Baking Season Is Here

The Spring was all about lighter foods, then Summer was fresh produce- and lots of it. Now we are in to baking and cooking. Love it!

Recently I made a Taste Section recipe from last February actually- and I taught myself something new. I butterflied a chicken! The recipe was called Butterflied Roasted Chicken. It was really pretty simple- you basically put the chicken on it's breast and cut out the back bone with a kitchen shears and lay the chicken down flat. The chicken cooks faster and it was easier to carve up than a whole chicken. Really pretty easy meal.

Another chicken dinner I made was Pretzel-Coated Chicken Tenders with Mustard-Apricot Dipping Sauce. We had company over and I had my daughter help me dip the pieces. I bought some oven French Fries and made an easy salad. Everyone commented that they were really good and well worth making again. I thought they were tasteless actually and next time I'd add salt which wasn't part of the recipe. I'm sure it would seem like the salt in the pretzels was enough but actually there wasn't much there.

For baking this winter so far, I made a few recipes that I thought would be great gifts. The first was Cranberry Pecan Swirls. I was going to make Christmas cookies with my daughter and wanted to make a cookie from the StarTrib's annual cookie contest. These seemed easy because you roll them up, cool the dough and then later slice and bake. The only problem is that you make the dough and cool it, they you roll it out, put on the toppings, roll it up and then freeze for 8 hours! Well, I did make them and they were well worth the effort.

Another recipe that looks great is Cinnamon Swirl Bread. I made it and it looks delicious! I haven't cut in to it yet because I am going to give it as a gift. They great thing about this recipe was that you knead it in a standard mixer. It was super easy! I used to love to bake bread but this took time out of the process speeding it along.

Now I have two things to give as gifts- but next time I make the cookies, I'm going to double the batch so that I have several swirls ready in the freezer to bake up!

My Year Of Taste is Almost Over!

Boy- I can't believe it. I have been cooking a recipe from each Thursday's Taste Section from the Minneapolis StarTribune this year- sometimes depending on what I have on hand or time for. They haven't been in order so my seasons are a bit off. For example, I'm bringing an appetizer to a Christmas party that was from the Spring that is essentially thin slices of radishes with salt on buttered bread.

I have been cooking, just not blogging. I'm going to try to catch up.

I made a Winter-Squash Souffle that was fun to make but relatively tasteless. I would add toasted walnuts or cheese...? Something.

One recipe that I held out making for a time when I had time and the ingredients was Shirred Lemon Eggs. In this recipe you basically poach eggs in cream with a little cheese in ramekins. The lemon comes from grated lemon peel. I served it with toasted, buttered baguette slices.

One of my favorite recipes to date is Garlic Broccoli with Walnuts. It's from an article called "Nuts Add the Finishing Touch". I love Asian food and this is just like something you would order for carry-out. I added some garlicky, sauteed shrimp.

1 large head of broccoli, about 1 1/2 lb.
1 C veg. or chicken broth
2 Tbsp Peanut oil
3 cloves garlic ( I love garlic so I added more)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger or 1tsp powdered garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 to 2 tsp peanut oil

cut up the broccoli to 3 inch spears and discard the tough stems. Rinse the broccoli well under cold water. Bring the broth, oil, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to a boil and add the broccoli. Cook the broccoli for about 5 minutes until tender.

Cook the walnuts in the rest of the peanut oil for a few minutes over medium heat until slightly browned, 3-5 minutes, stirring often and watching carefully. Using a slotted spoon, place the broccoi in a serving dish and add the hot walnuts on top. Serve immediately.


For Thanksgiving, I brought the green salad and for the dressing, I made Cranberry Maple Vinagrette. This was super easy and the maple syrup adds an nice sweetness without being too maple-y.

I had a friend over one night when my husband was out and I made Chipotle Chicken Soup. It was super easy and delicious. It called for cooked chicken AND garbanzo beans. Since they are both a good source of protein, I was surprised to have them both in the soup and we both though the soup would work with just one or the other. I also had never worked with canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce but my friend had some- glad we didn't go without because it really packs a punch.

More to come- only have a few weeks to go!

More vegetables from my CSA Box- Sauteed Bell Peppers With Corn- Really yummy. This is definitely a recipe I wouldn't have made without a push. Easy, healthy- used up veggies.

Earlier in the summer I mad Watermelon Margaritas and have a great picture of my Mother and I. It's great- probably on my phone and, I have no idea how to get it off the phone!



