This was a winner! So incredibly simple and not a ton of leftovers. I did make two significant substitutions: I subbed 6oz baby ‘bella’s for the 6oz ground turkey and I used jarred marinara. Boil 6oz tubular pasta (ziti, penne, etc) according to directions. Meanwhile, fry meat or saute mushrooms in a bit of butter. Here I added 2 cups sauce to the mushrooms and let it warm up. Drain pasta, add to sauce, add ½ cup mozzarella and 1/4 grated asiago (or Parmesan) and stir. Put in an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with ½ cup mozzarella and some grated Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serves 2-4. (4 people if you’re having salad and garlic bread). I think this dish has a lot of potential because you can really change it around to suite your tastes.
Pumpkin Waffles (Culinary in the Desert c/o Ckng Lght) 6
I had some leftover pumpkin in the freezer from a previous recipe and saw a pumpkin waffle recipe in Ckng Lght. Unfortunately, I've lost the recipe since then, but Joe over on Culinary posted the recipe after he made them.
These were just...okay. They seemed to go from underdone to over-cooked in my waffle maker in the blink of an eye. Still, they did bake to a very nice dark brown (a bit disconcerting when used to lighter waffles) and the pumpkin flavor was more of a background element than up front on the taste buds. We tried them with pure maple syrup, homemade raspberry sauce and apple butter. I was partial to the maple syrup myself. I would probably make these again, because it was a nice way to use up that odd bit of leftover pumpkin and I can freeze leftovers for later.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Recipe Review 10/1/07
I thought I had this all typed out and ready to go for Monday, but lo! when I fired up blogger and my posts, there was. no. recipe review. Friday was super hectic and I think what happened was I typed it up in word perfect but never cut and pasted it over into Blogger. How disappointing to have to type it all out again.
On the upside, we are doing great in the new recipe count. Last week the Hubby and I made 5 new recipes. Which brings September’s count to about 12. I am hoping to make at least 120 new recipes total for 2007 so I really need to start baking! Plus fall is here and it is time to start indulging in some fresh baked bread.
For last week:
Cavatappi with Prosciuto and Parmesan (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 177) 8
This was very good: while the pasta boils, Prosciuto is thinly sliced, garlic minced and Parmesan grated. A bit of pasta water is reserved, and while the pasta drains, the garlic is sauteed in olive oil. Then the water and pasta is returned to the pan and everything melds for a couple of minutes. The Prosciuto and Parmesan are added last, to allow the Prosciuto to gently cook from the residual heat of the pasta. I liked this ease of this dish so much I made it twice, and I plan on making it again alternating ingredients.
Apple Butter (Ckng Lght Annual 04, pg 417/Duluth News Tribune, Taste, ‘05) 7
I added the recipe title here as a reference, but the final product was really a mish-mash of two recipes. To the Ckng Lght recipe I: doubled the recipe from 4 lbs apples to 8 lbs; added 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp cloves and 2/3 cup cider vinegar. I also boiled it for closer to 3 hours rather than the 1 called for. I liked how this came out, but would have preferred it to be a bit thicker. This made about 10 pints for the freezer.
Autumn Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette (Ckng Lght Oct, pg 134) 8
My new favorite salad! This was very fresh and tasty: red wine, olive oil, paprika, chili powder and a bit of garlic make the dressing. Fresh greens (I used a baby green mix), red onion, Asian pear and apple, and chevere are tossed together. I loved this and have made it several time since.
Moroccan Chickpea Chili (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 218) 8
Fresh and delicious dishes really don’t get much simpler than this. Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic till soft. Add seasonings and toast. Add veggie broth (my addition, recipe called for water), diced tomatoes, chickpeas and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer. That’s it. I think what I liked about this one was the depth of flavoring: cumin, chili powder, cinnamon. It was the cinnamon that really made this dish I think. Not spicy, just very flavorful.
On the upside, we are doing great in the new recipe count. Last week the Hubby and I made 5 new recipes. Which brings September’s count to about 12. I am hoping to make at least 120 new recipes total for 2007 so I really need to start baking! Plus fall is here and it is time to start indulging in some fresh baked bread.
For last week:
Cavatappi with Prosciuto and Parmesan (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 177) 8
This was very good: while the pasta boils, Prosciuto is thinly sliced, garlic minced and Parmesan grated. A bit of pasta water is reserved, and while the pasta drains, the garlic is sauteed in olive oil. Then the water and pasta is returned to the pan and everything melds for a couple of minutes. The Prosciuto and Parmesan are added last, to allow the Prosciuto to gently cook from the residual heat of the pasta. I liked this ease of this dish so much I made it twice, and I plan on making it again alternating ingredients.
Apple Butter (Ckng Lght Annual 04, pg 417/Duluth News Tribune, Taste, ‘05) 7
I added the recipe title here as a reference, but the final product was really a mish-mash of two recipes. To the Ckng Lght recipe I: doubled the recipe from 4 lbs apples to 8 lbs; added 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp cloves and 2/3 cup cider vinegar. I also boiled it for closer to 3 hours rather than the 1 called for. I liked how this came out, but would have preferred it to be a bit thicker. This made about 10 pints for the freezer.
