Ok ladies!
It's been months since we've tackled anything here, so.. I say we spend some time this weekend or the next week looking into our next project.. What do you girls say? Can be sweet, savory, complex.. preferably easy! :P
Help me get back on track! I love you girls.. I need help!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Cooking Project 3: Loaded Mashed Potatoes, DONE!
Personal Critique:
These potatoes are easy enough to make, if you like rich these are the mashed potatoes for you. With cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream { not to mention the bacon! } these are no joke. First thing, I realized all too late that I didn't have any chives, so I used some parsley instead, the flavor was good. Also, instead of bacon, I used spicy dried capicola. DEE-LI-CI-OSO! The rest of the recipe I followed as is. They came out tasting amazing. But for my personal preference, I don't think I will be making these again. They are just so incredibly rich and filling. While they were tasty, I could literally feel my arteries clogging as they went down. If I were to do this type a thing again, I'd change the amount of richness, omit some of the cheese and sour cream. Again, they came out amazing. Just far too rich for me. However, I did make a potato pancake for breakfast this morning with these, and it was pretty tasty too. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying it, because they are very yummy. Just be warned!
Overall grade: B-/C
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Cooking Project 3: Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 1 hour
::: Ingredients :::
• 5 lb russet potatoes
• 10 slices of bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 0.5 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c sour cream
• 0.25 c chives, minced
• 2.5 c cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 t kosher salt
• 0.5 t pepper
::: Directions :::
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the chives, 2 cups cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.
::: Ingredients :::
• 5 lb russet potatoes
• 10 slices of bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 0.5 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c sour cream
• 0.25 c chives, minced
• 2.5 c cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 t kosher salt
• 0.5 t pepper
::: Directions :::
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the chives, 2 cups cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
4. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.
Cooking Project 2: Skillet Baked Ziti, DONE!
Typically, I don't prep like this, but for the girls participating with me, I thought it might be a fun way to photograph our project, beginning to end! And don't ya know, it made my life SO SO much easier!
Even by this stage, I could tell this was going to be AWESOME! And wowwie! Was it ever.. could have eaten it from this point, didn't even need the oven, but I followed the recipe anyway!
And EAT we did, I truly LOVED this dish, it is HIGH on my favorites list let me tell you! Once you get everything prepped, this is an easy dish. A lot easier than I anticipated and well worth any efforts put in. I shared this with my family that LOVED it! Even sent some over to our neighbor, she's older and alone, so we try to keep her company and looked after, she too enjoyed this very much.
Personal Critique:
Per my own tastes, I made some modifications, some of which are more obvious in the first photo. I used whipping cream instead of heavy cream, I just prefer something a bit lighter. I didn't have ziti, so I used mini penne. I also substituted out the 28oz can of crushed tomatoes for 2- 15oz cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes & green chilies. Granted, this made a MUCH spicier dish than the original, but that's the way we like it here! I cut the water in this dish to 1.5 cups, to accommodate the extra liquid from the tomatoes, worked out perfectly! I am going to make this dish again and again!
Overall grade: A+
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Cooking Project 2: Skillet Baked Ziti
Yield: Servings: 6 to 8
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 25 min
Such an easy recipe, yet my family just LOVES this pasta!
::: Ingredients :::
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 12 ounces ziti or penne pasta
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
::: Directions :::
1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Place oven rack in middle position. Measure out water and pasta.
2. Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch oven-safe skillet (I use a cast-iron) and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until pasta is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes. While pasta is cooking, measure out cream, Parmesan and basil.
3. Stir in cream, Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over pasta. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.
::: Tips :::
*Be sure to preheat your oven before assembling the ingredients.
*If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking.
*Penne may be used in place of ziti.
*To make a smaller portion of this pasta: use a 10-inch oven-safe skillet to saute 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves minced garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes & a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add 1 (14.5 ounce) can chopped tomatoes with garlic, oregano & basil + 1 1/2 cups of water and 6 ounces of pasta. Bring to a boil, cover; reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for about 8 minutes at 475 degrees F. until bubbling and lightly browned. This smaller portion will serve 3 to 4.
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 25 min
Such an easy recipe, yet my family just LOVES this pasta!
::: Ingredients :::
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 12 ounces ziti or penne pasta
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
::: Directions :::
1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Place oven rack in middle position. Measure out water and pasta.
2. Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch oven-safe skillet (I use a cast-iron) and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until pasta is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes. While pasta is cooking, measure out cream, Parmesan and basil.
3. Stir in cream, Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over pasta. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.
::: Tips :::
*Be sure to preheat your oven before assembling the ingredients.
*If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking.
*Penne may be used in place of ziti.
*To make a smaller portion of this pasta: use a 10-inch oven-safe skillet to saute 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves minced garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes & a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add 1 (14.5 ounce) can chopped tomatoes with garlic, oregano & basil + 1 1/2 cups of water and 6 ounces of pasta. Bring to a boil, cover; reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for about 8 minutes at 475 degrees F. until bubbling and lightly browned. This smaller portion will serve 3 to 4.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Cooking Project 1: Oreo® Key Lime Pie, DONE!
So, long distance cooking project 1 - COMPLETE!