Last weekend I turned from my box to Fall and some Honey Crisp Apples I bought to make Bruleed Apple Crepes. These were terrific, and again easy. I remember when I was a teenager and we got a crepe pan for some reason. My siblings and I got on a kick of making them after school. They are so easy- like a thin, buttery pancake. I added Apple Jack which is apple flavored brandy to the apples as they were cooking. I used canned whipped cream for ease.

Summer Bounty

This Fall marked the end of the CSA we had fun with all summer. It was a bit stressful trying to figure out what to do with all the bounty but having my Blog to work on made it interesting. Along with vegetables, I had farm fresh eggs coming in my CSA box as well. This recipe made a great combo of ingredients.

We went to some friend's cabin and our job was to make breakfast. I chose Bacon and Egg Crispy Bread Treats. This used eggs, and cherry tomatoes from my CSA and was easy and really good.

This next recipe used canned tomatoes although I had enough tomatoes from my CSA to use fresh. I did use onions, garlic and oregano from my  box. The croutons were delicious and we made grilled cheese sandwiches to go along side.
Tom's Tasty Tomato Soup With Brown Butter Croutons

At another gathering at a cabin, I made Curried Winter Squash Soup. Very easy and satisfying. You fry the onion in oil, add the other ingredients including coconut milk, bring to a boil adding the chunks of squash and cook for 20 minutes. Can't find my picture but it was great.

Some Summer Goodies

This Summer we bought a share of a CSA or Community Sponsored Agriculture. I have had a blast with the surprise each week as to what will be in our box! It's also required looking through my Taste Section recipes to find ones that will work with all the vegetables that pile up on my counter.

The June 14th Taste Section contained Salade Nicoise or French Style Potato Salad. This was tasty but not exactly attractive. I am not sure this is one I'd try again but it did require potatoes, green onions, parsely, and eggs - all that were in my box.

I think this is the most interesting recipe I made. It seemed a bit like a recipe contest winner in that it had a lot of steps and unusual "guilding the lily" that a burger doesn't really need. But, as I say, it was interesting and more importantly, good. One of the steps required you to make frickles which I had never heard of. These are fried pickles which I had heard of. You also make a topping of corn, cheese, basil and mayonnaise. That green an red slice is a heirloom tomato slice from my CSA box.

Bruschetta is one of my all-time favorite things- as an appetizer or a meal. I made Basic Bruschetta from the July 19th edition. All that recipe was was the bread brushed with olive oil an broiled. I then made the White Bean and Rosemary Bruschetta and the Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta recipes. They were really good- I made them for a dinner party we had on our patio. Bruschetta and wine- a meal made in heaven! No photo- it MUST have been good!

Bell Pepper and Tomato Bisque from August 9 was delicious and, although it's been a hot summer, it used up a lot of my tomatoes! I liked the peppers in this recipe and the spot of half and half was a nice garnish. 

I went to my sister's cabin for a Girl's Weekend and brought the ingredients for the Gazpacho with Shrimp and Avocado Relish. I had never had Gazpacho before and it was really nice on a hot day. I always want a bit more spice and I'm sure I could find a way to add it next time.

Our Neighborhood picnic was just last weekend and I brought Chicken Feta Salad to share. It was delicious although next time I'd tinker with the dressing. To me, it tasted a bit bitter. The recipe calls for twice as much olive oil as White Wine Vinegar and I think the proportions should call for a bit more olive oil and less vinegar.  I also thought a bit of red pepper flakes or celery or almonds for flavor and crunch would have made it just a bit better. 

It's September and I need to Crack the Whip!

As you may have noticed, I'm not going in any order. I save every Taste section but I may not have time to make what's published or I have ingredients for another recipe. Over the year, I have had a lot of fun working on this project but it's somewhat stressful and I need to dedicate more time so I can get currant (purposefully misspelled).

May 24th had Congo Bars. I just had to try them! They sounded like 7-Layer Bars that I used to make in High School but they were much better. I made them for a Wedding Shower my Sister-in-law and I held for a Niece. I don't have a picture of the bars because they went so fast but the flowers were gorgeous.

The May 31st edition had lots of salad dressings that looked very easy. I made the Weeknight Caesar, Garlic Herb Vinaigrette and the Honey Dijon. Very easy too - why buy dressing in a bottle! The Green Goddess that I blogged about before was delish!

The Seared Ginger Balsamic Salmon with Hot and Sour Slaw was a challenge for a foodie-want-to-be like me. It was delicious and now that I'm looking at it, I'll have to make this again.

Another recipe from April was the Barley and Asparagus Risotto. This wasn't as flavorful as the salmon and needed something extra to make me want to make this again.

