It’s been a while since the last time I’ve made anything food-wise. That’s obviously led to the blog being a bit quiet. However, this weekend I am excited to try something new! A coworker of mine raises ducks and she gave me a full dozen duck eggs to try. I’ve heard that duck eggs are wonderful to use in baking, so naturally, I have to test it out. The results will be coming soon!
Author: RJ
Herbal Update 7/7/2021
June came and went with a flash!
In recipe news, I didn’t meet my goal of 6 recipes, but I did make a few. Mostly desserts. I did get to post another original recipe, you can check that out here if you missed it.
However, this isn’t a recipe update. It’s an herbal update!
During the month of June, I worked on the Mircobiology unit. This unit was interested and I enjoyed that the supplied supplementary “textbook” was current. It even had information on COVID-19! After completing that unit, I moved onto the Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy unit. This has a few different lessons in the module and many videos and resources, so I will be focusing on this one for the month of July.
I anticipate beginning the Master Herbalist Program sometime in September. This is where my speed will slow a bit and my focus will shift to including more time to study. Eventually, I will have to make remedies and experiment with different herbs, which will be exciting! This course is it’s own separate course that has a length list of requirements that must be met in order to complete the course. At last look, I think there was around 2 dozen different things that had to be completed in order to earn the certificate.
Once I begin this course of the program, I am planning to do an herbal update every two weeks. This will help me stay focused and make sure I am dedicating enough time to my herbal studies. But for now, back to Pharmacognosy.
By the way, if someone who reads this can tell me how to PRONOUCE “Pharmacognosy,” I’d appreciate it. Thanks!
Magnolia Bakery Handbook 6: Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Pudding
Over the weekend, I was finally able to see some friends for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Both of these friends were former co-workers who have moved onto bigger and better opportunities. It is so strange, sometimes. You go from seeing certain people almost every day for years then suddenly overnight it’s over. It’s the same thing with graduating high school and even college.
We still keep in touch and had plans to see each other regularly, but the pandemic kind of put those plans on hold. We are now hoping to restart our regular visits.
We decided that I would host the little get-together, so naturally, I made a couple things. I made a lovely dip as an appetizer. In fact, it was Ree Drummond’s (The Pioneer Woman) Eight-Layer Dip. But the star of the show was the dessert!
This dessert is featured in the Banana Pudding chapter of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. Banana Pudding seems to be their signature treat at the bakery. The chapter contains variations on the basic BP recipe: salted caramel, java chip, peanut butter, etc.
All of them look delicious. So, I figured combining the deliciousness of banana pudding with Nutella would be a hit! And it was!
But, I will say, I think the recipe for Banana Pudding that I made from Ina’s Garten’s cookbook tasted better. Maybe next time I’ll try that recipe with the Nutella addition!
Friday Cooking
Starting this week, I am going to try to return to cooking each Friday for my family. But, as usual, the first and largest task of them is deciding what to make…..
The Easiest (and Tastiest!) Sausage and Peppers
Summer is officially here! If you’re anything like me, then you are probably excited to do all those things that we couldn’t do last year. And you’re probably looking for a quick and easy dinner than can be thrown together in no time at all.
If so, then I have the perfect dish for you: Sausage and Peppers!
This recipe is great because it’s a one pan meal and it can be thrown together ahead of time, kept in the fridge until needed, and clean up is a breeze! Plus, it can easily be adapted to your own tastes and the ingredients you already have on hand. I used chicken sausage that comes pre-cooked, so you’re basically just reheating it. It’s a bit of a time saver and usually these types of sausages have more flavor combinations that regular sausage.
Continue reading “The Easiest (and Tastiest!) Sausage and Peppers”
The BEST Brownies for 2021!
You may remember back in May I purchased the King Arthur Baking Company All-Purpose Baker’s Companion. Well, I finally had an opportunity to make one of the fabulous recipes in the book. The hardest part for me was deciding which recipe to make. I wanted something easy and a recipe that I had all or almost all of the ingredients already. Once I got to the Cookies and Bars chapter, the answer jumped right out at me.
Brownies! Fudge Brownies to be precise!
Continue reading “The BEST Brownies for 2021!”Barefoot Contessa Recipe 50
This recipe can be found in At Home, page 37
Well I finally made one — a sandwich!
I had been anxiously waiting to start the sandwich category for a little while, but it just never came to be. Until this past weekend. It had been a while since I made my last BC recipe — especially a savory one. But this weekend was a little busy for me and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time standing over the stove, in line at the grocery store, or baking something in the oven.
