Tag: food blog

Yesterday’s Bake

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Yesterday was Pi Day! It was March 14 and the mathematical number, Pi, begins with 3.14. Though I did decide to bake yesterday, I did not bake a pie. Instead, I made GIANT chocolate chip cookies!

The recipe I used came from Sally’s Baking Addiction and the recipe I used can be found here. I highly recommend checking out her baking blog. There are recipes for virtually anything you would ever want to bake. Plus, the stellar food photograph really makes her recipes shine. I often want to jump right into my computer’s screen to gobble everything up!

If you are looking for a giant cookie recipe, these will not disappoint. The recipe is easy and, unlike some of Sally’s cookie recipes, does not require any chilling time. One downside is the recipe only yields 6 cookies. Though, each one is equivalent to about 4 regular-sized cookies. But, by making a second batch, you can get twelve extra, extra large cookies in no time!

I’ll be honest, when making these cookies, I thought the massive amount of cookie dough used for each one would cause it to be dense. But that wasn’t the case at all. This recipe was definitely a success for me! The best part? No scooping the dough required. (One less tool to wash!) I just turned out the prepared cookie dough on a piece of parchment paper, formed it into a large hockey puck shape, and divided it into 6 sections. Each section became one cookie. It worked great!!

After baking, while the cookies cooled, I decide to “dress them up” a little bit and pressed in some additional chocolate chips into the tops. This gave the cookie a “bakery look” and really did make them look better.

Yum!

February 2021 Cooking Roundup

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Look at me! March is almost half over and I realized I never posted the February Cooking Roundup! Well, better late than never, right?!

February was not as prolific for me as January was, but I was still able to make a few recipes. I am slowly but surely chipping away at that 1,056 recipe total! In February, I made a total of five Ina Garten recipes and two originals!

After taking the first week of February off from cooking, I made a wonderful vegetable soup that was my own original recipe! You can see how it turned out here. If you make this recipe, let me know how it turned out for you!

Next, I made another original recipe. This is also a recipe that I’m still working on perfecting. But for now, my Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is on the blog for all who care to enjoy.

The first Barefoot Contessa recipe of February came around halfway through the month. It still amazes me that I was able to get five recipes down in only two weeks’ time. This was Recipe Number 31: Perfect Roast Chicken. I still can’t get over the fact that it took me this long to make Ina’s signature dish!

Next, I tackled my first fish dish of Ina’s. The salmon was so tasty and will definitely become a staple recipe in my house! To go along with the salmon, I needed a side dish. After all, salmon on a plate is a little bland and unappealing. I wanted something vibrant and yummy to help enrich the plating of the salmon. Thus, I made Recipe Number 33: French String Beans. While the string beans are the pain attraction in this side dish, the peppers and onion help to bring the flavors together.

I rounded off the month with some comfort food! Banana Rum Trifle, which I’m still dreaming about. And finally, another Barefoot Contessa classic: Macaroni and Cheese.

I can’t wait to see what March brings!

Weekend Cooking March 12, 2021

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This weekend, I am planning to resume the tradition of preparing dinner one night a week. Currently, we are in the middle of the Roman Catholic Lent season, which means my parents observe the practice of not consuming meat on Fridays.

So, my choices were a little slim. At first, I thought to myself, “Well, I can just make a vegetarian dish from one of the blogs.” But then I remembered that I skipped making Ina recipes last weekend. So, I forced myself to find a recipe that would work. But let’s face it, while I love Ina, she doesn’t exactly abide by the vegetarian lifestyle. So, my pickings were slim. It was basically soups or some large portion vegetable dishes like spanakopita.

However, things like spinach in puff pastry doesn’t have all that much nutritional value for a major meal at the end of the day. So, soup it is. And of course, I’ll be omitting all animal products. I’ll be subbing vegetable stock for chicken stock.

I decided to make a soup that features winter vegetables. After all, spring is just around the corner! And soon we will be saying “bye bye” to squashes and potatoes in favor of other vegetables like fresh, garden-grown peppers, tomatoes, and string beans. So, I’m going to take advantage of root vegetables while I still can!

Dinner Friday will be Provencal Vegetable Soup with Pistou. This recipe, if you couldn’t tell by the name, appears in Barefoot in Paris, which is still my favorite Ina cookbook. You can read the review of it here.

This weekend is also my father’s birthday. So I will be making him a cake. Though the cake will not be an Ina recipe, I will still make a blog post about it. I may cook an additional Ina recipe over the next few days. Maybe I’ll finally attempt one of her appetizers!

Until next time…

Barefoot Contessa Recipe #36: Red Velvet Cupcakes

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This recipe is available in How Easy is That?

This week, one of my co-workers had his last day at work before moving onto his new job. Usually we have a little party and lunch or dinner for the person leaving. Due to some COVID precautions, this was scaled back a tad. But, I still offered to make cupcakes!

Part of this — ok, most of it — was self-centered. I love to bake and I wanted another excuse to knock off a recipe. So, I offered to make the red velvet cupcakes. And let me tell you: they were a HUGE hit!

This recipe makes 15 cupcakes, which in my opinion is a great number. Many other red velvet recipes make like 24 cupcakes. I didn’t need that many…trying to lose weight and be healthy with cupcakes around the house isn’t a good idea–so Ina came through on that front as well!

These cupcakes weren’t dry and had the right balance of flavors. There wasn’t too much food coloring in them. That was nice because who likes tasting food coloring? The cream cheese frosting was the perfect balance between the tangy cream cheese flavor and sweetness. I highly recommend these for your next red velvet needs!

Due to COVID, I decided to put each one in little boxes. That way people could take them home if they didn’t want to eat them at work. Though, most of my coworkers just ate them right after serving. But, the boxes did make them look cute and more “professional.” I was very pleased with how these turned out.

Barefoot Contessa Recipe #35: Macaroni & Cheese

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This recipe can be found in Barefoot Contessa Family Style, page 202.

I’m sorry that this is a quick post!

Saturday night I made one of Ina’s macaroni and cheese recipes. This one is what I consider to be her “base” recipe, as some of her other books features variations on this recipe.

This recipe, though tasty, may not be popular with kids, despite it being in the Kids Entertaining section of her Family Style cookbook. I think it’s the Gruyere cheese that will give kids pause. It has a taste that borders on being an “acquired” one.

Despite this, this macaroni and cheese recipe is quick, easy, and tasty.

Cooking Plans Weekend of 2/26/21

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The weekend is almost upon us. That means I get to start planning what recipes I’ll be making. With the warmer weather on the way, I decided that I should take advantage of it still being February and make some comfort food.

Luckily for me, Ina has made this easy. Her latest cookbook is all about comfort food. But, I also want something easy so I’m not spending so much time in the kitchen or breaking the bank. I’ll still be making an Ina recipe, it just will be something a little simpler.

I’ve decided to make mac & cheese because nothing screams comfort food like mac & cheese, right?

Ina has a few recipes for this, one of which does appear in her latest cookbook, Modern Comfort Food. But, I’ll be making the one out of Family Style. I’m so excited, I can almost smell the cheese sauce simmering away!