Week 99:
So yesterday I made butternut squash risotto with sugared walnuts. For the walnuts, I toasted them and the tossed them with butter, sugar, and pepper. I liked them a lot on their own. Then for the squash I tossed it with some oil, roasted it and then added some garlic. I don't really like squash and in addition, I didn't take enough of the rind off so the edges of some of the pieces were hard and stringy. So after I roasted those off, I sauteed bacon, then onion, added arborio rice, and what I thought was white wine. There were to bottle of white wine looking liquid. I totally overlooked the real wine and picked up a bottle of sherry or something that was labeled "wine". Since I am underage and rarely cook with wine, I am unfamiliar with the smell and the bottles. Either way, the product was fine, even with not wine wine. Then, like in most risottos, I slowly added chicken stock that I had warmed up until the rice was cooked. Overall, The dish was good. The walnuts did not work with the finished product but if you left those off, and took and the squash, it was a pretty enjoyable dish. The rice was cooked really well (if I do say so myself) and overall, not a complete fail. My family gave it a 7.5/10.
See you in the new year internet! Love, Alexa :)
Showing posts with label My 2 Year Adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My 2 Year Adventure. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 88: Spicy shrimp nodle bowl with cucumber salad
Week 88:
OK, so let me get something straight, I'm not a writer, I'm a cook. Blogging is definitely not my forte, but I have been cooking every week since my last post. I really need to be more consistent. Alright week 88 of 104... Today I made a Spicy shrimp noodle bowl with a cucumber salad. The noodle bowl consisted of rice stick noodles, shrimp, sauteed vegetables, all severed in a fish broth that I made. The fish broth wasn't completely "from scratch" but I didn't just buy a fish stock. I started of with chicken broth, added water and clam juice then topped it all off with the shells from the shrimp and some slices of ginger. I boiled it down and it made a really yummy broth. Then I sauteed some garlic, onion, and bell pepper, added the broth, snap peas, some chili flakes, the shrimp and the noodles, cooked it all down to deliciousness and TAH-DAH!!!! A really yummy soup type dish. I served it with some lime wedges as well as some salad consisting of cucumber, radishes, green onion, and a light dressing. My family really enjoyed it (9/10) and it only to me about 30 minutes to make.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
OK, so let me get something straight, I'm not a writer, I'm a cook. Blogging is definitely not my forte, but I have been cooking every week since my last post. I really need to be more consistent. Alright week 88 of 104... Today I made a Spicy shrimp noodle bowl with a cucumber salad. The noodle bowl consisted of rice stick noodles, shrimp, sauteed vegetables, all severed in a fish broth that I made. The fish broth wasn't completely "from scratch" but I didn't just buy a fish stock. I started of with chicken broth, added water and clam juice then topped it all off with the shells from the shrimp and some slices of ginger. I boiled it down and it made a really yummy broth. Then I sauteed some garlic, onion, and bell pepper, added the broth, snap peas, some chili flakes, the shrimp and the noodles, cooked it all down to deliciousness and TAH-DAH!!!! A really yummy soup type dish. I served it with some lime wedges as well as some salad consisting of cucumber, radishes, green onion, and a light dressing. My family really enjoyed it (9/10) and it only to me about 30 minutes to make.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Sunday, 24 August 2014
My 2 Year Aventure, week 75: Oatmeal panckaes
Week 75:
I'm not making dinner today because I'm going to a concert so I made breakfast instead. The pancakes weren't my favorite. I used the wrong type of oats so the texture was really wrong. On top of that, they didn't really taste like anything. I don't know, I wasn't a fan. I think I'll just stick to my normal pancakes. They got a 6/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
I'm not making dinner today because I'm going to a concert so I made breakfast instead. The pancakes weren't my favorite. I used the wrong type of oats so the texture was really wrong. On top of that, they didn't really taste like anything. I don't know, I wasn't a fan. I think I'll just stick to my normal pancakes. They got a 6/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Saturday, 23 August 2014
My 2 year adventure, week 74: Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs with Quinoa Salad with Peaches/Black Forest Cherry Cake
Week 74:
I really need to make this blogging thing more consistent. I've been at cooking camp for this last week. Cooking camp ended yesterday so I am back to cook on my own. I made these chicken thighs and they were amazing. I had to take the skin off and the bone out because the boneless ones came in packs of 6 and the bone in ones came in packs of 4. I needed 8, so I got the thighs with the bone in. The spice mix was really good. Garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, and pepper.I brushed honey and vinegar during the cooking process.They kind of reminded me of the chicken wings. It was not as spicy as I though it was gonna be but it was delicious. The quinoa salad was nice, but I preferred the chicken.
