A Little Chipotle Goes a Long Way-8/30/09

For tonight's meal, I went back to those unfinished recipes from June's Gourmet. I have only one recipe from August to finish but Southeast Asian Rice Noodles with Calamari and Herbs isn't tickling my fancy right now. So let's got with some Mexican flavors. We in the United States are so unbelievably lucky with the great variety of food that is easily available to us. Quite a few years ago, while living in New Jersey, I got a serious hankering for Indian food and stopped by a local Indian restaurant for takeout on the way home. I remember thinking how bland American food is in comparison and then almost immediately catching myself. Indian food is American food, so is Chinese, Polish, Argentinian, and all other wonderful cuisines of the world. America is a wonderful melting pot of all of these cuisines and cultures and is in fact one of the best places to be in the world if you want to try them all.
Tonight's meal was probably more about Mexican flavor than Mexican style when it comes to food. I made the Chipotle Pork Cheeseburgers, an American take on a wonderful Mexican flavor. The Romaine, Grilled Avocado, and Smoky Corn Salad with Chipotle-Caesar Dressing, did the same. The cheeseburger was topped with tomatillos instead of the traditional tomato. The Caesar salad added corn and avocado to the traditional romaine. Both dishes were great takes on classics and had good flavors. I might have added a bit more chipotle to both the burger mix and the salad dressing. The heat was very mild as written and could have been a little hotter so those who love their chipotle.

Romaine, Grilled Avocado, and Smoky Corn Salad with Chipotle-Caesar Dressing-B+

Chipotle Pork Cheeseburgers-A

Reliving Friday Nights Past-8/28/09

August's issue of Gourmet had a whole article on Gin Punches. I didn't really plan on making them all in one night. That would not be recommended but that's what happened. I had scheduled the punches different nights throughout the month but I'd get busy on dinner and push the drink off to another night. Suddenly, with only 4 nights left in the month, I had all 4 to make and Richard would be out of town for one of them. Not that I expected to get trashed but I didn't think it was a good idea to do lots of drinking with him gone. Tonight seemed like the best night to just knock out the drinks and be able to compare one to the next if I was sober enough to taste them. Honestly, I didn't expect to drink much of each punch but I did want to be complete in my testing.
Each of the drinks seemed pretty similar at first glance. They all had a citrus addition, usually lemons and gin. The cocktail of the month, the Tom Collins, was a bit bitter for my taste. I think that was a product of the seltzer, not the drink mix itself. It was my least favorite of the four. The three punches were a bit sweeter, perhaps because they are designed to sit out for awhile after they are made. The Dr. Salmon's Punch was pretty heavy on the alcohol. I didn't have genever so I made the substitution with gin and whiskey. The nutmeg addition was gritty more than flavorful. The Limmer's Punch was a familiar punch, almost like a Mike's Hard Lemonade with a bit more fizz. I really liked this drink though I'm not sure how much the eighth of an ounce of orange flower water added. Obviously, I didn't make full bowls of punch for each of these recipes but reduced the ingredients down proportionately to get the flavor without gallons of extra punch. The Gowanus Club Gin Punch was Richard's favorite. The citrus mint blend was well balanced and the tea and pineapple added a complexity over the Limmer's Punch. I didn't buy Yellow Chartreuse for just one ounce but my sense is that this liqueur would have added more color than flavor.
I did make dinner before I drank all this alcohol. (For the record, I had only about a 1/2 glass of each drink and really didn't feel it until finishing the last one but by then it was time for bed anyway.) Tomatoes aren't particularly known for their alcohol soaking properties but I needed to do the Slow-Roasted Tomatoes on page 102 when I could be home most of the day. These tomatoes needed 8 hours to roast and though I did leave the house, I didn't want to be gone for hours with the oven on. The recipe said these tomatoes would be very reduced. I actually thought they held their size pretty well. They looked great but I wish that Gourmet had suggested some more things to do with them once they were roasted. Tonight, I just used them in my next recipe, the Turkey Club Salad with Avocado Mayo on page 59. This salad was much like last night's salad, a very complete dinner salad with many components. The bacon and avocado added some fat and the combination of cabbage with the romaine added a yummy crunch. The homemade croutons were good too. I liked this salad and thought it made a great quick weekday dinner.
Perhaps the best alcohol soakers of the night were the Olive Oil Madeleines on page 15. Perhaps the most difficult thing about making these simple cookies was finding a Madeleine pan. I finally found one at Williams-Sonoma after checking out several other home goods stores. I forgot to spray the pan with cooking spray (I didn't spring for the $23 non-stick pan.) but either because of the new pan or all the olive-oil in the cookies, they came out of the pan with a little coaxing. The lemon flavor was more distinct than the oil which was probably a good thing in cookies. These cookies were light and very yummy. Eyleigh ended up finishing off several after some initial hesitation. I snuck a few extra too at the end of my highly scientific drink testing.

