Culinary Goods

So this was super good. I would give it a 9, but with my suggested changes, it would easily be a 9.5. This recipe came from melskitchencafe.com, and I put my changes below in bold. Essentially, I am going to change this to a torte and use the Trader Joe dark chocolate peanut butter cups instead. Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Brownie Cake Brownie Base:   Instead of using this recipe, I am going to be using her recipe from the Double Chocolate Mousse Torte from melskitchencafe.com. Here is the link and I am just going to swap out this brownies base for the cake base in the torte http://www.melskitchencafe.com/double-chocolate-mousse-torte/ 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) butter 1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces) sugar 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1/2 cup (2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour 12 ounce bag mini Reese's peanut butter cups, unwra...

So, I did not really try these besides a couple of bites, but I liked them better once they had fully cooled. 2 of my kids didn’t like them, but the darling Carol Nelson (Stef’s mother-in-law), who is the person I took them to, loved them and even asked for the recipe. So maybe on average they would be around an 8. Anyway, I kind of looked all around online for recipes and then chose a base recipe and tweaked it.  Here is the base recipe I used: http://jumboempanadas.blogspot.com/2011/05/shameless-copycat-starbucks-oatmeal.html So, I took the recipe above as a base but made a few changes. First, I cut the flour down to 2 1/2 cups instead of 3 cups and it worked great. Also, the recipe instructions say to add 2 Tbs. of butter to the chocolate filling, but I added 4 Tbs. I mean, why not? Who doesn’t like extra butter? Mine cooked faster than it said, and they take longer to cool than you would think. But, they are pretty easy and make a lot! Also, I would serve these cold and pref...

Jared made this and the recipe came from allrecipes.com. This was lovely and gets a 9. We served it with peach cobbler.  1 C. heavy cream 1 1/2 C. half and half  2 eggs beaten 1 C sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. ground cinnamon  Here's a link to the instructions:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/48036/cinnamon-ice-cream/

Jared made these and they were yum. The spread was really good and would work well in sandwiches. The recipe came from Fine Cooking and it gets a 7.  2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard 1-1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice He left this out 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary 1 small clove garlic, minced 1-1/2 lb. 85%-lean ground beef 4 slices Comté or Gruyère cheese He used gouda 4 good-quality hamburger buns or rolls, split 12 fresh arugula leaves Here's a link to the instructions:  http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/caramelized-onion-cheeseburgers.aspx

I liked this and it made a great side dish for summertime. I will probably add some cumin or garlic powder next time or double the chili powder since it needed just a bit more oomph. It gets a 7 and it came from Fine Cooking. 2 large red onions, cut into 1/2-inch disks and threaded onto metal skewers 4 red bell peppers, halved, cored, and seeded 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. kosher salt; more as needed 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more as needed 1-1/2 cups cooked fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) I used frozen corn 1/2 lb. bacon (8 to 9 slices), cooked until crisp, drained, and crumbled 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 tsp. chili powder 3 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces 3 Tbs. cider vinegar; more as needed Here's a link to the instructions:  http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/grilled-southwestern-potato-salad.aspx

This was meh and gets a 5. It was okay the first day, but the texture was terrible the day after. The recipe came from momontimeout.com.  2 very ripe bananas ½ cup granulated sugar I used 1/4 C. ¼ cup brown sugar ½ cup applesauce (no sugar added) ⅓ cup water 1 tsp white vinegar 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa 1 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided I used 3/4 C. Here's the link to the instructions:   http://www.momontimeout.com/2014/06/chocolate-banana-applesauce-cake/

This was good and gets a 6.5. The recipe came from Fine Cooking. 1-1/2 oz. slice of prosciutto (about 1/4 inch thick), roughly chopped 1/4 cup lard (or 2 Tbs. butter and 2 Tbs. olive oil) I did the butter and olive oil 1 medium onion, roughly chopped 1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped   12 large fresh basil leaves I used dried  8 cups homemade or low-salt canned chicken stock 1/2 cup stelline, orzo, acini di pepe, or other tiny soup pasta  1/2 cup peas I doubled this   1/2 cup finely diced carrot   I doubled this 1/2 cup finely diced fennel Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Lemon wedges Freshly ground Parmigiano-Reggiano Here's the link to the instructions:  http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/minestra-pasta-piselli.aspx?nterms=50086