I've always been a big fan of corn pudding done well and adding some extra flavors to it was intriguing.
The recipe was very simple. Since I don't have a gas stove, I roasted the peppers beneath the broiler which works beautifully. I used the Cabot seriously sharp white cheddar, which I like because it holds its flavor better than other cheddars. I also used more cheddar than the recipe recommended.
My biggest beef with this-and it isn't that big-is that I think the milk-egg ratio is slightly off. While the pudding was consistent, it was not quite as cohesive as I prefer. This might also be helped by adding a little of the panko to the mixture, since the panko topping gave it a lot more unity.
One last thing... I'm not able to handle very spicy foods but I could see someone wanting this to be hotter.
Overall, a good recipe that I might use again. It would be a really nice dish for the winter with some fresh bread or biscuits. The general idea could also be transferred into some sort of corn chowder which would be lovely.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ina Garten's Portobello Mushroom Lasagna
I adore this recipe. It has definitely become a staple in my house.
There's nothing tricky about it; it really is as straightforward as it looks.
I use the baby bella mushrooms, just because they are easier to find and a little more economical. I also use salted butter in the bechamel. The main flavors in this dish are the mushrooms and the parmesan so the extra bit of salt in the butter helps bring that out. (Be sparing with the nutmeg or you'll taste that above all else.) Other than that the only change I made to add a small clove of garlic while the mushrooms are sauteing.
Portion-wise, I halve the recipe which feeds two and leaves leftovers. It keeps extremely well in the refrigerator.
It's also one of those recipes that will "wow" guests without causing you to pull your hair out.
There's nothing tricky about it; it really is as straightforward as it looks.
I use the baby bella mushrooms, just because they are easier to find and a little more economical. I also use salted butter in the bechamel. The main flavors in this dish are the mushrooms and the parmesan so the extra bit of salt in the butter helps bring that out. (Be sparing with the nutmeg or you'll taste that above all else.) Other than that the only change I made to add a small clove of garlic while the mushrooms are sauteing.
Portion-wise, I halve the recipe which feeds two and leaves leftovers. It keeps extremely well in the refrigerator.
It's also one of those recipes that will "wow" guests without causing you to pull your hair out.
Chicken Fajita Marinade
My favorite marinade for chicken fajitas is super simple:
For 3-4 chicken breasts:
For 3-4 chicken breasts:
- juice of 4 limes (fresh-squeezed, of course!)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (I put this through my mortar and pestle to try to release the oils as much as possible before adding it)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Cuban Pork Chops with Mojo-Guy Fieri
This was my weekend new recipe.
Having never tried a mojo sauce before, I can't attest to how it compares with other mojo variations. However, the sauce combined with the salt/oregano/garlic/onion/pepper rub was fantastic.
I will definitely use the sauce/rub combo again, but I did not like it on the pork chops. The flavor was great but the chops were not very tender. It's possible that I got inferior chops. In general, however, I prefer pork loin when eating pork. That's what I'm going to use next time. (9:05pm--The husband insists that I give him credit for the pork loin idea.)
As a side note, I didn't see much point to the recommended garnish. Maybe the watercress, but to me the tomato and avocado would have been odd with the flavor combo and the texture difference would have been weird.
Having never tried a mojo sauce before, I can't attest to how it compares with other mojo variations. However, the sauce combined with the salt/oregano/garlic/onion/pepper rub was fantastic.
I will definitely use the sauce/rub combo again, but I did not like it on the pork chops. The flavor was great but the chops were not very tender. It's possible that I got inferior chops. In general, however, I prefer pork loin when eating pork. That's what I'm going to use next time. (9:05pm--The husband insists that I give him credit for the pork loin idea.)
As a side note, I didn't see much point to the recommended garnish. Maybe the watercress, but to me the tomato and avocado would have been odd with the flavor combo and the texture difference would have been weird.
Cheater Pots de Creme
I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman - that Oklahoma ranch wife who has managed to captivate the internets. Her shtick can get kind of old and her recipes are, as she says, a reflection of what she's cooking and not exactly gourmet. That said, however, this recipe is fantastic.
