Martinis!

For anyone who loves gin as much as I do, It is surprising to me even, that I had not ever had a martini before I made these ones for the project.

 

When my friend Paul asked what he could bring to dinner, I asked him to bring some fun olives, because I knew we would be having martinis with dinner. And fun olives he did bring! Ones stuffed with almonds, and ones stuffed with sundried tomato, and some kind of orange zest.

  

I mixed them in a large mason jar with a lid, (because I am Classy, and don't have a bar set) and poured them into wine glasses (see again re: classy)  and we each chose an olive to plop into our drink. I used my basic budget gin (New Amsterdam, in case you're wondering- I read an article somewhere... Real Simple? Somewhere online? That named it as one of the best gin bargains, and I have to say, it's pretty good)

 

I don't know where this drink has been my whole drinking life!  the gin really shines through, and the salty-briny of the olives offsets it nicely.

 

A definite win!

Chocolate Dump-It Cake- 2002

A link to the recipe in the NYT website is here

I have, up to this point, not been much of a cake-baker (this will change, shortly, as there are a ton of cake recipes in the book)  I tend to stick to cupcakes, because of the portability factor, and, to be honest, the cuteness factor. (who doesn't love a cupcake?) 

But! The book calls, and when it was my sister's birthday, and she requested chocolate cake,  I landed on this one, which, in the headnote says is a great birthday cake.  This, I can confirm.  It was easy to put together, melting the chocolate in a saucepan, stirring the ingredients together,  sifting the dry ingredients, and then pouring the batter into the pan.  I put it in the oven for the allotted time, and then didn't have any problems getting it out of the pan when it had cooled a little.

Putting together the frosting is super quick and easy-  you melt chocolate in a double boiler, and add sour cream. stir, and frost cake. The result is slightly tangy, chocolatey frosting.

I cut it in half,  to make two layers, frosted it, and served it as Birthday Dinner Dessert for my sister. This cake is an awesome, chocolatey cake- not too dark, with a lighter tasting frosting. It's a good go -to chocolate cake to have in your arsenal. So make it! It doesn't have to be for a  birthday, it can just be because you want cake!

And Happy Birthday, Jack!  It only took me a month after your birthday to get the post up.

Shrimp and Artichoke Casserole

Because I've been so lame at posting, some of these dishes were cooked awhile ago, and I"m just writing aboutt them now. 

For Glee Tuesday (My weekly tradition of dinner and tv with friends) I've been using that as an excuse to work on project dinners. My friend Julie is doing South Beach, so I was looking through to find recipes that are not super carb heavy, and I landed on this one.  (I have also wanted to make it for awhile)  It has lots of things that I love: artichokes, shrimp.mushrooms- YUM.

You begin by making a delicious bechamel, that covers shrimp, artichokes, and sauteed mushrooms, you top with parmesan cheese, and paprika (Amanda Hesser suggests using smoked paprika, which I HEARTILY CONCUR- it takes the dish to the next level)  and bake it in the oven.

I served it over wilted spinach, which I wouuld do again in a heartbeat- it was even better than serving it over pasta, or rice, I think- the spinach was the perfect compliment to the dish.  If it didn't involve artery clogging heavy cream, I would definitely make this all the time. Alas, it will have to be relegated to special occasions, which will give me even more to look forward to.

Lemon Drops

Before this, the lemon drops that I was acquainted with came in a shot glass that was rimmed in sugar, and could MESS YOU UP. if you had too many of them.  ( I am now of the age where taking shots- of anything- is far less appealing than it once was) but these are a wholly different kind of lemon drop.

I was putting together Christmas baskets for some of my family members, and they are a combination of sweet:  shortbread cookies, crunchies, vanilla sugar,  and salty: Homemade chipolte salt. and both: compost cookies. I wanted to add something else, something different, that I hadn't made before, and I landed on Lemon drops.  I was initially wary of this recipe, because it involves things setting up and gelling (and we all remember how excellent I am with things like that)  but I love lemon flavored things, and so soldiered on.

you begin by bringing sugar and water to a boil,  and then adding gelatin that has bloomed in water, and bringing that to a boil, and then adding in lemon juice and (the recipe calls for orange zest, but I subbed out that for lemon zest, because that is what I had on hand) after the hour, they weren't quite set up, so i stuck the container into the fridge, sent some good thoughts out into the universe, and hoped that they would set up completely. 

I woke up in the morning, and lo! They were gummy! and awesome!  I turned the square of candy out onto a cutting board, grabbed my pizza cutter and ruler, and cut out squares of candy. I rolled them in sugar- and Ta-da! I had gummy candy!

When I went to buy the gelatin, I bought four boxes, because the recipe calls for "four packets of gelatin", and having never used gelatin, I thought that would be good. Four packets are in EACH box of gelatin, so I think will take this unexpected windfall and play around with different jellied candies. (My mom got me rosewater for Christmas- that would be interesting, in a Turkish delight kind of way) Ribena for blackcurrant flavored things, peppermint extract for mint candies!  My imagination is running wild.

Teddie's Apple Cake- 1976

Note: I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've still been cooking! Expect more entries soon, as my life gets a little less crazy.  For now, here's Teddie's Apple Cake.

At my workplace, we have a Holiday party every year, to which different departments are assigned different things to make. This year, my department got dessert, so I busted out the cookbook, and landed on something that I thought would be relatively easy and quick to make on a work night. I gathered my ingredients, mixed them, and set the cake to bake, and it made my apartment smell fantastic on a snowy night last week.

