I wiped away the drool and demanded that she send over the recipe immediately!

Now, what about the yeast? Mr. Man was planning on making a trip to the market, so I let him know that he had better come home with yeast because I needed to make this rosemary-lemon bread as soon as possible. I’m not saying that he didn’t wind up going to multiple stores on his quest, but he did return home triumphant.

Our first attempt was a moderate success. I think the dough wound up really sticky and that it didn’t achieve its full potential in terms of how much it rose. But it was tasty, and more importantly, the smell was incredible. It merited another attempt for that reason alone.

This past weekend I tried again. I was able to correct the two issues from my previous attempt and it came out even better than the first time around. I’m so excited to have made bread!

*If you are not already a bread maker, before you attempt this recipe, be warned: I feel that this is a gateway recipe that could create a lot of enthusiasm for and interest in making more/other kinds of bread (at least that is what has happened to me).

I recommend having softened butter handy and digging in while it’s still warm.  If you want to keep yourself from eating the whole thing, cut it in half right away and run some over to your neighbor.

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First up was scones.  I had never made scones before (they seemed complicated for some reason), but I discovered a Martha Stewart recipe that seemed pretty straightforward and I was feeling ready to try it.  The recipe called for some sort of dried fruit (cranberries!) that I didn’t have, but I did have just a bit of candied ginger in the cupboard that seemed ready to meet its destiny.

I discovered the great things about making scones: 1) you don’t wind up with a huge batch of something (at least not with this recipe); and 2) there isn’t a bunch of rolling out, cookie cutter nonsense, you just flatten the dough into a round-ish blob and cut it into wedges.

I’m going to guess that the thing that makes scones so scrumptious is that they are made with half-and-half. Probably most important is brushing the tops with half-and-half and sprinkling them with sugar before baking.

After I had munched a warm scone (or two), I was ready to move on to something a bit more savory.  Of course, cold and rainy day kitchen adventures wouldn’t be complete without soup!

Mr. Man had made chicken tacos the night before and there was enough leftover chicken for a week’s worth of tacos. Or … chicken tortilla soup!

For the soup, I strictly adhered to the just throw a bunch of stuff in the crockpot and let it cook for as long as possible technique.

First, I chopped an onion, some celery, and carrots.  Those went in the crockpot with the box of chicken broth and can of diced green chilis.

After a couple of hours, I went to check on my veggies and started to get nervous.  I started to question why I wouldn’t have sautéed them up in a pan before throwing them in the crockpot?  What was I going to do now?  Those onions did not look like they were anywhere near melting into the broth the way that I wanted them to.  Oh well, at least I had another solid 5-6 hours for this to hang out in the crockpot.  Better keep it on high. 

I did go ahead and throw the chicken in at this point as if the pre-cooked chicken would set an example for the vegetables of what they should inspire to be. Because the chicken was already very seasoned, I didn’t really worry about adding any spices.

A few hours later I checked on it again.  Maybe it was starting to try to come together?  The carrots weren’t crunchy anymore so that must be progress.  At this point I tore up about six corn tortillas and added them to the crock to dissolve.

I just love the way that a few corn tortillas can add so much body to a really simple soup. They not only thicken the broth but add a dimension of flavor and subtle sweetness. Its one of those great uses for stale bread kind of kitchen tricks.

After all day, we had soup!  I served it with some homemade taco chips (oven-baked of course) a sprinkle of cheese, a bit of diced avocado, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.  Mr. Man approved.

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Babaganoush

Once I decided to look up recipes for babaganoush, I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of.  I love any recipe that involves roasting something, and bonus points are given for anything that you don’t need to do anything to before throwing it in the oven (ok, a few punctures so that it doesn’t explode, but stabbing a squash is sort of a bonus stress-relief activity, don’t you think?).

Of course, since I was trying to find the laziest way possible to make it, I had some uneven results:

Experiment #1

I mostly followed a recipe from Pinterest. I roasted the eggplant at 400 for 20 minutes or so, until it was soft.  After it cooled, I scrapped the flesh out of the skin and put it in the food processor.  Then one clove of garlic and a sort-of homemade tahini (ok, it was just crushed sesame seeds), salt, and olive oil.

