2015 In Review (Part 1)

Here we are again at a new year. 2016 already - who would've thought? I figure I might as well jump on the bandwagon of "Year in Review" postings (I must admit, I do feel a little cheesy though).

January was a busy month:

Made these tons of times - look impressive with little work

We had a little BonVoyage to the UK contingency and made these simple clementines and chocolate. Rosemary Flat Breads went well with the cheese. And then how could we forget the spaetzle - that was so cool. Although that wasn't for the Bon Voyage - that was just good eating.

February:

Even though it was a short month, there was quite a bit of eating going on with some real comfort food. Like the Pasta al Forno, the Not Barbecued Ribs, Fougasse, Tomato Pesto, Cinnamon Chicken Pilaf, and how could we forget the other cool gift of a blow torch for Creme Brulee?

Raspberry Charlotte

March:

The blow torch got some use again for some Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee, but no blow torch was needed for the Raspberry Charlotte. There was a lot of soup action in March - the Slow Cooker Onion, the interesting thickening agent used in the Broccoli Soup and the Loaded Potato Soup.

April:

Tomato Bread Grilled Cheese

Spring came and so did Easter. There were mini Grilled Cheese sandwiches amongst the regular fare. Along with some homemade Ricotta. Then there was some additional comfort food using hot water crust.

May:

This was a bit of a busy month as there were less postings than usual. But it wasn't short on interesting stuff. This was the first Sous Vide Steak that changed me forever. Not to mention some Sticky Chicken Wings and some classic Toad in a Hole.

June:

Nothing like a little boy bait

Even though we went to Peru, we still had some time for some Blueberry Boy Bait, Pasta with Tomato and Scapes, and some Penne a la Vodka. The good kind not the "catered food kind."

Well, that has us at half the year already.

Comments

New Kid on the Block

So here's a picture of the new kid on the block. Ain't she a beauty? It's a Blomberg . They are fairly new to the US. They have been around in Europe for quite a while. I really liked the design. I've been dying to have a freezer on the bottom. With the old refrigerator I would constantly lose brain cells by hitting my head on the freezer will poking around in the refrigerator. It really makes sense to have the refrigerator on top - that is where you spend most of your time. When we bought the old one, it was an emergency situation. The prior one was leaking on the floor and was no longer cooling. Fifteen years ago the freezer on the bottom was just starting to get popular but we were in no situation to wait for delivery. We had to take what they had on hand. Now the freezer on the bottom is by no means unique. What is - is this freezer's design. There are 3 compartments in the freezer. I used to have a chest freezer in the basement and everything would get los

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

Burnt Cinnamon Simple Syrup

The NY Times Magazine section did a piece on cocktails about two weeks ago and one was calling me- Rhum Agricole Daiquiri . What attracted me here (well besides the cocktail aspect) was the Burnt Cinnamon Simple Syrup. It was easy enough to make, as are most simple syrups, but it was the potential uses. I started thinking not only daiquiris but why not with Applejack? Apples, burnt cinnamon sounds like a winner to me. Or how about a nice hot cider, with a little rum, and the simple syrup (Guess I'll have to wait until the fall for the cider). On the non-alcohol side-why not use it to moisten a sponge cake - wouldn't that give it an interesting flavor? Or what about a burnt cinnamon ice cream? Now first for the burning of the cinnamon - it felt a little like I was doing a cleanse to ward off evil spirits. I think that is usually done with sage but if cinnamon works too - so be it. The recipe recommended using a small creme brulee torch to burn the cinnamon sticks - like you d

Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Search This Blog