Autumn Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette (Ckng Lght Oct, pg 134) 8
My new favorite salad! This was very fresh and tasty: red wine, olive oil, paprika, chili powder and a bit of garlic make the dressing. Fresh greens (I used a baby green mix), red onion, Asian pear and apple, and chevere are tossed together. I loved this and have made it several time since.
Moroccan Chickpea Chili (Ckng Lght Sept 07, pg 218) 8
Fresh and delicious dishes really don’t get much simpler than this. Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic till soft. Add seasonings and toast. Add veggie broth (my addition, recipe called for water), diced tomatoes, chickpeas and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer. That’s it. I think what I liked about this one was the depth of flavoring: cumin, chili powder, cinnamon. It was the cinnamon that really made this dish I think. Not spicy, just very flavorful.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Recipe Review 9/25/07
To partially quote a friend, Woot! We're cooking now! Thanks to the Hubby, our new recipe sampling has begun to increase. And it is wonderful that the weather is cooling off and we can use the oven again to bake a few tasty treats.
New recipes from the past week:
Apple and Parsnip Soup (Irish Pub Ckbk, pg ) 6
This turned out very good, but it would have been even better with the spices toned down. Alas, the Hubby did not realize that the Penzey's Hot Curry needs to be cut in half for recipes because it is indeed, a bit on the spicy side. Now I thought the dish still turned out very good, and topped it with sour cream and with toasted pepitas. The recipe is pretty simple: parsnips, apples, potato, curry powder, onion, and broth. Cook and blend together (LOVE that immersion blender!). I brought it for lunches for a couple days and we had it for dinner for I think 2 meals.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Every Day with RR, Sept 07) 6
I wanted to bring something fallish for our 8th anniversary for book group, and I know the group likes pumpkin. I've made chocolate whoopie pies and it was past time to try the pumpkin variety. Very simple to whip up and baking time was only 10 minutes. I had everything washed up and drying as they came out of the oven. They are delightfully pumpkin-y, and the cream cheese frosting center was a nice counter point to the pumpkin spices. The only complaint I heard (and I shared it) was they were on the heavy side. Still, I would make these again, perhaps making the little cakes smaller, as they are a fun treat for fall.
Snickerdoodles (Ckng Lght Sept 07) 6
For me, snickerdoodles are the quintessential fall cookies. Next to a nice soft ginger cookie that is. These also were a snap to make, and I had everything washed as well by the time I baked both sheets. The recipe neglected to advise the cook to squish the little balls, but fortunately I realized I needed to do so. I did bake these about a minute too long, so they were a bit more crispy than the Hubby or I care for (or for that matter the book group because they went after the pumpkin whoopie pies and chocolate chip cookies first). Still, these are a great size and I would make them again. In fact, with the frozen leftover's I'm contemplating making ice cream sandwiches out of them with the caramel ice cream I need to use up. Mmmm...
New recipes from the past week:
Apple and Parsnip Soup (Irish Pub Ckbk, pg ) 6
This turned out very good, but it would have been even better with the spices toned down. Alas, the Hubby did not realize that the Penzey's Hot Curry needs to be cut in half for recipes because it is indeed, a bit on the spicy side. Now I thought the dish still turned out very good, and topped it with sour cream and with toasted pepitas. The recipe is pretty simple: parsnips, apples, potato, curry powder, onion, and broth. Cook and blend together (LOVE that immersion blender!). I brought it for lunches for a couple days and we had it for dinner for I think 2 meals.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Every Day with RR, Sept 07) 6
I wanted to bring something fallish for our 8th anniversary for book group, and I know the group likes pumpkin. I've made chocolate whoopie pies and it was past time to try the pumpkin variety. Very simple to whip up and baking time was only 10 minutes. I had everything washed up and drying as they came out of the oven. They are delightfully pumpkin-y, and the cream cheese frosting center was a nice counter point to the pumpkin spices. The only complaint I heard (and I shared it) was they were on the heavy side. Still, I would make these again, perhaps making the little cakes smaller, as they are a fun treat for fall.
Snickerdoodles (Ckng Lght Sept 07) 6
For me, snickerdoodles are the quintessential fall cookies. Next to a nice soft ginger cookie that is. These also were a snap to make, and I had everything washed as well by the time I baked both sheets. The recipe neglected to advise the cook to squish the little balls, but fortunately I realized I needed to do so. I did bake these about a minute too long, so they were a bit more crispy than the Hubby or I care for (or for that matter the book group because they went after the pumpkin whoopie pies and chocolate chip cookies first). Still, these are a great size and I would make them again. In fact, with the frozen leftover's I'm contemplating making ice cream sandwiches out of them with the caramel ice cream I need to use up. Mmmm...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Recipe Review 9/17/07
When I started blogging over a year ago, I didn’t think I really had that much to say. But as the weeks churn by, I find myself looking forward to my next posting whether it’s a recipe review, a knitting update or a book summary. And just as eagerly I peruse other bloggers posts, enjoying being invited into their lives to admire projects, drool over recipes, and oooh and ahhh over pictures of different places. I also love figuring out what I’m going to post next, trying to keep topics separated and diverse, which is easier said than done!
So, it is with much excitement that I am finally able to post a new recipe review after nearly a month of no new recipes. I had some help with these, the Hubby put in a request to make dinner once a week - how can I refuse a great offer like that? Hopefully now that all the summer excitement in my world has calmed down to just manic, I can settle back into making new dishes. Sorry about the lack of pictures - hopefully soon I'll get back into photographing our creations.
