Recipeez! (Part 2)
I have more, I have more!
What I made: BBQ Pork Buns
What I did differently: I really only used this recipe for the bun part... The pork was supplied by the fact that we had leftover pulled pork that learan made.
What I liked: The buns had that awesome vaguely sweet taste that good stuffed buns do, and they froze REALLY well.
What I would do differently next time: I don't think I would do anything differently. I think I would use these to make all sorts of buns! They'd be really good as custard buns as well...
Would I make it again: Totally.
What I made: Crab Salad
What I did differently: I skipped the celery -- I'm not a fan of chopped celery in my seafood -- and we used red pepper. (Honestly, I think green pepper might be too bitter for it, but that's personal preference.) Also we used crab-flavoured pollock, because we are not rolling in the benjamins. Or, in our case, the robert bordens.
What I liked: The flavours worked really well together -- especially the curry powder. It gave our sammiches a really nice kick.
What I would do differently next time: I might try it with the celery. Eventually.
Would I make it again: Hell yeah! I think we even still have another pack of fake!crab in the freezer...
What I made: Mongolian Beef
What I did differently: I reduced the amount of sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup, and we didn't have any green onions, so I left those out.
What I liked: It made for really nice tender beef, and the sauce thickened up really nicely.
What I would do differently next time: I would probably put a bit more sugar in -- I reduced it too much, and didn't quite have enough to balance the saltiness of the soy sauce. I think next time I'll try 1/3 cup or a little more.
Would I make it again: I would! Hopefully at a point when I have a decent wok... (Our wok, despite claiming to be "non-stick" -- which is a can of worms that I will not get into at the moment -- invariably gets whatever coating I try to put on stuff thoroughly stuck to it. It is our Shitty Wok.)
What I made: Smashed Potatoes!
What I did differently: Not a thing.
What I liked: EVERYTHING. Seriously, these things are made of WIN.
What I would do differently next time: Again, nothing. I've made them a bunch of times, and they always rock.
Would I make it again: Without a doubt. I'm hungry just thinking about them!
What I made: Roasted Potatoes
What I did differently: Aside from not using the recommended type of potatoes (which is par for the course with me), I made them pretty much the same way.
What I liked: CRUNCH!
What I would do differently next time: I'd probably cook them a little less long -- they ended up rather more thoroughly browned than I meant them to.
Would I make it again: I certainly would! I've tried quite a few roasted potato recipes, and this is definitely one of my top five.
What I made: DIY Tater Tots
What I did differently: Ahaha, so many things... Again I had a distinct lack of green onion in the house, so I skipped that bit. I put in extra cheese (romano)... And I had some adventures in blending before deciding that I was only going to make potato soup that way (even on pulse!), and decided to try our Tupperware hand blender instead. It worked MUCH better. But the mixture ended up rather more sloppy than it was supposed to, so we had something that was more like mini potato pancakes. Still awesome-tasting, though!
What I liked: Not only did they have way more flavour than store-bought tater tots (cheese!), they tasted wonderful the next day as well.
What I would do differently next time: Not trust our blender to chop things? And I might try the green onion route, if we have any. (Considering how many things I make that call for green onion, we really should have some on hand at all times. And we probably will in the summer when we can get them fresh.)
Would I make it again: Definitely! I'm starting to get the hang of this whole deep-frying thing.
What I made: Peanut Butter Ninjas
What I did differently: I reduced the amount of sugar in the chocolate part of the cookie, so I went from 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar (the recipe) to 3/4 cup brown sugar (because they really didn't need that much sugar).
What I liked: I don't think there's anything I didn't like! They seriously are the best cookies ever.
What I would do differently next time: Not a thing! I made them too big the first time, but the second time I tried making them a little smaller and I got 30 cookies out of it. (Okay 29. I may have dropped one on the floor.)
Would I make it again: OMG YES. They could be the new theme cookie for the Literary Ninjas! (Except for those ninjas who are allergic to peanut butter. Sadly, not them.)
