December 2009
36 posts
3 tags
Cranberry Scones (with lots of cranberries)
Tonight was dedicated to cranberries. I’m telling you, a bag of cranberries doesn’t last very long in this household. Not long at all. First I made cranberry oatmeal, then I used almost 2x the prescribed amount (in the recipe) for the scones. Maybe that’s why they look so weird. But don’t let their looks deceive you, they are uber delicious! I really hate that I had to use...
Baked Oatmeal with Apples
I am so extremely glad I made this oatmeal. It’s filling, healthy, and delicious. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly and you don’t have to either. I added cranberries, used agave syrup instead of maple syrup, and replaced pecans with walnuts. I didn’t have any eggs, so I used Andy’s Egg Beaters. All my notes are below with the recipe.
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Baked Oatmeal with Apples...
Baked Oatmeal →
My stomach has been very angry at me today for all the nastiness I ate in the past four days. After thinking of what “healthy” thing I can eat for dinner, I saw this, and I knew - Oatmeal. I’m missing a few ingredients, but nothing a quick trip to a local produce market won’t fix.
Guess what I'll be making tonight!! →
For a while, I’ve wanted to make scones. I’ve been so busy with attempting to bake breads and such, that I completely forgot disregarded the idea of baking sweets. When I saw this recipe, I knew it was the one for me. Why? Well, simply because it involves the use of cranberries. Whenever given a chance, I integrate fresh cranberries into any recipe. Unfortunately, so far, I’ve...
Home-Made White Bread Rolls
I made these the night before Christmas dinner. I don’t know if I did something wrong (or right), but the next day they felt rock hard on the outside. Andy called it “crusty”, I called it “hard”. Fortunately, a sprayed a tiny bit of water on them and a few minutes in the oven, made them soft-er.
Basic Rolls (the frugal girl)
Ingrdients:
1 cup milk 1/3 cup...
Sundried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms
This was my first try at stuffed mushrooms. Actually it’s my first try at stuffed anything. I was so caught up in making piroshki that I just didn’t have enough time to make these, so Andy was gracious enough to help, so he made the stuffing and stuffed the mushrooms.
Honestly, I think they came out dry. It could be because I tried baking 3 things at the same time, it could be because...
Piroshki
Potato Piroshki (epicurious - recipe below)
My grandmother is notorious for making piroshki for all family dinners, but I felt inspired enough to make my own. I didn’t really follow a recipe for the stuffings (mashed potatoes or ground beef), so I will add my notes with the recipes.
Ingredients: For the dough
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
...
Shredded Pork
Shredded Pork Shoulder (the kitchn)
The pork was incredible. I couldn’t stop eating it! This was our first time slow roasting in the oven (and using a dutch oven) and it turned out great. “Melt in your mouth” type of great. There weren’t much leftovers but, what is left, we will use to make sandwiches. I can’t wait!
Ingredients: 4 to 5 pound pork shoulder, bone-in...
Christmas Feast!
Last night, I pretty much spent most of the day in the kitchen and it was totally worth it. My family came over last night for dinner and I wanted to make all the dishes from scratch, and so I did. The most difficult thing to make were the piroshki. I first followed one recipe (from The Joy of Cooking) and then, ended up making a recipe from epicurious instead. Every family dinner, my grandmother...
3 tags
Soft Pretzels (a.k.a. delicious goodness)
After 3 tries, I finally did it. It finally happened! I baked bread. It actually took me two tries tonight to get it right. The first time I didn’t add enough flour, so the dough was very very wrong (sticky and not dry enough). Then, I tried again and it was perfect! I now know what dough is supposed to really feel like.
Last week, I wrote about my fear of my kitchenaid mixer. That same...
3 tags
Caramel Lollipops
I saw this recipe last week and it’s been on my mind ever since. Yesterday, I bought lollipop sticks at Michael’s and today, I went to work. I’m not the biggest perfectionist out there, actually I’m not a perfectionist at all. So when I started making the lollipops, I ended up making a couple of huge ones that I had to separate manually.