Enchilada’s (Every Day with RR, Aug 07, pg 62) 7
These were pretty good and fairly simple to make. What I liked in particular was how thick the sauce came out. I bought a rotisserie chicken ahead of time and had the Hubby shred and split the meat for another dish. The chicken was re-heated after sauteing some onion and spices, then mixed with tomato sauce and three chipolte peppers. I had some concerns about adding three, and I should have listened to my inner voice because the sauce was a bit on the spicy side when all was said and cooked. But, a generous dollup of sour cream tamed the flame. I would make these again with modifications.
Bacon, Blue Cheese and Courgette Soup (Irish Pub Cookbook, pg 58) 8
This is the first dish the Hubby selected and it was delicious! Bacon is fried in some olive oil to flavor the oil and then half of it was removed for garnish later. Onion and zucchini are nicely browned and softened to which is added 2 med baking potatoes and chicken stock. Everything is brought to a vigorous simmer till the potatoes are done. Bring out the immersion blender! This was the Hubbies first time with this must have gadget - the contents of the pot are blended till smooth, to which half and half and blue cheese crumbles are added and brought to temp. This soup was even better in the following days as the flavors really melded. He wants to make this one again.
Mac’s Pub Brown Soda Bread (Irish Pub Cookbook, pg 95) 5
This bread has potential, but it needs some tweaking first. The Hubbie's first comment was to add all the liquid ingredients at once, rather than parceling it out piecemeal as directed. He/we also had problems getting it to cook all the way through - it didn’t help that we are still getting used to the nuances of our gas stove. The final bread baked up very nicely, but it tasted rather flour-y. I’m not certain if this was just how it tastes or if the ingredients need some tweaking. But since we are moving into fall, it will be easier to experiment with some additional baking sessions.
So, it is with much excitement that I am finally able to post a new recipe review after nearly a month of no new recipes. I had some help with these, the Hubby put in a request to make dinner once a week - how can I refuse a great offer like that? Hopefully now that all the summer excitement in my world has calmed down to just manic, I can settle back into making new dishes. Sorry about the lack of pictures - hopefully soon I'll get back into photographing our creations.
Enchilada’s (Every Day with RR, Aug 07, pg 62) 7
These were pretty good and fairly simple to make. What I liked in particular was how thick the sauce came out. I bought a rotisserie chicken ahead of time and had the Hubby shred and split the meat for another dish. The chicken was re-heated after sauteing some onion and spices, then mixed with tomato sauce and three chipolte peppers. I had some concerns about adding three, and I should have listened to my inner voice because the sauce was a bit on the spicy side when all was said and cooked. But, a generous dollup of sour cream tamed the flame. I would make these again with modifications.
Bacon, Blue Cheese and Courgette Soup (Irish Pub Cookbook, pg 58) 8
This is the first dish the Hubby selected and it was delicious! Bacon is fried in some olive oil to flavor the oil and then half of it was removed for garnish later. Onion and zucchini are nicely browned and softened to which is added 2 med baking potatoes and chicken stock. Everything is brought to a vigorous simmer till the potatoes are done. Bring out the immersion blender! This was the Hubbies first time with this must have gadget - the contents of the pot are blended till smooth, to which half and half and blue cheese crumbles are added and brought to temp. This soup was even better in the following days as the flavors really melded. He wants to make this one again.
Mac’s Pub Brown Soda Bread (Irish Pub Cookbook, pg 95) 5
This bread has potential, but it needs some tweaking first. The Hubbie's first comment was to add all the liquid ingredients at once, rather than parceling it out piecemeal as directed. He/we also had problems getting it to cook all the way through - it didn’t help that we are still getting used to the nuances of our gas stove. The final bread baked up very nicely, but it tasted rather flour-y. I’m not certain if this was just how it tastes or if the ingredients need some tweaking. But since we are moving into fall, it will be easier to experiment with some additional baking sessions.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Recipe Review 8/27/07
I made two really good recipes this past week in between yoga classes, errands and one work get-together. The bar recipe was actually for the work group - it’s gluten free as one fellow has a gluten allergy and I like to make sure he has something appropriate.
Lentils with Chickpeas and Couscous (Vegetarian Times ala Culinary in the Country) 8
This was really good. A lot happens all at the same time, but here’s how it all came together: a pot of French lentils cooks for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, couscous prepped with a ½ cup of golden raisins and set aside. Then onions and carrots are sauteed in a bit of olive oil and combined with chipolte salsa (yes, salsa from a jar!), tomato paste, cumin, and cilantro. These last four items were supposed to be processed together in a food processor, but I thought that was silly and just put them all in the pan. To this is added the chickpeas and the mixture simmers for about 10 minutes. The lentils are added last of all.
This was spicy flavorful, but not in an eyeball sweating kind of way. The couscous mixture adds an almost sweet counterpoint to the curry sauce. I will be making this again.
