Culinary Goods

These were good and get an 8. I got the recipe from annies-eats.com. For the cupcakes: 2½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour 1¼ tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon ½ tsp. grated nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cloves ½ tsp. salt 1 lb. (6-7 medium) carrots, peeled 1½ cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar I put in 1 1/4 C. ½ cup packed light brown sugar 4 large eggs 1½ cups canola, safflower or vegetable oil For the frosting: 12 oz. cream cheese (not softened) 7½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted I put in 3 C. Here's the link to the instructions:  http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/09/03/carrot-cupcakes/

So, this recipe came from damndelicious.net, and it was good. I give it a 7.5 I would make it again, although the salmon sauce is not my favorite. I prefer one of the ones I have blogged previously. The concept though is great. I put my changes below in bold:   Ingredients 4 zucchini, chopped I used part yellow squash 2 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste For the salmon 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed I cut this in half 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried dill I think this is too much 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 (5-ounce) salmon fillets I only used 2 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves I left this out   Basically, you cut the zucchini, rub it with oil and salt, and then put it on the cookie sheet. Then, you make the sauce, rub...

So, these were awesome. They get a 9. Here is what I did. I took the tart crust (blogged in April—search for tarts). Here it is again for reference:   Tart Crust 270 grams butter This is about 2 1/2 cubes butter 140 grams sugar This is about 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 400 grams flour This is about a generous 3 cups flour Cut this recipe in half for 6 tarts. Cut the dough in 6 equal parts and roll them out one at a time. Mix butter and sugar together, like a cookie, then add egg, mix in flour. This is crackly dough, like rolling out sugar cookie dough. Make dough. You roll it like pie crust, 1/4 inch thick, cut out slightly larger circle (she uses 4.5 inch circle cutter), and then smoosh it in to the pan once your circle is cut out. Roll a rolling pin over top to cut edge. Make sure it is all patted down (you will push the dough into the crinkly part of the tart pan and then blind bake it at 350. To blind bake it, cut a circle of foil that is about the size of the bottom of the t...

So, I saw a recipe for this on Pinterest, and it looked super good. These tasted super good. They just didn’t look like they were supposed to, which was irritating. I would give these a 7.8. First, I would find another recipe for the tortillas if you want them to puff. I think they must either be super thin to puff, or have something like baking powder in them. Ours were very thick and no puffing happened. Anyway, here is what we did: Taco shells   3 cups masa harina flour 2 Tbs. butter 2 1/2-3 cups water.   Add water slowly until a soft dough forms. Then stop adding water.   Taco meat:   salsa in bottom of crock pot. Add chicken thighs. Add tons of seasonings to the meat (I did taco seasoning, chili powder, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and cumin). Add more salsa on top, maybe 3/4 cup. Cook forever until it shreds. I also added a few ounces of cream cheese.   Then, you assemble them like tacos.

This had good flavor and was filling, which is always nice. Jared and I both gave it a 7.5. I got the recipe from annies-eats.com. Also, instead of cooking the pasta in a separate pot, I threw it in the soup when it had about 10-15 minutes left. Pasta e Fagioli Yield: 6-8 servings INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp. butter, divided 1 (20 oz.) package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed 1/2 large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 carrots, thinly sliced 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes I used 2 garden tomatoes 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed I skipped this and added a can of Great Northern beans instead 1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed 48-64 oz. reduced-sodium beef broth (depending on how much liquid you would like) I used chicken broth 1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce 2 tsp. dried parsley 1/2 tsp. dried basil I used fresh basil 1 tsp. salt 4 oz. small dry pasta (such as ditalini) I used small shell...

