I've got a sick honey. And even though he's taken care of himself just fine for 29 years, I am convinced that if I don't make him soup and bring him orange juice that he will die. Also I am going to Florida tomorrow and feel guilty that I will be lounging on the beach while he is coughing on his couch.
So, like a good girlfriend, I made him some soup. It was mostly a "clean out my fridge/freezer" kind of soup and the only thing I needed from the store was chicken stock.
I did a base of onion and celery, then added salt, pepper, chicken stock and a bunch of chopped up chicken breast meat. After that was cooked through I added carrots and red potatoes and other seasonings (bay leaf, two shakes of cayenne, a bunch of basil). Right before I took it off the stove I added a crap load of spinach and a can of northern beans. One thing I did today that was different from usual was I added lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice (I don't remember where in the timeline I did this, but it was done). I got the idea from Giada at Home (great show) and thought I'd try it out.
Heading out with a big soup urn shortly-- I'm hoping that this hearty, healthy, and flavorful soup will help cure my sicky-poo!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
so many carrots
Sunday evening I had a pot luck to go to for prospective students in my program. Out of laziness and forgetfulness I made nothing. I pathetically stopped at the grocery store on the way to grab baby carrots and hummus and pita chips. Well, it turns out nobody likes carrots because I came home with the entire 2 lb bag.
Since I'm going on vacay tomorrow (jealous?) I needed to clean out my fridge and these darn carrots were just staring me in the face. So I decided it was a night for carrot soup.
I've never met a bowl of soup (homemade I mean) that I didn't like, and I have tried a bunch of carrot soups over the years. Some broth-y, some creamy, some chunky. Based on the other ingredients I had on hand (shallots, beef stock, and 2% milk) I decided to make a sweet and rich carrot bisque (well, I don't know if it was really a bisque but it was creamy and thick and smooth and whatever).
Here's how I did it:
First, I finely chopped two shallots and caramelized them in a skillet with 1 TBSP butter. Once they were done, I added a big glug of sherry to de-glaze the pan and then I scraped it all into a big soup pot and added around 1.5 pounds of baby carrots. I didn't even bother to chop them. Usually I prefer real carrots, but obviously I had these on hand. After about 5 minutes, I dumped in most of a big container of beef stock (it was in my fridge from last wednesday's dinner) and some spices-- nutmeg, which I add to apparently everything lately, and coriander for kicks.
Once the carrots were soft, I blended it until smooth and poured it back in the pot and turned it on verrrrry low. Then I added some milk (maybe 3/4 cup?) and a teeny bit more beef stock until it was a better consistency. Right before serving, I sprinkled on some parsley. I wish it was fresh, but I didn't have any so it was dried. Still added just a nice bit of bitter to counterbalance the sweetness of the rest. Also, this could totally use vegetable broth/stock instead of beef if you want to make it vegetarian (hence vegetarian label) and I think it would even be better-- especially if it was mushroom broth or something... and, if you're vegan you could do without the milk too. It's creamy enough!
I thought the soup was good. It wasn't the best... and I think that sweet carrots are better left whole. I guess I realized I like my soups to be salty? Anyway, it was decent but I don't think I'd want to make it exactly the same way again. Also, I couldn't bring myself to eat the leftovers today so that wasn't good. Tim didn't really love it either, which is disappointing since he loves carrots. Mostly I think he was weirded out that this pale and fluffy soup tasted like carrots. Silly.
Since I'm going on vacay tomorrow (jealous?) I needed to clean out my fridge and these darn carrots were just staring me in the face. So I decided it was a night for carrot soup.
I've never met a bowl of soup (homemade I mean) that I didn't like, and I have tried a bunch of carrot soups over the years. Some broth-y, some creamy, some chunky. Based on the other ingredients I had on hand (shallots, beef stock, and 2% milk) I decided to make a sweet and rich carrot bisque (well, I don't know if it was really a bisque but it was creamy and thick and smooth and whatever).
Here's how I did it:
First, I finely chopped two shallots and caramelized them in a skillet with 1 TBSP butter. Once they were done, I added a big glug of sherry to de-glaze the pan and then I scraped it all into a big soup pot and added around 1.5 pounds of baby carrots. I didn't even bother to chop them. Usually I prefer real carrots, but obviously I had these on hand. After about 5 minutes, I dumped in most of a big container of beef stock (it was in my fridge from last wednesday's dinner) and some spices-- nutmeg, which I add to apparently everything lately, and coriander for kicks.
