Culinary Goods

I know this picture looks like a cowpie or something else disgusting, but these were so very good. I got the recipe off of annies-eats and I get to take credit for the abomination of a picture you see. I didn't use store-bought caramels for this and instead made a caramel recipe also found on annies-eats. This was a bit time-consuming, but good food is worth the extra time (to me, anyway). Melly gave these a 9.5 and I would agree. Next time I will definitely cut down the sugar more than I did because I don't like overly sweet desserts, but these are still definitely winners.  Note: Do NOT heat the caramel to 248 degrees (like the instructions say) or you will end up with rock-hard caramel. Heat it to 234-236, which is the soft ball stage.  Caramel Brownies Yield: about 2 dozen brownies Ingredients For the brownies: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped I used semi-sweet chocolate chips 1½ cups sugar I use 1/4 C. 4 lar...

I made this for John’s birthday and it was awesome. It gets a 9. Also, this picture is mostly John, but you can at least see the layers and how unevenly I cut his piece. Here is what I did.  First, make an oreo or graham cracker crust. I tried Oreo, but I think I’ll use graham next time. You bake that for 5 minutes and then pour on this filling: Cheesecake filling 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temp 1 1/4 cups white sugar 2 T. milk 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream (I used light) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 T. all-purpose flour Mix cream cheese and sugar until there are no lumps. Add milk and stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, vanilla and flour and stir until smooth. Now, this makes about 7-ish cups of filling, so I took about 4 cups and added 2 T. cocoa and 3/4 cup melted, high quality, semisweet chocolate to it. Then, I put the chocolate layer on bottom, and the white layer on top. Then, I baked at 350 for 1 hour, turned off oven and left in for 2 m...

Yes, once again I have made up a title, but I made up a recipe (except the cake part which came from a cake recipe we made as kids that we found in some cookbook that came in the mail—long story), so I figure the two go hand in hand. So, I made this for Stef’s 30th birthday because she requested it and I had no idea how to make it but I figured it out. Stef gives it a 10. A 10! Maybe she is getting generous in her old age—HAHA! So, here is Stefani with her cake: Here is a close up of the cake: And here is what the layers look like on the inside:   Recipe: Here comes the math. I used the same chocolate cake recipe from the chocolate mousse cake earlier this fall (same mystery one from my childhood), and increased it by 25% so I could have cupcakes leftover. Here is the recipe, for those of you that don’t want to go back and find it. Cake: ¾ cup cocoa 1 ½ cups boiling water 2 cups flour + 1 Tbs. ¼ + 1/8 tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp. baking soda 1 ¼ cups sugar ¼ + 1/8...

So, I don’t know who to give credit for this recipe, but my friend Rebecca got it from the Thanksgiving Point artisan bread class. Thank you mystery lady (Rebeccca said her name is Lynette McNaughtan actually—I just called to get the info so the lady gets credit for this fabulous bread). Anyway, it’s awesome and I give it a 9. And, it’s not too hard. Day 1: Mix together 3 cups of bread flour, 1/4 tsp. instant yeast, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups water and mix to combine. Cover the bowl at let it rise at room temp for 18-24 hours. Also, if you are adding mix ins, put them in with the flour so that they are in before you add the water. Day 2: Sprinkled some equally mixed parts by volume of flour, cornmeal, and wheat bran into a big old dutch oven or huge pot with a lid. Pat it down. Then, put some normal flour onto the counter and carefully take the dough out. Shape the dough into a ball, trying to not mix it too much. Put the ball, seam side down, in the bread pot, co...

So, I didn’t get a picture of this. I know, I suck. But, there is an amazing picture on the ourbestbites.com website, which is where I got the recipe from. Anyway, this was good. I give it an 8. I think it would be better with meat, which I left out. I have put my changes below in bold. Skillet Baked Ziti with Sausage {Sausage optional, omit for a meatless meal} Recipe from ATK’s Best Skillet Recipes 1 pound Italian sausage or Italian turkey sausage (“hot” or “sweet”) I’ll add this next time 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes I used diced 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 tablespoons) I used more, but won’t next time 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Salt 3 cups water I cooked the pasta separately 12 ounces (about 3 3/4 cups) ziti pasta I used a twisty type 1/2 cup heavy cream I used half and half 1 ounce Parmesan chees, grated (1/2 cup) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (fresh is best, but if you need to sub dried, use a heaping tablespoon o...

I got the recipe and pic off melskitchencafe.com and didn't like this at all. It was bland and I would give it a 4. I was surprised that it was so flavorless since the ingredients it called for aren't boring, but it didn't come together well at all. Ingredients 12 ounces thin spaghetti or vermicelli noodles 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey I used 1/2 pound 1 small white or yellow onion, diced 1 clove garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 16-ounces tomato sauce 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 4 ounces light cream cheese, softened I didn't add this 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, divided Directions Lightly coat a deep 9 or 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles until a...