Tom Collins-C
Dr. Salmon's Punch-B
Limmer's Punch-A
Gowanus Club Gin Punch-A
Slow Roasted Tomatoes-B
Turkey Club Salad with Avocado Mayo-B
Olive Oil Madeleines-A

Why I Stay Home-8/27/09

There are days I go a little crazy being a stay-at-home mom. Some of the downsides are the isolation of spending most of the day without adult companionship, the unpredictability of a small child, and the constant sense that somehow things should be done... dishes, laundry, housecleaning, etc. But let me tell you, even on those rough days, I love being able to stay home with Eyrleigh. I get to see her every "new", her every new word, new action, new joy. Today was one of those days were we just enjoyed each other. We played with markers, Play-Doh, books, and toys. She even played happily with the spices and her toys in the kitchen while I made tonight's dinner.

Tonight I made a dinner salad, the Salmon Nicoise Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette on page 54 in this month's Gourmet. With potatoes, eggs, and salmon, this was not a wussy salad. I've mentioned that Richard is getting ready for his triathlon a month from today so I want dinner to be filling. This was a filling salad and the components went together well. The dressing was pretty salty given the Kalamata olives and anchovies but it works well to stand out among the many flavors of this salad.

For dessert, I made the upside down baked Plum Kuchen on page 38. This dish is advertised as a coffeecake and it's not overwhelmingly sweet. My favorite part was the wonderfully gooey batter right underneath (or I suppose on top of) the plums. This dessert would work as a breakfast cake or tea cake just as well as at a dinner's conclusion.

Salmon Nicoise Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette-B

Plum Kuchen-B+

The Best Little Souschef-8/26/09

I can't wait until Eyrleigh is old enough to cook with me. There are a few things she can do to help, even at 21 months old. She loves to stir, though I do need to come behind her to make sure I've gotten the edges. She's great at turning on appliances and is no longer scared of the food processor. But she can't get near the oven or stove top and knives are definitely off-limits. She's not strong enough to pour things or smash things.

Today, I got a chance to see how much fun it is to cook with a kid. I was watching my friend's son, Dylan, after school today and he's at that great age where he really wants to help out. I had two recipes on tap for today that were perfect for a young helper. The Perfect No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream on page 84 of this month's Gourmet is as advertised and involves no cooking. Dylan was a master with the potato masher and the strawberries had no chance. He loved turning on the blender and the ice cream maker and dumping in the ingredients. The only problem for him was the amount of time the ice cream maker needed to run to freeze the ice cream. After about 2 minutes, he was convinced it should be done.

The second recipe Dylan and I made was the Buckeyes on page 14. We had spent some time over the weekend with Dylan's dad and knew he was a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. (He has the tattoo to prove it!) I really hadn't decided when to make the Buckeye recipe as it's not really a dessert. This was the perfect opportunity to give away a few and not feel guilty about sweets laying around uneaten. I made the peanut mixture while Dylan was at school. (Kids and mixers scare me!) I melted the chocolate over the stove and cooled it a bit and Dylan and I rolled the peanut mixture into balls and dipped them in chocolate together. Dylan was really excited to show his mom the Strawberry ice cream and couldn't wait to take some Buckeyes home to Dad. I love cooking with kids!

I did make a recipe for dinner all by myself. It was kinda lonely! I made another of the no-cook pasta sauces, the Roasted-Almond Ricotta Pesto with Olives. This sauce was a pretty traditional pesto sauce based on basil with the addition of Kalamata olives. I found it a bit bland. After writing that, I sit here wondering what else to say and that pretty much sums it up. It's not a bad pesto but it's no better than a jarred pesto from the grocery store. Maybe it would have been better if Dylan had helped me, it sure would have been more fun.