I haven't tasted it yet, however, I am just waiting for it to finish chilling in the fridge! Leah has finished hers & had it for dinner tonight. She said it was good, but difficult to get out of the pan. She made hers more bar style than the recipe suggested. I made mine as minis { in a muffin tin w/liners } because like Leah, I didn't have the spring form pans that were called for in this recipe. It shouldn't effect one way or other the taste of this dessert.
I originally thought it was a cheesecake, it really isn't anything of the sort! It looks much more like a custard than I realized. I hope I am not disappointed, as I don't care for custard even a tiny bit! However, I am keeping an open mind & hoping for the best! I even made homemade whipped cream to top it as garnish, perhaps half an oreo on the top too. Photos to follow. We are anxiously awaiting Kelly's story on success or idea about this dessert.
Personal Critique:
Too custard-like for MY tastes { I am not a custard fan at all! }. However, the flavor of the filling is tasty. I added homemade whipped cream which helped me enjoy this far more. I also drizzled with a tiny amount of chocolate sauce. Additional thoughts, when making the crust, cut down the bake time by 2 minutes. However I want to point out, I couldn't find the Oreo® brand cookies without the filling that is, so I substituted my most favorite chocolate wafer Nabisco® Famous Chocolate Wafers. This recipe also calls for sweet butter { aka unsalted, I am not sure it was necessary to go unsalted. } Will definitely do this again, transforming it from custard-like to an Oreo® Key Lime Cheesecake as I initially thought it was!
Overall Grade: B-
Monday, February 20, 2012
Cooking Project 1: Oreo Key Lime Pie
3 Parts:
• Oreo® Crust
• Key Lime Filling
• Sweetened Whipped Cream
Oreo® Crust
• 16 Oreo® cookies, finely crushed
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 6 4-inch X 1¾-inch springform pans, set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse Oreo® cookies until finely ground.
3. Add the melted butter and process to moisten.
4. Divide mixture evenly between springform pans (about 2 tablespoons per pan). Pat cookie mixture into each pan, pressing firmly into bottom and about ½-inch up the side of each pan.
5. Place the cookie-lined springform pans on a baking sheet, bake, rotate baking sheet halfway through baking, for 10 minutes. Transfer springform pans to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Key Lime Filling
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1¾-cup (14 fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
• ½-cup freshly squeezed key lime juice (approximately 18-20 key limes; or 9-10 regular limes)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk.
3. Gradually add the key lime juice, whisking to combine.
4. Pour into the individual, prepared, cooled crusts (evenly dividing key lime mixture between pans). Place springform pans on a baking sheet.
5. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake pies until the centre of each pie is set but still quivers when the tin is nudged, about 15 minutes.
6. Transfer springform pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serving Oreo® Key Lime Pie
• Sweetened Whipped Cream
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Zest from 1 Key Lime, for garnish
1. Shortly before serving, prepare sweetened whipped cream.
2. Spoon a dollop of sweetened whipped cream onto each pie; dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with key lime zest. Serve immediately.
3. Enjoy!
• Oreo® Crust
• Key Lime Filling
• Sweetened Whipped Cream
Oreo® Crust
• 16 Oreo® cookies, finely crushed
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 6 4-inch X 1¾-inch springform pans, set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse Oreo® cookies until finely ground.
3. Add the melted butter and process to moisten.
4. Divide mixture evenly between springform pans (about 2 tablespoons per pan). Pat cookie mixture into each pan, pressing firmly into bottom and about ½-inch up the side of each pan.
5. Place the cookie-lined springform pans on a baking sheet, bake, rotate baking sheet halfway through baking, for 10 minutes. Transfer springform pans to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Key Lime Filling
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1¾-cup (14 fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
• ½-cup freshly squeezed key lime juice (approximately 18-20 key limes; or 9-10 regular limes)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk.
3. Gradually add the key lime juice, whisking to combine.
4. Pour into the individual, prepared, cooled crusts (evenly dividing key lime mixture between pans). Place springform pans on a baking sheet.
5. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake pies until the centre of each pie is set but still quivers when the tin is nudged, about 15 minutes.
6. Transfer springform pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serving Oreo® Key Lime Pie
• Sweetened Whipped Cream
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Zest from 1 Key Lime, for garnish
1. Shortly before serving, prepare sweetened whipped cream.
2. Spoon a dollop of sweetened whipped cream onto each pie; dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with key lime zest. Serve immediately.
3. Enjoy!
Long Distance Cooking Project
This, is the most recent of ideas to add to the site. I haven't even developed the other pages just yet, right now it's all being built. Since this is something that may actually start happening tonight, I wanted to make sure it was up and ready to go!
What is long distance cooking? Well, see, my best friend lives thousands of miles away. She & I miss each other terribly and this is something we've decided to take on. We are going to surf through some different recipes & then we will both do them in our respective homes! It gets both of us involved in something & we get to do that something together, albeit apart! I am quite looking forward to sharing this with her! She will help keep me on task!
What is long distance cooking? Well, see, my best friend lives thousands of miles away. She & I miss each other terribly and this is something we've decided to take on. We are going to surf through some different recipes & then we will both do them in our respective homes! It gets both of us involved in something & we get to do that something together, albeit apart! I am quite looking forward to sharing this with her! She will help keep me on task!
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