For some reason, I thought that Apple Cake would taste much more virtuous than this one does. In my head, it was kind of in the vein of banana bread, or a muffin, or something equivalent to that.  I seek to dispel any of those notions with this cake.  It is sweet, and nutty, and much more cake like than I expected.  The apples and raisins do a great job of keeping the cake moist, and the outside edge of the cake crackles a little with the sugar in the batter that caramelizes as it bakes in the tube pan. 

The headnote in the recipe suggests serving this with ice cream, which would not be out of place for sure, but as I was eating it I definitely could see it slathered with cream cheese frosting as well.  A great cake to add to my quickly growing arsenal of delicious cakes that I bake.  (Plus! I was asked for the recipe twice, which is always a good sign)

Lora Brody's Bête Noire (Intense Chocolate Cake) - 1983

So I was having a little bit of a problem. The book was so big, that I was feeling overwhelmed. With over a thousand recipes, and just one me, I was just kind of blindly landing on recipes in the book, and cooking them. Which works, but doesn't have very much direction. There were also recipes that I would come upon that I would think: "I should make that for my sister! Or that one for my cousin! or that one my mom!" 


So I got a pack of small post its, and went to town on the book.  The pink, orange and yellow recipes were ones that I thought "hey, that looks good!" when flipping through the chapter.  The green are ones that I want to make for others (with their name written on it, so I remember). 


All of this leads to Lora Brody's Bête Noire. When I read the recipe, my hand immediately reached for the green post-its, so I could write my friend Lisa's name on it.  She loves all, deep, intense chocolate desserts- Molten chocolate cakes, dark chocolate mousse, If it is dark, and chocolatey, and awesome, she's there.  I knew I had to make it for her. 

Chocolate cake with My friend Bryan's Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

So we were all getting together to watch Steel Magnolias, and Katie and Lisa were making pizzas. (Oh, MAN Lisa's pizzas are great)  I thought it would be a good opportunity to make this cake (and also flat and chewy chocolate chip cookies, which I'll be writing about later). 

When you look at this recipe, it can seem intimidating. It involves a candy thermometer,  and cooking sugar, and whipping lots of eggs. Do not be afraid! It is not as hard as it seems.  You cook sugar and water until it reaches 220 degrees. Then you mix in chopped chocolate (a combo of unsweetened and semisweet) and stir until the chocolate is melted. (The recipe says that it might seize here, but that's okay, mine did not seize though, so woo!)  after that, you mix in butter, slowly, until all the butter is melted.  It is at this point, when I began to hum in the kitchen (I always seem to be humming to myself when a recipe is going well)  I went over to my trusty stand mixer, and began to whisk the eggs, (and some more sugar) until they had tripled in size. I slowly added the chocolate mixture to the eggs, and then took it out  of the mixer and stirred it by hand until it was all incorporated. 

I put it into a parchment lined, buttered cake pan, that was set in my cast iron skillet, poured boiling water around it, and baked it for a half hour. 

I got my stuff together, and got into my car to drive to my friends' house. The cake smelled so delicious, that I was seriously tempted to rummage around and find a fork and dig in right there on the highway.  I should have put it in the trunk. 

Just before it was time to serve the cake, I stuck it into a 200 degree oven for ten minutes to warm it up, and served it along with my friend Bryan's awesome strawberry cheesecake ice cream (he also had blueberry).  The cake was amazing. Not too dense, but truly chocolatey, and dark.  The recipe said serves 6 to 8, and I cut it into eight pieces,  and even then, the slices were a little too big. The cake is so rich, that it would have easily been enough with half of the size slice I had. (not that that stopped me from eating most of it) 

So good. 

If you want to impress the chocolate lover in your life- make this, right now. 

James Beard's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic- 1997

I love things that are braised, and Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic certainly fits the bill for warm, comforting, braised dishes.  

You start by separating out 40 cloves of garlic, slicing celery thin, and layering it in the bottom of a dutch oven, then you add celery, parsley,garlic, and then chicken, until the pot is full and you're out of chicken.  Then, you pour over some vermouth, and set in the oven, while it cooks and becomes tender, and melds together, and creates a garlicky, but mellow sauce.  This was part of my Thanksgiving weekend dinner party, and was served with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

It was quite wonderful, and something that I would definitely make again.

Yette's Garden Platter 1969

When I was having the dinner party Thanksgiving weekend,  I was just going to have the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, some good crusty french bread, and for my dad, the steamed green beans ( my dad thinks that any dinner without a green vegetable is incomplete).  I was all set to go, when a (very welcome but) unexpected vegetarian was thrown into the mix. (side note: unexpected vegetarian is a great name for a band)  I wanted something that would be hearty and filling, and as I was leafing through the vegetable chapter, I kept seeing things that looked tasty, but that were also made with meat. (Brussels sprouts with Bacon, you are calling to me! I will be making you soon!)

I also wanted something that was main-dish-y so that my vegetarian guest didn't feel like she got the short shrift. I happened upon Yette's Vegetable platter, and I'm glad I did. potatoes, topped with zucchini, and a tomato herb mixture, and then baked in the oven until browned on the top. (I omitted the onions, because the guest did also not eat onions). This, I think is an excellent vegetarian main, that I will be making again. I am going to make it again (with onions) because I bet that will make it even better.  I also think next time I will use smaller potatoes (these were fairly large white potatoes) maybe some small red skin potatoes... excellent.