Perfect No-Bake Strawberry Ice Cream-A

Buckeyes-A

Roasted-Almond Ricotta Pesto with Olives-C

Something Went Very Wrong-8/25/09

Ah, the difference a day makes. Yesterday, I raved about the amazing caramel ice cream in the Frozen Assets article of this month's Gourmet. Today, I tried the Cantaloupe Grappa Semifreddo from the very same article. Whoops! I really don't know what went wrong on this one but my attempt was nowhere near what was intended. I sensed there might be a problem when the cantaloupe egg mixture almost immediately expanded and began to spill out of the very large mixing bowl I was using over the pot of boiling water. I continued to beat the mixture as long as I could but the top was not heating because it was so far from the boiling water. When I mixed in the whipped cream, it sunk to the bottom and did not distribute without a lot of folding (translation: stirring). It tasted exactly like cantaloupe, if cantaloupe was the consistency of a very light, airy sponge but I don't think that was the intent. I don't have any guesses as to what happened. I have actually made a semifreddo before (see 7/22/09 post) and it turned out great. That's why I'm called an amateur, boys and girls!
Dinner turned out a bit better. I made the Avocado Strawberry Salad with Orange Vinaigrette on page 14 and the Grilled Chicken and Hot Cherry Pepper Panino on page 60. The salad was good with lots of flavors that mixed pretty well. My goat cheese melted instead of crumbled so it became more of the dressing than a component of the salad but it still worked.
The panino got a bit brown, as you can see, perhaps because my rather well-used grill pan got a bit overheated. The sandwich was a bit bland, even with the peperoncinis. Another dressing of some kind would have benefited this sandwich and helped moisten the chicken. I find chicken cutlets can get a bit stringy pretty quickly and these did.

Cantaloupe Grappa Semifreddo-D

Avocado Strawberry Salad with Orange Vinaigrette-B

Grilled Chicken and Hot Cherry Pepper Panino-C

Hold On... I'll Blog After Another Bite-8/24/09

When I was in college and needed to pull an all-nighter to finish an assignment, I had a go-to solution. I'd buy a bag of those Brach's Caramel Cubes and every 20 minutes or so, put one in my mouth and suck on it until it was gone. I'd get enough of a sugar rush to keep working but not too much to make me jittery and lose focus. Well, tonight I found these caramels in ice cream form. The recipe for Salted Caramel Ice Cream on page 84 of this month's Gourmet is probably one of the best ice cream recipes I have made. Smooth, rich, and almost overwhelmingly caramely (if that's a word!) but absolutely delightful. I ran down to get another bite while writing this blog just to make sure it was as good as I remembered.
I did make dinner tonight or I would have a serious stomachache right now. I made the Tomato and Corn Pie on page 42. This was a great summer recipe. The crust did not require chilling which really sped up the process. (Though I can see why you usually chill dough. It was insanely sticky when pealing it off the plastic wrap.) The mayonnaise lemon sauce and melty cheese complimented the fresh tomatoes and corn in the pie. The crust baked up well and looked very pretty considering how sticky it had been coming off the plastic.
Richard has been ramping up his triathlon training in preparation for his 70.3 race in Augusta in September so I've been trying to make each meal more substantial. I didn't have an August recipe to add so I went back to those June recipes I haven't made. I made chops with the Pork Spice Rub from The Last Touch. This rub called for a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half of chipotle chili pepper. Way too much! The heat of the chipotle overwhelmed all the other flavors in this rub and made the sensation of lips burning the predominant feeling.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream-A

Tomato and Corn Pie-B+

Pork Spice Rub-D

My Waffle House

I debated pasting a graphic of the iconic Waffle House sign on the top of this post but since it's iconic, you don't really need to see it to know what I mean. I live in Georgia, the home of the Waffle House empire. In fact, several years ago, a girl on my tennis team worked there. When she first told me, I must have looked unimpressed because she quickly added that she worked at the corporate offices. She obviously did not want me to think she was a waitress there. I personally think those Waffle House waitresses have amazing memories so I really meant no disrespect at all.
In the You Asked For It section of this month's Gourmet was a recipe for Cornmeal Waffles. The reader was incredibly impressed by the waffles at Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California. I personally was not. I found them grainy and too savory for my liking. In their defense, I don't have a Belgian-waffle maker, just a standard one but that probably wouldn't have changed the flavor much, just the lightness. Lots of maple syrup can improve any waffle, though. Even the ones at Waffle House.

