Author: RJ

Recipe #21 – Triple Chocolate Loaf Cakes

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This recipe is from Cook Like a Pro, pg. 224.

Last weekend I made another dessert recipe, the Triple Chocolate Loaf Cakes. While the recipe was very simple, this was not exactly something to write home about. It was basically a very chocolate-y cake in a loaf form. What I did like though, is that it yields 2 loaf cakes. But in reality, I feel like I could have combined the two pans into one and gotten a taller cake.

It was tasty and simple and can definitely be used if you don’t need a full cake for something, but again, I wasn’t overly impressed with it.

The recipe calls for chocolate chips to be coated in flour before adding them to the recipe. I remember Ina saying something in one of the episodes of Barefoot Contessa that this helps the chips not sink to the bottom of the pan. Well, I did coat them in flour — generously — and they still sunk. Oh well!

Cooking This Weekend

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The weekend is already upon us! Well, mine is at least — since I don’t work on Fridays.

I will not be cooking tomorrow, Friday, but I do plan to cook on Saturday. But, as usual, I do not know what that will be just yet. I will most likely cook something for dinner, so I may do a full Ina-themed meal and knocked out two or three recipes in one go. That would be an ideal, but I’m not sure if it will happen.

I guess a good place to start would be with the main dish, right?

Once I know what that will be, deciding on the sides will be much easier.

I’m still hoping to do a Night of Appetizers at some point, which will help me tackle the many of the recipes that I’ve been neglecting. But there are soo many good ones in there!

One day, one recipe at a time, right??

December Mornings

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I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the winter months and the cold weather. But, since I live in New England, I don’t have much of a choice. It is true, the last few winters have not been that bad overall: not a lot of snow, mostly a “mix” and I was able to see my grass for most of them. Despite the lack of snow, the winters were still bitterly, bitterly cold.

However, today I was reminded of the beauty of a December morning.

One of the benefits of this time of year is I am more often than not up early enough to watch the sunrise. And look at those colors! So pretty and bright!

A downside though, is by the time my work day ends, the sun is already asleep.

But, there is some hope: I heard that sunsets after 5:00 PM begin at the end of January! Only a few weeks…long weeks, for sure…but it’ll be here soon enough. Even 2020 has seemed to “go by” quickly. For me, at least.

Recipe #20 Eggplant Gratin

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This recipe can be found in Barefoot in Paris, page 54

This weekend, I decided to cook from one of the two remaining cookbooks that I had not yet cooked from: Barefoot in Paris and Cook Like a Pro. The first recipe I made this weekend was for dinner on Friday night and it was Eggplant Gratin, coming from Ina’s French cookbook.

This recipe is nothing more than a French take on the Italian Eggplant Parmesan. However, it was so much tastier! Who would have thought half and half would make such a difference! This recipe was pretty easy to make since I already had the eggplant fried. It was also a win for me since I only had to buy the half and half for this recipe. Everything else, including the ricotta and parmesan cheese was already in my fridge!

The thinning of the cheese mixture with half and half adds an unexpected richness that would probably be overwhelming if the recipe called for cream. It was a big hit with my family too! I think this will become the recipe I make in the future when I feel like making an eggplant parmesan.

Additionally, I also baked this weekend. It came from Cook Like a Pro and the recipe and review of that will be dropping later this week!

This Week

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I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already!!

The week is flying. And now that I’ve finally finished the semester (yay!), I can devote more time and energy to cooking from Ina. I am really looking forward to making a couple of things this weekend. It also helps that Friday is payday!

I will be baking this Sunday and it will be an Ina recipe. However, I have not yet decided if I’ll make a dessert or something from the Breakfast chapters. Scones seem to be calling out to me and Ina has no shortage of scone recipes.

As for dinner, I have no idea what I feel like making. If my records are correct, I have one cookbook in which I haven’t make anything from yet. This is weird to me since I regard this book as my current favorite. Barefoot in Paris is Ina’s French-themed cookbook and I often find some of the recipes overwhelming. Elegant, but a little overwhelming. I will have more time this Friday, so it may be the perfect opportunity to make some fabulous French food!

What I wish my view was right now!
*Sigh*
Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com

Yesterday’s Cooking

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I did do some cooking this weekend, but I did not make Ina recipes.

Instead, I chose to make recipes that would give my family and me a little more plant protein versus meat protein. So, I crafted two dishes and my family liked them.

The first one was a take on Beef Wellington, but instead of meat, I used a delicious mushroom mixture to wrap in the puff pastry.

Mushroom Wellington

The other dish I made was kind of my own creation. I used quinoa and chickpeas (garbanzo beans) as the star players and make a dish that also featured kale, an orange pepper and cherry tomatoes. I added in some sherry wine and spices and it was so yummy! Though, I think I needed more salt and pepper. Oh well, you live and learn, right?

Quinoa & Kale Recipe

I’m not sure what I will make this week, but it will be an Ina recipe, that’s for sure!

Also, the cookbook reviews will return next week, but there will be more time between them. They will not be a weekly post, but I do still plan to review all twelve.

Sit tight, more is coming your way soon!!

Hey!

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I hope everyone had a glorious Thanksgiving! My family and I appreciated the different style of celebrating that 2020 brought us. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to cook any Ina recipes for Thanksgiving. I know, I’m as upset as you all are! But, I did cook something Saturday night for dinner, the post will come tomorrow!

And what’s different about this one is it is NOT an Ina recipe! Her recipes will return soon though…stay tuned, as always!

Thanksgiving Cooking

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This year, Thanksgiving will be much smaller than usual. However, it will also give my family a chance to cook for a change. We usually visit our relatives on Thanksgiving and they handle the cooking.

To help my parents with the meal, I have offered to handle the sides. Over the weekend we agreed on carrots and green beans. I will be looking through Ina’s cookbooks tonight and tomorrow for a recipe that will work well for those choices.

I can’t NOT cook an Ina recipe on the largest food holiday of the year, right?

Recipe #19 Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

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This recipe can be found in Parties!, page 221.

By the time New England reaches late November, Fall is in full swing. In my area of New England, the leaves are practically gone from the trees. Bare trees will cover the landscape until mid-May when the new leaves start their lives.

This time of year always makes me want to cook “fall favorites” as I call them. Pumpkins, apples, squashes, nuts, etc fill my kitchen. And this weekend’s recipe was not exception. This one included two “fall favorites”: butternut squash and apples! Not much else would say “fall recipe.”

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