The World of Food Blogs- 3/11/09

I got the idea to write a blog about my experiences with cooking magazines from Richard who writes a detailed blog about his training for triathlons and marathons. I'd never read a cooking blog before this evening. The Epi Log, the blog for epicurious.com, had a post about being thrifty at restaurants and waiter's reactions. There was also a list of blogs that epicurious.com likes. I looked through them and found a couple I liked too. My three favorite blogs were Chubby Hubby, The Food Section, and The Amateur Gourmet. Most of the blogs were by big names in food writing and had lots of advertising on them. I don't see this blog going that way. I think I'd need more than 6 readers.

Last night I roasted two chickens as the recipe recommended so I had a roast chicken left over to shred for dinner tonight and tomorrow. I made the Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna on page 98 of this month's Gourmet, the second recipe in the "Birds in Hand" article. This was a Bechamel lasagna, meaning the sauce was a blend of milk and roux. I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of Bechamel sauce. It's often bland but in this lasagna, it worked. The dish called for Gruyere cheese instead of the traditional Mozzerella and the stronger flavored cheese worked well with the milder sauce.
It also used no-boil noodles which I've used before without much success. The Barilla brand noodles that the recipe specifically called for are short flat noodles that softened up beautifully with no precooking. Richard and I like the dish a lot but I think the cheese was a bit too strong for Eyrleigh. She had to be convinced to eat more than just a few bites and she usually loves pasta dishes.
On my original menu for the month, I didn't have a dessert planned for tonight but I decided to add a dessert recipe I had originally scheduled for later. I didn't want to load too many desserts into one week since it takes us a few nights to finish a dessert and I hate to throw food out. I saw raspberries on sale at Super H Mart yesterday so I made the Chocolate Raspberry Clafoutis on page 49. I'd never had a clafoutis and the description is accurate. It IS a cross between a custard and a cake and I'm glad it said that in the description. It didn't look cooked when I pulled it out of the oven but it was firm when I cut it after it cooled. The baked part was not overly chocolaty so the melted chocolate on top was a nice addition. The description said that cherries are the traditional fruit but the tart raspberries were excellent in my opinion. Since it's my blog, I guess that's the opinion that counts!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hambrick's-Party of Four!-8/1/11

Image
On August 24th of last year, I wrote a innocuous little post on this blog about my husband being a good sport about my creative culinary exploits.  And then....nothing....for over 11 months.  What happened, you may ask?  Well, the picture at left tells a rather significant part of the story but not the whole thing so I'll try to summarize here in case another 11 months go by before I post again.  (Okay, I will seriously try not to do that!)  The year 2010 started off on the wrong foot with the loss of our fourth pregnancy (Thankfully, pregnancy #2 had resulted in Eyrleigh!) at 18 weeks.  We were still reeling from the devastation of that event when my only sibling, my brother Ben, committed suicide at the end of February.  Then in April, Richard's company hired a new CEO and things professionally went south from there for him.  Since a blog is a public format and could therefor be accessed by anyone, including this individual, let me suffice it to say that after 9 years with th
Read more

I Don't Boil Lobsters...July in Review-7/31/09

Image
Gourmet's July recipes are in the bag and aside from the two recipes I refused to do, I made every recipe for the month. I suppose I should explain... I eat meat but I cannot actually kill the animal before I eat it. I suppose I should amend this statement. The mussels I brought home from the store said "Live mussels" but they sure didn't move or give any other indication that they were alive. Lobsters do, they move, they squirm, and whether you believe it's simply air escaping from their shells or not, they make a high pitched screaming sound when first put into boiling water. I just can't do that. The very thought of it turns my stomach and makes something I find fun, cooking, fill me with dread. So I didn't make the Boiled Lobster Dinner with Sesame Mayonnaise on page 54 or the Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter on page 28. Everything else I made and here's my highs and lows from this month's issue. This month's best reci
Read more

He Even Eats Sardines-8/24/10

Image
My husband is a really good sport.  I was reminded on several occasions this week how many spouses, husbands in particular, would take no part in the experiment I've been blogging about for over a year and a half.  Some friends came to eat last week and the wife made a point to tell me her husband did not eat vegetables.  He's a great guy but I'm really glad I'm not married to him.   I couldn't handle a picky eater.  And I'm 100% sure a picky eater could not handle me!    Another friend, after I told her what we were having for dinner, asked very incredulously if Richard would eat that.   Tonight I think I found Richard's least favorite food.  It's sardines.  I had to eat them as a kid so though I don't love them, I can eat them.  Richard took one bite of the sardine spread and asked what I had made him eat.   The recipe for Grilled Monterey Sardines with Lemon and Herbs in the To Big Sur, With Love article in this month's Bon Appetit called for
Read more