Salted and Deviled Almonds- 1987

I am a fan of easy party snacks that you can have out to nibble when you are having a drink before dinner.  I mean, who isn't?  People who don't like snacks? I don't want to know these people.  Anyway.... These are extremely quick and easy almonds- you melt some butter, toss the almonds in, and then when they are nice and toasted, sprinkle with salt and cayenne. ( I mixed my salt and cayenne together, because I was afraid of the pepper clumping and becoming overwhelming)  I was kind of expecting these to be super hot, which I was okay with, but they did not turn out that way! Just enough heat that hits you at the end. 

Hot Cheese Olives- 2003

C

Hot Olives is one of those dishes that sound... a little wrong. It brings to mind... I don't quite know.  I like olives that are warm in things, like puttanesca sauce, but I think the phrase hot olives just sounds strange. Disregarding the oddness of the name, this is one excellent appetizer. (plus, it's easy!)

You make a dough of butter, cheese flour, an egg, and a little cayenne,  let it sit, and then wrap the small, spanish olives in the cheesy dough.  At this point you can let them sit in the fridge, for up to a day. When you're ready to make them, you pop them in a hot oven, and 15 minutes later, you have an excellent hot appetizer. 

I served these at the beginning of a dinner party that I had over Thanksgiving weekend with my cousins, along with Deviled Almonds and Rum Punch.  Everybody enjoyed them!   Even my cousin who doesn't like olives thought they were okay. My dad really liked them too, and the next day kept asking me what else you could put the dough on, because it's so good.  It's cheesy, and has a nice hit of cayenne, and I agree, it would go well with a lot of different things. I'm going to figure out what would go best. (besides olives, of course)

Lots of holiday parties are coming up! You should add this to your repertoire. 

A Perfect Batch of Rice- 1978

Yes, I know I used this picture before... I probably should have taken some other ones.

I think everyone has culinary things that they are anxious to make. Some people are afraid of bread baking, some people hate candymaking, other people fear the mashed potatoes turning into a gluey, terrible mess.  None of those are my fears- I can make some kickass candy, my mashed potatoes are fluffy and delicious, and I've made a loaf or two of bread in my time. 

But rice, oh, rice. The bizarre thing is, I can make a decent risotto- it's one of my favorite things to make. But give me a pot of regular rice, some water, and you will find yourself with either a pot with a burned bottom of rice, or a pot with almost completely raw rice, that once the lid comes off when I check it, never seems to cook through.  I attempted rice on several occasions, until I finally threw my hands up and gave it up.  Rice was something I ate at other people's houses, or with my Indian takeout. 

I knew I'd have to conquer my fear of rice, because there are several recipes in the cookbook.  The good thing is, the first one I started with is pretty idiot proof.  You bring rice to a boil, in chicken broth, add some herbs and butter and onions, and then put the whole kit in the oven. when it's done, out comes creamy, delicious rice- it's excellent- a very close cousin to risotto, and it was an excellent bed for the Salmon in Foil that I made the same night. 

Maybe I don't need to fear the rice! 

Salmon and Tomatoes in Foil- 2001

On the night that I made the Pots de Fail, I also made a dinner that was not Epic Fail. In fact, It was the opposite of fail, because it was pretty all-around delicious.  

Some of the best recipes are just assembly. You make a foil packet, in to which you put oil, salmon, basil leaves, and cherry tomatoes (I used grape, which were excellent) top with salt and pepper, and then pop into a very hot oven for 8 minutes, and when you're done, you have a fragrant, delicious piece of fish, with tomatoes and basil.  The fish was excellent, and I was happy about that, but the best part of the dish for me was the tomatoes. They were soft, and almost sweet- they just kind of melted in your mouth. I kind of want to see of that would work If I just cooked them in foil on their own.... something to try this week with the leftover tomatoes. 

Definitely a make-again recipe! 

Classic Rum Punch - 1984

When I was looking through the cookbook for things to make for the dinner party that I was having, I was looking for a simple cocktail that I could serve. As I flipped through the chapter, I paused on many things, but decided that Rum Punch looked pretty delicious. With four ingredients, it is certainly easy to put together.  You start by putting a cube of ice in a glass, some demera sugar, the juice of half a lime, and two ounces of rum. You stir and then drink. The sugar does not melt right away, so as you're drinking, it has this delicious quality of being a bit overly rummy at the beginning, but as you drink, and stir, it becomes sweeter, and more limey, somehow, so when you are at the end, all you can think about is how you want another. 


Have you guys seen the scene Mary Poppins where she's giving the kids the medicine after they got caught in the rain, and hers is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum punch?  That's how I say rum punch in my head. And now that I've tasted one ...(or three), I believe that Mary Poppins might have been a bit of an alcoholic.  That's okay though, I don't imagine it's easy to be a nanny, you might need a couple of these after a long hard day minding children in London. 

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum  Punch! 

Roasted Cauliflower

Some of the dishes in this cookbook are ones I've made before, (over and over and over again)  It feels like kind of cheating to make them for The Project, like I should save them until I need a break from some of the crazier stuff in the book.  Oh well, some days you just need to eat roasted cauliflower for dinner.  This is one of my favorite things. I think I like roasted cauliflower (when done well) more than french fries.


It is so easy too- toss the florets in olive oil, salt and pepper them, and roast on a cookie sheet. Ta-da! excellent side dish to whatever you're having.  Some people sprinkle on cumin, or curry powder, or pimenton, but I like mine plain. 


Make this now- it's a healthy respite from the pounds of starches you've been eating!

Pots de Creme-1970

There are no pictures of failure.

