2011.09.15 - Tortilla Soup, Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco

This dinner was also a going away party for K, who moved down to the sunnier climes of California.  When I think of California and food, I think of avocados and wine country, so I found a dish and dessert that would incorporate each.

Tortilla Soup

This soup was very fresh tasting and delicious and feels healthy with all the vegetables. 

Modifications: The recipe is for a vegan soup, which I didn't follow in a couple ways.  Instead of vegetable broth, I used homemade chicken stock (recipe from Urban Pantry).  I omitted the garlic, chili pepper, and chia seeds (I don't think I could cook with those -- ch ch ch chia is too ingrained in my mind).  And I served with real cheese, not vegan cheese.

Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco

Not much is simpler than this.  Scoop of sorbet with some prosecco poured over top.  Since I served soup for dinner and only have about 10 bowls, having a collection of jam jars saved me from running out of bowls for dessert :)

2011.09.01 - Chik-Fil-A Nuggets, Tomato Salad, Potatoes with Peas and Mint

I had never encountered Chik-Fil-A until we moved to the south in the 90s.  Later, back north, there was one in my college science center's cafe, which fueled more all-night computer programming sessions than I'd like to admit, until they closed it down to bring in "healthier options" (pizza??).  A first got exposed to the wonders of Chik-Fil-A down in Arizona, and ever since we make a point to eat there once when we head down to AZ or back east.  I've had a candy/frying thermometer that's been sitting unused far too long, so when I saw this taste-a-like recipe flying around on Pinterest, I decided to give deep frying a go. 

Chik-Fil-A Nuggets

I've never deep fried anything.  The thought of it terrified me, and I didn't have the proper equipment.  This time, I had the aforementioned thermometer, and I used my 6 qt dutch oven as the oil vat.  After trying it this time, I don't foresee doing it much in the future.  The amount of oil used is wasteful (I know you are supposed to filter and reuse, or something?), the whole process is messy, and when you can only cook a few things at a time, it takes forever to get dinner on the table.

These nuggets were good, but did not taste much like the Chik-Fil-A I remember.  Even with the powdered sugar added to the flour mix, I did not think they tasted sweet enough.  Frying does give a pretty awesome crunchy texture and a very moist chicken though.

Tomato Salad

The recipe made way too much dressing, but other than than, a good simple recipe.  I love my tomatoes in any form (except red sauce).

Potatoes with Peas and Mint

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this side dish.  The peas and mint really freshened up the potatoes and made it feel like a spring/summer dish.  I could not get my peas to mash into a paste (maybe I didn't cook them quite long enough), but even keeping the peas mainly whole, this was still very enjoyable.  It isn't the prettiest thing, but I'd make this again.

2011.08.25 - Italian Antipasto Salad, Herb Cheese Bread, Cantaloupe Basil Sorbet

This meal all started with the bread.  I came across it in my internet travels and couldn't stop thinking about it.  While walking the dog, I puzzled over what to make with it.  The idea of antipasto salad stuck with me, so I looked up a recipe (Giada seemed like a good place to start, and lo and behold she had one).  To combat the excess of cheese and meats, I decided a sorbet for dessert would be best.

Unfortunately we were so caught up in the food that none of us took any pictures!

Italian Antipasto Salad

The lettuce and beans make you almost forget that you are eating a salad filled with fatty meat and cheese :)  I enjoyed this salad a lot, but would individually dress each portion next time.  The dressing decimated the lettuce as it sat and made for leftovers with a bunch of really soggy, wilty lettuce.  Ew.

Modifications: I used just romaine and butter lettuce and left out the iceberg.  I see no reason to eat iceberg lettuce (even though my dad contests that is the only TRUE lettuce).  I bought a Trader Joe's appetizer pack that had prosciutto, salami, and capicola, and augmented with a bit more salami.  I think that the combination of meats was a lot better than just using salami -- the prosciutto in particular added great flavor. 

Herb Cheese Bread

I liked this bread a lot, although I think it could have been well served by reducing the amount of cheese by half.  I wished that the herb flavor would have come out more.  It is a nice alternative to garlic bread, though.

Modifications: Omitted garlic, per usual.  I used a par-baked ciabatta from TJ's, since it had to bake to melt the cheese filling anyway.

Cantaloupe Basil Sorbet

When I was planning the meal, I kept thinking that cantaloupe was the green melon.  Of course when I got to the store, I realized I had been thinking of honeydew, and that cantaloupe was the orange melon.  I am not a huge fan of cantaloupe, but charged forward regardless.  I think I would have preferred a honeydew/mint or a watermelon/basil combination, but this was fairly refreshing and inoffensive.  Not great praise for a dessert.  There's a lot still sitting in my freezer, which is telling.

2011.08.18 - Tomato and Corn Pie, Blueberry Fool

When I started this post, I typed: "Tomato and Corn Pie was a revelation when I made it last year" and then looked back at my last write-up.  Sure enough, I discovered that I called it a revelation back then too.  Tomato and Corn Pie = revelation.

Tomato and Corn Pie

I used the same substitution as last time - greek yogurt for mayo.  I don't know why I don't make this way more often.  Once a year is not enough.

Blueberry Fool

The heart cookie in the picture is a lemon almond cookie from Trader Joe's.  I found it to be too crunchy and too almondy -- was expecting more of a lemon shortbread.