The cake was really nice. The filling was whipped cream and a cherry filling. The filling wasn't too sweet, that cake was chocolatey, and the overall cake was amazing. Both dishes got 9.6/10. I think I'll make both dishes again.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
I really need to make this blogging thing more consistent. I've been at cooking camp for this last week. Cooking camp ended yesterday so I am back to cook on my own. I made these chicken thighs and they were amazing. I had to take the skin off and the bone out because the boneless ones came in packs of 6 and the bone in ones came in packs of 4. I needed 8, so I got the thighs with the bone in. The spice mix was really good. Garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, and pepper.I brushed honey and vinegar during the cooking process.They kind of reminded me of the chicken wings. It was not as spicy as I though it was gonna be but it was delicious. The quinoa salad was nice, but I preferred the chicken.
The cake was really nice. The filling was whipped cream and a cherry filling. The filling wasn't too sweet, that cake was chocolatey, and the overall cake was amazing. Both dishes got 9.6/10. I think I'll make both dishes again.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
My 2 year adventure, week 66: Summer squash and corn chowder with tomato bruschetta
Week 66:
I haven't blogged in a while but I've been cooking. I made casserole, quesadillas, and etc... So today I made soup. It was corn chowder with some squash, celery, and green onions. They didn't have the type of squash I wanted to use at the store so I used spaghetti squash. Because of the squash texture the soup was a little chunky and stringy. Other than that, it was a little bland, however, it was tasty.
I loved the bruschetta, I just kept eating it. It was ok, but it was really addictive. My family gave the dishes an 8/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
I haven't blogged in a while but I've been cooking. I made casserole, quesadillas, and etc... So today I made soup. It was corn chowder with some squash, celery, and green onions. They didn't have the type of squash I wanted to use at the store so I used spaghetti squash. Because of the squash texture the soup was a little chunky and stringy. Other than that, it was a little bland, however, it was tasty.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Sunday, 27 July 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 59: Chicken and guacamole tacos
Week 59:
Today I made chicken tacos. They were supposed to be tostadas but my local grocery store doesn't sell tostada shells. Instead of using tostada shells (fried, flat, corn tortillas) I just used regular corn tortillas and made them into tacos.
Once again, my "talent" returns to wreak havoc. The avocado I picked for my guacamole was super green. Mashing it was supposed to be easy but I could only get the fruit to a decent consistency with a mix of stabbing, mashing, and all sorts of other violent actions. I feel like that could be a new form of anger management, just take your anger out on an avacoado.
Despite my awful produce selections, the guacamole was decent. My favorite element was the salsa but although I added a tablespoon of jalapeno pepper, I still didn't quite get a kick.
The chicken was just oven roasted then shredded and tossed with some lime juice and paprika. I think I over cooked it a little, maybe 2 minutes overdone so it was a little dry.
Overall my family gave it a 7.75/10 and that's a pretty
Today I made chicken tacos. They were supposed to be tostadas but my local grocery store doesn't sell tostada shells. Instead of using tostada shells (fried, flat, corn tortillas) I just used regular corn tortillas and made them into tacos.
Once again, my "talent" returns to wreak havoc. The avocado I picked for my guacamole was super green. Mashing it was supposed to be easy but I could only get the fruit to a decent consistency with a mix of stabbing, mashing, and all sorts of other violent actions. I feel like that could be a new form of anger management, just take your anger out on an avacoado.