If I wasn't sticking to a standardized titling system with the name of the recipe and the year, I would have titled this post "Pot de Fail" 

When I read Julie/Julia,  she talked a lot about her "mutant gelling handicap"  not getting things to set.  At the time, I laughed at it, and said, to myself (smugly) "I'm a good cook! how hard can it be to make a custard from scratch?"   The me of 2010 wants to go back in time and kick me of 2008 squarely in the shins.  So I made the recipe first last night (I was making a whole dinner, that the other components of turned out AWESOME, Will post about them later this week) because I knew that it had to set in the fridge.  I whisked the eggs sugar and salt, I heated the cream, I put it on the double boiler, and slowly added the cream, and I stirred. And I stirred. And I stirred. Once it got to the point where it was covering the back of the wooden spoon, I pulled it off the heat, and set the bowl into one with cold water, stirred in the orange and Grand Mariner, and poured it into my small ramekins.  I set it in the fridge, and began to bumble about, preparing the rest of the dinner.


  A little bit before we were about to eat, (two hours after they had gone into the fridge, I checked them, and they were still soupy.  Heart sinking, I resigned myself to dessert failure, but thought that it might be salvaged by just serving them as "dessert soup!"  because, come on, how bad can orange and cream be?  We finished dinner, and I brought out the ramekins, (still not set)  and we dipped our spoons into them... and tasted.  In the beginning, you tasted cream, and orange, and then it was followed by a hit of salt, that made it quite unpleasant.  I tasted yolk, and salt. I don't know if the error was me (mistakenly using the wrong measuring spoon) or if i used the wrong kind of salt (I used kosher salt I keep on my counter)  but the result was... unpleasant. 

Julie soldiered on and had a few more tastes, but I was done.

The good part was, I had some chocolate covered crunchies in the fridge, and was able to use those to redeem dessert.  That, and the rest of dinner was really excellent:  Salmon in foil, and Perfect Batch of Rice, and I made another batch of the butternut squash soup, which was awesome. 

Can't win 'em all.

Butternut Squash Cider Soup- 1993

This recipe is fantastic. light, and just creamy enough, with excellent butternut squash flavor and a real flavor of apples which was surprising to me, I think I assumed that the squash would bowl over the cider spices, but it's not true at all. You can really taste the apple in the soup.

 

You start by sweating shallot and garlic in a saucepan, and then steaming the butternut squash with some chicken stock, blending (I used my immersion blender)  then blending in sour cream, and apple cider.  you serve finely diced granny smith apple on top, and it provides a really nice texture contrast with a bit of tartness.

 

This recipe has been making the rounds as a starter for Thanksgiving, and if my family was the kind that deviated from our traditional meal at all,

 

I made the soup and it was a little thick- I should have thinned it out some- but this recipe, like a bunch of the ones I've made before, is one I want to make again and again (this is not helpful, seeing as I still have over a thousand recipes still left. in the cookbook.

 

(I still have some butternut squash leftover, so I'm making it tonight as a starter for dinner)

Two Day Brown Butter Madelines- 2001

I have been doing more frowning in the kitchen,  When a recipe is not the way I imagined it would turn out in my mind's eye (mind's mouth? that sounds weird)  I tend to furrow my brow and think about it. Is it something I did wrong?  Was the room too hot/ batter not rested enough/did my butter not brown all the way?  I am frowning now, even as I am writing this.  Another problem with some recipes is that I've never had them before.  With, say the Corn chowder- I know what I like with Corn Chowder, and I can pinpoint X and Y.  With something like Madelines, which I've never had...  it's harder to put my finger on the problem. Or in fact, if it is a problem at all.

I think part of the issue is I was expecting it to be more like a cookie.  But it's not a cookie, so much- it's much more cake-like.  I also thought that the flavor of the lemon would be much more pronounced.  Tasting them right out of the oven, they seemed kind of bland.  Good with tea, though.  I was bringing the leftovers to work, and I thought that they needed a flavor bump, so i made a lemon glaze (with lemon, confectioner's sugar and lemon zest, and dipped the tops in that, and allowed them to dry overnight with the glaze.  That seems to fix the flavor issue- they've got a lot more flavor now-  But I worry. is it just because I don't appreciate muted and toned down flavors? hmm.  Something to think about.

My co-workers seemed to like them though, which is always a good thing.

The best part of the experience though, was using the Madeline pans.  I scored them at a garage sale for $1 each- easily my most awesome garage sale score.  I hadn't ever used them before this, and I had definitely been meaning to.

Coming up this week:  Butternut Squash Cider Soup, Roasted Cauliflower, Perfect Batch of Rice, Baked Mushrooms



Basic Corn Chowder

I am going to say up front that I took some liberties with this recipe.   I did not have corn on the cob, (and it is DEFINITELY not the time of year for it, so I subbed it out for canned corn. I know. terrible) The recipe has you take the corn off the cob, and then make a stock out of the corn cobs that is the liquid in the chowder.   I am going to re-make this recipe again in corn season, because I think making the corn stock would be really good,  However, it was rainy, and cold, and miserable out, and I wanted some delicious and creamy corn chowder.

The recipe also has variations for making the corn chowder with bacon and cream, instead of milk, And since I overbought cream for the chicken fricassee... and had leftover bacon from when I made the risotto, I thought, might as well!  If you have the book, I suggest, (as it is suggested in the headnote of the recipe) to do these additions, because I think the soup would suffer mightily without them.

Usually when I make corn chowder, I add carrots, and celery, and ham, so that there are a lot of elements going on. This was a stripped down version of corn chowder- Creamy,  with bits of potato, and bacon and corn.  I served it with some crusty bread, and  It was a good match for the night- it was cold, and rainy and gross outside. 