I added too much lemon juice to the blueberry sauce, but otherwise this fool was a nice dessert.  Sweet but not too sweet and light as air.  And a GREAT color :)

2011.08.11 - Liptauer, Chicken Salad, Smores Cookies, Honey Herb Soda

A picnic theme this week, all inspired by the appetizer.

Liptauer

YUM.  This gussied up cream cheese spread is very savory.  Perfect on bread, a bit of a salt lick on pretzels.  It's very addictive.  Read the story that comes with the recipe -- it will make you want to go to Austria.

Chicken Salad

I picked this because I knew that a meal of cheese wasn't the most balanced, but it ended up being quite good on its own accord.  The blend of the red peppers, almonds, parsley, and chicken was harmonious.  However, I think I prefer roasting bone-in chicken for chicken salads versus poaching like in this recipe.  I am biased against poaching because I find it a bit imprecise (letting chicken sit without heat and hoping that it cooks through in the specified time!) and find that times given in recipes don't often match up for good results in my kitchen, since it is all a variation of stove heat, pot insulation, and chicken breast thickness.

Modifications: I omitted the garlic and onion, per usual.  I forgot to toast the almonds, but I didn't miss the taste at all.

Honey Herb Soda

I used mint as my herb, since that's what I have the most surplus of in my garden.  Unfortunately this recipe doesn't provide the proportions for a pitcher, so I just guesstimated and dumped the honey syrup into a standard 2 quart pitcher with the juice of two lemons and filled the rest of the pitcher with seltzer water.  This was pretty good, and I served in it jam jars (how adorable)!  I've been saving up jars for various kitchen uses from my favorite preserves.

Smores Cookies

I think I may have hit a milestone with this one -- I found these to be too sweet.  That didn't stop me from eating them, mind you, but I kept thinking "I wish this was dark chocolate".  I found this recipe quite confusing -- you lay down graham crackers and then drop rounds of chocolate chip cookie dough on top.  It seems like the dough is supposed to melt and spread out evenly on its own, but mine did no such thing during baking.  I ended up spreading it out after the five minutes in the oven with a spatula, which of course ruined the shape of the chocolate chips.  Everyone at work loved the leftovers the next day.

2011.07.14 - Turkey Burger Pitas, Zucchini Carpaccio, Cinnamon Cake

Another July birthday means another cake!  We celebrated C's birthday with a cinnamon cake and a vaguely Mediterranean meal.  This was also M's going away meal.  She moved down to California, like so many people are doing these days.  It seems sometimes that for people in the tech industry, you can only live in Seattle or SF, and SF is winning right now.  Best of luck to M and her husband M!

Turkey Burger Pitas

I love food like this.  It's healthy, gives an excuse to eat tomatoes and fresh herbs, is sandwich-like, and is delicious.  The yogurt tahini sauce is key here -- turkey can sometimes be a little dry, so this offsets that.  This would be even better with real pitas from a gyro place (or homemade pitas!), but I went the healthy route with whole wheat pita pockets.

Modifications: The store had NO ground turkey when I went, so I ended up with pre-formed turkey patties.  Not ideal.  Instead of mixing those up with the seasonings, I just sprinkled some onion powder on before cooking and hoped for the best.  I served the pitas with tomatoes, parsley, and the salad.

Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

Everyone loved this salad.  It had plenty of salt and cheese, which really made it stand out from a typical salad.  I finally found yellow squash in the market, so I used a combination of that and zucchini.  One more successful use of a mandoline without slicing a finger off!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Snacking Cake

This is definitely more of a breakfast/tea cake than a dessert cake, but I loved the sound of it and had to make it.  I served it with whipped cream to fancy it up, but it was unsweetened (my preferred way to make whipped cream these days) - next time I would sweeten the cream up a bit, and maybe add almond extract.  It doesn't help that I forgot to buy the berries I planned to serve on the side!  I would definitely make this cake again as a breakfast cake.

2011.07.07 - Bourbon Orange Coriander Pulled Pork, Kale Salad, Cherry Limeade

My favorite easy pulled pork method comes up again!  This time, with a different BBQ sauce for variation.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Bourbon Orange Coriander BBQ Sauce

I asked the gang to vote between three BBQ sauces: tangy coffee, rhubarb, and this one.  This one won by a landslide, I think because of the bourbon :)  The orange flavor really came through, so it was an interesting take on a sweet BBQ sauce.  

Modifications: I didn't cook the sauce because I knew I'd just be throwing it in to the slow cooker anyway.  Time savings!  I omitted the garlic per usual and used a sweet tea bourbon since that sounded good.  Everyone made fun of me because I bought a tiny bottle of bourbon for cooking instead of having a real bottle for my (nonexistent) alcohol collection.  I swapped out the sauce called for in the pulled pork recipe with this one; luckily they both had about the same yield.

Kale Salad

This sounds like nonsense health food, but it was actually quite good.  The dressing was very tangy and I'd definitely use it again.  Trader Joe's came to the rescue with pre-chopped kale, but it wasn't perfect because they leave a lot of the tough stems on.  Why??  I really enjoyed the sweetness that the raisins added to the salad.

Modifications: I omitted the red onion (don't like it raw in salads), bell pepper (too expensive here!  not paying $2 for a single pepper), avocado (forgot), goji berries (??), and hemp seed (???).  The dressing calls for nutritional yeast (????), which I couldn't find, so I left it out and it was still great. 

Cherry Limeade

This was good, but had the same problem that I have every time I make a lemon or limeade -- too much pulp.  Even with a juicer that strains, I still get a bit of pulp and I don't like any at all in these kinds of drinks.