Despite my awful produce selections, the guacamole was decent. My favorite element was the salsa but although I added a tablespoon of jalapeno pepper, I still didn't quite get a kick.
The chicken was just oven roasted then shredded and tossed with some lime juice and paprika. I think I over cooked it a little, maybe 2 minutes overdone so it was a little dry.
decent score.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Friday, 25 July 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 57: Salmon burgers
Week 57:
Today I made Salmon burgers. What started off as a nice piece of salmon soon got mangled and dismembered in the food processor. 1/4 pound got mixed with Dijon and grapefruit rind (originally intended to be lemon) and got turned into paste. The other 3/4 pound got coarsely chopped with tarragon, shallots, salt, and pepper. The 2 salmon mixes combines and created 4 beautiful patties. Those hopped on the grill and the burgers were topped off with honey and arugula. There were meant to be onions as well but my dad decided to pickle the remainder of the onion so there was none for me to use. This dish was really simple and easy and my family gave it a 8.5/10.
Today I made Salmon burgers. What started off as a nice piece of salmon soon got mangled and dismembered in the food processor. 1/4 pound got mixed with Dijon and grapefruit rind (originally intended to be lemon) and got turned into paste. The other 3/4 pound got coarsely chopped with tarragon, shallots, salt, and pepper. The 2 salmon mixes combines and created 4 beautiful patties. Those hopped on the grill and the burgers were topped off with honey and arugula. There were meant to be onions as well but my dad decided to pickle the remainder of the onion so there was none for me to use. This dish was really simple and easy and my family gave it a 8.5/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Thursday, 24 July 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 56: Asian-style veggie rolls
Week 56:
So compared to yesterday's meal, today was a much lower strain on the budget. This dish was super fun to make and only cost me $13.31. The rolls are mostly prep work and then they're a breeze. I filled the rolls with lettuce, bean treads (a.k.a. cellophane noodles), bean sprouts, carrot, mint, cilantro, and green onions. The rice paper was pretty easy to handle and I only tore one sheet really badly. The sauce was pretty good. It had a lot of flavors and it was really well balanced. Overall, my parents gave the dish a 7.5/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
So compared to yesterday's meal, today was a much lower strain on the budget. This dish was super fun to make and only cost me $13.31. The rolls are mostly prep work and then they're a breeze. I filled the rolls with lettuce, bean treads (a.k.a. cellophane noodles), bean sprouts, carrot, mint, cilantro, and green onions. The rice paper was pretty easy to handle and I only tore one sheet really badly. The sauce was pretty good. It had a lot of flavors and it was really well balanced. Overall, my parents gave the dish a 7.5/10.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 55: Spicy chipotle shrimp salad with an avacado, mango, and pinapple salad/ lattice-topped blackberry cobbler
Week 55:
Today I made 2 kinds of salad. Firstly, I made a shrimp salad and then to top it off, I made a fruit salad (well, made with fruit). The shrimp salad was the main component though and it tasted pretty good. The only problem was that my local grocery store doesn't sell canned chiles, so I just used chile powder instead of an actual chipotle chile. The problem was mainly with the complementary salad. I think I've mentioned this before, but I genuinely believe I have a talent for picking the greenest fruit possible and then convincing myself that it's super ripe. The mango was soooooooo sour, I was actually kind of tough to eat. Despite my fruit issues my parents gave the dish a 7.5/10.
See you nest time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Today I made 2 kinds of salad. Firstly, I made a shrimp salad and then to top it off, I made a fruit salad (well, made with fruit). The shrimp salad was the main component though and it tasted pretty good. The only problem was that my local grocery store doesn't sell canned chiles, so I just used chile powder instead of an actual chipotle chile. The problem was mainly with the complementary salad. I think I've mentioned this before, but I genuinely believe I have a talent for picking the greenest fruit possible and then convincing myself that it's super ripe. The mango was soooooooo sour, I was actually kind of tough to eat. Despite my fruit issues my parents gave the dish a 7.5/10.