I feel like I should reserve judgement on this recipe, because I didn't make it from the corn stock, and I don't know if my substitutions affected the recipe. But I will say this- I am not a fan of thin broths, and even though this one had a lot of cream in it, (and therefore was tasty)  I much prefer a thickened, heartier broth.  It feels weird, but for the first time, I think I prefer my version of corn chowder.  I had leftovers for lunch today, and it re-affirmed my... ambivalence?  To the recipe.  it was good (I mean, bacon, cream, potatoes and onion can't go much wrong) but I think I will have to make it again in early fall when there is still fresh corn around.

Mrs. Raymond Schenk's Pumpkin Cake - 1980

This time of year I have pumpkin on the brain.  Sweet, spiced pumpkin.  I really liked this cake because it was simple, easy to put together, and tasty.  It wasn't too sweet, and had a nice crumb.  I subbed out crasin for the raisins in the recipe, because I didn't have any raisins on hand, and I think I would definitely do it that way again (I might also add some chocolate chips)

I don't know who Mrs. Schenk is, but she sure makes a delicious cake.  This recipe calls for a tube or bundt pan, but lacking one of those (I need to seriously start hitting some thrift stores to get baking supplies) I made mine in two loaf pans. That worked out though, because I brought one to work, and one to my theater company, so they could both enjoy some pumpkin goodness.

I think this would be a nice addition to thanksgiving dinner- especially for those people who like a more mellow dessert- this isn't too sweet, and is good with a cup of coffee.

Pumpkin, Sage, Chestnut and Bacon Risotto - 2003

Look at the title. Those five words are so awesome. Wait, look at the title again. Pumpkin, Sage, Chestnut and Bacon. Plus Risotto, which I love.  There is a link to the recipe here.

I was making this dinner for Glee Tuesday, which my friend Julie (and Paul, but he was busy this evening) come over and we watch Glee and eat dinner, drink wine and hang out.  They are going to be Project participants for a long while, so I wanted to start with one that I knew Julie would like.

I swapped out butternut squash for the pumpkin, because even though pumpkins are available this time of year, I prefer butternut in savory applications.  The recipe said I could!  You start by roasting the butternut squash in the oven, for 40 minutes, until soft,  and then laying pieces of bacon over them, sprinkled with chestnuts, and sage. You then cook the whole thing until the bacon is crisp, and take them out of the oven.

Then you start making the risotto- which is a fairly standard risotto recipe- and I am pretty familiar with making risotto, it's one of my favorite things. when the risotto is done, you stir in half of the finely chopped squash in, then bigger chunks of the squash, and on each serving you put diced bacon, sage and chestnuts.

It was really, really good.  The finely chopped squash melts into the risotto, which turns it to a bright orange yellow color. I was worried that the bacon would overpower the dish- but it didn't- it just lent a nice saltiness to the whole mix.  The chestnuts were so excellent. I've never cooked with them before- and they were almost meaty in texture.  Definitely one to make again.

Carmelized Brown Butter Rice Krispies- 2007

I love Rice Krispie treats, as do many members of my family. In fact, I've even made a whole triple layer "cake" out of Rice Krispie Treats for my sister for her birthday.   I've made a similar recipe from Smitten Kitchen earlier this year, which was also really good.  It also involved less butter than this recipe. This recipe? It is buttery heaven. 

This recipe is amazing. It takes the standard, bake sale Rice Krispie treat, and it knocks it out of the ballpark. It knocks it from Camden Yards ten minutes away, to my apartment.  I gave half of the batch to my sister to take home, and took the other half to work, where my co-workers demolished them in a matter of minutes.  This recipe is easy too- it only takes a couple extra minutes than regular Rice Krispie treats.  I think i could have even taken the butter a little bit browner, but I was impatient and wanted to get them done to get the rest of dinner on the table (I made these on the same night as the Beet Tzaziki and Chicken Fricassee)

Chicken Fricassee- 1968

Chicken Fricassee, pasta, green beans

 

This dish is rich- not something that you'd want to have every day, but definitely something that is a good, homey, Sunday dinner kind of meal.  It was pretty easy to put together, I halved the recipe (since there were just two of us for dinner)  and since I couldn't find any 3lbs chickens that were already butchered I grabbed 3lbs of chicken thighs, which I think are the best part anyway.  The recipe worked really well. I think I was a little more organized this time, and had read through the recipe a bunch of times before I got into the kitchen.  I set up the mis-en-place before I started, which was good, because a bunch of ingredients to into the pot at once, then the lid is put on, and it goes into a 400 degree oven to braise.  

 

I pulled the pot out of the oven, and put it on the stove, took the lid off, and (all with potholders)  and began to skim of the fat that had collected at the top of the dish. I added half of the cream, and then went to put the lid over by the sink, and without realizing it, grabbed the handle on top of the lid with three fingers of my left hand. I yelled (really loudly- and scared the cat)  and immediately ran my fingers under cold water, kicking myself for being such an idiot.  You see, this is not the first time I've been burned in the kitchen. It is not even the first time in the last three weeks  I've burned myself in the kitchen.  A few weeks ago I was the recipient of first and second degree burns on my chest/front from boiling hot water (woo!)  Note to self: BE MORE CAREFUL.   After cooking the rest of the dinner one handed, with an ice cube wrapped in a paper towel, (thank goodness that most of the dinner was done at this point)

 

I was going to make Perfect Batch of Rice with this dinner, but realized once I got home that I only have one pot that can go from stovetop to oven.  So Perfect Rice will have to be another time.  I made some pasta to go with, and steamed some green beans.   As I began do dig into my dinner (one handed) to the dinner, I realized that the burning fingers were worth it. Creamy, and velvety, the tarragon stands out, and the hit of lemon at the end really rounds out the flavor.  It's not a meal I could make every day- that much cream would be extremely detrimental to my health- but for a sunday dinner, or special occasion, I think this dish really works. 

