Skip to main content

2015 in Reivew (Part 2)

So what happened the second half of the year?

July:
Kitchen Inspector
In July we finally got our Christmas puppy (well not exactly a puppy and not exactly for Christmas). She's coming along with training but it's been a lot of work (hence, my slacking off on the cooking front). There was a brief entry about Strawberries, a how-to about fruit flies (ugh I hate those buggers), and then there were cocktails on the veranda.

August was ice cream month:

There was - Anise, Cinnamon, and Double Chocolate. To counteract the ice cream intake, there were some salads too - Bulgur and Cranberry, Irish Oatmeal Salad, and Barley Salad.

September brought us some company:

There wasn't much action in the kitchen for the month of September bceause Mickey (AKA Einstein) came for a visit. I couldn't bear to even walk into the kitchen for fear of encountering him, let alone cook in there. However, I did get to do a test run of pumpkin ice cream, which was a nice addition to Thanksgiving dessert. There was also chocolate coconut pound cake.

October:

There was the Blue Chair discovery. Sauerkraut, and Lemon Tassies. While I have been able to purchase the coconut Blue Chair rum, but I haven't been able to find the banana rum cream :-(

November:

This month brought my best Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cottage Pie. I think this month was about comfort food.


December:

More recently,  I worked on getting a few old stand-bys up on the blog - finally the Worcestershire Sauce, a version of my Pot Roast but with cranberries, and then something new -  Cinnamon Star Bread

And that about sums up 2015. Here's looking at 2016 CHEERS!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato Risotto

Want to build up those arm muscles.  There is no better way than to do up a good risotto. You will get tired of stirring but it is oh so worth it. Tomato Risotto 1 onion, chopped olive oil 2 clove garlic, minced 1 1/2 c Aborio Rice 1/2 c white wine 4 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled about 1 cup warm vegetable stock (may need additional) 1 t fresh oregano 1 T fresh torn basil 2 T fresh parsley salt/pepper Parmesan cheese In a dutch oven, saute chopped onion in olive oil.  Add a little salt to help the onions along.  Meanwhile prep the tomatoes. Squeeze tomatoes gently just to rid them of the seeds. You do not need to get rid of all the liquid. Chop the tomatoes into large cubes. Cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add rice and saute for a few minutes until the rice smells toasted. Gradually add white wine and stir until almost all of the wine is absorbed. Add tomatoes to the rice. Add the oregano and basil. Stirring constantly until a

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

The Sous Chef is a sucker for a coffee cake. I think they're OK but add some chocolate chips and I think they're more than OK. Because of the sour cream in this recipe the cake is really moist. Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (Adapted from a page torn from a magazine from so long ago that the paper has yellowed) Topping: 3/4 c brown sugar 3/4 c flour 3/4 t cinnamon 1/4 t salt 6 T butter, cold & cut up Cake: 2 1/4 c flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 1 stick butter 1 c sugar 2 eggs 1 t vanilla 1 c sour cream 1/2 c chocolate chips Prepare topping: In a medium bowl cut butter into dry ingredients. You want it to look like wet sand. Place in refrigerator while you prepare the cake batter. Looks like wet sand Cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a mixer cream butter and sugar about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well. Alternate adding sour cream and flour in thre

Blueberry Ice Cream

I bought a whole bunch of blueberries and I so happened to have some heavy cream and half and half in the refrigerator - what to do? what to do? Ice Cream - of course! Blueberry Ice Cream 2 c fresh blueberries 1/4 c sugar 2 T water pinch of cinnamon 2 c heavy cream 1 c half and half (or milk) 1/2 c sugar 3 egg yolks 2 t vanilla In a saucepan heat blueberries, water, sugar, and cinnamon until blueberries are softened. (I mashed them up a bit with a potato masher) Set aside. Meanwhile heat cream, half and half, and sugar until bubbles just start to form around the edges. Remove from heat.  Temper the egg yolks by whisking a small amount of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Add the egg yolks back to the cream mixture and heat to 160. Stir in vanilla and blueberries. Taste and add additional sugar or vanilla as needed (Remember you want it more flavorful than you think it should be). Patience - waiting 24 hours Cool saucepan in and ice bath and refrigerate for 24 hour