Once the carrots were soft, I blended it until smooth and poured it back in the pot and turned it on verrrrry low. Then I added some milk (maybe 3/4 cup?) and a teeny bit more beef stock until it was a better consistency. Right before serving, I sprinkled on some parsley. I wish it was fresh, but I didn't have any so it was dried. Still added just a nice bit of bitter to counterbalance the sweetness of the rest. Also, this could totally use vegetable broth/stock instead of beef if you want to make it vegetarian (hence vegetarian label) and I think it would even be better-- especially if it was mushroom broth or something... and, if you're vegan you could do without the milk too. It's creamy enough!
I thought the soup was good. It wasn't the best... and I think that sweet carrots are better left whole. I guess I realized I like my soups to be salty? Anyway, it was decent but I don't think I'd want to make it exactly the same way again. Also, I couldn't bring myself to eat the leftovers today so that wasn't good. Tim didn't really love it either, which is disappointing since he loves carrots. Mostly I think he was weirded out that this pale and fluffy soup tasted like carrots. Silly.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Hmm... what's in my fridge?
I have just not done any cooking this week. It's weird, but true! Monday was Valentine's day so the boy and I went out for Mexican food (we're so classy), and I can barely even remember Tuesday.
Last night, I was just too lazy to go to the store, so I knew it was going to be one of those nights that I create something out of the contents of my fridge and pantry. The result, in this case anyway, was not half bad!
I'm not sure what to call it. Chunky beef noodle soup? Something like that.
Here's how I did it:
Not bad for an impromptu meal!
Last night, I was just too lazy to go to the store, so I knew it was going to be one of those nights that I create something out of the contents of my fridge and pantry. The result, in this case anyway, was not half bad!
Here's how I did it:
- 1 lb "stir fry" beef (tenderized stew meat from what I can tell, but it was on sale). I coated the pieces in flour, and dropped them into the bottom of a hot dutch oven (with a swirl of olive oil). Once browned, I removed them with a slotted spoon and then added
- 1/2 chopped onion (mine was yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- approximately 4 stalks of celery finely diced
- Once everything was translucent, I poured in a Guiness to deglaze the pan and I let it boil down about half.
- Then, I threw the beef back in, along with 6 chopped carrots, a cup of frozen peas, a can of diced tomatoes, a few tablespoons of tomato paste, and a big carton of beef stock.
- I added a bunch of spices at this point:
- dried parsley (b/c I had no fresh)
- a palmful of paprika
- a dash of cayenne
- fennel seeds
- Once the carrots were soft I added about half a box of spiral noodles and boiled them for a good 11 minutes.
Not bad for an impromptu meal!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Dinner a la Rachael Ray
Last night I used one of my favorite cook books for a bit of inspiration. This cook book is Rachael Ray's All-Occasion Cookbook. Ms. Ray gets a bad rap sometimes but I think her recipes are great. They aren't the most gourmet, but they are speedy, healthy, and tasty.
For our Saturday night dinner, I used three recipes:
1. "Too easy" chicken with leeks-- basically, you brown two chicken breasts in a skillet; remove them to soften some leeks; add the chicken back and pour some white wine over the whole thing and cook til done.
2. Pesto mashed potatoes-- I made my own pesto earlier in the week, but the jarred stuff works really well too. Tim actually was in charge of the potatoes. He chopped up about 2 pounds of red potatoes, boiled til soft, and then mashed with chicken stock and about 3/4 cup of fresh pesto.
3. Mixed green salad-- one heart of romaine, one head of radicchio, and one fennel bulb. Added a little balsamic and olive oil, and threw on some Parmesan shavings for good measure.
The meal was decent, but nothing to rave about. The potatoes were the best part, and I ate the leftovers for dinner tonight! The chicken wasn't done when the recipe told me it would be so we ate the meal in shifts. Scheduling a meal correctly to have everything completed at the same time is one of the hardest things about cooking. I feel like I've had 20 years of experience so having a meal-in-shifts makes me incredibly cranky. The salad was decent but would have served 20 people. I probably would have preferred a simple lemon vinaigrette to the balsamic as well.
The potatoes will definitely show up again.
