Culinary Goods

  Jared made this the other night, and it was a nice change from the normal tomato soup we eat. It was a good fall soup and it came from a Washington Post article. It gets a 7.  1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola, grapeseed or safflower 1 small-to-medium onion (about 5 ounces), diced 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth One (15-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with their juices 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons light coconut milk, divided 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup He used maple syrup Freshly ground black pepper (optional) https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/10/07/creamy-tomato-pumpkin-soup-recipe/

  I originally found a recipe for a chocolate cardamom bundt cake in Fine Cooking, but one reviewer said it was dry, so I found this on melskitchencafe.com and just added cardamom. Jared didn't like the addition of the cardamom, but I liked it, so it's just a taste preference. It was nice and moist, and while I did add the ganache topping, the picture without it looked better. This gets a 7. FOR THE PAN:  2 tablespoons butter, melted  2 tablespoons cocoa powder FOR THE CAKE:  1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter  1/3 cup (1.25 ounces) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder  1/2 teaspoon salt  1 cup water  1 3/4 cup (8.75 ounces) all-purpose flour  1 1/2 cups (11.5 ounces) granulated sugar I used 1 1/4 C.  1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda  2 large eggs (3.5 ounces)  3/4 cup (6 ounces) sour cream  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  1 to 2 cups (6 to 12 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips 2 tsp cardamom FOR THE GLAZE:  1 c...

The bottom crust flakes and the crumb topping means the top crust doesn't looks stupid if you're too lazy to pre-cook the apples like I am. The caramel sauce method I've been using mimics that caramelization I would get in the pan with the butter and sugar when I cooked them in layers.  Ok, I'm finished tweaking apple pie (I know, I always say this). This is my favorite version so far: Dutch Apple Pie, Makes 2 pies 2 pie crusts, uncooked Apple Filling: 5 lbs. apples, I prefer a mix of Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Rome lemon juice from a fresh lemon 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. salt generous dash allspice (this was probably between 1/8 and 1/4 tsp) 6 T. flour 3/4 cup caramel sauce (I make mine homemade, check blog for recipe) Pour the lemon juice over the cut apples, combine the flour with the spices in a separate bowl and then dump this on the apples and the caramel and stir until combined. Crumb Topping 150 grams of white flour  50 gr...

I didn't get a picture b/c Gavin ate it all before I remembered, but this is from melskitchencafe.com, and it was a fast, easy week night meal. This doesn't taste quite like alfredo, but it's good enough and I would make it again. Next time, I would add 1 tsp. parsley, double the salt, and add fresh garlic at the end.  EASY INSTANT POT PASTA ALFREDO 3   cups   chicken broth (I use low-sodium) 2   cups   milk I only had 1% 2   tablespoons   all-purpose flour 1   cup   heavy cream or whipping cream 1   teaspoon   garlic powder I would add 2 cloves of fresh garlic at the end with the cheese and 1 tsp. dry parsley ½   teaspoon   salt I would definitely double this ⅛   teaspoon   black pepper 16   ounces   ( 454   g )   pasta (see note) We did shells ½ to 1   cup   ( 57   g )   freshly grated Parmesan cheese I think it needs a full cup You spray the instant pot, add the broth,...

This was good, but I am not convinced it isn't a better idea to go and get your Indian food at a restaurant where they do all this work for you.  Butter Chicken 2   lbs.   chicken thighs,   trimmed of visible fat, cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces 1/2   cup   whole plain yogurt 1   Tbsp   fresh lemon juice 2   Tbsp   garam masala,   recommend homemade blend  HERE , divided 4   tsp   fenugreek leaves,   slightly crushed after measuring, divided (I buy  HERE ) 1   tsp   turmeric 2   tsp   smoked paprika,   divided 2   Tbsp minced   garlic,   divided 2   Tbsp peeled and minced   ginger,   divided Salt   and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4   Tbsp   butter,   cut into pieces 1 1/2   cups chopped   yellow onion Cayenne pepper,   to taste 1   (14.5 oz) can   diced fire roasted tomatoes 3/4   cup   heavy cr...

  I really love pepper jelly, and since I had a surplus of jalapeños in my garden, this seemed like a good option. I hate traditional canning with a fiery passion since I just don't have the time or patience for it, so found this freezer pepper jelly recipe instead. This was supposed to make 5 half pints, so I tried to cut down the sugar, but then my recipe only made 4 half-pints, so don't know what happened there. Anyway, I'll play around with the sugar in doing years. It gets a 7 and the recipe came from gritsandgouda.com. 12   large   jalapeno peppers   (enough for 2 cups minced) 1   large   red bell pepper   (enough for 1 cup minced) 3/4   cup   apple cider vinegar 5   cups   granulated sugar I used 4 C. 1   (1.75-ounce)   package powdered Sure-Jell pectin  (not MCP pectin) 3/4   cup   water 2   drops   red or green food coloring (optional) I didn't use this because why would I? https://gritsa...

 I forgot to take a picture of this, but it was a relatively good, easy cheesecake (since it's no-bake). Nothing really beats a baked cheesecake, though, but this is a nice alternative if you're short on time. It gets a 7, and the recipe came from melskitchencafe.com. Crust: 3   cups   ( 280   g )   graham cracker crumbs 2-3   tablespoons   granulated sugar ¾   cup   ( 170   g )   butter, melted Creamy Filling: 1 ½   cups   ( 171   g )   powdered sugar I used 1 1/4 C. 8   ounces   ( 227   g )   cream cheese, softened to room temperature ½   teaspoon   vanilla extract 2   cups   cold heavy whipping cream (see note) 5-6   medium   fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced thinly (see note) https://www.melskitchencafe.com/peaches-and-cream-sensation/

   Scout made these with me, and while they were good, they needed more ginger. I actually chopped up some crystallized ginger and sprinkled it on the chocolate part, which gave it more of that kick I was looking for. So I would recommend either adding fresh ginger or crystallized ginger to the dough if you're a ginger fan like me. As is, they get a 6.5, and the recipe came from crazyforcrust.com 1/2   cup   unsalted butter   softened 1/3   cup   powdered sugar 1   teaspoon   vanilla extract 1 1/4   cups   all-purpose flour 1/4   teaspoon   salt 2   teaspoons   lightly dried ginger 3   ounces   bittersweet chocolate https://www.crazyforcrust.com/chocolate-dipped-ginger-shortbread-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-42234