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.”
This week I will be making at least two recipes. One of which will come from either the Dessert or Breakfast chapters in the books. But, I’m really feeling like I want some cookies. Now I just need to pick which ones!
For the regular weekly cooking, I will probably make some sort of soup but I’m also leaning towards something out of the Lunch chapters. I have yet to make something from that section.
I will be deciding on the recipes tonight and I’ll post them tomorrow. I will be making dinner on Saturday this week, but will probably do the shopping tomorrow.
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.
The cake before going into the oven.The cake while cooling.
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.
The pot I cooked it in! It’s 20 Quarts!The quartered onions that were used in the stock. I used three of the largest ones I could find.The two chickens I used (almost 15 lbs. of meat!) and some of the vegetables. Just missing the turnips in this picture.Added the 7 quarts of water, the herbs, and the whole head of garlic.The stock simmering away. Sorry this photo orientation is not like the others!Finally! The finished, strained, and packaged chicken stock!
I hope it turns out that this was worth the effort!
A few posts ago, I mentioned that I will be taking the week off from making dinner for my family. But, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to cook anything.
This decision is both good and bad for me. I have the freedom to make whatever I want: an appetizer, a side dish, a lunch recipe, or even something from the Breakfast category. The downside to this is just that: there are still sooo many choices!
After some deep thought, soul searching, snacking, and examining recipes. I settled on a recipe: Chocolate Banana Crumb Cake.
Why?
Cuz why not! It sounds amazing, doesn’t it? I think it does. And I can’t wait to share the final product with you all.
This recipe comes from the Breakfast section of Make it Ahead. The recipe photo in the book looks divine and Ina’s headnotes for the recipe consist of but two sentences. Which is very unlike Ina. I guess she wanted the recipe to speak for itself!
Practically, this recipe will be a rather cheap make. Looking over the ingredients, I see I will only need a small handful of items. I am considering omitting the sliced almonds to help keep the cost down (unless I can steal since from my Grandma). After all, I don’t need very many (3 tablespoons).
I’m not sure yet when I will make this recipe. It will be sometime this weekend (so between today and Sunday afternoon). But since this recipe calls for ripe bananas, I need to do some prep work first: I bought the bananas Thursday evening and I’ll have them sit in a bag overnight or longer so that they get to the proper ripeness, if needed.
But other than that, I’m ready to go!
Also, this is my 50th post on the blog! If you’ve been with me since the beginning: Thank you! Your support and “Likes” mean a lot. Don’t forget that I do welcome comments. So don’t be afraid!
This is part of a 12-part series where I review each one of Ina Garten’s twelve cookbooks. The previous reviews can be found earlier in the feed of posts. They come out on Thursdays, usually for 1:30 PM. This is the sixth review in the series.
Who doesn’t love green as the main color on a book? It’s so vibrant and pairs nicely for a cookbook.
Ina Garten’s sixth cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics is another one of quintessential “TV Ina.” But that’s not a bad thing! This is another book that makes Ina related to the home cook, whether they are seasoned or just starting out.
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!
One of the recipes I made for Saturday dinner was parmesan chicken. But, I have a confession to make. I bought the wrong cheese! Instead, I bought a combination of grated Pecorino Romano NOT Parmesan. So, since I kind of messed up the title ingredient, by review won’t be too long.
This recipe is very simple to make since it is essentially fried chicken cutlets. However, the addition of cheese to the bread crumbs is what really sets it apart. And if I’m being honest, I think the Pecorino Romano cheese added even better flavor than the parmesan would have.
I also decided not to serve this recipe with the recommended salads greens and lemon vinaigrette. But, it is still worth trying. It’s a simple meal than can be any night of the week and can easily accommodate and please a large group of friends.
Did I make sides for this? Yes, yes I did! I made two basic recipes: mashed potatoes and a separate carrot dish. Those reviews are coming tomorrow!
The main course will be Parmesan Chicken from Family Style.
I will be serving it with two side dishes. For a vegetable, I’ll be preparing Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots (At Home) and for a starch, I’ll be making Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes (At Home).
I may modify some of the recipes a little bit to cut down on the ingredients needed to be purchased. For example, I will only be using the amount of buttermilk I have left from last week (about a half cup) and not buying anymore. So I’ll be short a bit for the recipe, but I also plan to not make the full amount the recipe yields.