Cornmeal Waffles-C

If I Lived In The Hamptons-8/21/08

Tonight's starter was all glam and then some. Vodka Spiked Cherry Tomatoes! With no disrespect to the drinking habits of socialites but this recipe had closet alcoholic written all over it. I'm not a person who gets super into the drama of famous people's lives, but is it any wonder some of them become heavy drinkers? Sure, all of us everyday shmucks complain about our jobs and all the things we have to do. But imagine how pathetic life begins to look if you can pay someone to do everything for you and don't have anything to do that is truly meaningful. Even if you work at a job you don't find meaningful in and of itself, the money you receive makes that job meaningful to you. Life without purpose and meaning is quite unfulfilling. You may remember why I started this blog. I have a purpose and meaning as a stay-at-home mom who does all her own stunts (cleaning, cooking, etc). But even there, I didn't feel I was doing anything adult, or perhaps the better term is intellectual. Now you may argue that a cooking blog is not intensely intellectual. I won't disagree, but this blog and the project surrounding it, gives me daily challenges outside of the ordinary and allows me to write and reflect in a creative way. May not be rocket science but hey, at least it keeps me from drinking;)!
Back to those Vodka Spiked Tomatoes with Pepper Salt. They were interesting and dipping them in pepper gave them a kick-in-the-pants kind of flavor. Let me describe that. Surprising, not the highlight of my day but kind of a fun twist. I could only eat about 3 though. Dipping them in salt was downright brain-puckering and I don't recommend it. I won't make them again but for about 5 minutes I imagined them at some posh dinner party in the Hamptons, being nibbled on by overly made-up AA flunkies.
For dinner, I made the Cedar-Plank Salmon on page 79 in this month's Gourmet. I picked up the cedar planks at World Market, though I bet the Home Depot would have been cheaper. The sauce over the salmon was very simple to make and was a great addition to the fish without overwhelming the cedar smoke flavor. The fish took a little longer to cook than the recipe said but it was excellent. The cedar flavor was distinct and I will be using the other 3 planks soon. Yum!
I made the Lemon Bread Pudding with Maple-Infused Whipped Cream on page 106 for dessert. This was a mild flavored bread pudding compared to the more traditional cinnamon heavy version but I really enjoyed it. The consistency of the bread-custard mixture was excellent and the lemon was subtle and smooth. The whipped cream could have used a bit more maple syrup. I didn't really taste it at all. Too much would have overwhelmed the lemon but maybe a tablespoon more to give the cream a bit more complexity.


Vodka Spiked Cherry Tomatoes with Pepper Salt-C

Cedar-Planked Salmon-A

Lemon Bread Pudding with Maple-Infused Whipped Cream-B+

Feeding the Monster... I mean, Daughter- 8/20/09

Hearing the parent of a very young child complain about their child's eating habits is nothing new. Sorry, you have to hear it again. Perhaps I chose tonight to vent about this issue because we had pasta and pasta is usually a sure thing. Nope, tonight my dear little Eyrleigh decided that nothing, not even spaghetti, was worth eating. I made the Artichoke Fennel Sauce with Prosciutto, one of the no bake pasta sauces focused on in this month Gourmet magazine. This was a pretty complex sauce flavor wise. The tang of the jarred artichokes and the salty prosciutto were the strongest flavors. The more subtle fennel and Parmesan flavors were harder to decipher. Richard really like this sauce, I was a little less impressed. I didn't really think the blend worked. Maybe that's what Eyrleigh thought but she didn't say it, she just didn't eat it.

Artichoke Fennel Sauce with Prosciutto-C

Eat Your Vegetables.. and Repeat-8/19/09

I don't know if there is such a thing as vegetable overload but tonight, I was close! I made the aptly named "Garden Party" menu from this month's Gourmet. With only one of the eight recipes containing meat, there was a lot of room for vegetables and even a few fruits. Summer is the best time for vegetables. Sadly, I've never been able to figure out how to grow anything in Georgia. A few years ago, I got a few cherry tomatoes and my rosemary plant has overtaken the herb pot but that's about it. I tried zucchini and summer squash a few times and it would look great until one day, I'd walk outside and the plants were totally dead. I have no idea why and it was so discouraging I haven't tried to grow a garden since. Maybe having a baby had something to do with it, too.

Back to my Garden Party... The menu began with Melon Coolers, a rift on Mexican aguas frescas. The pureed melon syrup that the recipe created had a super sweet cantaloupe flavor that mellowed with the addition of seltzer. I had to play around with the amount of syrup to seltzer to find a combination I liked and found the drink a bit more work than wow. In hindsight, I wonder what the syrup would have tasted like with a lemon-lime soda like Sprite.

The two starters, Radishes with Creamy Anchovy Butter and Cool Jade Soup, were very fresh and simple in flavor. The radishes were just that, radishes with butter mixed with anchovy paste. It was better than initial expectations but how many radishes can one eat in a sitting? I guess if you go by the serving size, that's one and a half. That's more in line with a tasting menu.The Cool Jade Soup was a lima and green bean soup with lots of herb flavor. I have never been a huge fan of cold soups but the flavor of this soup was quite good. It had a summery lightness but was flavored enough to be filling and interesting.