Secondly, I made a cobbler. Blackberries aren't exactly in season so they were a little on the expensive side. However, when blackberries start coming in by the truckload, this will be a very common dessert at home. This dish gave me the opportunity to test out my new mini food possessor, which was recently given to me as a gift. I ground up some almonds for the dough and it turned out pretty well. The dessert was great. I hadn't done a lattice top in a while so I kind of cheaped out. Instead on doing the traditional, over, under, over, under, I just did the vertical strips first and then placed the horizontal ones on top. It was very good and the only thing lacking was some ice cream. My parents gave it a 9/10 and I have to say, I agree. 
Monday, 21 July 2014
My 2 Year Adventure, week 54: Sheep's-milk yogurt cheesecakes with grilled figs and pistachios
Week 54:
Today I made cheesecake. It was meant to be a couple mini cheesecakes but I didn't have the molds I needed. So I just doubled the recipe and made a 9-inch cake. Next problem: My local grocery store doesn't sell figs or sheep's milk yogurt. The figs weren't essential so that's ok but I just used regular yogurt instead of the sheep's milk stuff. When I was making the cheesecake I realized I had no lemons. I decided to improvise by using 50% grapefruit juice, 50% water and then I added some sugar and I guess it worked out well.... In the end the result was pretty good, bland, but the consistency was very yogurty. I might attempt it again but I doubt it.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Today I made cheesecake. It was meant to be a couple mini cheesecakes but I didn't have the molds I needed. So I just doubled the recipe and made a 9-inch cake. Next problem: My local grocery store doesn't sell figs or sheep's milk yogurt. The figs weren't essential so that's ok but I just used regular yogurt instead of the sheep's milk stuff. When I was making the cheesecake I realized I had no lemons. I decided to improvise by using 50% grapefruit juice, 50% water and then I added some sugar and I guess it worked out well.... In the end the result was pretty good, bland, but the consistency was very yogurty. I might attempt it again but I doubt it.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Monday, 16 June 2014
My 2 year adventure, week 46: Greek inspired chicken and barley salad REPEAT
Week 46:
So according to the recipe calendar, I should've made Golden peach soup with shrimp and crab seviche. There were a couple issues. #1: Peaches aren't really in season #2: Where I live, seafood is kind of expensive so buying a bunch of shrimp and crab would be overboard. So as much as I would've loved to try my hand at a seviche, I didn't get the chance.
Instead, I made one of my family favorites, the barley salad from week 5. Yeah, that's really simple and really good so I just repeated that. Yup....
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
So according to the recipe calendar, I should've made Golden peach soup with shrimp and crab seviche. There were a couple issues. #1: Peaches aren't really in season #2: Where I live, seafood is kind of expensive so buying a bunch of shrimp and crab would be overboard. So as much as I would've loved to try my hand at a seviche, I didn't get the chance.
Instead, I made one of my family favorites, the barley salad from week 5. Yeah, that's really simple and really good so I just repeated that. Yup....
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
My 2 year adventure, week 45: Walnut and rosemary oven-fried chicken/ Banana split ice-cream sandwiches
Week 45:
WOW!I haven't blogged in ages. I can't believe how much I let that slide. But now summer vacation has begun and I will be cooking and blogging a whole lot more.
Yesterday was father's day, so I wanted to make something really comforting and tasty. So I made roasted chicken breasts. The recipe asked for cutlets which pretty much mean that the chicken breasts have been tenderized. Now, the butchers at my local grocery store were nice enough to use the machine to do it for me. However, everything was falling apart and the breasts were very variant in size. Because some were so big, I ran out of the crust and so, some had more of a drizzle of walnut and rosemary. Either way it ended up being good and my family gave it a 7.5/10.
