Cooking frenzy
Feb. 9th, 2010 03:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coffeesnob318Another resolution update, you ask? So soon? Yes, it is true. Well, it is true about the cooking part anyway. I have been cooking quite a bit this week. It all started when I went to meet Olive (seriously so in love with this child - I just want to buy her things - I'm also a little concerned that that's one of my gut reaction ways of showing love, but that's another post for another time). There is a Central Market about twenty minutes from their house, so I was able to stock up on a lot of organic veggies at a lower-than-typical price.
The thing about organic vegetables, however, is that, while more delicious and the result of more ecologically friendly farming practices, they tend to go bad more quickly. Thus the cooking frenzy. It started with beans and greens last weekend (see previous post on the subject) and took off from there.
I am also introducing a new element to my recipe reports. I'll use the following ranking system to indicate how much I like each dish and the likelihood that I will ever make it again:
5 - If this dish were a boy, I'd marry it.
4 - Definitely something I'll make on a semi-regular basis
3 - Edible
2 - Well, at least it's not pot pie
1 - Oh, the humanity!
From the last post:
1. Meatballs vinaigrette - 2
2. Beans and greens - 4
And now the new recipes (clicky to read the actual recipes):
3. Curried eggplant with tomatoes and basil (found in Real Simple)
1 c. rice
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. fresh basil
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 t curry powder
salt/pepper
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c. yogurt (optional)
1. Heat oil in saucepan (medium high heat). Saute onion until softened (4-6 minutes).
2. Stir in tomatoes, eggplant, curry, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant (2-3 minutes).
3. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until tender (12-15 minutes).
4. Stir in chickpeas and heat through (3 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
Rating: 4
This recipe was somewhat of a stretch for me, as I'm not that fond of eggplant, so I had never cooked it before. But one potluck invitation later, I decided to try it (straightforward recipe - not much could go wrong - someone was bound to like it even if I didn't). Also, it had me at "curried." I have found that I can eat just about any vegetable if it's curried or roasted. This is a nice discovery, especially since I had a lot of vegetables to get through quickly. The success of this recipe inspired experiments with other "oh, that looks interesting" vegetables this week. I might even give the beet another chance some day.
I will, however, make some changes next time. I will only use one cup of water, because two cups made the sauce very runny. In fact, it made it into more of a soup. I also used a full cup of basil, because half a cup didn't seem like enough, and that worked out well. It wasn't overpowering. I will also use a hotter curry or add peppers to spice it up. This is a super mild curry; I like it much hotter.
4. Spinach stuffed tomatoes (from The Artist's Palate - cookbook from the 70s put out by the art department of The Woman's Club of Ft. Worth)
8 medium, unpeeled ripe tomatoes
salt and pepper
8 slices bacon
2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach
3/4 c. soft bread crumbs
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch garlic powder
melted butter
sour cream
1. Cut off top of tomatoes and scoop out center pulp. Sprinkle inside with salt and turn upside down to drain for 1 hour.
2. Cook bacon until crisp and let cool. Crumble and set aside.
3. Cook frozen spinach, but only until just thawed. Drain thoroughly. Combine with bread crumbs, seasonings, and bacon.
4. Stuff tomatoes with this mixture. Place tomatoes on buttered baking dish and drizzle tops with melted butter.
5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are tender when pricked with a fork. Do not overcook.
6. Place a tablespoon of sour cream on top of each tomato before serving.
Rating: 4
This is one of those things that I'm not really sure I needed a recipe to make, but I had one, so I'm counting it. It was good, and it was easy. I used minced garlic and allspice (I didn't have any nutmeg), and I didn't add the sour cream, but the flavors mixed nicely, so it all worked out. I divided the recipe by four, because what am I going to do with eight stuffed tomatoes? Two was more than enough. I couldn't finish the second, and I learned later that these are not good as leftovers.
Of course, you can use fresh spinach (about 2 1/2 cups cooked) instead of frozen. But unless you have quite a bit of fresh spinach to get rid of, I don't really think it's worth the effort. I didn't taste a big difference, and it was A LOT more work.
5. Sunshine pudding (The Artist's Palate)
4 slices bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1 c. shredded cheese (suggested 1/2 cheddar, 1/2 mozzarella)
1. Decrust bread and butter each side. Place in 9x9-inch buttered baking pan.
2. Mix eggs, milk, mustard, and salt. Pour over bread.
3. Top with cheese.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serves 10
Rating - 1 (Trial #1) and 3 (Trial #2)
Last Saturday began as a great morning. I slept in, I discovered a new DVD from Netflix in my mailbox and, as I sipped my first cup of coffee and flipped through the cookbook, I happened upon a recipe for brunch that included eggs, cheese and bread. And I thought to myself, "Why, self, you love all those things! Surely this dish will be a winner!"