Gluten Free Seven Layer Bars (from a co-worker; source unknown) 8
Wow, oh wow. These are the farthest thing from a "light" recipe as you can get...well, almost. I did use low-fat sweetened condensed milk. Rich, gooey, sweet, and utterly decadent. Good for group gatherings. It’s pretty simple - melted butter, rice Krispies, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, Heath bar chips, sweetened condensed milk, walnuts (I’m sure it’s the nuts that make these healthy...). The directions weren’t very clear on when I was supposed to add the melted butter, so I just poured it over the top just before adding the sweetened condensed milk. I think it would have been better poured after the coconut layer, but they still turned out fantastic anyway.
What little leftovers remained when home with a very happy co-worker.
And further follow up in the pantry reduction department:
Lentils with Chickpeas and Couscous (Vegetarian Times ala Culinary in the Country) 8
This was really good. A lot happens all at the same time, but here’s how it all came together: a pot of French lentils cooks for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, couscous prepped with a ½ cup of golden raisins and set aside. Then onions and carrots are sauteed in a bit of olive oil and combined with chipolte salsa (yes, salsa from a jar!), tomato paste, cumin, and cilantro. These last four items were supposed to be processed together in a food processor, but I thought that was silly and just put them all in the pan. To this is added the chickpeas and the mixture simmers for about 10 minutes. The lentils are added last of all.
This was spicy flavorful, but not in an eyeball sweating kind of way. The couscous mixture adds an almost sweet counterpoint to the curry sauce. I will be making this again.
Gluten Free Seven Layer Bars (from a co-worker; source unknown) 8
Wow, oh wow. These are the farthest thing from a "light" recipe as you can get...well, almost. I did use low-fat sweetened condensed milk. Rich, gooey, sweet, and utterly decadent. Good for group gatherings. It’s pretty simple - melted butter, rice Krispies, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, Heath bar chips, sweetened condensed milk, walnuts (I’m sure it’s the nuts that make these healthy...). The directions weren’t very clear on when I was supposed to add the melted butter, so I just poured it over the top just before adding the sweetened condensed milk. I think it would have been better poured after the coconut layer, but they still turned out fantastic anyway.
What little leftovers remained when home with a very happy co-worker.
And further follow up in the pantry reduction department:
- regular couscous - went into the Lentils and Chickpea curry above
- "heart healthy" bisquick - went into my first batch of waffles! I would have prefered to make some homemade, whole grain variety, but I am sticking to my intent of reducing extra pantry stuff. I froze 4 waffles for quick breakfasts for later.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Pantry Reduction, Continued
Back in May I did a month (a month and a half actually) of "pantry reduction" with the intent of cleaning out some of the various accumulated foodstuffs. I am happy to report back that I am still working on this. Bit by bit the freezer and dry foods drawer is getting cleaned out. But boy, it sure is a slow process!
I haven’t made much - *ahem* read nothing - new lately to post about, so I thought I would touch on what I’ve managed to use up.
1 pkg lake trout (caught and vacuum sealed Fall 05). I planked this on a cedar board with fresh oregano from the garden. The Husband was just happy to eat the fish. I don’t care for Lake Superior Lake trout so I had salmon.
Homemade ravioli’s. I made a rather large batch of these last summer (forgetting to add the marscapone cheese) and it’s been slow going working my way through them. I bought a jar of Barilla spaghetti sauce and added fresh garden zucchini and some sliced mushrooms to make it a chunky sauce.
Tropical Banana Cream Muffins; recipe was from Culinary in the Country and I made it late Spring. I shouldn't have let these sit so long in the freezer as the last couple tasted a bit stale.
***
And now for something completely different - I did try something new: I froze grapes! Ooo, are these seductive tasty little buggers. I bought a batch of red grapes, washed and patted dry and placed on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. I inadvertently forgot about them so they sat in the freezer for about 4 days. No harm done. I have been reading that frozen grapes were good - yes, yes they are.
And, in the gadget department, I finally (being the last person in the States to do so) bought my household a waffle maker! I found a small Cuisinart Belgian waffle maker at Cooks on Crocus, Grand Ave, St. Paul for $20.00! Perfect for my budget and my storage room. No waffles have been made yet though. I'm hoping I will have time this weekend. Stay tuned!
I haven’t made much - *ahem* read nothing - new lately to post about, so I thought I would touch on what I’ve managed to use up.
1 pkg lake trout (caught and vacuum sealed Fall 05). I planked this on a cedar board with fresh oregano from the garden. The Husband was just happy to eat the fish. I don’t care for Lake Superior Lake trout so I had salmon.
Homemade ravioli’s. I made a rather large batch of these last summer (forgetting to add the marscapone cheese) and it’s been slow going working my way through them. I bought a jar of Barilla spaghetti sauce and added fresh garden zucchini and some sliced mushrooms to make it a chunky sauce.
Tropical Banana Cream Muffins; recipe was from Culinary in the Country and I made it late Spring. I shouldn't have let these sit so long in the freezer as the last couple tasted a bit stale.
***
And now for something completely different - I did try something new: I froze grapes! Ooo, are these seductive tasty little buggers. I bought a batch of red grapes, washed and patted dry and placed on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. I inadvertently forgot about them so they sat in the freezer for about 4 days. No harm done. I have been reading that frozen grapes were good - yes, yes they are.