These were fine and only get a 6. These would probably be better with the chocolate frosting, though, so don't let my rating deter you if you have a craving for a chocolate zucchini cookie. I got the recipe from chef-in-training.com. INGREDIENTS ½ cup butter, softened ¾ cup brown sugar 1 egg 1½ teaspoons vanilla 1 cup grated zucchini, well drained 2 cups flour 4 Tablespoons cocoa ½ cup oats 1 teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon salt 1 cup milk chocolate chips Frosting ½ cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar ¼ cup cocoa ¼ cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt Click here for the instructions:  http://www.chef-in-training.com/2015/07/chocolate-zucchini-cookies/

This was good- it gets a 7. If I make it again, I will leave out the gelatin because it made the custard a little too firm. Custard can usually hold its own (literally), so I found the gelatin unnecessary. It was otherwise good and I like that it wasn't too sweet. The recipe only calls for 1/2 C. added sugar, which I'm always a fan of. The recipe came from melsitchencafe.com. INGREDIENTS For the crust: 6 ounces chocolate cookies I used Oreos and just scraped out the frosting  3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tablespoon heavy cream For the custard: 1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 4 large egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon rum extract, optional 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese I used cream cheese  5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped For the topping: 1 cup chilled heavy cream 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon ru...

This was good and gets a 7. I got the recipe from cookingclassy.com. Ingredients 12 oz spaghetti  1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips then cut into 2-inch pieces I used green pepper 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin strips then cut into-2-inch pieces 3/4 cup chopped green onions 1/2 cup chopped cilantro  1/2 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped I left these out Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional) 2 carrots, grated Peanut Sauce 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/4 cup warm water 3 Tbsp soy sauce 2 Tbsp honey 2 Tbsp Sriracha I left this out 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 1 1/2 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger I used dried ginger 1 Tbsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp sesame oil Directions Cook spaghetti according to directions listed on package. Meanwhile prepare peanut sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl, whisking until well blended and smooth. Drain pasta and pour into a large serving b...

So, I like peaches with milk. And I thought a peach smoothie might be awesome. This version was good, but it’s just not amazing. I give it a 6, and I’ve got to keep experimenting. It needs more vanilla and more flavor or sweetness. I tried almond butter, and that’s a no go. I also added raspberries, and that was good. Here is what I did: 1 cup of milk 2 peaches 1/4 cup plan Greek yogurt ice handful of raspberries My goal is to have this low carb. Otherwise I would just add honey. I might try vanilla almond milk instead, and then maybe even a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt, because that’s not too many carbs and it might help.

I didn't get a picture of these, but they were really good. I served them with chicken tacos and the cilantro-lime rice Melly blogged last week (which gets a 10, by the way). The lovely thing about these is that they didn't have any added fat, but still had really good flavor. I cooked them in my crockpot overnight and then just refrigerated them until dinner that next night. These get an 8 and I got the recipe from 100daysofrealfood.com. 1 onion, peeled and halved 2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed ½ fresh jalapeno or other hot pepper, seeded and chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced ¾ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon black pepper One big pinch of cumin I added 1/2 tsp. 6 cups water 1/2 tsp chili powder I threw all the ingredients in my slow cooker and cooked them on high overnight (about 8 hours). I served them with monterey jack cheese on top. 

So, these were good. No surprise there. I give them an 8.7. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it eventually linked me to a website called Urbanbakes.com, and I think the recipe came from someone named Zainab at Blahnikbaker.com. Anyway, I would make these again. They were not complicated, but the frosting needs some work. I put the entire compote recipe into the frosting and it still didn’t taste like blackberries (although the compote itself smelled fantastic). I then added a Tupperware full of leftover lime cream cheese frosting from those lime meltaway cookies I blogged, and so it ended up being a lime frosting. In the future, it might be fun to add coconut extract to the cupcakes and some shredded coconut to the top of the cupcakes, because these were blackberry in name only. You really couldn’t taste the blackberry in the dessert. Anyway, here is the recipe ingredients and I put my changes below in bold”": Cupcakes: 2½ cups all-purpose flour I used cake flour instead ...

This recipe came from my Fine Cooking magazine, and it was really good. It gets an 8.  This was not a mild soup. It had flavor, and you could taste the garlic. I like this a lot, but in the future I might just take my own ham chowder recipe and add fresh corn, because it’s so much simpler. Anyway, I noticed my changes below in bold: Summer Corn Chowder by Susie Middleton from Fine Cooking Issue 136   3 to 4 medium ears fresh corn We did more than this and probably had almost 4 cups 2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter I used 3 Tbs and 1 Tbs. of bacon grease 1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1-1/2 cups half-and-half We did 2 cups 1 Tbs. grapeseed or other vegetable oil I left this out 7 oz. ham steak, skin removed, ham cut into small dice (about 1-1/3 cups) I used about 5 oz. of bacon instead 2 medium yellow onions, cut into medium dice (about 2 cups) I did half of this 3 medium ribs celery, thinly sliced (about 1 cup) 1...