I then surveyed my kitchen. I had only two eggs. And apparently, my square baker had gotten lost in the move (which happened over a year ago, if that tells you how often I use it). And, as I desired my projected meal time to be within the hour rather than merely within the day, I concluded that there would be no time for the advised refrigeration.
Now, if this had taken place in a movie, this is the point at which the eerie music would begin playing softly, warning me that certain disaster was imminent. But without the benefit of a musical score, I forged ahead.
I knew I only had 2/5 of the eggs I needed for the recipe as it was written. Therefore, confident in my understanding of fractions, I altered it to include only 2/5 of the suggested amounts of the rest of the ingredients, which was fine as I didn't need ten servings to myself anyway. So far so good. Then, however, I looked for a device in which to bake it, and found my frittata skillet (aka, the biggest skillet I own). Of course, the bread and cheese took up comically little space while the egg mixture ran all over the pan. I later remembered that I had ramekins that would have been much better suited for this task. That was a solemn moment.
I took the first bite warily, and I was wise to do so. It was one of the most awful things I've ever tried to eat, made even more awful by my love of the ingredients. I felt betrayed. It was traumatic. It was like I had a party and invited all my closest friends only to end up angry and fighting with them by the end of the night. It was a wretched experience that even the subsequent emergency pancakes (just add water) could not overcome.
I don't usually give things that end so badly a second chance, but I was desperate to redeem a dish that included such good foods. I went to the store and bought eggs and a new square baker. I put it all together before I went to work Sunday night and refrigerated it. I came home the next morning and baked it, and while it was still not my favorite, at least it was edible (rating 3).
So overall, I consider this recipe a success. OK. Maybe not a success. A valuable learning experience - how's that?
6. Creamy shrimp with corn and bacon (Real Simple)
1 c. long-grain white rice (also try jasmine or long-grain brown rice)
4 slices bacon
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 c. dry white wine
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/4 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen corn
Kosher salt and black pepper
1. Cook rice and set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crisp. Let cool, then crumble.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened (4-6 minutes). Add the wine and cook until reduced by half (2-3 minutes).
4. Add cream and bring to a boil. Stir in shrimp, corn, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer until cooked through (4-6 minutes).
5. Stir in bacon and serve over rice.
Serves 4
Rating - 5
This was amazing. This just became one of my comfort foods (albeit one I hope I don't resort to very often, as it's pretty unhealthy). Even buying the meats pre-cooked worked out well.
And the best thing of all is that my large skillet has been redeemed. The world (or at least my kitchen) makes sense again.
The thing about organic vegetables, however, is that, while more delicious and the result of more ecologically friendly farming practices, they tend to go bad more quickly. Thus the cooking frenzy. It started with beans and greens last weekend (see previous post on the subject) and took off from there.
I am also introducing a new element to my recipe reports. I'll use the following ranking system to indicate how much I like each dish and the likelihood that I will ever make it again:
5 - If this dish were a boy, I'd marry it.
4 - Definitely something I'll make on a semi-regular basis
3 - Edible
2 - Well, at least it's not pot pie
1 - Oh, the humanity!
From the last post:
1. Meatballs vinaigrette - 2
2. Beans and greens - 4
And now the new recipes (clicky to read the actual recipes):
3. Curried eggplant with tomatoes and basil (found in Real Simple)
1 c. rice
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. fresh basil
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 t curry powder
salt/pepper
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c. yogurt (optional)
1. Heat oil in saucepan (medium high heat). Saute onion until softened (4-6 minutes).
2. Stir in tomatoes, eggplant, curry, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant (2-3 minutes).
3. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until tender (12-15 minutes).
4. Stir in chickpeas and heat through (3 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
Rating: 4
This recipe was somewhat of a stretch for me, as I'm not that fond of eggplant, so I had never cooked it before. But one potluck invitation later, I decided to try it (straightforward recipe - not much could go wrong - someone was bound to like it even if I didn't). Also, it had me at "curried." I have found that I can eat just about any vegetable if it's curried or roasted. This is a nice discovery, especially since I had a lot of vegetables to get through quickly. The success of this recipe inspired experiments with other "oh, that looks interesting" vegetables this week. I might even give the beet another chance some day.
I will, however, make some changes next time. I will only use one cup of water, because two cups made the sauce very runny. In fact, it made it into more of a soup. I also used a full cup of basil, because half a cup didn't seem like enough, and that worked out well. It wasn't overpowering. I will also use a hotter curry or add peppers to spice it up. This is a super mild curry; I like it much hotter.
4. Spinach stuffed tomatoes (from The Artist's Palate - cookbook from the 70s put out by the art department of The Woman's Club of Ft. Worth)
8 medium, unpeeled ripe tomatoes
salt and pepper
8 slices bacon
2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach
3/4 c. soft bread crumbs
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch garlic powder
melted butter
sour cream
1. Cut off top of tomatoes and scoop out center pulp. Sprinkle inside with salt and turn upside down to drain for 1 hour.