And, in the gadget department, I finally (being the last person in the States to do so) bought my household a waffle maker! I found a small Cuisinart Belgian waffle maker at Cooks on Crocus, Grand Ave, St. Paul for $20.00! Perfect for my budget and my storage room. No waffles have been made yet though. I'm hoping I will have time this weekend. Stay tuned!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Recipe Review 8/6/07
With so much going on this past week I only had time to make one new recipe and it made a decent amount of leftovers so I didn’t have to worry about finding time to cook. Well, I probably wouldn’t have cooked anyway given how warm and humid it was, plus with all the fresh summer squash and lettuce I have in my garden right now I would have made salads.
But, as usual, I digress from the review!
Falafel Patties with Goat Cheese Sauce (source - Ckng Lght BB??) 8
These were very easy to make and bake. I made the recipe even simpler by using two cans of chickpeas rather than soaking my own. The recipe also called for shredding one WW pita to add to the patties, but I just used some stale-frozen bread crumbs I had on hand so I wouldn’t have to buy a whole package of pitas. It made about 24 - 1"x 1/2" patties, which I placed on a oiled baking sheet and grilled them for 15 minutes flipping once (again, not turning on the oven when it’s 85* outside!).
The goat cheese was blended with yogurt and garlic to make the sauce, and a relish of seeded tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers and seasoning was quickly pulled together. I served everything over a bed of chopped lettuce, using the relish and goat cheese as a dressing of sorts. Overall, this was light and refreshing, and made several lunches and dinners for two when combined with a bit of crusty bread and fruit. My only very minor complaint was the patties were a bit dry and could have benefited from a splash of olive oil during the assembly process.
But, as usual, I digress from the review!
Falafel Patties with Goat Cheese Sauce (source - Ckng Lght BB??) 8
These were very easy to make and bake. I made the recipe even simpler by using two cans of chickpeas rather than soaking my own. The recipe also called for shredding one WW pita to add to the patties, but I just used some stale-frozen bread crumbs I had on hand so I wouldn’t have to buy a whole package of pitas. It made about 24 - 1"x 1/2" patties, which I placed on a oiled baking sheet and grilled them for 15 minutes flipping once (again, not turning on the oven when it’s 85* outside!).
The goat cheese was blended with yogurt and garlic to make the sauce, and a relish of seeded tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers and seasoning was quickly pulled together. I served everything over a bed of chopped lettuce, using the relish and goat cheese as a dressing of sorts. Overall, this was light and refreshing, and made several lunches and dinners for two when combined with a bit of crusty bread and fruit. My only very minor complaint was the patties were a bit dry and could have benefited from a splash of olive oil during the assembly process.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Recipe Review 7/30/07 - The Salad
I thought I wasn’t going to have a recipe review for this week because with the extremely warm and humid weather we’ve been having I haven’t made or baked anything new. But I realized I was quite incorrect.
I have been enjoying the lettuce salad in all its wonderful variations this past week. I’m not referring so much to what I call the ubiquitous "American" salad, you know the one I’m talking about: iceberg lettuce, the obligatory hard tasteless tomato, grated carrot, two large red onion rings, and if you unlucky, four cucumber slices. And don’t forget the crunchy, teeth shattering croutons.
No, today I am going to wax eloquent about the fresh garden salad. With hand picked lettuce from the garden - buttercrunch and mesclun mix in my case. I like to use both types in my salads, or just one variety if that’s all I’ve washed up. And washing that garden lettuce is uber important! There very little more unappetizing than finding some small slimy thing hidden between leaves on your plate.
And a salad just isn’t a salad with out at least a couple toppings. If I’m not following a specific recipe (Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Spicy Pecan Salad or the Nicoise Salad) I like to experiment with what I have on hand. I just read recently in my local "Taste" section of the newspaper that a salad should have no more than five toppings otherwise all the flavors just overwhelm each other. Here are some combinations I’ve tried lately:
I have been enjoying the lettuce salad in all its wonderful variations this past week. I’m not referring so much to what I call the ubiquitous "American" salad, you know the one I’m talking about: iceberg lettuce, the obligatory hard tasteless tomato, grated carrot, two large red onion rings, and if you unlucky, four cucumber slices. And don’t forget the crunchy, teeth shattering croutons.
No, today I am going to wax eloquent about the fresh garden salad. With hand picked lettuce from the garden - buttercrunch and mesclun mix in my case. I like to use both types in my salads, or just one variety if that’s all I’ve washed up. And washing that garden lettuce is uber important! There very little more unappetizing than finding some small slimy thing hidden between leaves on your plate.
And a salad just isn’t a salad with out at least a couple toppings. If I’m not following a specific recipe (Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Spicy Pecan Salad or the Nicoise Salad) I like to experiment with what I have on hand. I just read recently in my local "Taste" section of the newspaper that a salad should have no more than five toppings otherwise all the flavors just overwhelm each other. Here are some combinations I’ve tried lately:
- Parmesan cheese slices (sliced very thin with a vegetable peeler) and raspberries.
- Egg, beef tenderloin, radish, Parmesan cheese and blueberries
- Radish, egg, baby zucchini
- Goat cheese, raspberries and radish
The blueberries, radish, raspberries and zucchini were all from my garden. The beef tenderloin was a leftover from a dinner with my folks and I just love a hard boiled eggs.
And to top off these delectable delicacies I have been turning toward the very simple vinaigrette. I had some leftover maple vinaigrette from the blueberry and blue cheese salad, and some leftover mustard vinaigrette from the Nicoise Salad. For something different I’ve tried and enjoyed Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Raspberry vinegar, with white balsamic, and with red wine vinegar. All are refreshing with their own nuances.
