from EmerilAnother ground pork asian dish with a kick and another winner. This time, Emeril’s Spicy Pork Stir-Fry with Coconut Scallion Rice adds toothsome eggplant. The inclusion of ground pork versus slices is my input. I just bought ready made coconut rice from Fresh Direct for ease. For some reason, I have never made rice well from scratch – it ends up either hard in the middle or mushy.
From EmerilWhile I don’t like the use of the word “gravy” in this context – to me gravy is opaque and thick and brown – I’ll forgive Emeril his choice of words, because this Shrimp, Chorizo and Chipotle Gravy is great. Spicy and filling, it’s meant to go over Mexican rice, but I opted for what I had available, couscous.
from GiadaI quite enjoy having Giada on in the background but this is the first time I’ve made one of her dishes, and this Bucatini All’Amatriciana with Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs was spectacular! Bucatini is a hollow spaghetti, which I was happy to find was finally available at Fresh Direct, though it can also be purchased at any Italian market. While it may look like there are a lot of steps in this recipe, once they’re prepped, each element has a fifteen minute cooking or simmering time so it’s easy to get everything done at the same time in order to mix it into a sloppy, delicious plate. I didn’t have parchment paper for the meatballs – which have a cube of smoked mozzarella inside them!! – so they crumbled a bit, but with no sacrifice to the flavor. If this is any indication, I’ll be making more from Giada soon!
Puffy PancakePuffy and slightly custardy, my friend Shaun bakes a mean Dutch Baby, a breakfast treat that we concluded must be simply called “Our Children” in Holland. While Shaun’s recipe is his own, you could probably safely start with this Alton Brown one then add in any fruits you desire – we had fresh blueberries.
found on Serious EatsA simple recipe with a small ingredient list is appealing for ease, but downright exciting when the list consists of favorite flavors that I’d never heard of together. Such was the case with this Spaghetti with Crab, Chile, and Mint recipe that I found on Serious Eats (a blog that never steers me wrong).
I love this recipe so much that when i had enough ingredients for a second batch, i counted down the hours to lunch the next day.
from Tyler Florence on Food NetworkWhile I can’t have most lunch meats, taking lots of sandwiches out of the equation until my little guy is born, I still crave eating them from time to time and found this woodsy, hearty Goat Cheese and Mushroom Panini recipe on Food Network that sounded perfect. I skimped on buying the truffle oil, though I am sure it’s an excellent addition.
from Local LemonsMy friend Jessica is a friend in deed. At my recent brunch party, she arrived with an incredibly delicious Lemon Meringue Pie made from scratch. She found the recipe online at Local Lemons via Tastespotting. As a huge merginue fanatic, and a lover of sugary crumble pie crust, there shouldn’t be a happier treat for me!
from Simply RecipesThese Twice Baked Potatoes, taken loosely from a Simply Recipes recipe (love that site) made for a lovely picture and an even lovelier tasty meal. I basically used the bacon cheddar recipe but substituted broccoli and chives for bacon. While these take a long time to bake, the actual effort is minimal.
from Simply RecipesI’ll be honest, my cooking and baking lately has resulted in the unexpected. Banana bread turned into a thicker almost pudding like creation recently, and even chocolate chip cookies from a back of the box recipe turned out entirely edible but undeniably strange (baking soda vs baking powder and brown sugar versus natural sugar does make a difference, it seems), and this Simply Recipes White Chili proved to be no different.
As you can see from my mediocre photograph, it’s not exactly white, which could be in part because of my inclusion of a generous amount of chili powder and red kidney beans, and it’s far more on the soup side of things than chili. This is my fault for opting to use what I had on hand, namely canned beans (both kidney and white) and guessing that two cans equals a pound of dried. I think I was wrong, and yet the meal was still absolutely delicious and fulfilling.
Seems that any recipe with a good basis can be messed with and still turn out noteworthy and Simply Recipes always has some good recipes to play around with.
from The Barefoot ContessaCarrots have never quite been my favorite side dish. Either too soggy or to hard, they just seem difficult to cook right but this Roasted Carrot recipe from Ina Garten is great. I added a sprinkle of brown sugar, chili powder, and cumin for added spice and roasted about ten minutes longer than called for.