Real pots de creme is usually some kind of cooked custard. This is not that. You throw a few ingredients into your blender, let it go for a few minutes, pour into pretty glasses, chill. It's insanely easy. And way too delicious considering it takes next to no effort to prepare.
The end result is creamy and rich, but without the hassle of cooking custard. The most important thing is having the ingredients at the right temperature. Letting the eggs sit on the counter for a few minutes to get the chill off and having the coffee as hot as possible (I usually throw it in a small skillet so it's boiling when I add it to the blender) makes sure you don't have flecks of solid chocolate in your finished product, but just a smooth delicious solid pudding.
I've already made this four or five times. I tried substituting white chocolate chips one time but those didn't set. Not sure why.
Real pots de creme is usually some kind of cooked custard. This is not that. You throw a few ingredients into your blender, let it go for a few minutes, pour into pretty glasses, chill. It's insanely easy. And way too delicious considering it takes next to no effort to prepare.
The end result is creamy and rich, but without the hassle of cooking custard. The most important thing is having the ingredients at the right temperature. Letting the eggs sit on the counter for a few minutes to get the chill off and having the coffee as hot as possible (I usually throw it in a small skillet so it's boiling when I add it to the blender) makes sure you don't have flecks of solid chocolate in your finished product, but just a smooth delicious solid pudding.
I've already made this four or five times. I tried substituting white chocolate chips one time but those didn't set. Not sure why.
Gazpacho
I heard on a Chowhound thread about a Cook's Illustrated recipe for gazpacho being great, so I tried it over the weekend at the same time I did this pulled pork.
I had never made gazpacho before this and had it in restaurants only rarely, if at all. But cold soups are the perfect "something different" for all this heat.
The process is slightly more laborious than simply chopping veggies and throwing them in the blender. The Cook's Illustrated recipe has some explaining of the technique here - not having made gazpacho before, I don't have first-hand experience with the problems they describe, but generally trust them where the science of cooking is concerned and have had more success than not with their recipes.
The slice of bread in the soup does give it wonderful body that it wouldn't have had otherwise. The finished soup contained both pureed and chopped veggies - some chopped veggies added after it's made, and others as a garnish right before serving.
Honestly, the chunky veggies in the soup didn't do much for me. The smooth puree was delicious - especially when pieces of good bread were dipped in it - and I think would have stood better on its own. Next time I make this, I'm going to try it without the chunky veggies.
I had never made gazpacho before this and had it in restaurants only rarely, if at all. But cold soups are the perfect "something different" for all this heat.
The process is slightly more laborious than simply chopping veggies and throwing them in the blender. The Cook's Illustrated recipe has some explaining of the technique here - not having made gazpacho before, I don't have first-hand experience with the problems they describe, but generally trust them where the science of cooking is concerned and have had more success than not with their recipes.
The slice of bread in the soup does give it wonderful body that it wouldn't have had otherwise. The finished soup contained both pureed and chopped veggies - some chopped veggies added after it's made, and others as a garnish right before serving.
Honestly, the chunky veggies in the soup didn't do much for me. The smooth puree was delicious - especially when pieces of good bread were dipped in it - and I think would have stood better on its own. Next time I make this, I'm going to try it without the chunky veggies.
My Berry Soup Experiment
Emily gave me this great recipe for mixed berry soup a few weeks ago. She had made it for a birthday party and raved about it, and I just had to try it.
I used the Talenti Tahitian Vanilla Bean gelato, which I got from Publix. It was on the pricey side, but this was a special treat I thought deserved a couple extra dollars. It didn't disappoint. Fabulous gelato.
For the wine in the berry soup I used an unimpressive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I had in my fridge. For my part, I thought the wine was a little overpowering in the finished product. Next time I will probably back off a bit from the wine and focus more on the fruit.