Beet Tzaziki- 2006

I love beets. It's not a surprise that this is one of the first recipes that I picked out of the cookbook, because it combines many things that I love: dill, greek yogurt, garlic.  The dip comes together pretty easily- The recipe instructs you to boil the beets or roast them, but I took the shortcut of the pre-packaged steamed beets from Trader Joe's because they are A) tasty and B) always in my fridge. I think the next time I make it though, I might cook the beets myself, because I think, in this dish, it would be okay if the beets were a little bit undercooked- with a bit of a crunch. With regular tzaziki, the cucumber is usually a little bit crisp, giving a foil to the creamy yogurt.  That wasn't so much the case here with the beets. 

It is really tasty. The beets give the dip a sweetness that is offset by the garlic and dill, and the lemon brightens it up.  My sister said that it would make a good spread for a sandwich, and I bet that she's right. (plus, imagine the look on your co-worker's faces when you pull out your hot pink sandwich!)

English Tea Cart Wafers-1992

I got my cookie mojo back with these tea cookies, but they require a little trial and error.  In the headnote of the recipe, Amanda (is it weird to say Amanda? Amanda Hesser seems very formal.) says that this recipe takes a few times to get the proportions of cookie right.  The recipe also calls for a cookie press, which I don't have, but says that you can substitute a pastry bag with a tip.

I mixed together the ingredients, and put half the dough into the piping bag, and began to pipe out what I assumed to be three inch sections (still needed for the project: a ruler)  and once I had piped them out, put them in the oven to bake.  They were pretty big, significantly bigger than the suggestion of making them finger sized,  so when they came out of the oven, I piped the next batch out, and then sliced them in half.  That, proportionally seemed to work a lot better than the whole logs.

Once the cookies came out of the oven and cooled, I put together the chocolate glaze (using Ghiradelli chips- which I recommend!)  and dipped half of the cookies in the glaze and set to dry.  I  spread the other cookies with homemade raspberry jam that my mom made , and then sandwiched the cookies together.  I think if I make these again, I would take the extra step to put the jam in a piping bag and pipe it  on, because the  spreading method caused the jam to come out of the sides of the cookies a little too much.

They are really, really delicious. I love raspberry and chocolate combination, and the shortbread style cookie was really good as well.  Of the two cookies I made yesterday, they were the hands down winners.

Chocolate Quakes- 2002

 This recipe did not want to work for me.  I was going to a tea party for my friend Michelle's birthday, a  potluck, so I decided to take two kinds of cookies, that I thought would go well with tea.


The first batch I made, I mixed it all up, and then when I put it into the fridge to chill, then went to clean up, I tasted the batter on the whisk attachment for my mixer, and it became instantly apparent that there was an excessive alcohol-y rancid taste. I sniffed my bottle of vanilla, and cursed loudly. It appears the vanilla had gone off. I didn't even know that could happen!


I dumped that batch, and began again, melting, mixing, and stirring, and thinking that it didn't seem to make that much batter.  I am used to making large batches of cookies (my chocolate chip make 5 or six dozen)  so I chalked it up to the recipe yielding less cookies.  I put it in the fridge to chill, and then went to do the dishes, and realized that instead of the half cup measure that THOUGHT I was using, I was in fact using the 1/3 cup scoop. Annoyed, I tried to measure out (by eye... )  the remaining amounts of sugar and flour that the recipe needed.  Leaving that in the fridge, I began to make the other cookies that I had planned for today.


I contemplated making another batch of the cookies today, but I think I may try them again tomorrow night- My sister is coming over for dinner, and she can take the leftovers with her.


So I coated them in sugar, and baked them off, (I overbaked them, I think- the luck continues) and they look pretty nice.  I took them to the party, and people seemed to enjoy them, I think it went nicely with tea. 

The Book.

So up until this point, I have been using recipes from the book that I have found online, because my book was coming from Amazon. And because the USPS sucks on a regular basis (I think my apartment complex got a new mailperson, because they usually leave packages in the rental office, instead of driving me insane with the notes about delivery attempts. And having the most inconvenient branch hours ever. Okay, end rant about the USPS)

So, I got home today, and my book was waiting for me! VERY EXCITING. I have spent the evening on and off looking at it, flipping through the chapters, making notes to myself, and putting in post-its for things I want to cook right away.

Right off the bat, I know I want to make the Pumpkin Black Bean soup. I am excited about the Salad chapter, especially the Fennel and Blood Orange salad and the Rosemary and Feta Salad (plus any salad with beets. I looooove beets- and it appears Amanda Hesser does too, because there are a lot of delicious looking beet recipes in the book.

My love of soup is pretty legendary (I love to make it, and to eat it. but especially the making of soup- I find it familiar, and comforting.)  I can't wait to make the Carrot and Fennel soup, and Pho! ( I love pho, and would have never attempted making it before this.  plus, butternut squash and cider soup sounds amazing.

The vegetable chapters look great, and Shredded Brussels with Bacon and Pine Nuts is coming up first, and chilled sesame spinach, and Eggplant Involtini (I'm going to wait until my mom comes down to make that one, because she loves eggplant)  I love that there is a whole chapter devoted to potatoes, corn and Legumes, because as an Irish girl, I am very dedicated to my potatoes.  The chicken and seafood recipes look awesome, and I am looking forward to making brisket and short ribs.