Results: the food processor wasn’t good at pulverizing all of the eggplant seeds. It came out with a gritty, lumpy texture.  I was going for light and fluffy and this wasn’t.  Also, the garlic was STRONG.  Like overpowering.  I’m a bit of a garlic wimp.  This wasn’t for me.

Experiment #2

Roasted the eggplant same as before.  Also roasted one clove of garlic with it.  This was a stroke of genius if I do say so myself.  You still get the garlic flavor, but it is softer, not so pungent.  This time I went after the eggplant flesh and the garlic clove with the immersion blender.  It worked great!  I didn’t even pretend to try to put any sesame anything in it this time. This batch wound up smooth and almost fluffy.  Now if only I had remembered the olive oil!

Experiment #3

Roasted 2 eggplants.  Threw in 2 cloves of garlic for last 5 minutes.  I’m not sure what happened but it came out pretty soggy.  Maybe because I didn’t let them cool all the way before peeling them?

I was a bit flummoxed and decided to take a break.

It turns out that babaganoush is a gateway dish that leads one down the slippery slope of exploring other adventures with eggplant.

A few months later, the eggplant display at Trader Joe’s called to me.  The eggplants were large and heavy and inexpensive (it must have been eggplant season).  I brought one home.  It was too hot to consider turning on the oven, time to find some instructions for cooking eggplant on the grill.

Grilled Eggplant

There are some fairly involved recipes out there.  You know how I feel about too many steps.  But I did decide to make the effort to brine the eggplant before throwing it on the grill.  The most challenging part about this step is figuring out how to keep the eggplant slices submerged in the brine, those guys really want to float!  But the effort to outcome ratio for delicious grilled eggplant is very reasonable.

• First slice the eggplant into rounds, maybe ¾” to 1” thick. 
• Then brine them for 30 minutes to 1 hour (dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in warm water, then add cool water until you have enough to cover the slices). 
• Then dry them off, get some olive oil and salt and get ready to grill. 
• Here is something that I think is an important step: don’t oil the eggplant slices until right when you are going to put them on the grill.  And only brush and then salt the side you are putting on the grill. 
• Then close the lid and walk away for 5 minutes.  When you come back, oil and salt the up side before you flip.

That came out so tasty that I’ve made it again.

I’m tempted to puree the grilled eggplant, but it is already so delicious why bother with the extra step?

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Banana Ice Cream, versions 2 and 3

My second attempt at banana ice cream was an optimistic exercise.  I used three bananas, two cups of whole milk, ¼ cup of brown sugar (why not!), and one teaspoon of vanilla.  The result had a good flavor, but a not so good texture; it was pretty grainy.  Ok, so probably whole milk only doesn’t have enough fat.  Let’s try again!

Maybe the third time’s a charm?  So, I tried three bananas, two cups of heavy cream (might as well go big), ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla. This had a better texture, but it was a little too fatty for me (like licking butter).  Maybe it was time to try something else and come back to banana ice cream later.

Coconut Ice Cream, version 1

I was rummaging around in the cupboard and got the idea to try making coconut ice cream. After some Pinterest research, I decided to use: one can of coconut milk, one can of coconut cream, half a cup of sugar (we started with ¼ cup, but it needed a bit more), and a splash of vanilla. 

First, I dumped the contents of both cans in the blender and gave them a whirl to smooth everything out (it had been cold, so the coconut fat was separated and solid).  Then I added the sugar and the vanilla and dumped the whole concoction in the ice cream maker.  After about 15 minutes, I added about a cup of sweetened, shredded coconut.  I ran the machine for 20 minutes total before transferring the mixture to a container so that it could harden in the freezer.  This was delicious, the problem that it was super rock hard.  It would be great for popsicles though.  I decided to try again with half coconut milk and half whole milk, hopeful that will come out scoop-able.

Coconut Ice Cream, version 2

For my next coconut ice cream experiment, I tried one can of coconut milk, then the same amount of whole milk, half a of cup sugar, and a splash of vanilla.  It came out of the ice cream maker so yummy and it seemed like the consistency would be perfect.  But after it spent overnight in the freezer, it was rock-hard too.

I started to think that I need to go back to sweetened, condensed milk or bite the bullet and make a proper custard…

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If you don’t know what princess cake is, it is a wonderful creation that begins with white cake soaked with almond syrup. One layer is filled with raspberry jam and whipped cream and the other layer is filled with pastry cream.  Then the entire delight is frosted with whipped cream and covered with a beautiful, pale green layer of marzipan.

