Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Since we've officially entered grilling season, here's another grilling recipe.  These are very simple to make but I do recommend using carrots with the tops. I find that carrots with tops are usually thin and much sweeter and I think this recipe just tastes better with them. Carrots in Foil Packets 1 bunch of carrots (tops removed and saved for stock) 2 t dijon mustard 1/4 c Vinegar (Kressi preferred) 2 cloves garlic (minced) 2 t Rosemary 1/2 c olive oil salt/pepper Tear off a decent size sheet of aluminum foil. Place carrots in center. Mix ingredients for vinaigrette. Pour over carrots and seal foil packet. Place on grill and cook until tender - about 15-20 minutes. The vinaigrette infuses flavor into the carrots. I suppose if you wanted some char marks on them you could remove them from the packets and place them right on the grill to get a little color.

It came a little thicker than usual - probably could've used more liquid I mentioned my mothers beef stew in my first post regarding the pressure cooker (or my fear of pressure cookers).  I thought for Mother's Day this would be an appropriate posting. I know every time I see a recipe with "Mom" in the title I find that it is either really a good one or it's not.  I think for the "not so good" ones sometimes it is just nostalgia that makes it taste good. But I think this is the best tasting stew in less than a half hour and that's not nostalgia talking.  I've tried to make a stew by the traditional method of cooking it for several hours, but it just doesn't come out the same.  The vegetables become too mushy and flavorless, even if you add them later.  In the pressure cooker, the vegetables stay slightly firm and very flavorful. Beef Stew 1 medium onion, chopped oil 1lb stew meat, cut into 1" cubes 2 clove garlic, chopped 3/4 ...

I love watching all the cooking shows and saw this idea for roasting vegetables on America's Test Kitchen.  Before they roasted them, they put them in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften them up.  This way it takes a little less time for them to roast.  I thought I would give that a try and threw together some ingredients I had sitting around. Miso Roasted Parsnips & Carrots 1 lb parsnips 1 lb carrots 1 leek 1 T white miso 1 T soy sauce 2 T toasted sesame oil 1 T honey 2 T mirin Cut vegetables on the bias into even sizes. Place in dish and put microwave for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients. Place vegetables on silpat in roasting pan (or line pan with foil for easy clean up). Pour mixture over vegetables and stir. Roast at 400 for 30 minutes or until tender and caramelized, stirring every 10 minutes or so. What is it about roasted vegetables that make them taste oh so much better than just regular old vegetables??? T...

Now once I get a job don't expect so many posts in one week and don't expect to see two new recipes tested out in one go. That just isn't going to happen. But it was a big cooking day (I also made bread and mayonnaise - those will be other future posts). First out of the box was fish sticks.  Yeah, yeah I know sounds real boring but they really came out good.  This would be a real good gateway recipe to get a kid to like fish. Now I technically started out using this recipe from Cooking Light that I've had sitting around since 2011. I adapted it quite a bit. I liked the idea of the pumpkin seeds and panko but wasn't too enthralled with the rest.  Plus it uses two egg whites - ugh not those pesky left over yolks again! So I decided to just use whole eggs. How much fat are you really saving by just using the whites - not enough. Now maybe if it were warmer and I was interested in making some ice cream, those extra yolks would be worth it, but not today. Fish Stick...