All the notes from my kitchen, including the Barefoot Contessa recipe reviews, my original recipes, herbal recipes, and more.
Now that the major holidays are behind us — at least for my family — I can focus on getting back into the swing of cooking Ina recipes each week.
Even though New Year’s is this week, my family was never really “big” on doing anything for the New Year. In normal times, we would go to my aunt and uncle’s house New Year’s Day, but that isn’t happening this year.
So, I decided I will cook something for them…but now what remains is the blog-age-old question:
What shall I make?
This recipe can be found in Family Style, page 187.
This one of the first recipes I made from the Breakfast category that I actually I ate for breakfast! I had made Chocolate Banana Crumb Cake recipe last month which came from the Breakfast section.
This recipe has so much potential, but sadly I did not execute it well. First, I used bread that was too soft and got soggy really quickly. This led to not having crispy edges on the French toast during the cooking process. However, the flavor is present and tastes amazing! I was just missing that slight crispness around the edges.
This is a recipe I’d make again with sturdier bread. It is a quick meal and I can see it impressing someone if it’s executed properly.
The taste of the orange and vanilla was really prominent which was a nice change for me. Granted, I’m accustomed to frozen French Toast, so anything would be better than the box.
I will be taking the next couple of weeks off from cooking. Yes, even with Christmas on the way. But, I will just be too busy. Plus my brother is coming home and I haven’t seen him in a while.
I do plan to make some posts over the next two weeks. First, I will be reviewing another one of Ina’s cookbooks sometime next week. I’ll also make a post about the dessert recipe I try from the new cookbook I bought over the weekend.
Now, it’s time for me to get ready for the snow!
Until next time….
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!
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??
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!
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.
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?
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!!
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.”
Continue reading “Recipe #19 Butternut Squash and Apple Soup”This recipe is found in Make it Ahead, page 261.
Here it is! The recipe review you’ve ALL been waiting for — at least I hope!
On Sunday afternoon, I made IG’s Banana Chocolate Crumb Cake and let me just say, it did not disappoint.
In the post announcing that this would be the recipe I would make this weekend, I said that the headnotes for the recipe were two sentences. After making it, I can see why Ina did that. The taste of this cake speaks for itself!
Following that pattern, this post will be short and sweet. Below is a photo of the finished product. I highly, highly, highly recommend you try this for yourself.
Doesn’t it look just divine!?
While I used the recipe out of Make it Ahead, this recipe is included in ALL of Ina’s cookbooks. It is the same recipe, regardless of which cookbook you use. Also, since it is repeated in each book, it will only be counted as one recipe. For more information on how I determined the number of recipes I will be making for this project, please see my first couple of posts. These can be found using the Archive feature on the homepage.
I finally did it!
I made Ina’s Homemade Chicken Stock recipe! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a few years and I finally had a chance to do it. I will say, that buying stock at the store is so much easier….and worth it! But, I’m still glad I had this experience. Now, I just need to use it all up within in the next six months!
I have a few photos that document the process that I will post below. But first, my review.
For the most part of making this recipe, things are easy. No peeling vegetables, no chopping or dicing. Just slice things in half and toss into the pot. Then bring it to a boil and simmer for four hours. However, it did take over over an hour to come to a boil even on high heat!
The real work starts AFTER the simmering. It’s when you have to strain everything. First I took a slotted remove to remove some of the larger pieces and that worked okay. I transferred everything into a stainless steel bowl and as it got full, I dumped it into a new garbage bag. That was tricky….and messy.
Once the larger pieces were removed, I poured the contents of the pot over a fine mesh sieve over another stainless steel bowl. More mess was met! Once it was cool, I took a one-cup measure glass and scooped up stock and poured it into the containers. That wasn’t very messy, but a little time-consuming.
After letting the stock cool completely, I put some in the freezer and left some in the fridge for now. I did taste the finished stock and, surprisingly, it was pretty bland. I know can see why Ina adds a lot of salt and pepper to her recipes that call for stock.
While it was fun and and interesting experience, I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. It’s very costly and time-consuming. Not to mention the mess it makes! Maybe, in the future, I’ll cut the recipe in half and make less….that may make things somewhat more manageable.
Here are the pictures with captions.
I hope it turns out that this was worth the effort!
Both of these recipes can be found in At Home
In addition to the Parmesan Chicken I made last Saturday, I made two side dishes. Both of which complemented the main course nicely.
The buttermilk mashed potatoes are amazing! As someone who doesn’t get to have mashed potatoes very often, these were a welcome addition the meal. The potatoes were so creamy and flavorful. The salt Ina calls for is a lot, but the potatoes do not taste overly salty. The addition of pepper merges all the flavors and makes for a very tasty side dish.
The Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots are hands down, the BEST carrot recipe I’ve come across!
Using ginger, honey, and orange juice to turn up the volume on these carrots was a great choice for the meal I made. But, it’s also a great recipe crafted by the great IG! In fact, my family loved these carrots so much that we will be making them for our small family gathering at Thanksgiving. I can see them making a regular appearance at the Thanksgiving table year after year.
They are also going to be the first side dish recipe added to my list of Favorites!
As I may have mentioned earlier, I will be taking this week off from cooking dinner. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make an IG recipe! I plan to bake this weekend, but not dessert! Probably muffins or scones. Both of those are types of food I haven’t attempted yet. Plus it’ll be a good excuse to tackle one of the Breakfast recipes!
Come back to the blog tomorrow to check out my review of Back to Basics!
Until next time…