The Chive Shortcakes with Smoky Corn and Okra Stew was twist on the traditional chicken and biscuits. The shortcakes were light and had a good buttermilk bite. The stew was intentionally but not overwhelming smoky, combining the charred corn and the smoked turkey. I don't always get excited about okra, the whole slimy middle thing, but this vegetable really works in this stew. The milk and flour made a smooth gravy base for the stew but was not as heavy as cream would be.

The Baked Tomatoes with Hazelnut Bread Crumbs got very dark on top in the time recommended. I used "Uglyripe" tomatoes from the grocery store because they purported to have more flavor. I'm not sold. The dish was a bit bland but it may have been the fault of bland tomatoes. I had made the Pickled Baby Squash last Friday and let them deepen in flavor. These pickles were easy to make and great. They had just enough crunch and retained a unique squash flavor, more detectable than that of a cucumber. The Farmers Market Salad with Aged Gouda and Roasted Portabellas was simple salad with a few flavorful additions. The mushrooms and cheese added complexity and added to the smoky theme begun in the Chive Shortcakes.

The Yogurt Cake with Currant Raspberry Sauce was a moist white cake and the raspberry sauce added a rich tart note. I didn't find fresh currants but just doubled the raspberries as suggested. The frosting was insanely sweet, though. The sauce helped cut that but the intense amount of sugar almost hurt my teeth. Richard is taking the rest of the cake to work tomorrow. That will be the true test of its success.

Melon Coolers-C

Radishes with Creamy Anchovy Butter-B-

Cool Jade Soup-B

Chive Shortcakes with Smoky Corn and Okra Stew-A

Baked Tomatoes with Hazelnut Bread Crumbs-B-

Pickled Baby Squash-A

Farmers Market Salad with Aged Gouda and Roasted Portabellas-B

Yogurt Cake with Currant Raspberry Sauce-B

Baby Bella = Cremini, Who Knew?-8/18/09

I pretty much read everything in my cooking
magazines. Not to be nerdy, but it's kinda a
matter of pride to make sure I read the Letters to Editor, the random information often at the front end of the magazine, and even the informational stuff at the end that tells you where to buy less common items and the how-to of some techniques. I really don't know why I didn't know this before. Cremini mushrooms are just Baby Bellas. I guess I'm not really that unique, the guy at the grocery store told me they didn't have any cremini when I asked and I'm pretty sure they had Baby Bellas. I found them the next day when I knew what to look for. Is it just that Portabella mushrooms are a "popular" mushroom so it sounds cooler to call them small Portabellas?
Tonight I made the companion recipes on page 56 of this month's Gourmet, the Grilled Herbed Potatoes and the Grilled Rib Eye with Indian-Spiced Mushrooms. The potatoes were good but it's a bit time consuming to grill individual potato slices. The herb-oil was great and would work on boiled potatoes too, though I guess there wouldn't be those cool grill marks. The rib-eye was simply grilled with salt and pepper. The mushrooms were really good. I actually used only 1/2 the mushrooms called for but made all the spice sauce and I loved it. It had spice and a little heat. The paste covered the mushrooms well and helped spread the flavor evenly. Great simple meal with exotic flavor.

Grilled Herbed Potatoes-B

Grilled Ribeye with Indian-Spiced Mushrooms-A-

Pasta Monday...uh, Month-8/17/09

Pasta is pretty amazing. Using it as a base, you can pretty much put anything around it and make a really good meal. Tonight's Gourmet recipe, the Mozzarella Arrabbitata Salsa, was from The Last Touch section that is focusing on no-bake pasta sauces this month. I had to look up what arrabbitata was and basically this dish is it. The interesting thing was that all'arrabbiata means "angry style" in Italian, due to the heat of the peppers. I didn't find this dish all that hot, which was alright since Eyrleigh was eating it too. It was a very fresh dish and felt much lighter than a traditional red sauce. It was interesting to have the mozzarella still in chunks, as the pasta was not hot enough to melt it.

I made dessert to go with this meal but I hardly felt guilty at all. This was probably one of the yummiest, healthiest desserts I've ever made. The Peaches Under Meringue on page 53 was simply a peach half sprinkled with sugar and roasted, then topped with a dollop of meringue. Meringue is egg white, sugar, and a whole lot of air so not a lot of fat there. The only problem came when I tried to make meringue with only one egg white in my stand mixer. I don't think there was enough liquid for the beater to properly agitate the white and it stayed liquid. When I tried again with two egg white, it worked fine. Eyrleigh looked cute as a button with meringue on her nose. I got it on my nose, too but I'm not quite as cute.