Your mouth is watering, I can tell.

The other day, while mindlessly scrolling the ‘gram, I came across a Martha Stewart Living video of someone making Scandinavian princess cake.  Somehow, this video gave me the idea that I could actually make a princess cake myself.  Ok, not somehow, it was because all of the ingredients were already prepared – the cake was baked, the pastry cream and the whipped cream were chilled, etc. 

I overcame my fear of making pastry cream (Martha Stewart has a great recipe for “no fuss pastry cream” that I shared with you when I made coconut cream pie) during last year’s cream puff obsession. Since I had no intention to make raspberry jam, almond syrup, or marzipan myself, I felt confident that I had at least a moderate possibility of success.

I assembled my ingredients and made the pastry cream a day ahead.  Then it was time for the big day.

I needed three layers of cake.  In the video, she cut out the rounds from a thin sheet cake.  Ok, I can do that, I have half sheet pans.  I greased the pans then covered them with parchment paper.  One box of cake mix filled one pan (yes, I used box cake mix).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Perfect!  I was making a 9” cake (using the ring from my springform pan for the mold) so I had to make a box of cake (good thing they were two for $3).  I wound up with four rounds and contemplated making an extra layer.

Back to work.  Cooled cakes were cut into rounds.  The extra cake and trimmings went into the freezer, I’m sure that I’ll come up with something to do with it.

Now it was time to make magic happen:

• The ring was placed on an appropriately sized platter
• Round of cake
• Brush with almond syrup
• Cover with raspberry jam (I bought seedless)
• Layer of whipped cream
• Round of cake
• Brush with almond syrup
• Layer of pastry cream (I wound up with about a cup of pastry cream left over to do something wonderful with)
• Round of cake
• Brush with almond syrup
• Cover and place in refrigerator to set

A bit later, I retrieved the cake, unmolded, and frosted the whole thing with whipped cream. Then back to the refrigerator to set while I rolled out the marzipan.

This is the part of our program where I made not one, but two unfortunate discoveries:

First, I didn’t actually have any food coloring hiding in the depths of my cupboard with which to dye my marzipan green.  Bummer, but not that tragic, beige can be elegant, right?  The second discovery was perhaps a bit tragic: one 8 oz. package of almond paste is not enough to cover an entire 9” cake.  So, she wound up with a little beige overlay rather than an elegant, pale green coat.

The good news is that she did turn out fluffy and creamy and delicious.  The better news is that the result was well worth the effort.  Princess cake will be attempted here again very soon, and I fully expect that she will be properly robed when that time comes.

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For years (many, many years), I was too intimidated to try to make risotto.  It was things like keeping a pot of hot broth going and the constant stirring.  Finally, about a year ago, the mantra I had been using when I would drive to work every day, “there is no fear, there is only love,” (thank you, Stevie Nicks) kicked in to my cooking zone and I decided that I would make risotto!

I found a great recipe on Pinterest for mushroom risotto and I started feeling like this was going to be not only possible, but successful.  I love that she has you use a cast iron skillet.  I love that you roast the mushrooms in the dry pan before doing anything else (it creates so much flavor, what a great step), and I love cooking with wine (even if sometimes you have to put some into what you’re cooking).

I was still not on board with the pot of hot broth and ladle thing, so I decided to use my tea kettle.  I feel very smart about this little maneuver.  And you know what else, the stirring isn’t that bad really.  I’m not saying that it’s because you have a bottle of wine open, but I’m not saying that it isn’t.

After my mushroom risotto success (which has been replicated a few times), I decided to branch out and try shrimp risotto.  I had found a recipe for jambalaya that includes making a quick shrimp broth with the shells and decided to try that technique again for the risotto.

What you do before you get started with the risotto: shell the shrimp, put the shells in a pot with 4 cups of water, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Use a colander over a bowl to remove the shells from the broth and tada!  You should have this pretty pink liquid that is just waiting to give your dish extra shrimp flavor.

I followed the same procedure as for mushroom risotto only without the mushrooms.  When the risotto is cooked and you add the butter and cheese, and then you stir in the raw shrimp.  Don’t panic, it only takes a few minutes for the hot rice to cook the shrimp (I may have panicked and put the pan in a warm oven for 5 minutes).