For our Saturday night dinner, I used three recipes:
1. "Too easy" chicken with leeks-- basically, you brown two chicken breasts in a skillet; remove them to soften some leeks; add the chicken back and pour some white wine over the whole thing and cook til done.
2. Pesto mashed potatoes-- I made my own pesto earlier in the week, but the jarred stuff works really well too. Tim actually was in charge of the potatoes. He chopped up about 2 pounds of red potatoes, boiled til soft, and then mashed with chicken stock and about 3/4 cup of fresh pesto.
3. Mixed green salad-- one heart of romaine, one head of radicchio, and one fennel bulb. Added a little balsamic and olive oil, and threw on some Parmesan shavings for good measure.
The meal was decent, but nothing to rave about. The potatoes were the best part, and I ate the leftovers for dinner tonight! The chicken wasn't done when the recipe told me it would be so we ate the meal in shifts. Scheduling a meal correctly to have everything completed at the same time is one of the hardest things about cooking. I feel like I've had 20 years of experience so having a meal-in-shifts makes me incredibly cranky. The salad was decent but would have served 20 people. I probably would have preferred a simple lemon vinaigrette to the balsamic as well.
The potatoes will definitely show up again.
An Edible Valentine
Friday evening, I made this. And it was seriously delicious. I don't really love cheesecake usually, but I have a boyfriend who, when it comes to dessert, pretty much only likes cheesecake. Because I'm a nice girlfriend, I like to make him special cheesecakes for special occasions (what a sacrifice....) For my recipes I have gone to my favorite food blog (Smitten Kitchen) for inspiration. Last summer I made a caramel chocolate cheese(birthday)cake (which was fabulous by the way... I had seconds), and now for Valentine's Day I made a brownie mosaic cheesecake.
And let me tell you-- it was AMAZING. For one thing, it had (well, still has-- two people can't eat a whole cheesecake no matter how hard they try) a chocolate graham cracker crust, and for another thing, it had two cups of homemade brownie cubes inside which managed to make it into every bite. YUM.
I followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe almost to a T. I did the double crust, because usually a crust is my favorite part of cheesecake. Instead of chocolate teddy grahams, I just used chocolate graham crackers, and I also used Smart Balance buttery spread instead of real butter. For the brownies, I used bittersweet chocolate instead of unsweetened and then just added less sugar (like half as much or less). And for the cheesecake, I used two packages of regular cream cheese and one of fat free (next time I might even try two fat free to one full-fat). The only big change was that I didn't make the chocolate ganache frosting. I did melt down an ounce of bittersweet chocolate and made some hearts which I scattered over the top of the cake, but it didn't even need that. I think the extra ganache on top would have put it over the edge in terms of sweetness and richness. As it stands, it was just perfect.
Two thumbs up. Five stars. If we have to go up a pants size, so be it. What else can I say?
And let me tell you-- it was AMAZING. For one thing, it had (well, still has-- two people can't eat a whole cheesecake no matter how hard they try) a chocolate graham cracker crust, and for another thing, it had two cups of homemade brownie cubes inside which managed to make it into every bite. YUM.
I followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe almost to a T. I did the double crust, because usually a crust is my favorite part of cheesecake. Instead of chocolate teddy grahams, I just used chocolate graham crackers, and I also used Smart Balance buttery spread instead of real butter. For the brownies, I used bittersweet chocolate instead of unsweetened and then just added less sugar (like half as much or less). And for the cheesecake, I used two packages of regular cream cheese and one of fat free (next time I might even try two fat free to one full-fat). The only big change was that I didn't make the chocolate ganache frosting. I did melt down an ounce of bittersweet chocolate and made some hearts which I scattered over the top of the cake, but it didn't even need that. I think the extra ganache on top would have put it over the edge in terms of sweetness and richness. As it stands, it was just perfect.