First, from now on when I only include the ingredient list for some recipes, it’s because the website hasn’t specifically listed that the recipes can be shared freely (ingredient lists are not copyrighted though, so I’ll just link you to the site if you want the real directions). Anyway, the picture sucks but these were crazy good. I forgot to take the picture until they were cold, so that makes a big difference. These hideous looking pancakes actually are the best tasting blueberry pancakes I have tried before—I give them an 8.3. And, they are super easy. What I did is combine dry ingredients, form the well, add the pre-mixed wet ingredients sans butter and blueberries , mix it until it’s mostly incorporated, and then fold in the butter and blueberries. Anyway, this recipe came from cookingclassy.com, and I noted my changes below in bold:   Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes Ingredients 2 cups (283g) all-purpose flour We used 75% wheat and it was totally awesome 3 Tbsp (42g) gran...

This recipe came from melskitchencafe.com, and sadly it was a huge disappointment. The recipes from melskitchencafe.com are usually very, very good, especially the desserts, but this one was just not very good. First, I cut the sugar down, but not so much that it would account for the failure. They were still sweet. Not overly sweet, but good enough. It was mostly a texture thing. They just didn’t work right. They domed up instead of spread out, so they might have had too much flour, but I followed this recipe pretty close (I smashed mine down with the spatula, which is why they look flatter in the picture). I would give these a 6 and I will not make them again. I put my changes in bold below. Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cookies Ingredients 2/3 cup (4.5 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour 1/4 cup (.75 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 4 ounces) butter, softened to r...

This was pretty good- it gets a 7. I got the recipe from ourbestbites.com. Ingredients 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 small head cauliflower, cored and chopped (about 3 cups) 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 4 medium shallots, roughly chopped (or sub about 1/2-3/4 cup diced onion) I used onion Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour 4 cups skim milk 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I did just under that, between 1/8-1/4) 6 ounces Pecorino cheese, grated (about 2 cups- could sub fresh grated Parmesan) I used Parmesan 1/2 pound medium multigrain pasta shells or bowties 1/4 pound sliced smoked ham, chopped (about 1 cups) 1 medium bunch broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets (3-5 cups) optional: 1/2 cup toasted whole-wheat panko (Japanese bread crumbs) for serving. Instructions Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until softened but not brown, about 10 minutes, stirring o...

My friend from Texas gave me this brownie recipe. I have no idea where it came from originally, but I like it a lot—I give it a 7.7 for what it is (essentially a lower carb brownie). It has no flour, and it still tastes great. It’s not those dense, rich brownies that come to mind when we think of brownies (they were a bit cakey, which I hate, but they were still good enough for me to try them again). Next time I will use 2 smaller eggs instead of 2 large eggs, maybe add a bit of oil and then leave out the vinegar to prevent it from rising too much. I will also cut the honey down to 1/2 cup, it was plenty sweet.   Here is the recipe:   16 oz. almond butter (I just buy this at Costco, which makes these brownies more expensive than average, but that’s ok with me since I have tons of almond butter on hand). 2/3 cup honey (you can put in up to 1 cup if you want, but I am trying to cut back on sugar, as always). 2 eggs 1 Tbs. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda 1 tsp. cider...

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it linked me to a website called anediblemosaic.com. These were not super creamy (there is no dairy), but they were good. I give them a 7.5. Two things—first, you must use full fat coconut milk. I did not do this and I regretted it. Secondly, the chocolate coating is fantastic. Don’t skimp on this.   Chocolate-Covered Toasted Coconut Pops {Paleo} Prep time:  40 mins Cook time:  20 mins Total time:  1 hour 0 min Yield: 8 popsicles Ingredients Toasted Coconut Pops: 1½ cups (125 g) unsweetened desiccated coconut I did sweetened coconut and toasted mine 1 (13.66 fl oz/403 ml) can full-fat coconut milk I did light ¼ cup (60 ml) pure maple syrup I left this out, but next time I would add 1 Tbs. sugar 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional) I added this ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt Chocolate Coating: ¾ cup (150 g) chopped good-quality dark chocolate (see Note) I used 1/2 cup and I didn’t...