And the appetizers! Oh, the appetizers.  Fried Olives, Spinach Dip with Chipotle and Lime,  Cheese Balls!  Plus Gougeres, and Scotch eggs,   I think that the Appetizer chapter may be my favorite.  The Cheese Straws that I've already made have definitely were fantastic.

There are too many desserts to count that I can't wait to make, and my family should get ready, because they are getting candies from the book in Christmas Baskets this year.

It is obvious that this book was put together with a lot of care and thought, as well as a great sense of humor. I like that there is a recipe index at the beginning of each chapter, and then when you get into the chapter, they are organized chronologically. I am already planning my decade themed dinners.  

 Having the book in front of me makes the project a seem a little more daunting than I originally thought, but I'm setting my course, and beginning this crazy journey.  Right now it's 12:20 am, and I need to stop flipping through the book, but I've got time tomorrow, and I'm going to formulate my plan.  First up this weekend:  An appetizer, a vegetable, a cocktail, and a Main Course for Sunday night dinner with my sister.

Those of you that have the book, any suggestions?

David Eyre's Oven Pancake- 1966

One of my friend Katie's favorite breakfast foods is a Dutch Baby, sometimes called an Oven Pancake, or a German Pancake.  She's talked about it a lot- her cousin makes them for her, and I kind of knew what she was talking about, but I didn't quite get the appeal. It's a pancake? That you cook in the oven?  Okay.... but I am still waiting for my book to come, (insert rant about the USPS and how they LIE about how they attempted to deliver my book because: NO BOOK AT MY HOUSE)  and I was looking for book recipes online that I could do.  I figured for Glee Tuesday (two friends come over to watch Glee every Tuesday Night. ) I'd make breakfast for dinner.  A little pancake, a little bacon, and If my friends were in the mood, some Gin Rickeys. 

My friends however, since it is a repeat night, made other plans. So I scrapped the cooking of the bacon, and made the pancake for myself.   It was delicious, and I am not sad at all that they weren't here, because I didn't have to share any of it.  Light, and crisp, and buttery, and eggy.  The sugar and lemon on it were great, and my second piece I had with some raspberry jam, and it was heavenly. 

My camera doesn't do it justice, but it looked so SO awesome in the cast iron skillet. 

I am hoping the leftovers will be tasty toasted a little in the morning.  I bet they will! 

Gin Rickey- 1958

Can I tell you how excited I am that this book has a comprehensive Collection list of cocktails?   I am VERY happy.  I think that will be helpful as I forge my way through the giant book. I always like to try new drinks, and sidestepping the fact that it could get expensive,  I am looking forward to this part of the book a lot.

Gin Rickey Ingredients (minus the simple syrup)

I knew from the beginning that I was going to like this drink.  My favorite drink is a Gin and Tonic, and that's my default order whenever I go anywhere.  I used New Amsterdam Gin, which is my go-to inexpensive gin (although I bet a Gin Rickey would be delicious with Bombay Sapphire) 

My juice glasses are these canning jars, which I love, and I thought it looked nice in the glass when it was all put together: 

I really liked the flavor of this drink. With a G&T, you get a lot of the taste of tonic, and while I like tonic, the simplicity of the gin, the lime and the seltzer with the slight sweetness from the simple syrup was delightful. 

I may have had two, on a work night. Time will tell if I regret that choice in the morning. (I'm kind of a lightweight when it comes to drinking)

Plum Torte- 1983

David Leite Posted a link to this recipe on his blog- If you want to make it yourself (If you don't have the book yet- Mine is on the way!)


Plums always remind me of the summer, of car trips, jammed into the back of my dad's tiny pickup truck, my cousins sitting alongside, heading to the beach or to Hacklebarney State Park.  The sweet-tartness of plums that make your mouth pucker a little and make you want another bite, and another one. I picked the plums that I used (black plums) because they are dark and looked like they would be on the more tart side, and I thought that would balance well with the sweet batter.

This recipe was one of the most requested to be put in the cookbook, and it was run in the paper a dozen times.  It's easy to see why!  The plums are sweet and a little tart, the lemon adds brightness, and the cinnamon adds a depth to a simple batter.  I don't know that I would have paired plums and cinnamon, but it is certainly a tasty match.


I was having a moment of panic when I realized that I didn't have a springform pan, and It turned out my mother didn't either, but I went to my Grandad's house, and he had one that he wasn't using, and lent it to me.  He also said he didn't mind if it went to Baltimore with me, which is good, because I'm willing to bet there are more recipes that require a springform pan coming.


The batter came together quickly, and made the house smell great.  I am definitely adding this to my culinary repertoire,  to make again and again. 

Cheese Straws- 2002

In the beginning of the meal, there were cheese straws. So goes the meal, so goes the blog.  I am beginning the project with a dinner for my family in New Jersey, because they are A) a very receptive audience to my cooking and B) not very picky and C) Don't mind being written about on the blog. Right, guys?... right?  These first three recipes, Cheese Straws, Plum Torte, and Chicken a la Marengo are all available online, which is good, because my book hasn't gotten to me yet.  I did all the cooking for this dinner at my parents' house, which was great, because my Dad did all the dishes (for real. I think the hardest thing about this project is going to be doing the dishes. Do you know how much I hate to do dishes? I hate to do dishes A LOT. But! The beginning of the project had a chief resident dishwasher, which I am very thankful for. 