Mozzarella Arrabbiata Salsa-B+

Peaches Under Meringue-A

If You Love Fried Fish And Jesus-8/14/09

Every time we travel, even locally, I love to find a great restaurant that brings a smile to my face with both excellent food and delightful atmosphere. Richard had a triathlon Saturday in Elberton, Georgia, about 2 hours from our house. Since the triathlon started at 7:30 a.m., we got a hotel in town the night before and headed out on Friday afternoon. Elberton is a town of 5,000 so the dinner options were fairly limited. I got online before leaving though and the "Red Minnow", a place known for its fried catfish, caught my eye. Thankfully, we looked up the directions because this place was in the middle of nowhere. We turned off the main road going into town and went several miles down a very empty side road before seeing the sign.
This place was a classic. I'm not usually a buffet fan, maybe just a bit squeamish about other people leaning over my food and the knowledge that it may have been there for awhile. This place was packed with locals, a fact that always makes me feel better. (People don't often return to a place they got sick!) The lady at the cash register knew most everyone and even had her kids, preteens at best, seating people.
The food was southern, lots of fried fish as promised, and other classics. Richard didn't enjoy the meal as much since a dinner of fried food is not great pre-race food and his options were more limited. I tried lots of the fried fish and liked the texture and moistness of the fish. Everything else tasted very traditional, lots of butter and fat, but still good. The real highlight, though, was the desserts. On top of one of the buffet lines were lots and lots of little Styrofoam cups with all kinds of wonderful desserts. There was apple bread pudding, chocolate bread pudding, banana pudding, and several fruit crumble types. They were all excellent and Richard and I shared 4 different ones.
Now to the loving Jesus part... Let's just say I did not know they made wallpaper border with Bible verses. That wasn't all. There were pictures of Jesus covering the walls and handwritten signs asking the diner if they knew where they would go if they died that night. Above the desserts was a sign about eating dessert first because Jesus could come tomorrow (presumably before you got fat!) It was a bit odd but suppose it was a bit like seeing Buddhas at the local Asian eatery. It sure added character. So if you ever head to Elberton, Georgia, make sure it's a weekend. The Minnow is only open Fri-Sun but it's worth a visit.
Before we left, I made a few recipes from August's Gourmet. I'd actually started the night before but after we took dinner to the friends with the new baby, we used a gift card we realized had been given to us when Eyrleigh was born. (She turned 21 months on the 12th so it was probably time!)
The Green Bean Gazpacho recipe on page 55 did not come with a picture. That was a good thing. This was not an attractive dish, without giving details, let's just leave it at that. It was basically green beans with a fresh tomato gazpacho sauce over it. It didn't taste bad, the beans were crisp and the tomatoes fresh, but I wouldn't make it again.
The Sausage and Summer Vegetable Saute on page 53 was yummy and fresh and had no visual issues. I actually used the Bruce Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausage instead of a pork sausage as recommended. They were just so good when I used them in an earlier recipe. The vegetable saute was a great mix and the onion mellowed the sweetness of the fennel. This was an easy weekday dish that in some variation I will try again.

Green Bean Gazpacho-D

Sausage and Vegetable Saute-B+

This Is Not June-8/13/09

I have been doing this Gourmet project since February. That means I have made the recipes in Gourmet magazine for almost 6 months. That's pretty impressive. My only blip was the month I traveled 26 out of 30 days, June. If you've read older posts, you noticed I did get 5 recipes done in the 4 days I was home in June but I still had over 50 recipes from that issue undone. Well, call me crazy, but I'd really like to make those recipes before I close the door on this project. I'll have to fit those recipes in around the current month's so I need to be creative. Several weeks ago, some friends from church had a baby and I promised to make them dinner. I didn't want to try out an unknown recipe for dinner but thought a Gourmet dessert would cap off my "gift" dinner well. This sounds a little sneaky but I knew I'd have to try the cake so I decided I would cut the corners off the cake and put it on a disposable plate. I could tell them I didn't want them to have to worry about returning my pan (which would be true) and try the cake without looking totally tacky. Well, I shouldn't have worried. The raspberries sunk to the bottom and made the cake stick to the pan. It broke apart coming out of the pan so I had to cut it anyway so it didn't look stupid. I tried the broken part. (Notice the carefully placed ice cream in the above picture:)

The Raspberry Buttermilk Cake, one of only 4 desserts in June's issue of Gourmet, was pretty good. As I mentioned the raspberries sunk to the bottom and made the cake stick but it was a moist and simple cake. A good one to share with others.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake-B

Creative License-8/12/09

Two posts ago I complained about bland recipes. Tonight, I decided not to settle for bland and did my own doctoring. I made the Spiced Chickpea Sauce from the Last Touch section in this month's Gourmet. I gave it a little taste test before I mixed the sauce with pasta and decided it needed some help. The chickpea and spice combination was Mediterranean in style so I added some feta cheese and chicken to give this sauce a little zip. It was bland and really needed some help.