Lastly, I like to add a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper to my salads. Both make the ingredients really pop with flavor.
The varieties and combinations are endless, so find so some fresh lettuce, see what’s in the fridge and enjoy with a chunk of crusty bread.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Recipe Review 7/23/07
I had the Folks out for dinner on Sunday evening and this dinner turned out fantastic. Even though it was delicious, there are just a few things I would tweak in the next go around. But I’m like that, can’t leave a darn recipe or meal alone.
It has always appeared that Creme Brule was this really difficult fancy dish to make, but as the years have gone by, I’ve come to learn that it’s actually easier to make than homemade pudding. The hard part was finding the torch to caramelize the topping.
Penne with Roasted Veggies and Goat Cheese (Ckng Lght BB, link here) 9
Oh! Heaven in a bowl! Whole wheat penne is combined with roasted summer squash, garlic, onion, tomatoes that are drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This is then tossed with fresh basil and thyme and goat cheese, which creates a lovely decedent sauce. Mmm, mm, good!
This was served with a fresh sour dough flute from Cub; a garden salad (from my garden) with shaved Parmesan, fresh raspberries, raspberry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I had a small dish with olive oil and pepper for dipping the bread in. Very European.
And last, for dessert, I made Creme Brule:
Oh! Heaven in a bowl! Whole wheat penne is combined with roasted summer squash, garlic, onion, tomatoes that are drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This is then tossed with fresh basil and thyme and goat cheese, which creates a lovely decedent sauce. Mmm, mm, good!
This was served with a fresh sour dough flute from Cub; a garden salad (from my garden) with shaved Parmesan, fresh raspberries, raspberry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I had a small dish with olive oil and pepper for dipping the bread in. Very European.
And last, for dessert, I made Creme Brule:
Vanilla Creme Brule (Cuisine at Home Ad) 8
It has always appeared that Creme Brule was this really difficult fancy dish to make, but as the years have gone by, I’ve come to learn that it’s actually easier to make than homemade pudding. The hard part was finding the torch to caramelize the topping.
Sugar and a vanilla bean are pulverized to a powdered sugar consistency in a food processor. Combined with heavy cream and half and half , this is brought to a "steaming" temperature (except mine went from warm to boiling, oops! So I then had to cool it down by whisking and waiting). This is tempered into waiting eggs, strained to remove all the hard bean bits and poured into waiting ramekins in a water bath. Then bake, cool and refrigerate.
That is pretty much it.
That is pretty much it.
Was it good? Well, the recipe made 6, there were 3 of us.....plus we got to play with a little torch...
Monday, July 16, 2007
Recipe Review 7/16/07
Last week was leftovers and this week I’m going on a mid-week camping trip, so not much in the way of new recipes is being made. However, I did promise my book group that I would bring dessert this month and so on Sunday morning I made Blueberry Cheesecake. Later in the evening I pulled together my lunch for the week: a Nicoise salad.
Blueberry Cheesecake (Ckng Lght, as adapted by Culinary in the Desert)
Despite the huge ingredient list, this was fairly easy to pull together. The recipe started with the crust, a combination of graham crackers and vanilla wafers which is baked and set aside. Then I kinda started multi-tasking by starting the blueberry topping and sauce while making the cake itself. The blueberry sauce was super simple, frozen blueberries and cornstarch are brought to a boil and thickened. Part of this is set aside for the finishing sauce. Cake was cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Pretty simple. This is placed in a prepared pan, then the blueberry topping is swirled prettily on top. While it bakes, a sour cream "topping" is made and added for the last 10 minutes of baking. The leftover blueberry concoction is added to some sugar water and boiled, with a cup of fresh blueberries folded in at the end.
I haven’t tried this as of this posting, as it needed to sit for a minimum of 8 hours (I suppose I could have had some for breakfast...) and I’ll be bringing it to the meeting tonight. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!
Nicoise Chopped Salad (w/o chicken) (Every Day w/ Rachel Ray, Aug 07)
I’ve got lettuce. Lots of lettuce. I planted buttercrunch and a mesclun mix and whoo! I’ve got lettuce. Then I went and bought some because I didn’t think it was going to be ready in time. Which means I need to start eating some lettuce.
Last week was a Blueberry, Blue Cheese with Spicy Pecans in a Maple Vinaigrette salad (title long enough?) and this week I found this recipe. Pretty simple: boil eggs, crisp tender cook some green beans, then cook the potatoes. This can all be done right in the same pot. Add capers, tomatoes, Nicoise olives (I used kalmata) and hard boiled eggs. The chicken seemed like overkill so I skipped it. Add to lettuce and toss with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. We’ll see how it tastes for lunch today.
Oops! I forgot to add my continuation of my efforts with my pantry reduction project. I was able to use up:
1 bag of frozen blueberries
2 bags of home-made vegetarian pot stickers
Editing to add, the blueberry cheesecake was a hit with the bookgroup. Only two pieces came home with me! The Nicoise salad was very good as well, though it needed a bit of salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.