The solution? A sandwich. After glancing through the list of 28 sandwiches, a few jumped out at me. Such as the Croque Monsieur, Lobster BLTs, and Soft-Shell Crab Sandwiches. While these all sounded very tasty, and my mouth did start to water when reading about them in the cookbooks, I quickly realized that all these choices would involve at least one of the things I didn’t want to be doing that day.
So, I skipped them and settled on something that seemed easy enough. And I had just about everything on hand already. It was a win-win!
This chicken salad was pretty easy. But, I did make some modifications to it. First, I didn’t roast the chicken in the oven. I cooked the two breasts on the stove (I didn’t want to turn my oven on that day…too warm!). I also only made enough for two sandwiches, not the four that the recipe yields, so I made the adjustments to ingredients accordingly.
I added the tarragon, salt, pepper, celery, and mayonnaise just like Ina said. I also decided to include some red grapes that we had left in the fridge. There was only a large handful left and only a few that were still “edible.” So, I just used them up.
However, after combining everything, things looked a little loose. So, I popped it in the fridge for about a half hour before making the sandwich, just to firm things up and allow the flavors to marry. When I was ready to make the sandwich, I toasted some bread, slathered a thin layer of mayo on one slice, and piled about half of the chicken salad on top.
When I bit into it, I was pleasantly surprised. The addition of tarragon adds a hint of licorice-like flavor that I wasn’t really expecting. But, I did like it. Tarragon and poultry go well together, it seems. Many chefs (including Ina) use it when making roast chickens or turkeys. It’s definitely an herb I’ll have to keep in mind.
This chicken salad is a great quick meal that can be made in no time any night of the week. It also seems like it can be scaled up easily to serve a large group of people. While it didn’t blow me away, it did hit the spot, and it taught me to add tarragon to my chicken salad to liven things up a bit!
It’s Finally Done!
Hey, y’all!
I did it! I finally did it!
I finally was able to create index pages for each of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks! All 12 pages can now be viewed and I was even able to update them to where I am at with cooking through the recipes.
Click here to see what I’m talking about. I’m so happy that I was finally able to do this. It actually didn’t take me as long as I thought it would.
Anyway….
Continue reading “It’s Finally Done!”
Cupcakes, Party Style!
With my birthday being last week, I decided to make the cupcakes for the work-related celebration everyone gets. I could have went “over the top,” but frankly, I wanted to keep it simple. So, I found a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addition and got to work.
I made her Confetti Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting. The addition of the sprinkles to the decorations really made me feel like I was serving up a party! The pop of color was a fun addition!
Continue reading “Cupcakes, Party Style!”
Magnolia Bakery Recipe 5: Peanut Butter Icebox Bars
Wow!
I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’ve made a recipe out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. Almost two months! Where has the time gone?
A few weeks ago, my family hosted some family members for a little get-together. It was the first one since the pandemic started and since we all had become fully vaccinated, and it was held outdoors, we felt safe enough.
I was asked to provide dessert for the occasion, which of course, I jumped on! I made two desserts. The first one was Ina Garten’s Boston Cream Pie and the second was these Peanut Butter Icebox Bars. I really liked this one since this was a no-bake recipe so it made my life a bit easier.
This recipe was one of the easiest ones I’ve ever made and the result? Decadent peanut butter clouds that were a huge hit!
While they were tasty and well-received, I did taste a little too much cream cheese for my liking. If I made them again, I will probably use more peanut butter or a little less cream cheese — or maybe both! Also, I ended up using way more caramel sauce than called for. I probably needed double the amount in the recipe to “thinly coat” my 9×13 pan.
The only other downside to these was the fact that they would “melt” quickly. There is no gelatin in these bars, so in order to stay firm, it relies solely on the cream cheese consistency. Once they are held in your hands, from either just handling them or eating them, they do warm up a bit and start to lose their shape. Leaving them out on a hot day? Forget about it, they will start to spread.
But have no fear! I’ve found a solution — well actually, my mom did. She froze some of the pieces. When we tried them a few days later, they tasted even better and stayed firm which I think improved the taste a bit. Thanks, Mom!
Cut these on the smaller side since they are quite rich. The crust alone was a treat!
My counter while the crust was cooling. I was anxiously waiting to do the next step of the process!
I tried to take a close-up shot and be artsy. I only realized when I went to upload it to the blog that this photo has the tray in focus and not the topping, which is what I was going for. *sigh*
And finally…..!
Completed and chilled! Nom…nom…nom! It’s going to be a bit warm today. I wish I had one of these frozen to snack on later.