 |
| A not-very-appetizing photo of a VERY-very-appetizing cake |
Two thumbs up. Five stars. If we have to go up a pants size, so be it. What else can I say?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
(mini) Chicken Pot Pie
Ever since my February issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived, I have been craving the chicken pot pie that is pictured throughout. When Tim brought it up last weekend (Martha is in the bathroom, so everyone reads it), I knew it was time to try it out! However, I didn't want to stick to Martha's recipe and not give anyone else a chance, so I did some searching online for the perfect recipe. And then.... I didn't follow any of them. I sort of used Martha's in terms of proportions of ingredients and cook time, but the ingredients more resembled Ina Garten's (who is a goddess, by the way.) Either way-- it was great. Here's what I did:
1 quarter of a yellow onion (in the fridge) finely diced
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 red potato, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and diagonally sliced
1 chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup (or so) frozen peas
glug of olive oil
1 cup (ish) chicken stock
glug of sherry
1/3 cup (ish) 2 % milk (because that's what I had)
2 (ish) teaspoons corn starch
puff pastry
egg (for egg wash)
salt, pepper, thyme, and sage to taste
First I preheated the oven to 425. While it was warming up, I put the onion, celery, and olive oil in a bit pot over medium heat and sauteed until everything was translucent. Then, I added the potatoes and carrots and sauteed for 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. I also added Thyme (just ground), salt, and a few shakes of pepper at this point. Then, just as the potato and carrot were becoming tender, I added a glug of Sherry and let it cook down (about 3 minutes). At that point I added the cubed chicken and chicken broth (and put a lid on until it boiled). After boiling for several minutes I added the peas, the milk and the corn starch (I first whisked it with some water so it wouldn't chunk up). Then I let it boil again and thicken up.
Then I spooned the mixture into two mini pie-pans. A big pie pan would do, as would a bunch of ramekins. But for dinner with my honey, the two little minis were perfect! I put a piece of puff pastry over both-- with enough extra dough to spill over the edge. I did a quick egg wash and cut a slit in the top of each and popped them into the oven for around 15 minutes (mostly I just kept an eye on them, and when the top was golden brown I knew it was done!)
The chicken pot pies were DE-LISH! Now I am actually tempted to follow some of the recipes I've been looking at exactly to figure out the best possible version. The dish got good marks all around-- not too difficult and not too unhealthy. Nice and filling on a frigid winter night!
On the side, I served a salad of bibb lettuce, walnuts, chopped fennel, and a dijon vinaigrette.
VERY good Wednesday night dinner.
1 quarter of a yellow onion (in the fridge) finely diced
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 red potato, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and diagonally sliced
1 chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup (or so) frozen peas
glug of olive oil
1 cup (ish) chicken stock
glug of sherry
1/3 cup (ish) 2 % milk (because that's what I had)
2 (ish) teaspoons corn starch
puff pastry
egg (for egg wash)
salt, pepper, thyme, and sage to taste
First I preheated the oven to 425. While it was warming up, I put the onion, celery, and olive oil in a bit pot over medium heat and sauteed until everything was translucent. Then, I added the potatoes and carrots and sauteed for 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. I also added Thyme (just ground), salt, and a few shakes of pepper at this point. Then, just as the potato and carrot were becoming tender, I added a glug of Sherry and let it cook down (about 3 minutes). At that point I added the cubed chicken and chicken broth (and put a lid on until it boiled). After boiling for several minutes I added the peas, the milk and the corn starch (I first whisked it with some water so it wouldn't chunk up). Then I let it boil again and thicken up.
Then I spooned the mixture into two mini pie-pans. A big pie pan would do, as would a bunch of ramekins. But for dinner with my honey, the two little minis were perfect! I put a piece of puff pastry over both-- with enough extra dough to spill over the edge. I did a quick egg wash and cut a slit in the top of each and popped them into the oven for around 15 minutes (mostly I just kept an eye on them, and when the top was golden brown I knew it was done!)
 |
| personal pans of deliciousness |
The chicken pot pies were DE-LISH! Now I am actually tempted to follow some of the recipes I've been looking at exactly to figure out the best possible version. The dish got good marks all around-- not too difficult and not too unhealthy. Nice and filling on a frigid winter night!
On the side, I served a salad of bibb lettuce, walnuts, chopped fennel, and a dijon vinaigrette.
VERY good Wednesday night dinner.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Curried Chicken Salad
This morning I worked from home, which means I forgot to eat breakfast until almost 11 am. So, come 3 pm I was starving for lunch even though it was practically my dinner time (I am like a senior citizen and usually eat at five).
So, for "linner" today, I made myself some curried chicken salad using a leftover chicken breast from last night. If you know me well, you may find this odd. I don't usually eat leftover meat. In fact I have a phobia of it. There is a flavor I have termed "old chicken" (whether we're talking about chicken, beef, seafood, etc) and I avoid it like the plague. The funny thing I've figured out, though, is that "old chicken" only comes out if the meat is re-heated. So, a nice and cold chicken salad is a happy exception to my rule!