Now for the ice cream sandwiches. I was really worried because there were only four ingredients in the cookies. Powdered sugar, flour, vanilla, and an egg. I didn't even have vanilla so I used almond extract instead. The cookies ended up being these really thin crunchy wafer-like things which were really good. In the middle I put vanilla ice cream but I added mashed bananas and crushed peanuts and it gave the ice cream more flavor and texture. I rolled the sandwiches in some peanuts and topped them off with a cherry, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. They were really and my family gave them an 8.5/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
WOW!I haven't blogged in ages. I can't believe how much I let that slide. But now summer vacation has begun and I will be cooking and blogging a whole lot more.
Yesterday was father's day, so I wanted to make something really comforting and tasty. So I made roasted chicken breasts. The recipe asked for cutlets which pretty much mean that the chicken breasts have been tenderized. Now, the butchers at my local grocery store were nice enough to use the machine to do it for me. However, everything was falling apart and the breasts were very variant in size. Because some were so big, I ran out of the crust and so, some had more of a drizzle of walnut and rosemary. Either way it ended up being good and my family gave it a 7.5/10.
Now for the ice cream sandwiches. I was really worried because there were only four ingredients in the cookies. Powdered sugar, flour, vanilla, and an egg. I didn't even have vanilla so I used almond extract instead. The cookies ended up being these really thin crunchy wafer-like things which were really good. In the middle I put vanilla ice cream but I added mashed bananas and crushed peanuts and it gave the ice cream more flavor and texture. I rolled the sandwiches in some peanuts and topped them off with a cherry, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. They were really and my family gave them an 8.5/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Sunday, 16 February 2014
My 2 year adventure, week 40: Grilled chicken with mint and oine nut gremolata with a sugar snap pea and feta salad/ Carrot ginger refresher
Week 40:
I haven't been cooking. No, I'm not having a block like what Julie experiences in Julie and Julia where she eats yogurt for dinner and falls behind... I just went through mid-years. This is my first year in high school so this year I had mid-year exams. Right after mid-years it was my birthday (I'm 14), so I haven't cooked in a while. I was so excited to get back to cooking! The first dish had 3 components: the chicken, which I just grilled, then finished it off in the oven, the gremolata, and the salad. To make the gremolata I had to chop mint, pine nuts, and garlic really fine, since I don't have a mini chopper. I ended up getting a really good consistency and I was really happy with the end result. For the salad in blanched red onion and sugar snap peas, in addition to making a dressing and crumbling some feta into the mix. It was a really simple dish with minimal prep, I'll probably make it again.
The refresher was soooooooooo good. It was like a smoothie, but not quite. I put carrot juice, yogurt, applesauce, frozen bananas, ginger, and ice into a blender and I began to pulse and the blender was too full... It didn't explode or anything cool like that, but we had to pour some out and re-blend it. In the end, both dishes got 9/10 and I am definitely making the refresher again in the near future.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
I haven't been cooking. No, I'm not having a block like what Julie experiences in Julie and Julia where she eats yogurt for dinner and falls behind... I just went through mid-years. This is my first year in high school so this year I had mid-year exams. Right after mid-years it was my birthday (I'm 14), so I haven't cooked in a while. I was so excited to get back to cooking! The first dish had 3 components: the chicken, which I just grilled, then finished it off in the oven, the gremolata, and the salad. To make the gremolata I had to chop mint, pine nuts, and garlic really fine, since I don't have a mini chopper. I ended up getting a really good consistency and I was really happy with the end result. For the salad in blanched red onion and sugar snap peas, in addition to making a dressing and crumbling some feta into the mix. It was a really simple dish with minimal prep, I'll probably make it again.