See, what I mean? So, what did I...
Mezzaluna
Last night, we received a box full of gifts from my inlaws. One of the gifts (especially addressed to me) was a Mezzaluna with a bamboo cutting board set. Honestly, I had no idea such thing even existed. Here’s how the conversation went:
Andy: “What’s a Mezzaluna?”
Me: “I dunno. To cut cheese?”
I didn’t think that answer made sense, but that was the...
14 Surprising Uses for Your Microwave →
nutritionista:
Another WIN from Real Simple!
1. Disinfecting and Deodorizing Sponges
Don’t throw out the kitchen sponge that smells like last night’s salmon. Soak it in water spiked with white vinegar or lemon juice, then heat it on high for 1 minute. (Use an oven mitt to remove it.) This will also disinfect any sponges you used to wipe up the juices from a raw chicken.
2. Cooking an Entire...
Kitchenaid Mixer
A few months ago, some very (extremely) generous friends gave us a kitchenaid mixer as a housewarming gift. I was always intrigued by this piece of equipment, but I’m scared to use it. Call me crazy. I’m scared. I have no idea why. I think it’s because this machine is expensive and I’m just afraid to break it. Also, it could be because I didn’t grow up in a household...
Cook Books I Lust After....
Ok, maybe lust is a bit strong. I have never been a huge fan of cook books. Why? Because I mark a page and then completely forget about it. Lately, though, I have been looking through my cookbooks more and more often. Sure, internet is handy, but sometimes I like to be able to flip pages, write on them, read through the recipes on the go. When I look online for recipes, I kind of have an idea (a...
Simple Potato Latkes
Tis the season of Hannukah which means latkes and kugel. Today, I made latkes and I’m thinking of making kugel tomorrow. This was my first time making latkes, so it really was an experience. The end product didn’t really look so-very-pretty, but they tasted great. More than great. I mean, who could say no to crunchy, salty potatoes?!? Sure, half of them barely stuck together. Who...
4 tags
Pecan Turtle Brownies
Saturday, our friends Alex and Irina came over for dinner. Andy helped me make chili and I made Pecan Turtle Brownies….from scratch. I have never really been into baking, so when I “bake”, it usually comes from a box. Not this time. After I saw this recipe, I felt a momentary lapse of fear and decided to make these.
The brownies turned out extremely thick and really really...
5 tags
6 tags
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
Friday night I roasted a chicken. It’s my fall-back, easy, warm meal. On Thursday night I bought a chicken just for this occasion and completely forgot to pick up any veggies to roast. You see, I like to roast veggies with my chicken. I usually throw in onions, a bit of garlic, potatoes, carrots, and whatever else I’m craving at the moment. Fortunately, I had one sweet potato laying...
9 tags
Cheese Quesadilla, Salsa Verde, and Guacamole
I was so busy at work that I didn’t even realize that I had to plan for dinner until about an hour before it was time to leave. I sent Andy an email with three options with quesadillas and the sides as one of the options (duh).
I have never cooked tomatillos and, honestly, I didn’t even realize that salsa verde (green salsa) was made with tomatillos. I just always assumed that it...
Non-Jewish Chefs Adapt Family Hanukkah Rites →
Hanukkah, in my house, was never a big deal. Sure, when I was much much younger, I got small gifts. We lit fake lights on our menorah, you know, the kind that plugs in. The traditional Jewish dishes are usually cooked on Passover and Rosh Hashannah, not on Hannukah.
This year, I think I might start my own tradition. I will try making some traditional Jewish recipes over the weekend and...
9 tags
Spaghetti with Scallion Sauce
I really really didn’t plan tonight’s dinner. Andy offered to pick up food on his way home and, honestly, I felt so tempted to agree. I really didn’t have energy to cook or any idea of what I wanted to make. So I suggested the first thing that came to my mind – pasta. So pasta I made!
Once I got home, I looked through my fridge and kind of freaked out. I had no tomatoes, no sauce, no idea what...
