Culinary Goods

My friend Lisa and I order a similar pudding at a Thai restaurant, and we love it. This was a pretty close match, and I would absolutely make this again. I give it an 8, and the recipe came from Fine Cooking Magazine. Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango By Abigail Johnson Dodge Fine Cooking Issue 43 2 cups whole milk I used 2% 1 14-oz. can coconut milk 1/2 cup raw medium-grain white rice I used basmati rice and used almost 1 full cup. It made the sauce too sparse, so stick with the original 1/2 cup. I would, however, stick with basmati rice Pinch salt 2 large egg yolks 1/3 cup sugar I did 1/4 cup and it was fine 1/2 tsp. coconut extract I doubled this 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract I doubled this 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced Toasted shredded coconut, for garnish I forgot this, but it would it be awesome. Also, a sprinkle of cardamom would also be fantastic. recipe and instructions can be found at link below: http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/coco

I have mixed feelings on this recipe. One one hand, the taste was great and they were super easy. On the other, they were grainy, so the texture totally ruined them for me. If they weren’t grainy, they would be been a great choice for a fancy dessert. I am not sure if they are grainy because of the sugar not dissolving or because they got overcooked (more likely). You don’t boil this, and I think once it coats a spoon, it should be done. Boo to that. Anyway, they get a 7 with the crappy texture and I found this originally in Fine Cooking Magazine. Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Crème By Allison Fishman Fine Cooking Issue 109 1/2 cup half-and-half 1/4 cup whole milk I just did all half and half 2 large egg yolks 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips I used expensive chocolate 2 Tbs. granulated sugar I don’t think this is even necessary Kosher salt I also added vanilla Essentially, you warm the milk and half and half and then whisk it into egg yolks and then back on the stove until it

This turned out extremely well—I gave this a 9. I did, however, learn a few things. You need the cherries small enough to be bite-sized, and don’t put too many in. Low-fat tastes fine, but the texture will be off. Anyway, I used a Dave Lebovitz ice cream recipe base with a few changes and here is what I will do from now on. Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream 3 cups half and half (I would add part whole cream if you want it to creamier b/c mine was a bit icy since it was lower fat) pinch of salt 1/2 cup sugar, scant 5 egg yolks 1/2 tsp. almond extract, generous 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup fresh cherries, chopped small 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate (I threw mine in the blendtec so it was almost more like grated chocolate) You warm the milk with the salt and sugar, and then temper with the eggs and put back in the pan and cook until it’s about 160 degrees (it will coat the back of the spoon). If you are using part milk part cream, just heat the milk up during this part and add the cream afterward. So,

This desperately needed salt, but was otherwise good, and gets a 7. You could skip the sugar all together, especially since the sweet potatoes sweeten it on their own. You could also substitute the sweet potatoes for carrots. Also, I will add green onions next time instead of the red onion. The recipe came from budgetbytes.com.  2   Tbsp   neutral cooking oil 2   cloves   garlic 1   Tbsp   grated fresh ginger   2   Tbsp   Thai red curry paste   I used 1/2 tsp. since I didn't want it too hot 1   small sweet potato (about 1 lb.)   1   bunch baby bok choy   I used 2 bunches 4   cups   vegetable or chicken broth   13 oz   can   coconut milk   1/2   Tbsp   fish sauce   The smell of this makes me want to vomit, so I used 1/2 TBS worcestershire sauce (for the fishy anchovy flavor), and 1 tsp soy sauce 1/2   Tbsp   brown sugar   I used 1/4 tsp.  3.5   oz   rice vermicelli noodles I doubled this  1/2 tsp. curry powder 1 tsp. salt GARNISHES (OPTIONAL) 1/2   red o

This was another recipe that came from my mother-in-law, Carol. It's good and gets a 7 (Jared gives it an 8 because it reminds him of his mom). She clipped it out of a newspaper years ago, so I have no idea where it originally came from. 1 C. sugar I used 2/3 C.  1 egg 2 TBS melted buter 1 C. buttermilk 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 C. flour 1 C. fresh diced rhubarb Topping: 2 TBS melted butter 1/2 C. sugar Vanilla Sauce 1/2-1 C. sugar I used 1/3 C.  1/2 C. butter I used 6 TBS, but that could definitely be cut down even more 1/2 C. evaporated milk 1 tsp. vanilla Blend sugar, eggs, and butter. Beat in buttermilk until smooth. Stir together salt, baking soda, flour, and baking powder. Stir ingredients into buttermilk mixture, mix well. Stir in rhubarb. Pour into greased 9x9 pan. Combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle on top on batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done. Sauce: Mix butter, sugar, and evaporated milk. Bring to

I was surprised that this didn't have more flavor than it did, especially considering the ingredients. It still was good, but not as amazing as I was hoping for. This would be really good with caramelized onions, and maybe a really good sauce on it. As is, they get a 6.5, and the recipe came from creative-culinary.com. 1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted, crushed I used fresh dill and 1/2 tsp. caraway seed since I didn't have this 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper 1 beef flank steak (about 1 pound) 1 ciabatta baguette loaf (about 15 inches) 2 cups arugula I used spinach 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese Here's the link: http://www.creative-culinary.com/balsamic-and-blue-cheese-steak-sandwich-from-the-national-beef-cookoff/