 Cheese straws are a Southern thing that my Yankee New Jersey upbringing was never familiar with.  I did not grow up with these adorning buffet tables, and holiday gatherings, and potluck dinners, and now I wish that I had.  The end note in the recipe says that the first time a cheese straw recipe was run in the New York times in 1878. It's really cool to think that something that I'm making in my kitchen to start off a dinner party in 2010 was made in kitchens over a hundred years ago


I used a sharp cheddar from New York, and and the straws turned a lovely golden color. The crushed red pepper gave them a really nice kick, and I really like how elegant they look in a glass. These are definitely an item that I could see bringing to a party- they are really easy to put together (even without a food processor, which I don't have- I used a pastry cutter) The next time I make them though, I'm going to whip out a ruler- my straws weren't all that even, and it was driving me a little bit nuts. 


They were hard to roll out, but I'm pretty sure that was user error- I probably could have added a little more milk, because the dough was breaking up some as I rolled it out. It was mostly okay though. They baked up excellently. 


Definitely in the make-again category!

Chicken a La Marengo 1908

*If you want to check out this recipe- it is here


I love chicken, I love mushrooms, and I'm a fan of tomatoes,  to begin with I was thinking that this combination is bound to be wonderful, and it was. 


Cooking it though, wasn't quite the smooth sailing I had hoped.  In looking at the recipe before making it, I couldn't quite visualize it.  Usually when I'm cooking from a recipe I've been thinking about it for awhile, and I kind of work my way thorough the steps in my head, so that when I go to make the recipe, it goes pretty smoothly.  That did not really happen here. I kept running back and forth to my laptop, running into the kitchen, trying to remember what point in the process, I was, going back to the table to chop things, and then repeating that process.  While it was funny to watch- My friend Helena seemed amused by my crazy pacing around the kitchen, I'm hoping that doesn't happen too much. (or at least if it does, while I'm alone so only the cat can see my crazy and disorganized mess)


I think this could probably be solved by better mis en place.


I also doubled the recipe, so that made for a lot of cooking of chicken (two four pound chicken cut up into parts is a lot of cooking going on. Also, it took a lot longer to cook the chicken than I had anticipated.

I started with the sauce, simmering tomato, onion, celery, carrot and parsley for about an hour.


Then I smashed a garlic clove, and started cooking chicken.  I used a dutch oven and my mom's biggest frying pan, and after putting all the pieces into the pans at once, switched over to cooking the chicken in batches, and it seemed to go a lot smoother after that.




Once the sauce was done simmering, I put it through the potato ricer (I don't have a food mill) which turned out a little less liquid than I thought it would, but it turned out that that was okay.

Once the chicken was done, I sauteed the mushrooms, and added the tomato sauce, and things were smelling quite amazing.

Chicken on the platter

Along with the chicken, I served steamed spinach, and mashed red skin potatoes. I knew the chicken was going to be challenging, so I picked sides that I knew would be quick and easy, and go well with the chicken dish. 

If every time cooking from the book is going to be this wonderful, I'm in for a great ride.  The chicken was really good, and the sauce was luscious, the potatoes were creamy and buttery. 

Many thanks for my Mom, my Dad, (especially my Dad, who heroically did all the dishes. I generated a lot of dishes) my cousin Amy, and my auntie Ange and Uncle Dave for coming for dinner and telling me that they liked it.  These guys were here at the first dinner, and I hope they'll be at the last one of the project, which I am definitely going to go all out for. 

Three recipes down, 1000+ to go!

It Begins!

There are a number of great food blogs that are cook-the-book, and I have found it fascinating to read the experience of Carol at Alinea at home, Julie Powell of the Julie/Julia Project, and Sara of Sara Discovers How to Eat (and many more!) Cook the book blogs are a really cool way to work on your cooking skills.  Plus, I like having a project, and this one will certainly take up my time and energy. 

 So it begins!  I am going to cook my way through The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser.

Why this book?  You may not know this, but I was a History major in college, with a concentration on the early 1900's.  The way that we cook and the way that home cooking has evolved has always interested me. I think that this book will be a really neat way to explore our national culinary history.  What recipes are from the depression? Which ones are wartime recipes? How did trends in society play into what people were cooking in their home kitchens?  Plus, while I consider myself a pretty capable cook, I don't tend to go outside of my culinary comfort zone all that often. I want to expand my culinary knowledge and practice in all directions. Learning about the past, and practicing my skills for the future.  The best way to get better at something is to practice it.

What I am going to do:

• Post as frequently as I can. Include in the post the page number the recipe is on. 
• Take pictures of the things I make.
• When I make substitutions/ adjustments (due to time, or tools, or cost) I will note it in the post.
• Cook from the book at least three days a week (since I live alone, a majority of these meals will be just for me. I can take leftovers for lunch, but I am figuring I'm going to have some dinners of leftovers, as well).

  

What I am not going to do:

• Cook all of these recipes in a year.  I think over thousand recipes in a year is way too ambitious, even for me.  So over the first couple of weeks, I'm going to develop some sort of cooking/posting rhythm. 
• Post the recipes.  Amanda Hesser did an awesome job writing and editing this cookbook, and the authors wrote the recipes,  and If you want the recipes, grab a copy of the book and cook along with me!  You can get it on Amazon for a great deal. If however, there's a link to it somewhere else, (as part of an interview, or something like that) I will provide a link to the recipe.

*Note to my friends in real life:  You are all hereby invited to dinner, A LOT.  I am going to need your help eating all of this food, so if you want to get in on the action, give me a call, or send me an email, and I'll send an email out at the beginning of every week saying what I'm cooking and if it's something you're interested in, just let me know, and you're invited!