Okay, now there is a place we must be, and therefore this post is again to be continued! :)
What I made: BBQ Pork Buns
What I did differently: I really only used this recipe for the bun part... The pork was supplied by the fact that we had leftover pulled pork that learan made.
What I liked: The buns had that awesome vaguely sweet taste that good stuffed buns do, and they froze REALLY well.
What I would do differently next time: I don't think I would do anything differently. I think I would use these to make all sorts of buns! They'd be really good as custard buns as well...
Would I make it again: Totally.
What I made: Crab Salad
What I did differently: I skipped the celery -- I'm not a fan of chopped celery in my seafood -- and we used red pepper. (Honestly, I think green pepper might be too bitter for it, but that's personal preference.) Also we used crab-flavoured pollock, because we are not rolling in the benjamins. Or, in our case, the robert bordens.
What I liked: The flavours worked really well together -- especially the curry powder. It gave our sammiches a really nice kick.
What I would do differently next time: I might try it with the celery. Eventually.
Would I make it again: Hell yeah! I think we even still have another pack of fake!crab in the freezer...
What I made: Mongolian Beef
What I did differently: I reduced the amount of sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup, and we didn't have any green onions, so I left those out.
What I liked: It made for really nice tender beef, and the sauce thickened up really nicely.
What I would do differently next time: I would probably put a bit more sugar in -- I reduced it too much, and didn't quite have enough to balance the saltiness of the soy sauce. I think next time I'll try 1/3 cup or a little more.
Would I make it again: I would! Hopefully at a point when I have a decent wok... (Our wok, despite claiming to be "non-stick" -- which is a can of worms that I will not get into at the moment -- invariably gets whatever coating I try to put on stuff thoroughly stuck to it. It is our Shitty Wok.)
What I made: Smashed Potatoes!
What I did differently: Not a thing.
What I liked: EVERYTHING. Seriously, these things are made of WIN.
What I would do differently next time: Again, nothing. I've made them a bunch of times, and they always rock.
Would I make it again: Without a doubt. I'm hungry just thinking about them!
What I made: Roasted Potatoes
What I did differently: Aside from not using the recommended type of potatoes (which is par for the course with me), I made them pretty much the same way.
What I liked: CRUNCH!
What I would do differently next time: I'd probably cook them a little less long -- they ended up rather more thoroughly browned than I meant them to.
Would I make it again: I certainly would! I've tried quite a few roasted potato recipes, and this is definitely one of my top five.
What I made: DIY Tater Tots
What I did differently: Ahaha, so many things... Again I had a distinct lack of green onion in the house, so I skipped that bit. I put in extra cheese (romano)... And I had some adventures in blending before deciding that I was only going to make potato soup that way (even on pulse!), and decided to try our Tupperware hand blender instead. It worked MUCH better. But the mixture ended up rather more sloppy than it was supposed to, so we had something that was more like mini potato pancakes. Still awesome-tasting, though!
What I liked: Not only did they have way more flavour than store-bought tater tots (cheese!), they tasted wonderful the next day as well.
What I would do differently next time: Not trust our blender to chop things? And I might try the green onion route, if we have any. (Considering how many things I make that call for green onion, we really should have some on hand at all times. And we probably will in the summer when we can get them fresh.)
Would I make it again: Definitely! I'm starting to get the hang of this whole deep-frying thing.
What I made: Peanut Butter Ninjas
What I did differently: I reduced the amount of sugar in the chocolate part of the cookie, so I went from 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar (the recipe) to 3/4 cup brown sugar (because they really didn't need that much sugar).
What I liked: I don't think there's anything I didn't like! They seriously are the best cookies ever.
What I would do differently next time: Not a thing! I made them too big the first time, but the second time I tried making them a little smaller and I got 30 cookies out of it. (Okay 29. I may have dropped one on the floor.)
Would I make it again: OMG YES. They could be the new theme cookie for the Literary Ninjas! (Except for those ninjas who are allergic to peanut butter. Sadly, not them.)
Okay, now there is a place we must be, and therefore this post is again to be continued! :)