6 tags
Cinnamon Polenta Pancakes with Cranberry Jam
I’ve been feeling a bit tired of eating meat every night and couldn’t figure out what to make for dinner. I’ve been wanting to make my own jam for a while, so when I found this recipe for the pancakes, I knew it was fate.
Both are fairly simple to make and don’t really require any fancy ingredients. To me, these can easily replace a dessert, especially if you add a tad bit more cinnamon and some...
6 tags
Pepita Granola with Dried Fruit
Tonight, I made granola. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is granola with yogurt. I always use store-bought granola to add to my vanilla yogurt but today, I decided to make my own.
I saw this recipe a long time ago and bookmarked for future use. Today, while looking for recipes for tomorrow’s dinner, I stumbled upon the recipe (once again).
This is incredibly easy to make and...
6 tags
Steak Poblano with Home-Made Potato Chips
Steak made in a skillet (waaaay too cold to grill) with a side of onions and poblano peppers (recipe)
Salad of spinach, apple, feta cheese with home-made dressing
Home-made potato chips (bake at 400 degrees until done)
(not so fancy picture of completed meal)
2 tags
Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts
Last night, I was on a mission. Mission 1 – Make the Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta Mission 2 – Make Split Pea Soup with Leftover Honey Baked Ham
Both missions were complete. Successfully? Eh. That’s debatable. Both of the dishes were eat-able, so that was a success. Unfortunately, the brussels sprouts looked nothing like they are pictured here. Granted, I only made 1/2 the...
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Q&A: High-fructose corn syrup and liver damage? »
It’s unclear, though there are other good reasons for limiting your intake of the sweetener. Animal studies have found that consuming a lot of high-fructose corn syrup can damage the liver and contribute to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Whether fructose causes liver problems in humans hasn’t been well studied. But high intakes...
Roasting Chestnuts
Confession – I have never had roasted chestnuts. I’m not sure how common this is, but here it is. So, since I had some chestnuts laying around, in a spur of a moment, I decided to roast some. I found an easy step-by-step directions and 30 minutes later, I had roasted chestnuts.
So I roasted them. They taste weird. Honestly, the first thing I thought of when I tried them was “wow, they kind of...
2 tags
Serving Dishes - Planning a Dinner Party
My in-laws were staying with last week for several days. At first I was extremely nervous, but it really wasn’t so bad. My mother in law gave me a lot of great advice, especially about good party planning.
Here is some advice: 1. If you’re having a formal party (where place setting is involved), set the table the night before and put a sheet over it. That way, setting the table will be one last...
7 tags
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Last month, I discovered the sweet potato. Yes. Before then, I have never cooked a sweet potato. The only time I ate it was at my inlaws’ house on Thanksgiving. Finally, I got enough courage to make something with sweet potatoes. This salad was my first real dish and it turned out amazing. I since gave the recipe to a co-worker who said the same thing. Amazing.
Ingredients: 4 medium sweet...
4 tags
Snickerdoodles
My friend Patti wanted to share the following recipe for snickerdoodles. Honestly, if I ever make cookies, it’s usually from pre-packaged stuffs. Never from scratch. I hope to make these soon and let you know how they came out.
Ingredients: 1 cup shortening (I use crisco) 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 3/4 cups of flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 tsps cream of tartar 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp ground...
1 tag
Eating a Pomegranate
Most of my friends know of my love for pomegranates. I eat them in the most messy, unsophisticated way. Here is a great tutorial on how to properly get the seeds out, frustration free.
1. Rinse your pomegranate in water and cut an X in the top about halfway down the fruit.
2. Set your pomegranate in a big bowl of water, place your thumbs in the center of the X, and pry the peel apart.
3....
11 tags
Cranberry Sauce
For Thanksgiving, I made exactly 1 contribution – Cranberry Sauce. To my taste, it was amazing. The recipe is simple and it can be whipped up very quickly.
Ingredients: 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water 1 (12-ounce) package fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed, drained and sorted through, removing any stems or deflated ones (I used fresh, Ocean Spray cranberries) Several strips of orange...