The refresher was soooooooooo good. It was like a smoothie, but not quite. I put carrot juice, yogurt, applesauce, frozen bananas, ginger, and ice into a blender and I began to pulse and the blender was too full... It didn't explode or anything cool like that, but we had to pour some out and re-blend it. In the end, both dishes got 9/10 and I am definitely making the refresher again in the near future.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Sunday, 5 January 2014
My 2 year adventure, week 38: Crab cakes with spicy remoulade/ Chicken and okra stew
Week 38:
Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! A new entry! I haven't blogged on here since September 2 2013. It's been 4 months! But, I have been cooking and that brings us to week 38. So my dad and I decided to cook together today. Normally I cook alone but we thought, hey, it would be fun to bond over a common interest. We started off with the crab cakes. The crab cakes were super easy to make other than actually cooking them. You just mix a bunch of stuff together, make some patties, and fry. Frying is difficult though because the cakes have a tendency to fall apart... We were successful and we made 7 beautiful cakes. They were sooooooo good but no where even near the remoulade sauce. O...M...G! I don't like mayo at all but somehow with lemon, capers, cayenne, and some other ingredients, the mayo sauce was AMAZING!
For the stew, it was really time consuming. There was a lot of prep and the stew took about an hour to cook but it was so worth it! The flavor was so good and the chicken and okra were cooked perfectly. These were actually some of my favorite dishes so far and my family gave both of them 9/10. But as a wrap-up, I'm back and expect many more entries!
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! A new entry! I haven't blogged on here since September 2 2013. It's been 4 months! But, I have been cooking and that brings us to week 38. So my dad and I decided to cook together today. Normally I cook alone but we thought, hey, it would be fun to bond over a common interest. We started off with the crab cakes. The crab cakes were super easy to make other than actually cooking them. You just mix a bunch of stuff together, make some patties, and fry. Frying is difficult though because the cakes have a tendency to fall apart... We were successful and we made 7 beautiful cakes. They were sooooooo good but no where even near the remoulade sauce. O...M...G! I don't like mayo at all but somehow with lemon, capers, cayenne, and some other ingredients, the mayo sauce was AMAZING!
For the stew, it was really time consuming. There was a lot of prep and the stew took about an hour to cook but it was so worth it! The flavor was so good and the chicken and okra were cooked perfectly. These were actually some of my favorite dishes so far and my family gave both of them 9/10. But as a wrap-up, I'm back and expect many more entries!
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Monday, 2 September 2013
My 2 year adventure, week 24: Beef and guinness stew/Black and tan brownies
Week 24:
I finally got my stitches out!!!!!!!!!! Okay, back to the recipes... The stew called for parsnips and turnips and I had never even seen a turnip or a parsnip let alone cooked with them. If you guys are like me, a parsnip looks like a white carrot and a turnip looks like a white beet. The recipe also called for 5 cups of onion. 5 CUPS!!! I successfully chopped 3 cups and then I couldn't stand it anymore. My dad had to do the last to cups because I was tearing up so much. Another strange thing the stew called for is raisins. Nobody ate one so I think they may have disintegrated... The stew took a total of 2 1/2 hours to cook and I burned the bottom of the pot soooo badly but it came off. My family gave the stew a 8/10.
The brownies turned out great they were double layered. The "tan" layer was like a basic cake batter but with brown sugar and pecans. The "black" layer was like a basic brownie mix but with guinness. The recipes seem to be following a trend... My parents gave the brownies a 8.75/10. It was a really good brownie recipe.
See you next time internet! Love Alexa :)
I finally got my stitches out!!!!!!!!!! Okay, back to the recipes... The stew called for parsnips and turnips and I had never even seen a turnip or a parsnip let alone cooked with them. If you guys are like me, a parsnip looks like a white carrot and a turnip looks like a white beet. The recipe also called for 5 cups of onion. 5 CUPS!!! I successfully chopped 3 cups and then I couldn't stand it anymore. My dad had to do the last to cups because I was tearing up so much. Another strange thing the stew called for is raisins. Nobody ate one so I think they may have disintegrated... The stew took a total of 2 1/2 hours to cook and I burned the bottom of the pot soooo badly but it came off. My family gave the stew a 8/10.
The brownies turned out great they were double layered. The "tan" layer was like a basic cake batter but with brown sugar and pecans. The "black" layer was like a basic brownie mix but with guinness. The recipes seem to be following a trend... My parents gave the brownies a 8.75/10. It was a really good brownie recipe.