This was like a mix between a french bread and a focaccia bread. So I misread the recipe and put all the herbs on top, and didn't mix them into the dough. This would be awesome with all the herbs mixed in, though. I might also mix in some asiago cheese next time. It gets a 7 and the recipe came from melskitchencafe.com. 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling) 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 3 1/2 cups (14 ¾ ounces) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon instant yeast 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 3 teaspoons dried herbs (I have an herb medley of oregano, basil, parsley and rosemary that I use)  I used the same combination of herbs and used about 2 1/2 tsp. dried herbs for sprinkling Here's the link:  https://www.melskitchencafe.com/blitz-bread/

I got this recipe from my friend in Arizona. Her husband is a chef and it was one of the best risottos I ever tried. It tasted better when he made it but that's probably because he didn't cook it as long or knew exactly when to take it off the burner. This cooks fast and it's easy to make. I burned it slightly because I wasn't watching how quickly the broth boiled out (I cooked it with the pot lid on top).  The only drawback is that this kind of rice is expensive  - about ten bucks for one container's worth. I paired it with tomatoes  and a chicken dish. I think it would be tasty with most anything. I give it a 7. Adding mushrooms or a fresh herb would kick it up a notch. I think it serves as a good risotto base - and your creativity can make it fancier. I added salt and pepper. Don't add too much - good risotto is subtle in flavor and tastes even.  ·       1 cup Arborio rice ·       3 cups chicken stock ·       1/4 cup vegetable oi

This was tasty, and was actually even better the next day. I'm sure it would be even better with the cuban-style black beans recipe she included in the directions, but I got a migraine, so just threw in a can of black beans. It got a 7.5, and the recipe came from littlespicejar.com. FOR SEARING THE MEAT: 6 whole cloves garlic 2-2 1/2 lbs. beef chuck roast or flank steak 1 tablespoon oil FOR THE ROPA VIEJA: 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 teaspoons EACH dried oregano AND salt 1 tablespoon EACH ground cumin AND white vinegar 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/4 cup chopped cilantro + more for serving FOR SERVING: white rice and  cuban-style black beans Here's the link:  http://littlespicejar.com/cuban-shredded-beef-slow-cooker/

The name is dumb, I know. I’m not feeling creative right now. These were good, probably an 8.5. I just wasn’t as wowed by them as I wanted to be. Anyway, they are a combination of many recipes. Here is what I did. Vanilla Cake I used the recipe on the blog from cookingclassy.com (it’s the same one from the fresh strawberry cake). I put it in 3 9-inch pans and then used the mold to cut them to size. I sliced each one in half and put fresh raspberry puree in the middle. Frozen Mousse layer I used the cream cheese chocolate mousse (search chocolae cheesecake pie) and then dished it into individual molds and froze them for about 5 hours. Raspberry Curd I used the one from annies-eats.com (search lemon poppyseed cake with raspberry curd on the blog). Then the top is just cream. There is nothing blah about these, I just expected more. I would make them again, but they are not my most favorite. I also like the 3 inch ring molds I bought, but 2 inch ones would be super fun.

I am done looking for lemon cake. This is a 9, and it’s a great combination. I am done looking, so here is the best version I’ve found. It’s a combination of many recipes, including the mousse frosting which I just kind of threw together. The cake recipe itself came from cookingclassy.com, which I have conveniently copied here: Cake 2 3/4 cups (352g) cake flour Do this by weight, I just put 1/3 cup of cornstarch in the bowl and then added until it reached the 352 grams 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 3 1/2 Tbsp (30g) poppy seeds I left this out 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 3/4 cups (366g) Wholesome Organic Cane Sugar I decreased this to about 1 1/3 cups 2 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (from about 4 lemons) 1/4 cup (60ml) canola oil 4 large eggs 1 tsp lemon extract I cut this in half 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/3 cups (315ml) buttermilk 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice   instructions and recipe found at link below: http://www.cookingclass

This was surprisingly good considering how fast it was to make. I will definitely make it again, and grill some green onions along with the vegetables next time. It gets a 7.5 and the recipe came from whitneybond.com. Grilled Vegetables 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tsp fresh ginger (grated) 1 tsp fresh garlic (crushed) 1 tsp steak seasoning I left this out 1 tsp sesame oil 1 large zucchini (sliced) 1 large yellow squash (sliced) 1 Japanese eggplant (sliced) 8 oz baby bella mushrooms I left these out Noodles & Sauce ¼ cup soy sauce 1 tbsp sriracha I left this out 1 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp honey I left this out 1 tbsp chili paste I used a garlic chili sauce that doesn't have any heat in it 3 cloves garlic (crushed) 1 tsp freshly grated ginger 1 tsp sesame oil 10 oz Lo Mein Noodles (or Spaghetti Noodles, if Lo Mein can’t be found) Here's the link:  http://whitneybond.com/grilled-vegetable-lo-mein/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_