Blueberry Cheesecake (Ckng Lght, as adapted by Culinary in the Desert)
Despite the huge ingredient list, this was fairly easy to pull together. The recipe started with the crust, a combination of graham crackers and vanilla wafers which is baked and set aside. Then I kinda started multi-tasking by starting the blueberry topping and sauce while making the cake itself. The blueberry sauce was super simple, frozen blueberries and cornstarch are brought to a boil and thickened. Part of this is set aside for the finishing sauce. Cake was cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Pretty simple. This is placed in a prepared pan, then the blueberry topping is swirled prettily on top. While it bakes, a sour cream "topping" is made and added for the last 10 minutes of baking. The leftover blueberry concoction is added to some sugar water and boiled, with a cup of fresh blueberries folded in at the end.
I haven’t tried this as of this posting, as it needed to sit for a minimum of 8 hours (I suppose I could have had some for breakfast...) and I’ll be bringing it to the meeting tonight. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!
Nicoise Chopped Salad (w/o chicken) (Every Day w/ Rachel Ray, Aug 07)
I’ve got lettuce. Lots of lettuce. I planted buttercrunch and a mesclun mix and whoo! I’ve got lettuce. Then I went and bought some because I didn’t think it was going to be ready in time. Which means I need to start eating some lettuce.
Last week was a Blueberry, Blue Cheese with Spicy Pecans in a Maple Vinaigrette salad (title long enough?) and this week I found this recipe. Pretty simple: boil eggs, crisp tender cook some green beans, then cook the potatoes. This can all be done right in the same pot. Add capers, tomatoes, Nicoise olives (I used kalmata) and hard boiled eggs. The chicken seemed like overkill so I skipped it. Add to lettuce and toss with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. We’ll see how it tastes for lunch today.
Oops! I forgot to add my continuation of my efforts with my pantry reduction project. I was able to use up:
1 bag of frozen blueberries
2 bags of home-made vegetarian pot stickers
Editing to add, the blueberry cheesecake was a hit with the bookgroup. Only two pieces came home with me! The Nicoise salad was very good as well, though it needed a bit of salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Recipe Review 7/9/07
The weather has gotten way to warm to be doing much more than salads, but a mid-week holiday offsets that because you can make lots all in one go! Especially if you have company.
For the 4th of July I made:
Rose Sangria
Grilled Eggplant Stacks
Grilled Shrimp and Scallop skewers
a blueberry, blue cheese and spicy pecan salad with a maple vinaigrette
Grilled Eggplant Stack (Ckng Lght July 07, pg 145) 8
These were excellent. Eggplant is cut into 1/4 inch medallions, zucchini and summer squash sliced the long way, red pepper quartered and flattened. A good goat cheese is blended with oregano and basil. While the eggplant and squash are grilled, a balsamic and red wine vinegar reduction is made on the stove top. The medallions and squash slices are thinly spread with goat cheese and a little sandwich is created, with the reduction topping all. The cheese melts so very nicely and everything together is just a wonderful combination of flavors. I served this as a side to grilled shrimp and scallops and it was perfect.
Rose Sangria (Ckng Lght ??) 8
Another sangria recipe (I'll have to look up the particulars again) that turned out really good. Strawberries, oranges and raspberries are combined with triple sec, orange juice and a dash of sugar and chilled for a good hour. Then cold sparkling white zinfandel is added and everything is served over ice. This recipe said it served 8, but I think realistically 4 would be a better estimate (three of us were very happy). I liked the simplicity and ability to make most of this ahead of time.
For the 4th of July I made:
Rose Sangria
Grilled Eggplant Stacks
Grilled Shrimp and Scallop skewers
a blueberry, blue cheese and spicy pecan salad with a maple vinaigrette
Grilled Eggplant Stack (Ckng Lght July 07, pg 145) 8
These were excellent. Eggplant is cut into 1/4 inch medallions, zucchini and summer squash sliced the long way, red pepper quartered and flattened. A good goat cheese is blended with oregano and basil. While the eggplant and squash are grilled, a balsamic and red wine vinegar reduction is made on the stove top. The medallions and squash slices are thinly spread with goat cheese and a little sandwich is created, with the reduction topping all. The cheese melts so very nicely and everything together is just a wonderful combination of flavors. I served this as a side to grilled shrimp and scallops and it was perfect.
Rose Sangria (Ckng Lght ??) 8
Another sangria recipe (I'll have to look up the particulars again) that turned out really good. Strawberries, oranges and raspberries are combined with triple sec, orange juice and a dash of sugar and chilled for a good hour. Then cold sparkling white zinfandel is added and everything is served over ice. This recipe said it served 8, but I think realistically 4 would be a better estimate (three of us were very happy). I liked the simplicity and ability to make most of this ahead of time.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Recipe Review 7/2/07
Okay! I’m caught back up on my posts now and can resume a more leisurely pace. The weather has cooled off a bit allowing me to do a bit of baking this past week, that and I’ve had a bit more time around the house.
Here’s what we made this past week:
Granola (Gluten Free Gourmet Ckbk) 9
A co-worker was recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy and his wife is frantically trying to learn new ways of cooking. I saw him munching on homemade granola bars (made from this recipe) and I simply had to try them myself. This recipe was really good! It is puffed rice, sunflower seeds, soybeans, raisins and toasted unsweetened coconut tossed with a bit of canola oil and slowly toasted in the oven for about two hours. This was simply delicious (even though I forgot the raisins...)!