For dessert, I made the Gianuia Gelato, a hazelnut chocolate gelato that smelled and tasted like a frozen jar of Nutella. I really liked this gelato. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate ice cream but the hazelnut flavor added a complexity that made this gelato very good. It made the extra time roasting, steeping, and straining the hazelnuts worth it. The only problem I found was how hard the gelato became when it froze up. I have to assume this was because of the lower fat and higher water content in whole milk instead of the heavy cream used in traditional ice cream recipes.

Spiced Chickpea Sauce-C

Giandula Gelato-A-

8 Years...And He Still Eats What I Cook-8/10/09

Tomorrow, Richard and I will have been married 8 years. What a guy! Over that time, I've fed him all kinds of stuff, some better than others. Both he and I remember the worsts more vividly than the bests. The two he mentioned first were from cooking magazines, one from this project. Several years back, one of my cooking magazines had a Scandinavian menu with a pickled herring appetizer. The whole meal was pretty bad, but pickled herring quickly made it to Richard's least favorite food list. He also mentioned another recipe, the Borscht Horseradish Terrine I made on February 20 of this year. I listed it as one of my real bombs during my Gourmet project. He didn't name any favorites but assured me he's had lots over the years. I'll take his word for it and keep trying to find a recipe so good he'll never forget it.

Tonight's recipes didn't make the all-time favorites list but they were both quite respectable. For dinner, I made the Pork Chops Saltimbocca with Sauteed Spinach on page 60 of this month's Gourmet. These chops were stuffed with prosciutto, Italian Fontina, and sage. They were simple and very good.

For dessert, I made the Stone Fruit Tea Cake on page 39. This recipe was from the Gourmet Cookbook Club selection, Rustic Fruit Desserts, by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. This cake was a great use for all those peaches and plums that go on sale this time of year. This cake was not overly sweet and the center of fruit kept it moist. It would work as a brunch cake just as well as an after dinner dessert. It looked great too, almost cute by cake standards. These recipes were keepers, kind of like my husband!

Pork Chops Saltimbocca with Sauteed Spinach-A-

Stone Fruit Tea Cake-A-

Mex Without the Zest-8/9/09

Don't be afraid of spice, Gourmet! Sometimes I think the recipe writers of cooking magazines underestimate the American palate. They go too light on flavor and spice. I can't imagine that the testers thought the recipes I made tonight were flavorful enough as written. These two recipes were Mexican inspired, a cuisine famous for its heat and flavor. But the Spicy Adobo Shrimp Cocktail and Zucchini and Red Pepper Enchiladas with Two Salsas were not hot and not flavorful. It was a shame because they looked great.
The enchiladas were vegetarian as written but I added some cooked chicken. Richard did 3 hours worth of triathlon training this morning and a veggie main was not going to cut it. I know when dinner wasn't filling enough for him because he gets a bowl of cereal a few hours later. I tried to avoid that tonight. The zucchini and peppers were good but rather plain. The salsas were very bland. Some hot sauce would have helped and we actually added some to help out the flavor.
The shrimp cocktail was good and the adobo sauce had potential but the recipe should have called for a bit more sauce. The adobo flavor was barely discernible and though I liked the dish, it would have been much better with more flavor and heat.

Zucchini and Red Pepper Enchiladas with Two Salsas-C

Spicy Adobo Shrimp Cocktail-C

Putting It All Together-8/6/09

It's been a long time since I've posted just one picture. But don't worry, I made more than one recipe. I made two recipes but since spaghetti and meatballs go together, I put them together for a great dinner.
I've tried a few times to make my own tomato sauce but I've never been that impressed with the results. The Garlic Tomato Sauce on page 41 of this month's Gourmet, however, exceeded my expectations. With only 4 ingredients I was thinking this sauce was going to be bland. Happily, I was wrong. The long simmer and lots of garlic did the trick. This sauce was simple and very flavorful. I think I've found a keeper!
Spaghetti and meatballs are one of the most classic of food combinations so I had to oblige. I made the Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata. The peperonata was actually designed to go alongside the meatballs but I cut them up and put them in with the tomato sauce for an added dimension. The peperonata was basically roasted peppers. The ground chicken meatballs got jazzed up with a little pancetta and onion and these additions were great. Richard asked several time if these were really chicken and suggested that these meatballs also be added to the regular circulation. I agreed. They were flavorful and healthy and another keeper!