See you next time internet! Love Alexa :)
My 2 year adventure, week 23: Maple-mustard pork chops with winter squash puree
Week 23:
So this is my recovery. My recovery from the awful time I had last week. My stitches were still in when I cooked this so I had to work my way around them. The pork chops were cooked by making a glaze and then while the pork chops are on the b-b-q you slowly brush on the glaze. The chops came out great though a lot lighter than in the original picture. The squash puree was good and very easy but squash is definitely not my favorite so I didn't really enjoy the puree. But I feel that my family was way too harsh in their rating. They gave it a 7.5/10. I would have rated the dish much higher. The pork chops were amazing. I ate two (sorry little bro). Anyway, stitches were really easy to ignore, I mean, it's not like I broke my arm, right?
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
So this is my recovery. My recovery from the awful time I had last week. My stitches were still in when I cooked this so I had to work my way around them. The pork chops were cooked by making a glaze and then while the pork chops are on the b-b-q you slowly brush on the glaze. The chops came out great though a lot lighter than in the original picture. The squash puree was good and very easy but squash is definitely not my favorite so I didn't really enjoy the puree. But I feel that my family was way too harsh in their rating. They gave it a 7.5/10. I would have rated the dish much higher. The pork chops were amazing. I ate two (sorry little bro). Anyway, stitches were really easy to ignore, I mean, it's not like I broke my arm, right?
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
My 2 year adventure, Week 22: Caramel apple oatmeal cookies/ Apricot ginger bellinis/ Halibut with caper salsa verde and asiago roasted fennel
Week 22:
Instead of doing this entry recipe entry by entry, I'm going to do it in the order I did the dishes. So I started with the caper salsa verde. It was a very simple salsa. Mostly basil with other elements such as the capers and some mustard. Once I finished that I moved on to the cookies. I didn't follow the recipe and I didn't put parchment paper on my pan I greased it instead and when the cookies came out of the oven the caramel had exploded all over the baking sheet and hardened. So I started scrubbing the pan to try and get the caramel off and there was this chunk of caramel that wouldn't come off so I did the stupidest thing imaginable. I took the sharpest knife in the kitchen and tried cutting the caramel off. Of course, the knife slipped and I cut myself. I ended spending two hours in the hospital so that I could get stitches in my finger. Yeah... I'm just glad our sharpest knife if very dull and that I cut my left hand instead of my right. When I got home of course I couldn't cook so I got to boss my dad around and I got him to finish the dishes for me. except I did get to do the bellinis because there wasn't any chopping involved. I didn't get to taste the bellinis but I tasted the apricot syrup before we added wine to it. The halibut dish ended up being a red snapper dish because there was no good halibut available and there wasn't any asiago cheese so I used Gruyere. The bellinis got a 9.5/10, the cookies got 7/10, and the halibut and fennel dish got an 8/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Instead of doing this entry recipe entry by entry, I'm going to do it in the order I did the dishes. So I started with the caper salsa verde. It was a very simple salsa. Mostly basil with other elements such as the capers and some mustard. Once I finished that I moved on to the cookies. I didn't follow the recipe and I didn't put parchment paper on my pan I greased it instead and when the cookies came out of the oven the caramel had exploded all over the baking sheet and hardened. So I started scrubbing the pan to try and get the caramel off and there was this chunk of caramel that wouldn't come off so I did the stupidest thing imaginable. I took the sharpest knife in the kitchen and tried cutting the caramel off. Of course, the knife slipped and I cut myself. I ended spending two hours in the hospital so that I could get stitches in my finger. Yeah... I'm just glad our sharpest knife if very dull and that I cut my left hand instead of my right. When I got home of course I couldn't cook so I got to boss my dad around and I got him to finish the dishes for me. except I did get to do the bellinis because there wasn't any chopping involved. I didn't get to taste the bellinis but I tasted the apricot syrup before we added wine to it. The halibut dish ended up being a red snapper dish because there was no good halibut available and there wasn't any asiago cheese so I used Gruyere. The bellinis got a 9.5/10, the cookies got 7/10, and the halibut and fennel dish got an 8/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
MY 2 year adventure, week 21: Roast leg of lamb with a chile-garlic sauce/ Mixed cirtus green salad
Week 21:
Okay the lamb dish, once again, like the brown soda bread, I had to buy a giant container of sambal oelek ( a ground chile paste)because I only needed a tablespoon. I made a mistake while cooking my lamb because I didn't let the oven preheat completely before I put the lamb in the oven so the cooking time got all messed up and I had to pull out my thermometer to see the internal temperature. The sauce was great! You could pair it with pretty much anything and it would be delicious. The overall dish was one of the best so far and my family gave it a 9/10.