Granola Bars (Gluten Free Gourmet Ckbk) 8
Using the recipe for the granola above, first it’s pulverized a bit in the food processor, then mixed with brown rice syrup (a substitute for high fructose corn syrup), brown sugar, butter, vanilla and I added some cinnamon. Then everything is combined and baked for 20 minutes. Baking time should have been about 15 for my oven as the bars got a tich overcooked. Still, these turned out really good (a bit hard on the teeth, but as I mentioned, that was my fault).
I love how very versatile both recipes can be. Can’t have soy? Substitute a different nut. Don’t want raisins? Use cranberries or other dried fruit or leave them out completely. I will be making these again.
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ckng Lght, June 07, pg 252) 9
This is me eating these cookies: mmfph, smack! yum! I'll have just one more...
This was a reader recipe from 1998 that I actually can remember making. These were really good at first publication, but they had HFCS as part of the ingredients. Well, Ckng Lght must have also thought they were really good because they revisited the recipe and re-worked it to eliminate the HFCS. I have to say they are even better! These were awesome. Nestle Toll House, I am sad to say you’ve now been replaced. I did make one addition, I added some chopped walnuts as part of my attempts to increase nuts in my diet (makes them healthy ya know!).
BLT Salad (Eating Well, July/Aug 07, pg 34) 9!
Oh my oh my! This was divine! A grated tomato (sans skin) is combined with mayo, vinegar and pepper. A couple of slices of bacon fried. Either make your own croutons or use store bought (I made my own following the recipe). Combine over romaine lettuce. Absolutely FANTASTIC! The dressing is what really pulls this recipe together. I even think some chopped avocado added to the rest of the salad would be just smashing. It was really like eating a BLT, but in a bowl.
Cashew Chicken Salad (The New Ckng Lght Complete, pg 431) 7
I was in the mood for a chicken salad sandwich, but I wanted it to be on croissants, so the flavor had to be just so. This is a very simple recipe: shredded chicken, mayo, sour cream, curry powder, green onion, and cashews. I thought the curry would be a nice contrast to the sweetness usually found in a croissant. I have left the cashews off until I eat the sandwich, I’m not wild about soggy nuts. I also doubled the mayo sauce - it just wasn’t going to be enough to cover the two chicken breasts they called for. I grilled the chicken after topping with salt, pepper and smoked Spanish paprika. This made enough for lunches all week.
Here’s what we made this past week:
Granola (Gluten Free Gourmet Ckbk) 9
A co-worker was recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy and his wife is frantically trying to learn new ways of cooking. I saw him munching on homemade granola bars (made from this recipe) and I simply had to try them myself. This recipe was really good! It is puffed rice, sunflower seeds, soybeans, raisins and toasted unsweetened coconut tossed with a bit of canola oil and slowly toasted in the oven for about two hours. This was simply delicious (even though I forgot the raisins...)!
Granola Bars (Gluten Free Gourmet Ckbk) 8
Using the recipe for the granola above, first it’s pulverized a bit in the food processor, then mixed with brown rice syrup (a substitute for high fructose corn syrup), brown sugar, butter, vanilla and I added some cinnamon. Then everything is combined and baked for 20 minutes. Baking time should have been about 15 for my oven as the bars got a tich overcooked. Still, these turned out really good (a bit hard on the teeth, but as I mentioned, that was my fault).
I love how very versatile both recipes can be. Can’t have soy? Substitute a different nut. Don’t want raisins? Use cranberries or other dried fruit or leave them out completely. I will be making these again.
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ckng Lght, June 07, pg 252) 9
This is me eating these cookies: mmfph, smack! yum! I'll have just one more...
This was a reader recipe from 1998 that I actually can remember making. These were really good at first publication, but they had HFCS as part of the ingredients. Well, Ckng Lght must have also thought they were really good because they revisited the recipe and re-worked it to eliminate the HFCS. I have to say they are even better! These were awesome. Nestle Toll House, I am sad to say you’ve now been replaced. I did make one addition, I added some chopped walnuts as part of my attempts to increase nuts in my diet (makes them healthy ya know!).
BLT Salad (Eating Well, July/Aug 07, pg 34) 9!
Oh my oh my! This was divine! A grated tomato (sans skin) is combined with mayo, vinegar and pepper. A couple of slices of bacon fried. Either make your own croutons or use store bought (I made my own following the recipe). Combine over romaine lettuce. Absolutely FANTASTIC! The dressing is what really pulls this recipe together. I even think some chopped avocado added to the rest of the salad would be just smashing. It was really like eating a BLT, but in a bowl.
Cashew Chicken Salad (The New Ckng Lght Complete, pg 431) 7
I was in the mood for a chicken salad sandwich, but I wanted it to be on croissants, so the flavor had to be just so. This is a very simple recipe: shredded chicken, mayo, sour cream, curry powder, green onion, and cashews. I thought the curry would be a nice contrast to the sweetness usually found in a croissant. I have left the cashews off until I eat the sandwich, I’m not wild about soggy nuts. I also doubled the mayo sauce - it just wasn’t going to be enough to cover the two chicken breasts they called for. I grilled the chicken after topping with salt, pepper and smoked Spanish paprika. This made enough for lunches all week.
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