So, Rebecca gave me this recipe, and I altered it a lot so it’s not really the same recipe anymore. In the end, it’s the best cilantro lime rice I have yet to try, keeping in mind I have only tried like 3 versions. This gets a 7.5. Here is what I did: 2 cups white rice 4 cups water 4 tsp. chicken base 1/2 cup lime juice Rebecca’s called for much less, so I increased it to this, and I would definitely not go over this 1 bunch cilantro I might use a bit more next time 2 jalepeno peppers I added this, and I removed the seeds and ribbing bunch of green onions Next time, I think I will use regular onions since I made this change to the recipe anyway 4 T. butter I think 1 Tbs. could be swapped out for oil 1/2 tsp. cumin Next time I will go up to 3/4 tsp. 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 clove garlic I added this as well and will make it a larger clove next time Basically, I melted the butter and then added the jalapeno peppers, onion, and the garlic. I added the rice and kind of tossed ev...

My awesome friend Misty made these over the weekend. I helped slightly, but not much. I don’t know for sure what she did differently, but here is the base recipe, which she found on aninspiredcook.com. Here is what I have gathered from my observing during eating. Oh, and these get a 7.5, maybe an 8 if there was more filling (I actually love the tamale tortillas, it’s a carb thing) Pork Tamales with Verde Salsa Filling 2 3/4 pound Pork Roast We seasoned ours with oregano, chili powder, a whole onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cumin 1 14.5 ounce can Chicken Broth Salt and Pepper 2 cups Verde Salsa 1 pound White Mexican Cheese, grated (optional) We used Monterey Jack Roasted Sweet Corn, optional I think Misty left this out Verde Salsa We used the Fine Cooking version I blogged a few minutes ago, and added cilantro and a poblano chili instead. It’s almost the same though 4 large Tomatillos 1 large Red Onion, quartered 4 cloves Garlic 2 Jalapeno Peppers 1 Poblano Chile 4 Ha...

In making tamales this weekend, I realized I haven’t blogged this sauce, and it’s part of more than one recipe I have put on the blog so far. We have no pics because I am lazy, but here is the recipe. This is good with enchiladas, tamales, pretty much any Mexican food. We made this from our Fine Cooking magazine, and have been using it for years. It’s fantastic! Oh, and we added cilantro and a poblano pepper, which made it very good. Some lime juice might be good as well. Anyway, here you go: Green Chile Sauce by Robb Walsh from Fine Cooking Issue 73 7 to 8 oz. tomatillos (about 5 medium) 1 qt. homemade or low-salt chicken broth 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lb. fresh Anaheim chiles (6- to 8-inch chiles), roasted , peeled, and seeded, coarsely chopped 2 tsp. minced yellow onion 1 tsp. dried oregano (or 2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano) 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper 2 Tbs. cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tbs. water Your favorite hot sauce (...

These were fine. Jared gave them a 5 and I gave them a 6.8. I really liked the tzatziki sauce and feta/cucumber/tomato topping, but the burgers themselves were blah. We obviously ate them without the hamburgers buns. I got the recipe from annies-eats.com. INGREDIENTS For the tzatziki sauce:  1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely shredded 1 cup greek yogurt 3 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp. lemon juice 2 tsp. olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper For the burgers:  ½ cup uncooked quinoa 1 tbsp. olive oil, divided, plus more for pan 1 cup water or veggie broth 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas (or 1½ cup cooked chickpeas) ¾ cup old fashioned oats ½ cup yellow cornmeal 1 tsp. kosher salt 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 large egg 1 tbsp. minced fresh oregano 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley I used dried ¼ cup diced red bell pepper I used green pepper For the topping:  1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced ½ cup cherry or grape to...