One problem I had with the recipe was the way Giada measured the berries. In the ingredients list, she listed the quantities by weight, but in the instructions by volume. I found that a bit difficult to measure especially since her weights were different than mine.
My own addition to the recipe was some homemade shortbread. This idea literally struck me about thirty minutes before I was going to assemble the dessert. I used this recipe from AllRecipes, and was very pleased. It added a nice substance and saltiness to the dessert.
I liked serving it in the large martini glass. It's such a pretty dessert.
Tyler Florence's Pulled Pork
I tried this recipe over the weekend.
It was outstanding. I used a 7 pound pork shoulder (bone-in). I decided to try the recipe too last minute to give the shoulder an overnight sit in the spice rub, so it got about 4 hours in the fridge and then I threw it in the slow cooker on low overnight instead of oven roasting as the recipe calls for. I'll try the oven sometime to see if it makes a difference but the slow cooker worked just fine.
The sauce is a vinegar/mustard type barbecue sauce, which was very unusual. Very tangy, tiny hint of kick, utterly delicious. While vinegar-based sauces on pulled pork are the norm for the Carolinas - ketchup-vinegar sauces in western NC and no ketchup in eastern NC, I think I've heard that mustard-vinegar sauces are more of a South Carolina thing. Not 100% positive on this though. The recipe says you can use yellow or spicy brown mustard - I definitely used spicy brown - just got a cheap brand.
The coleslaw was pretty easy in the food processor, albeit a bit messy when putting the cabbage though. I don't think I had the right kind of chili pepper - Wegman's didn't have the kind the recipe calls for, shockingly. The coleslaw didn't suffer for it though. The coleslaw sauce separated out from the veggies when left to sit, as it's a bit on the thin side, but could be stirred back in with no problem.
Everything served with plain pre-made hamburger buns. The pork, mustard-vinegar sauce and coleslaw together in a sandwich was utterly fantastic! Everyone absolutely loved it - tons of compliments and the food went fast. :)
In future, I'd give the pork shoulder an overnight sit in the fridge with the spice rub instead of just 4 hours, to see what that does. I'll also try oven roasting at some point. But either way, this recipe is absolutely a keeper.
Side note - I've given pulled pork it's own label because I have a thing with trying different pulled pork recipes, and think it'd make sense for those to be grouped together.
It was outstanding. I used a 7 pound pork shoulder (bone-in). I decided to try the recipe too last minute to give the shoulder an overnight sit in the spice rub, so it got about 4 hours in the fridge and then I threw it in the slow cooker on low overnight instead of oven roasting as the recipe calls for. I'll try the oven sometime to see if it makes a difference but the slow cooker worked just fine.
The sauce is a vinegar/mustard type barbecue sauce, which was very unusual. Very tangy, tiny hint of kick, utterly delicious. While vinegar-based sauces on pulled pork are the norm for the Carolinas - ketchup-vinegar sauces in western NC and no ketchup in eastern NC, I think I've heard that mustard-vinegar sauces are more of a South Carolina thing. Not 100% positive on this though. The recipe says you can use yellow or spicy brown mustard - I definitely used spicy brown - just got a cheap brand.
The coleslaw was pretty easy in the food processor, albeit a bit messy when putting the cabbage though. I don't think I had the right kind of chili pepper - Wegman's didn't have the kind the recipe calls for, shockingly. The coleslaw didn't suffer for it though. The coleslaw sauce separated out from the veggies when left to sit, as it's a bit on the thin side, but could be stirred back in with no problem.
Everything served with plain pre-made hamburger buns. The pork, mustard-vinegar sauce and coleslaw together in a sandwich was utterly fantastic! Everyone absolutely loved it - tons of compliments and the food went fast. :)
In future, I'd give the pork shoulder an overnight sit in the fridge with the spice rub instead of just 4 hours, to see what that does. I'll also try oven roasting at some point. But either way, this recipe is absolutely a keeper.
Side note - I've given pulled pork it's own label because I have a thing with trying different pulled pork recipes, and think it'd make sense for those to be grouped together.
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