For 2-3 servings (depending if you make a sandwich, a lettuce roll up, or just eat it with a fork).
1 leftover chicken breast-- diced up
1 celery stalk finely diced
1 small shallot finely diced
2 TBSP (or so... I didn't really measure) golden raisins (b/c that is what I had on hand).
1TBSP (again rough measurement) walnuts
1/4 cup mayo. Mine is Hellman's and it is "light".
Curry powder to taste-- I started with a heaping TBSP and then added a few more shakes.
Salt and pepper to taste-- I used zero salt and approximately two twists of coarsely ground pepper
Mix it all up and serve it however you like. Today, I plopped big spoonfuls on pieces of bibb lettuce.
This chicken salad was just what I needed today. It has a little bit of everything-- spice from the shallot and the curry, crunch from the celery and the walnuts, and sweet and chewy from the raisins. Plus, it's nice and healthy. Winner! I'm looking forward to eating the rest for lunch tomorrow.
So, for "linner" today, I made myself some curried chicken salad using a leftover chicken breast from last night. If you know me well, you may find this odd. I don't usually eat leftover meat. In fact I have a phobia of it. There is a flavor I have termed "old chicken" (whether we're talking about chicken, beef, seafood, etc) and I avoid it like the plague. The funny thing I've figured out, though, is that "old chicken" only comes out if the meat is re-heated. So, a nice and cold chicken salad is a happy exception to my rule!
1 leftover chicken breast-- diced up
1 celery stalk finely diced
1 small shallot finely diced
2 TBSP (or so... I didn't really measure) golden raisins (b/c that is what I had on hand).
1TBSP (again rough measurement) walnuts
1/4 cup mayo. Mine is Hellman's and it is "light".
Curry powder to taste-- I started with a heaping TBSP and then added a few more shakes.
Salt and pepper to taste-- I used zero salt and approximately two twists of coarsely ground pepper
Mix it all up and serve it however you like. Today, I plopped big spoonfuls on pieces of bibb lettuce.
This chicken salad was just what I needed today. It has a little bit of everything-- spice from the shallot and the curry, crunch from the celery and the walnuts, and sweet and chewy from the raisins. Plus, it's nice and healthy. Winner! I'm looking forward to eating the rest for lunch tomorrow.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday fine dining
My favorite way to survive a work week is my Monday evening yoga class. It is relaxing, rejuvenating, and helps me lose the "ugh... Monday" feeling and face the week ahead. And after I treat my body so nicely for an hour, I feel like it is required to feed it something healthy and delicious.
On tonight's menu is chicken breast on a bed of sauteed fennel with a side of corn (just because it was in my freezer). I made the chicken the easiest way I know how-- rub it with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper, and pop it in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I add liquid, turn the heat off, and let the chicken stay in the oven for another 10 or so minutes. Tonight I also added tarragon (a licorice flavor like fennel) and orange zest-- and my liquid was some OJ and chicken broth, though white wine or stock or anything would do.
While the chicken was roasting, I put one TBSP of butter in a little sautee pan and swirled it til it melted. Then I added one diced up shallot and let it sautee for just about a minute before I added some sliced fennel. I tossed it around to coat it in the buttery goodness, and then added a few fennel fronds, some salt and pepper, and about a teaspoon of orange zest. I put the burner on low and just stirred it every few minutes.
The corn was just frozen so I put it in the micro with a bit of water and a TBSP of olive oil and a dash of salt (always necessary when using olive oil-- it makes the flavor pop!
The meal got low marks in terms of color. Everything was white! I should have made a green veggie at least. But, it tasted good. The fennel especially-- I adore fennel any which way so this is no surprise. The chicken breast was huge so I am saving the leftovers for chicken salad tomorrow!
Yum.
On tonight's menu is chicken breast on a bed of sauteed fennel with a side of corn (just because it was in my freezer). I made the chicken the easiest way I know how-- rub it with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper, and pop it in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I add liquid, turn the heat off, and let the chicken stay in the oven for another 10 or so minutes. Tonight I also added tarragon (a licorice flavor like fennel) and orange zest-- and my liquid was some OJ and chicken broth, though white wine or stock or anything would do.