Working even a bit further backwards, I tried the Shepherd's Pie in March. This was not my favorite either. It was too watery. I would like to try this again because it seems like a great winter recipe. My attempt just didn't do it for us.

Molasses Chicken from the March 8 Taste Section was outstanding. I realize I need to start adding recipes to my blog so you can understand why I am salivating on the keys. The recipe calls for legs thighs and wings. You wash the pieces and then rub them with crushed garlic. You then combine  ground allspice, vinegar, blackstrap molasses and mustard which you mix and brush on to the chicken. You then roast for 40 minutes at 400, basting with the molasses mixture periodically. Yum!

OK, June 7 had a Hickory-Barbecued Chicken recipe that I noted we made on July 4th. And again on the 10th, 22, and August 3. We just loved the rub and the hickory flavor from the chips you add to the coals. The actual barbecue sauce you make to baste with at the end (and serve with additional sauce) is a very simple concoction of ketchup, cider vinegar, light brown sugar, dijon mustard and hot pepper sauce. You cook this down a bit before taking part of it to baste, leaving the rest to serve with. My husband keeps going back to my files to find the recipe and yet we've never taken a picture. I guess it's the smell and taste since otherwise it's just barbecued chicken.

My next effort was Cream of Celery Soup from the January 26 Taste section. This was delicious! It was easy, took about an hour and the calorie count was not too bad- 158 for a cup. We had our neighbor over and I had leftovers to take to work for lunch.

O-M-G, one of my favorite recipes- Green Goddess Dressing! I always loved this out of a bottle so to make my own seemed kind of fun. This recipe was a huge hit. It was thick, creamy, spicy, and only 28 calories per 2 Tbsp! Yum.

Turkey Juicy Lucys were my next attempt. these were pretty good but also pretty predictable. It's a turkey burger with cheese in the middle. Good but unremarkable. I won't make this again.

Orange-Edamame-Tofu Stir Fry was a disaster. It was from the February 23 paper. I love edamame but - note to self, it doesn't work to use edamame still in the shell. I WILL try this again since I didn't give it a fair shot. It had all the makings of a delicious meal but what I came up with literally stuck in my throat. I can still feel that first bite scrapping its way down my throat!

I have always liked the idea of polenta but actually, have never really liked it. My next recipe choice was from the March 1st edition- Polenta with Sauteed Peppers and Tomato Sauce. This seemed like such a great idea. I love peppers and Parmesan cheese. I always think I like Polenta. This was not great though. My Polenta was a little watery and the pepper mixture you put on top was not as flavorful as it could have been. This won't be appearing on the menu again. I should have made the homemade Chocolate Mint Cookies!

Ketching Up

I made a goal for myself to start a blog AND make a recipe from the Taste Section of the paper every week. Well, I did start the blog and I did make recipes from every Taste Section. Now I just have to "blend" the two.

I usually work on my experiment in self discipline on the weekends trying to choose, shop for and make a recipe or two from that week's offerings. I'm not always able to make the recipes that week but I always grab the Taste Section from the Thursday paper for a future date.

I take pictures of all my efforts but my images don't adequately describe the aroma and flavor of the winners or the disappointments but you'll get the idea.

The first Thursday of the year, January 5, I chose to make Milanese Pot Roast that sounded interesting and we were not disappointed. It's a slow cooker recipe perfect for January weekends in Minnesota- actually any day of the week in January in Minnesota. The calories were reasonable at 354 per serving and served with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, it was heaven. We all wanted to drink the leftover gravy.

The next week was Mini Barbecued Meatloaves. These were a disappointment in that there was not a lot of flavor in them. They needed more garlic (we LOVE garlic) and salt. There were some great things about the recipe - making it in a food processor (all of it) and baking in a muffin tin. They bake in 15-20 minutes instead of almost an hour for traditional meatloaf. For both of those reasons, I think I will play with this recipe on my own and see if I can up the flavor.

Getting Started- January 2012

I decided this year I would choose a challenge for myself. I thought about a lot of options that would have been fun, physical, tough, easy, something I've done before... and then I thought of the book Julie and Julia written by Julie Powell. In the book, Julie decides to cook her way through Julia Child's entire Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I like to cook but I never seem to have enough time. Something like what Julie Powell did might be kind of fun.

Our paper, the Minneapolis StarTribune has a Taste section every Thursday and in it, they publish recipes, usually along some kind of theme. Perfect- I'll do a recipe from every weekly Taste Section!

What follows is a journal of my attempts. Some have been forgettable and some are new family favorites.