The salad was fine but the dressing that went with it was really good and really easy to remember. 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup canola oil, 2 tbsp champagne vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), 1 tsp poppy seeds. Just throw everything in a blender. The salad was okay. I just cracked open a bunch of canned fruit. My family gave it a 8/10.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Monday, 19 August 2013
My 2 year adventure, week 20: blue cheese stuffed chicken with buffalo sauce/ brown soda bread
Week 20:
I can't believe I've been doing this for 20 weeks! So the first recipe was the chicken. My dad was really the one that stuffed the chicken with the blue cheese. Then we dredged it in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. The chicken was pretty easy. Then for the buffalo sauce you just need to mix a couple ingredients. The dish itself was really simple but yummy. my family gave it an 8.5.
The brown soda bread was interesting. I had to buy a giant bottle of wheat germ because I only needed a tablespoon... The bread came out okay but there were green bits in it. Everyone was pretty confused. Also, I didn't have a loaf pan so I went to the store and got a brand new loaf pan!!!!!! Any way, my family gave it an 8.
Thursday, 25 July 2013
My 2 year adventure, week 19: Pear and prosciutto pizza/ Tuscan cake with citrus compote
Week 19:
Do you ever feel like life screws you up in something you love just to test if you'll keep doing it after you messed up so badly? I do. I really feel like life was taking notes to see how I'd react to these barnyard disasters of dishes. The pizza was almost perfect in my opinion, except for one minor detail... I was supposed to top the pizza with baby arugula and I went to the store, completely missed the baby arugula and bought dandelion greens instead. What was I thinking? Those greens were so bitter and nobody ate them. We ended up throwing them all out. This very minor flaw sunk the dish's rating to an 8. Don't even get me started on the cake... I pulled it out the oven and it looked great. Then it sunk, it died, whatever you want to call what happened to it. It sunk, revealing completely uncooked batter and ever after another 15 minutes of baking it was just as raw and we had to eat around the center. The cake itself was pretty good though. The compote... I couldn't eat it because I hate grapefruit and that and oranges were the main ingredients. Great, the fruit I hate and the fruit I'm slightly allergic to. I really do feel like life is laughing at me at times. The cake and compote got a 7.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
Do you ever feel like life screws you up in something you love just to test if you'll keep doing it after you messed up so badly? I do. I really feel like life was taking notes to see how I'd react to these barnyard disasters of dishes. The pizza was almost perfect in my opinion, except for one minor detail... I was supposed to top the pizza with baby arugula and I went to the store, completely missed the baby arugula and bought dandelion greens instead. What was I thinking? Those greens were so bitter and nobody ate them. We ended up throwing them all out. This very minor flaw sunk the dish's rating to an 8. Don't even get me started on the cake... I pulled it out the oven and it looked great. Then it sunk, it died, whatever you want to call what happened to it. It sunk, revealing completely uncooked batter and ever after another 15 minutes of baking it was just as raw and we had to eat around the center. The cake itself was pretty good though. The compote... I couldn't eat it because I hate grapefruit and that and oranges were the main ingredients. Great, the fruit I hate and the fruit I'm slightly allergic to. I really do feel like life is laughing at me at times. The cake and compote got a 7.
See you next time internet! Love, Alexa :)
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