While the chicken was roasting, I put one TBSP of butter in a little sautee pan and swirled it til it melted. Then I added one diced up shallot and let it sautee for just about a minute before I added some sliced fennel. I tossed it around to coat it in the buttery goodness, and then added a few fennel fronds, some salt and pepper, and about a teaspoon of orange zest. I put the burner on low and just stirred it every few minutes.
The corn was just frozen so I put it in the micro with a bit of water and a TBSP of olive oil and a dash of salt (always necessary when using olive oil-- it makes the flavor pop!
The meal got low marks in terms of color. Everything was white! I should have made a green veggie at least. But, it tasted good. The fennel especially-- I adore fennel any which way so this is no surprise. The chicken breast was huge so I am saving the leftovers for chicken salad tomorrow!
Yum.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The opposite of a night on the town
I was pretty worthless today-- I woke up with a tummy ache and never really made it off of my couch. By dinner tie I realized I was starving but a trip to the store seemed out of the question. So (with some help from my honey who picked up a bag of red potatoes on his way over) I just through something together with some goodies from my freezer: Herb crusted pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes (roasted in the pan drippings I might add) and a side of creamed (er... 2% milked spinach).
Pork tenderloin is my all time favorite dish to prepare. It's easy, it's delicious, it's healthy-- what's not to love? I have honestly made it every way imaginable. On the grill, in the oven, marinated in just about everything. Tonight I opted for a dry rub-- mostly a mix of sage and thyme with some garlic powder, sea salt, and course black pepper mixed in. I plopped it in a pan surrounded it with sliced potatoes and chopped onion, drizzled it with olive oil, and put it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. After the pork was out of the oven and resting, I made the spinach. Just one box of frozen spinach, a few tablespoons of butter, about a quarter cup of 2% milk and a few teaspoons of nutmeg. Right before serving I sprinkled some romano cheese over the top.
As usual, the pork was great. Letting it rest for 5-10 minutes after coming out of the oven (or off the grill) is really the key step to juicy delicious pork. The potatoes tonight were a-mazing. I haven't ever roasted them in the same pan as the pork before, and they absorbed the salty rich flavor of the tenderloin. I was also really surprised with how creamy the not-actually-creamed spinach was!
The recipe-free meal got good marks all around, and in fact, I may go dig into the leftovers any minute... until then, it's back to my comfy couch.
 |
| Pork and Potatoes |
Pork tenderloin is my all time favorite dish to prepare. It's easy, it's delicious, it's healthy-- what's not to love? I have honestly made it every way imaginable. On the grill, in the oven, marinated in just about everything. Tonight I opted for a dry rub-- mostly a mix of sage and thyme with some garlic powder, sea salt, and course black pepper mixed in. I plopped it in a pan surrounded it with sliced potatoes and chopped onion, drizzled it with olive oil, and put it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. After the pork was out of the oven and resting, I made the spinach. Just one box of frozen spinach, a few tablespoons of butter, about a quarter cup of 2% milk and a few teaspoons of nutmeg. Right before serving I sprinkled some romano cheese over the top.
 |
| Spinach |
As usual, the pork was great. Letting it rest for 5-10 minutes after coming out of the oven (or off the grill) is really the key step to juicy delicious pork. The potatoes tonight were a-mazing. I haven't ever roasted them in the same pan as the pork before, and they absorbed the salty rich flavor of the tenderloin. I was also really surprised with how creamy the not-actually-creamed spinach was!
The recipe-free meal got good marks all around, and in fact, I may go dig into the leftovers any minute... until then, it's back to my comfy couch.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
yay blogging!
I have always loved to cook. However, I have never loved to follow recipes which means that I can rarely recreate any of my favorite dishes. And when I do follow a recipe, I can never remember exactly what part I fudged, or if I liked it, or what I would do differently for the proverbial next time.
Since recipe boxes seem old fashioned (and also not very green), I have decided to make a virtual recipe box to keep track of what exactly it is that I cook.
Though this blog is mostly for my own reference and memory, if you happen to stumble upon it, I hope you enjoy!
Since recipe boxes seem old fashioned (and also not very green), I have decided to make a virtual recipe box to keep track of what exactly it is that I cook.
Though this blog is mostly for my own reference and memory, if you happen to stumble upon it, I hope you enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)