2. Cook bacon until crisp and let cool. Crumble and set aside.
3. Cook frozen spinach, but only until just thawed. Drain thoroughly. Combine with bread crumbs, seasonings, and bacon.
4. Stuff tomatoes with this mixture. Place tomatoes on buttered baking dish and drizzle tops with melted butter.
5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are tender when pricked with a fork. Do not overcook.
6. Place a tablespoon of sour cream on top of each tomato before serving.
Rating: 4
This is one of those things that I'm not really sure I needed a recipe to make, but I had one, so I'm counting it. It was good, and it was easy. I used minced garlic and allspice (I didn't have any nutmeg), and I didn't add the sour cream, but the flavors mixed nicely, so it all worked out. I divided the recipe by four, because what am I going to do with eight stuffed tomatoes? Two was more than enough. I couldn't finish the second, and I learned later that these are not good as leftovers.
Of course, you can use fresh spinach (about 2 1/2 cups cooked) instead of frozen. But unless you have quite a bit of fresh spinach to get rid of, I don't really think it's worth the effort. I didn't taste a big difference, and it was A LOT more work.
5. Sunshine pudding (The Artist's Palate)
4 slices bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1 c. shredded cheese (suggested 1/2 cheddar, 1/2 mozzarella)
1. Decrust bread and butter each side. Place in 9x9-inch buttered baking pan.
2. Mix eggs, milk, mustard, and salt. Pour over bread.
3. Top with cheese.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serves 10
Rating - 1 (Trial #1) and 3 (Trial #2)
Last Saturday began as a great morning. I slept in, I discovered a new DVD from Netflix in my mailbox and, as I sipped my first cup of coffee and flipped through the cookbook, I happened upon a recipe for brunch that included eggs, cheese and bread. And I thought to myself, "Why, self, you love all those things! Surely this dish will be a winner!"
I then surveyed my kitchen. I had only two eggs. And apparently, my square baker had gotten lost in the move (which happened over a year ago, if that tells you how often I use it). And, as I desired my projected meal time to be within the hour rather than merely within the day, I concluded that there would be no time for the advised refrigeration.
Now, if this had taken place in a movie, this is the point at which the eerie music would begin playing softly, warning me that certain disaster was imminent. But without the benefit of a musical score, I forged ahead.
I knew I only had 2/5 of the eggs I needed for the recipe as it was written. Therefore, confident in my understanding of fractions, I altered it to include only 2/5 of the suggested amounts of the rest of the ingredients, which was fine as I didn't need ten servings to myself anyway. So far so good. Then, however, I looked for a device in which to bake it, and found my frittata skillet (aka, the biggest skillet I own). Of course, the bread and cheese took up comically little space while the egg mixture ran all over the pan. I later remembered that I had ramekins that would have been much better suited for this task. That was a solemn moment.
I took the first bite warily, and I was wise to do so. It was one of the most awful things I've ever tried to eat, made even more awful by my love of the ingredients. I felt betrayed. It was traumatic. It was like I had a party and invited all my closest friends only to end up angry and fighting with them by the end of the night. It was a wretched experience that even the subsequent emergency pancakes (just add water) could not overcome.
I don't usually give things that end so badly a second chance, but I was desperate to redeem a dish that included such good foods. I went to the store and bought eggs and a new square baker. I put it all together before I went to work Sunday night and refrigerated it. I came home the next morning and baked it, and while it was still not my favorite, at least it was edible (rating 3).
So overall, I consider this recipe a success. OK. Maybe not a success. A valuable learning experience - how's that?
6. Creamy shrimp with corn and bacon (Real Simple)
1 c. long-grain white rice (also try jasmine or long-grain brown rice)
4 slices bacon
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 c. dry white wine
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/4 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen corn
Kosher salt and black pepper
1. Cook rice and set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crisp. Let cool, then crumble.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened (4-6 minutes). Add the wine and cook until reduced by half (2-3 minutes).
4. Add cream and bring to a boil. Stir in shrimp, corn, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer until cooked through (4-6 minutes).
5. Stir in bacon and serve over rice.
Serves 4
Rating - 5
This was amazing. This just became one of my comfort foods (albeit one I hope I don't resort to very often, as it's pretty unhealthy). Even buying the meats pre-cooked worked out well.
And the best thing of all is that my large skillet has been redeemed. The world (or at least my kitchen) makes sense again.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-09 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-10 03:27 am (UTC)I may try the shrimp and corn, but without the corn. I'm allergic to corn.
My favorite green beans. I steam them for about half an hour. When they are almost done, I heat olive oil in a skillet. Saute minced garlic and a little onion. When the garlic is soft, I add juice and zest of one lemon and toss with the green beans. It's simple and zesty and requires no salt, which we are cutting down on.
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Date: 2012-01-21 03:28 am (UTC)