I would like to make this sometime for my vegetarian friend, but since I use chicken stock and she hates mushrooms, I need to come up with a different variation before inviting her over.

In the meantime, I just have to remember my cooking mantra, “there is no fear, there is only love.”

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Surprisingly, it is not that common in your neighborhood super market.  Some stores don’t even carry Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey.  If they do, it is usually the only banana ice cream in the aisle.

I know that there is that easy cheat way to make banana “ice cream” where you freeze bananas and then blend them, but I never really got into that.  Fortunately, there is a new Cuisinart Ice Cream maker in our home (thank you Santa!) and I am now enabled to make banana ice cream any way and any time I want.

My first foray into banana ice cream making was sort-of cheat banana “ice cream”, using the ice cream maker.  I blended the five over-ripe bananas that were sitting on my kitchen counter with a can of sweetened condensed milk and a splash of vanilla, then poured the whole concoction into the ice cream maker.  It smelled divine.  Then I put the mostly firm concoction into the freezer to harden.  We wound up with a very banana-y frozen treat.  It had a lovely smooth texture, but it was a little too sweet.  We ate it all anyway.

Mr. Man asked that we make “real” ice cream the next time (not banana flavor).  The booklet that comes with the machine has an easy recipe for vanilla ice cream that does not involve making a custard, so I got some supplies and got to work.  Whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla – I can handle that!  I measured and almost followed the recipe (it called for three cups of heavy cream, but the store sold it in a two-cup container, so I went with a little more milk and a little less cream). It wasn’t Trader Joe’s Super Premium Vanilla, but it was still yummy.

I made sure that I picked up a good-sized bunch of bananas when I was at the store for ice cream supplies so that I will be set to make banana ice cream again next weekend.  This time I’m going to riff on the vanilla ice cream recipe just using banana (not as many as last time), whole milk, and a splash of vanilla.  I’m thinking that the banana will sort-of be the substitute for the cream, but that I also won’t need to add any sugar.  It’s not that I’m trying to be healthy about it, I’m just lazy.  I will let you know how it turns out!

I’m looking forward to finding the right banana ice cream base and then experimenting with all the other little touches.  Maybe a peanut butter swirl?  Chocolate chips for sure!  Maybe banana pudding style with Nilla wafer crumbles and banana chunks?  The list is long.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  I need some suggestions so that I don’t just make banana ice cream every week.

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Sweet Potato/Zucchini Concoction

• Slice (thin-ish) sort-of equal amounts of sweet potato and zucchini
• Layer in baking dish (cute, right?)
• Drizzle with garlic butter (I used 4 tbsps of butter, 1 clove of garlic, and a dash of herbs de Provence)
• Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes (I would probably try 30 minutes at 400 next time)
• Uncover, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, bake for another 10 minutes

I did find a recipe for blackened something and I thought that the blackened spice mix sounded like I might like to try it on the salmon that I was making to go with the sweet potato/zucchini concoction.  Of course, I didn’t have all of the ingredients, so this is what I wound up throwing together (I did measure!).

Blackened seasoning:

• 1tbsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• Dash of cayenne

For the salmon, my goal was to make sure that it came out with crispy skin.  I found a great article on Epicurious about how to get crispy skin.  I had already prepped the filets and they were hanging out in the fridge waiting to meet their fate.

This seemed like another great occasion for my trusty cast iron skillet.  Unfortunately, I did not do a very good job of making sure that the skin was as dry as possible before cooking.  The fish came out delicious, it was a very easy and fast method of cooking, but I did not wind up with the crispy skin that I was dreaming about. I’m looking forward to getting another crack at it, I think that I have learned my lesson and that crispy salmon skin is in my future.

P.S. Today is my 50th post!  Thank you for reading!!!

The post Another Dinner Experiment appeared first on Cynthia Gellis.

I had been obsessing about coconut cream pie a few months ago and after reading a bunch of different recipes on Pinterest, decided to take matters into my own hands. Now, I am no Martha Stewart, but this did turn out delicious and I’m looking forward to making it again very soon.

