(no subject)
The problem with drinking coffee all day is that it makes you antsy-pantsy and makes posting on LJ a thing to do, even if there's nothing to say.
Let's do this.
COOKING ADVENTURES
(of the past week or two)
*in no particular order
1. Horseradish-Mashed-Potato Shepherd's Pie
Made this for dinner tonight and it was pretty decent. But really now, Rachel...30 minutes? Not unless you have an assistant and a food processor for all that peeling and chopping. I do have both of these things, but they happen to be 250 miles away, dang.
2. Creme Brulee Cupcakes from Cupcakes Galore
These were delicious, no doubts about it. Very much like creme brulee in the sense that they were super-moist, eggy, and caramely, HOWEVER, the brown sugar "frosting" has me irked to no end. There is no picture for this cupcake, and I thought it strange to put a frosting on this cupcake as a glaze felt more appropriate (god, I sound like a pompous ass), but thought to give it a shot. Well, the recipe for the frosting did, in fact, turn out to be a glaze. Rather than just take it for what it was, I did my damnedest to make that glaze into a frosting. Fortunately, I gave up on that idea before botching the whole thing and settled for a glaze. It was tasty enough to make me want to try it again, but without tinkering with the GLAZE. The only reason I'm so worked up over the glaze is the fact that last time I made a recipe from this book, I was trying to make what was labeled a "glaze" and it turned into a frosting. Such is life.
3. Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Relish
Zach and I made this as a follow-up to our Brooklyn Pad Thai experience and to catch him up on all the awesome ethnic foods he's been missing out on. The only thing that didn't sit right with me was that the relish was more vinegary/less sweet than what I'm used to, but Zach liked it just fine. Rather than go on and on about how easy/amazing/holytastycakes this was, let's just say I've been looking for excuses to make this again. On a total sidenote, sitting on the steps watching Zach at the grill in the late afternoon light made me fall in love with him all over again, dawww.
4. Jools' Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta
Mom asked what the name of this recipe was and I couldn't quite remember (seriously, what kind of name is that?), so she titled it, "Cat Food Dinner." For most, this might come across as a DISSSS, but she is a cat lady. The recipe calls for 20oz of tuna, yet, tuna is usually packed in 6oz cans. With "only" 18oz, it was pretty thick. It was good for a cheap, filling, mostly healthy/rounded meal, but it could use more tomato sauce and more salting (my bad!).
5. Roasted Zucchini and Radishes
Made this for the JFSAP (above). This was my first time dealing with radishes and won't be the last (because they are yummy AND pretty). This recipe though...the zucchini came out WAY overcooked (but still tasty) and the radishes were perfect.
6. Harira
Let it be known that I love soup. No really, I love it more than any reasonable person should. Usually I stick with the standard minestrone or chicken noodle soups, so it seemed time to mix it up. This turned out suuuuuper thick and while the directions said thinning out was an option...eh, stews are just as good as soups in my book. So it evolved into a fork-able noodle dish, with the last second addition of lemon juice and egg yolks a must. The only negative was that there was nothing to accompany the soup...otherwise, woo! Go, Morocco!
7. Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs
I told Zach was I going to make him something, but that it was a secret. Then I caved a bit and let on that it was a "secret" soup. And then it was, "ok, so I'm making you tomato soup, want to help?" He was excited at first...then OMG-YOU KNOW ME SO WELL THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER-EEE! giddy from the realization that there would be roasted garlic involved. One lesson learned is that the blender works much better for this soup than a food processor in regards to mess and blending ability. We had it with Great Harvest's Potato Cheddar Chive Bread and it was mmmmmmmmm.
In short: NOM NOM NOM NOM.
Let's do this.
COOKING ADVENTURES
(of the past week or two)
*in no particular order
1. Horseradish-Mashed-Potato Shepherd's Pie
Made this for dinner tonight and it was pretty decent. But really now, Rachel...30 minutes? Not unless you have an assistant and a food processor for all that peeling and chopping. I do have both of these things, but they happen to be 250 miles away, dang.
2. Creme Brulee Cupcakes from Cupcakes Galore
These were delicious, no doubts about it. Very much like creme brulee in the sense that they were super-moist, eggy, and caramely, HOWEVER, the brown sugar "frosting" has me irked to no end. There is no picture for this cupcake, and I thought it strange to put a frosting on this cupcake as a glaze felt more appropriate (god, I sound like a pompous ass), but thought to give it a shot. Well, the recipe for the frosting did, in fact, turn out to be a glaze. Rather than just take it for what it was, I did my damnedest to make that glaze into a frosting. Fortunately, I gave up on that idea before botching the whole thing and settled for a glaze. It was tasty enough to make me want to try it again, but without tinkering with the GLAZE. The only reason I'm so worked up over the glaze is the fact that last time I made a recipe from this book, I was trying to make what was labeled a "glaze" and it turned into a frosting. Such is life.
3. Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Relish
Zach and I made this as a follow-up to our Brooklyn Pad Thai experience and to catch him up on all the awesome ethnic foods he's been missing out on. The only thing that didn't sit right with me was that the relish was more vinegary/less sweet than what I'm used to, but Zach liked it just fine. Rather than go on and on about how easy/amazing/holytastycakes this was, let's just say I've been looking for excuses to make this again. On a total sidenote, sitting on the steps watching Zach at the grill in the late afternoon light made me fall in love with him all over again, dawww.
4. Jools' Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta
Mom asked what the name of this recipe was and I couldn't quite remember (seriously, what kind of name is that?), so she titled it, "Cat Food Dinner." For most, this might come across as a DISSSS, but she is a cat lady. The recipe calls for 20oz of tuna, yet, tuna is usually packed in 6oz cans. With "only" 18oz, it was pretty thick. It was good for a cheap, filling, mostly healthy/rounded meal, but it could use more tomato sauce and more salting (my bad!).
5. Roasted Zucchini and Radishes
Made this for the JFSAP (above). This was my first time dealing with radishes and won't be the last (because they are yummy AND pretty). This recipe though...the zucchini came out WAY overcooked (but still tasty) and the radishes were perfect.
6. Harira
Let it be known that I love soup. No really, I love it more than any reasonable person should. Usually I stick with the standard minestrone or chicken noodle soups, so it seemed time to mix it up. This turned out suuuuuper thick and while the directions said thinning out was an option...eh, stews are just as good as soups in my book. So it evolved into a fork-able noodle dish, with the last second addition of lemon juice and egg yolks a must. The only negative was that there was nothing to accompany the soup...otherwise, woo! Go, Morocco!
7. Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs
I told Zach was I going to make him something, but that it was a secret. Then I caved a bit and let on that it was a "secret" soup. And then it was, "ok, so I'm making you tomato soup, want to help?" He was excited at first...then OMG-YOU KNOW ME SO WELL THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER-EEE! giddy from the realization that there would be roasted garlic involved. One lesson learned is that the blender works much better for this soup than a food processor in regards to mess and blending ability. We had it with Great Harvest's Potato Cheddar Chive Bread and it was mmmmmmmmm.
In short: NOM NOM NOM NOM.