Tomato Garlic Sauce-A

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata-A

Dessert Overload!-8/5/09

I made the large mistake of stepping onto our bathroom scale after dinner tonight and boy, was that a bad idea! I haven't weighed myself in a long time, maybe before we left on Richard's business trip in May, and I was not very happy. I'll admit, it's only about 5 pounds above my normal but if you've been reading this blog regularly, you know I've been trying to catch up so I made July's Gourmet's recipes in about 2 weeks time. There were 16 dessert recipes in July and since I didn't start making them until we returned on the 13th. That meant I ate a whole lot of dessert in the last few weeks. As I looked at this month's menu, there are 11 desserts. As of tonight, I've already made two. In an effort to stem the tide and make sure I don't have to quit the my Gourmet project early to control my waistline, I'm making only 3 desserts a week. I'm also going to try to limit my dessert portions and share the leftovers whenever possible. Sadly, I decided all this after making and eating tonight's dessert.

Tonight I made the "Freewheeling" menu in this month's Gourmet issue. Much like the menus in the July issue, this menu was very manageable. The recipes were Mediterranean inspired and ostensibly could travel well. Got to be honest, I would never take ice cream sandwiches on a picnic for very obvious reasons. Despite that, this menu worked great for a night at home. The menu began with Cumin-Scented Beef Kebabs. I love steak kebabs because you don't have to overcook the outside to take the pink out of the inside. These kebabs were very easy and the marinade was very good.

The Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread and Garlic-Oregano Grilled Pita Bread are two great starter recipes. The spread mixed up in the food processor and the pita bread was simply store-bought and grilled. This would be a great combo starter to take to a party in place of chips and salsa.

The Corn on the Cob with Mint-Feta Butter was good but a little much. I love corn on the cob. I might add some butter and salt but corn on the cob doesn't need all that salty feta and mint, it tastes best when it's summer, pure and simple.

The Greek Style Salad was a very simple Greek salad. I would have taken the feta and mint from the corn and added it to the salad to give the greens some zing. I liked the salad but there was no special addition over the Greek salad I've made for years.

The Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl was a good concept but I thought there were some real issues with the recipe. The sandwich layers tasted almost caramel like, the result of the brown sugar but the cook time given was way too short. They were so underbaked that they fell apart immediately went I tried to peel them off the foil. I remade them and let them bake twice as long and they were sturdy enough to peel off the foil. They still tasted great and held up when pressed onto the ice cream center. I also hate melting store bought ice cream. I don't have a microwave so the ice cream doesn't melt well and makes a real mess. These sandwiches were also really tough to cut, I had to use a bread knife. Hmmm, maybe all that effort burned off some of those dessert calories.

Cumin-Scented Beef Kebabs-A-

Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread-B

Garlic-Oregano Grilled Pita Bread-B

Corn on the Cob With Mint-Feta Butter-C

Greek-Style Salad-B

Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl -B

Go The Extra Mile-8/4/09

Richard and I realized that in the 5 months I've been making recipes from Gourmet magazine, I've never made a pizza for this blog. Tonight, I not only made the Eggplant, Green Olive, and Provolone Pizza on page 58, I made the pizza dough to go with it. The recipe called for store-bought pizza dough but I decided to make my own. Several years ago, I found a great recipe for pizza dough on epicurious.com by Giada DeLaurentis. It's my go-to pizza dough recipe because it mixes up quickly in the food processor and rises well after a 1-minute knead. I'd never grilled a pizza and wondered how my homemade dough would hold up. I was impressed. The dough cooked all the way through without burning and tasted great. I used my grill rack over the stove and put my wok cover over the pizza to melt the toppings. It worked great. I may try this with more conventional pizza ingredients on an off-night.
I mentioned in the last post that this month's Gourmet has a lot of sauce recipes. For tonight's dessert, I combined a sauce recipe with another common theme from this month's issue, frozen desserts. I made the Minted Honey Mango Sauce on page 8 and served it over the Tangy Frozen Greek Yogurt on page 104. The mango sauce was good but pretty basic, just what it said it was, mint, honey, and mango. The Frozen Greek Yogurt was very good and though I no longer do a calorie breakdown for each recipe, probably pretty healthy by ice cream standards. The Greek yogurt I choose, in fact, the only Greek yogurt I could find, was nonfat and had less sugar and more protein than regular yogurt and a whole lot less fat and sugar than heavy cream. There was a tangy kick but I actually found this yogurt a little less dramatic taste wise than the sour cream ice cream I made last week. Eyrleigh loved it too. When does that kid not love ice cream?

Eggplant, Green Olive, and Provolone Pizza- B

Minted Honey Mango Sauce-B

Tangy Frozen Greek Yogurt-B+