For the Filling:

Start with Martha Stewart’s No Fuss Pastry Cream.  BUT, make the following tweaks:

• Replace 2 cups of whole milk with 1 ½ coconut milk (1 can) and ½ cup whole milk
• Replace 2 tbsps butter with 2 tbsps coconut oil

This pastry cream recipe comes out extra silky with the coconut milk and coconut oil. I think that I might like the texture more than when I’ve made it with dairy.

After transferring cooked cream to a bowl:

• Stir in 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• Cover with plastic wrap (press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream)
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight

For the crust:

• 1 box of Trader Joes Cookie Thins in Toasted Coconut flavor
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp butter
• 6tbsp coconut oil

• Crumble cookies in the food processor
• Add sugar, pulse to distribute
• Add the melted butter and coconut oil, pulse to combine
• Dump into pie plate and use a measuring spoon to pack it down
• Bake for 7 minutes at 375 degrees

Let cool completely

Assemble the pie:

Fill cooled crust with refrigerated cream filling.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put it back in the fridge.  Let it sit there for AT LEAST 24 hours (48 hours is even better).  Top with freshly whipped cream and toasted coconut slivers before serving.

Just a note to let you know that I will be taking next week off from the blog but will be back on November 26!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

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I thought about looking for a recipe, but decided to wing it.  Two recipes that I have made before and like are Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Pot Pie (https://wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/) and Ina Garten’s Seafood Gratin (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/seafood-gratin-recipe-1953985).  I decided to riff off of both of them for the filling.  For the biscuits, it was mom’s classic biscuit recipe of course.

Here is what I came up with:

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

• 2 cups of leeks chopped (about one leek – I got the cleaned, packaged leeks at Trader Joes)
• 2 cups chopped celery (since the leek was 2 cups, I based the rest of the veggies off of that)
• 2 cups of chopped carrots
• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• Oil (I used canola, olive oil would work too)
• White wine (few splashes, maybe ¼ cup?)
• 4 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 cups milk (I used whole milk this time, you can also use part milk, part chicken broth)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Herbs de Provence

In a skillet (I used cast iron) heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan over medium-ish heat.  Add the leeks, celery, and carrots.  Sauté vegetables until they reduce by approximately half (5 minutes-ish).  Add dash of salt.  Add splash of white wine, continue to cook for a few more minutes.  Once everything looks nicely softened, remove from pan (I just had a mixing bowl on the side to put things in to hang out).

Then throw the cubed chicken in the pan.  Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of herbs de Provence (if you want, I have a thing for thyme these days and like to use it whenever I think I can get away with it).  Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan (I just stashed it in the same bowl with the veggies).

I had found a zucchini in the refrigerator, so I sliced it up and threw it in the pan to sauté for a few minutes too.  Mushrooms would be good too.  So, if you add any extra veggies, once they’re cooked, remove them to your storage bowl.

Then throw the butter in the pan.  Once it starts to melt, sprinkle in the flour and get your roux going.  This should pick up all the good bits that the sautéed veggies and chicken left in the pan.  Let the flour cook for a few minutes, then add the milk a bit at a time (I did not warm my milk first, which does make the roux seize up, but it will smooth out after it warms up, just keep stirring).  Add some salt and pepper to the sauce (it might have been fun to add some paprika or cayenne here…maybe next time).  Once the sauce is warm and starting to thicken, throw the chicken and veggies back in the pan.  Add fresh peas (1 cup?), stir to combine and let it sit there on low/medium low heat.

Now you can throw the biscuits together.

Mom’s Classic Biscuit Recipe

Preheat oven to 450.

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 6 tbsp shortening (I used unsalted butter this time)
• 2/3 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together.  Blend in butter or shortening.  Add milk.

Once the dough comes together, turn it out on a floured surface.  Roll it out (I just mashed it out with my hand).  Use a biscuit cutter (or a glass) to cut the biscuits.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes (they will be pale, but should be slightly golden on top).

I served the filling in a bowl with the biscuits on a plate on the side.  I had 2 tablespoons of butter from the stick that I used to make the biscuits with, so I whipped up a little batch of honey butter (yum!).

Overall, I think it came out really yummy.  I could have cooked the vegetables more, they were a little crisp, but I liked the fresh crunch with the creamy sauce.  It certainly is a lot more steps than sheet pan dinner, I don’t think that I would like to go through this much bother every week.

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