Culinary Goods

All right, boys and girls. We have a winner. I honestly wasn't expecting much from this cake, but it is legit. I changed it up, so I deserve credit for it's awesomeness, but I found myself a keeper recipe that I was not expecting, which is always fantastic. The texture is so beautiful, and I think the added citrus and vanilla that were my additions are a must. This gets a 9, and it came from America's Test Kitchen. Olive Oil Cake 8-10 servings 13/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 large eggs I also added 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla 1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar I cut this down to 1 cup and took the 2 Tbs out of the cup to put on top of the cake batter before I poured it into the mixer 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest I did't think this was good enough, so I did the zest from a full orange and the zest from a full large lemon 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil We use the r

Okay, so these are rich, fudgy brownies, so they get an 8. That being said, I feel like you couldn't taste the raspberry AT ALL. I envisioned Paul Hollywood from The Great British Baking Show saying "I'm not getting the raspberry at all" (he says that a lot about some of the flavors). The idea was great, and I executed it well, but the flavor was off. I would not ever use this again as a raspberry brownie. I think you need chunks of whole raspberry in the mousse part, and you need WAY more raspberry sauce/jam. I wouldn't make these again. Raspberry Truffle Brownies For the Brownies: ·          1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour ·          1 teaspoon salt I also added 1 tsp. vanilla ·          2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ·          12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped ·          1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes ·          2 cups granulated sugar I cut this down to 1 1/3 cups ·          5 large eggs, at room t

So, I think this is probably the best version of the yellow cake. This version came from cookingclassy.com, and I did add butter extract, which I think is key to that weird yellow cake taste. Yellow Cake 1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups (135g) cake flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 2/3 cups (356g) granulated sugar I decreased this to 1 1/3 cups and it was totally sweet 3/4 cup (6 oz) unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup (2 oz) vegetable oil 3 large eggs We used farm eggs 2 large egg yolks 2 tsp vanilla extract I also added 1 tsp. butter extract 1 cup (8 oz) buttermilk The directions are at the link below, and it makes 2 9 inch pans worth. https://www.cookingclassy.com/yellow-cake-with-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/ Chocolate Frosting 1 cups (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, at room temperature I just did all salted butter 4 cups (4

So, I think browned butter would make this better, and I think pecans are a must. I would put them in between the caramel, so caramel, pecans, rest of caramel. These need time to taste good, and I think they are best slightly chilled. They get a 9. Millionaire’s Shortbread from America's Test Kitchen For the shortbread 2 and ½ cups (12.5 oz.) Flour ½ cup (3.5 oz) Sugar ¾ tsp. Salt 16 TBS Butter, melted You combine the dry ingredients, stream in the melted butter, and then press it into the bottom of a 9x13 pan you have put overhanging parchment into. You make fork holes in about 1" intervals. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. The shortbread should be lightly browned. Once you get it out, push a metal measuring cup all around the shortbread to compact it will it's still hot. Cool while you make the caramel. For the caramel filling   1 (14 oz.) Can Of Sweetened Condensed Milk   1 cup Brown Sugar   ½ cup Heavy Cream   ½ cup Corn Syrup   8 T

This was surprisingly good, and I actually really liked the subtle rosemary flavor. Even without the rosemary the tart would be really good, as it's creamy, and the shortbread is lovely. It gets an 8, and the recipe came from tastyseasons.com. shortbread crust 177 g. (1 ¼ cup / 6 ¼ oz.) all-purpose flour 50 g. (1/4 cup / 1 ¾ oz.) granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (113 g. / 4 oz.) unsalted butter, melted rosemary chocolate filling 340 g. (12 oz.) dark chocolate, finely chopped (chocolate chip sized pieces) (i used trader joe’s 72% cacao pound plus bar) 12 fl. oz. (355 ml) evaporated milk 2 large egg yolks 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (about 1/3 cup) whipped cream 16 fl. oz. (473 ml) heavy whipping cream ~1 teaspoon granulated sugar, optional (i kept mine unsweetened) Here's the link:  https://tastyseasons.com/rosemary-chocolate-tart/#zlrecipe-container-202

I just love beet salad, and this was the perfect mix of everything needed to make it good. It gets an 8 and came from cookthestory.com Produce 2 Beets, large cooked 4 cups Spinach, fresh Condiments 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp Honey Baking & Spices 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning 3/4 tsp Salt Oils & Vinegars 1/4 cup Olive oil Nuts & Seeds 1/2 cup Walnut, halves Dairy 4 oz Goat cheese Here's the link:  https://cookthestory.com/beet-salad-with-goat-cheese/

This was decent, but lacked some oomph. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it's a good weeknight meal. I give it a 6.5, and it came from Fine Cooking. Ingredients Kosher salt 8 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves (10 lightly packed cups)  1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts   12 oz. dried penne (3-1/2 cups)  3/4 cup heavy cream I used half and half and then a few TBS of cream since it was a bit dry 2-1/2 oz. crumbled Gorgonzola (1/2 cup) I used 4 oz. Freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives  Here's the link:  https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/penne-with-spinach-gorgonzola-and-walnuts

I wasn't a huge fan of these, even for a healthier blueberry muffin. I'm sure they could be tweaked to taste better, but as is they're just okay (in my opinion). I give them a 5, and they came from annies-eats.com. 2 cups white whole wheat flour I used 1 C. regular flour and 1 C. wheat flour 1½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 4 tbsp. (2 oz.) unsalted butter, melted ½-¾ cup sugar I used 2/3 C. ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce I used 1/4 C. oil instead 2 large eggs ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk 2 tsp. vanilla extract Zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries I used fresh 2 tbsp. coarse sugar such as turbinado for topping  (optional) I used regular sugar Here's the link:   https://everydayannie.com/2014/05/30/lightened-up-lemon-blueberry-muffins/

I took a risk with this recipe because of the amount of sugar I cut out. This calls for a lot of powdered sugar, and I know that's because it helps with the consistency (especially since there's so little flour in these), and I was worried that these wouldn't hold any shape if I cut down the sugar. Having said that, I couldn't justify adding 2 1/4 C, so I cut it down by 1/2 C. and they worked just fine. I think I may be able to cut out even more next time around. Anyway, these are definitely chewy due to the egg whites, so they have a slight meringue texture. They get a 7, and the recipe came from The Perfect Cookie cookbook, which is from America's Test Kitchen. 2 1/4 C. powdered sugar I used 1 3/4 C. 6 TBS cocoa powder 2 TBS flour 1/4 tsp. salt 3 large egg whites 3/4 tsp vanilla I used 1 tsp. 2 C. pecans, toasted and chopped fine 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, grated I just chopped mine Preheat oven to 325. Whisk the powdered sugar, flour, salt an