Kitchen Challenge – Week 4

Up this week we have Beef Wellington.

I used this recipe (they say it’s Julia Child’s recipe – I don’t know for sure).

My first issue was Monkey.  While making the marinade, she managed to get into my spice cabinet and got the garlic powder open and decided to add some to the pot cooking slowly on the stove.  I do believe that is all she got in – and I do believe it was just a small shake. 

Then Monkey decided to help with the mushroom mixture.  I got the wine set up to the side, waiting to put it in when the mushrooms were ready.  I turned around to give Little Man more pieces of sweet potato and she took her opportunity to grab the wine and dump it into the mushrooms – way earlier than it should have gone in.  I cooked off all of the liquid and added another splash in hopes of it having the right concentration of wine flavor in the mushrooms.

And THEN Monkey took it upon herself to dump the marinade mixture into the mushroom mixture (again, while I was tending to her little brother).  Monkey had it in her head how this dish was supposed to be done and she didn’t like my way, apparently.  I think I did a good job salvaging it when I took out as much as I possibly could with a spoon. 

I’m not sure if the sauce should have been strained.  The instructions said nothing of it, but I would have preferred the sauce without the extra chunky bits from the marinade in it. 

SO, even with all of that working against me, it turned out delicious.  The individual sections of this dish were really easy.  Doing it all at once with a cranky (sick) baby and an extremely mischievous 2 year old…  I wouldn’t recommend it. 

How did yours turn out (Is anyone else trying these? Anyone?  ANYONE?)? 

Remember the rules – you need to post a picture and the recipe you used on your blog and post your post link in the comments (or for non-bloggers, on the LTRLT fan page on Facebook).  Deadline for submitting is Friday.

This week is Napoleons.  I’m very much looking forward to this one.  I do believe I’ll be making the puff pastry at the same time instead of buying it – meaning this week will probably be a two-fer. 

Enjoy your kitchens!

Kitchen Challenge – Week 3

Week 3 was mole. 

No, not the rodent. 

Mole is a Mexican sauce.  This one posed a problem for me.  I couldn’t find dried Ancho peppers at the grocery store.  That’s part of the fun cooking in the boonies.  After a search online, I found I could substitute 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder for each pepper.  Probably not quite the same, but I didn’t have many options without zig zagging through the city of Bangor for something I more than likely wasn’t going to find at the other stores, either.  (I checked 3 different ones).

I used the Rick Bayless Smoky Peanut Mole recipe – made by Cookin’ Canuck with Pork Tenderloin (found here).  I paired it with Saffron rice (from a pouch – I’ve got 2 kiddos not feeling well and needed easy peasy!) 

The mole itself really wasn’t difficult – nor time consuming since I was skipping the dried peppers step.  The smell while it was cooking reminded me of cabbage rolls, which made me nervous because I don’t like cabbage rolls!  It didn’t taste like them, though.  It was ok – not something I’d want to make on a very regular basis, but we thought it was pretty good (Monkey didn’t try it – sick kiddos and all that – she doesn’t have much of an appetite). 

How did yours turn out (Is anyone else trying it out?)? 

Remember the rules – you need to post a picture and the recipe you used on your blog and post your post link in the comments (or for non-bloggers, on the LTRLT fan page on Facebook).  Deadline for submitting is Friday.

This week is Beef Wellington.  I’m looking forward to this one.

Enjoy your kitchens!

Kitchen Challenge – Week 2

Week 2 was coq au vin. 

Once again, I went to Alton Brown.  This was by far one of the most labor intensive meals I have ever prepared.  Like the soufflé, I didn’t find it difficult.  It just took a long time (not to mention it sits in the fridge overnight).

I used frozen pearl onions, eliminating the first step (boil & peel).  And I used Cabernet because we happen to have quite a few bottles in our “wine cellar.”

It got great reviews around the table (well, minus Little Man – he refuses to move past 2nd foods, so he’s still on jars until I can start grinding my cooking for him.  Stubborness.)  I can see making this again down the road – perhaps when we have visit for dinner.

How did yours turn out? 

Remember the rules – you need to post a picture and the recipe you used on your blog and post your post link in the comments (or for non-bloggers, on the LTRLT fan page on Facebook).  Deadline for submitting is Friday.

This week is mole.  I’ll admit, I’m nervous.  It doesn’t sound very enticing to me.  But, I’m willing to give it a whirl!

Enjoy your kitchens!

Kitchen Challenge – Week 1

Time to check in on the kitchen challenge!

Week 1 was to  make a soufflé.  I used Alton Brown’s Cheese Soufflé recipe. 

My soufflé turned out perfectly.  It puffed up just right and didn’t deflate until I scooped out servings.  I have to be honest and say I didn’t find it that difficult to make.  The most difficult part about it was having the kids on my feet, which was completely my own fault.  I should have made it on Sunday like I had originally planned so T could entertain the kids for me (I won’t make that mistake again!).

My non-egg eater (T) was a champ and gave it a try.  He obviously didn’t like it.  Monkey didn’t eat much of it but she’s been eating like a bird for the past couple of weeks.  I was also not a fan.  I’m not that big on eggs either and have to be in the mood for them.  The consistency of this was a major turn off.  I think for anyone who enjoys eggs the dish would be delicious, though.

How did yours turn out? 

Remember the rules – you need to post a picture and the recipe you used on your blog and post your post link in the comments (or for non-bloggers, on the LTRLT fan page on Facebook).  Deadline for submitting is Friday.

This week is coq au vin.  Chicken.  Wine.  How could this not be good?

Enjoy your kitchens!

Recipes of the week(s)

I didn’t share any last week.  Just when I’d gone and gotten myself all caught up, too.   I’ll keep it simple because I have a lot to share.

First, do you remember my green bean concoction from a few weeks ago? 

I sautéed a chopped shallot in a splash of olive oil. I then added green beans and a splash of chicken broth and cooked it until it was warmed through. I added a handful of toasted pecan pieces to the finished product. It was really tasty. I will say my green beans were a little soggy - but I would expect that since I was using some of my frozen garden stash. With fresh beans, I'd cook them to crisp tender. I also had a thought yesterday that adding a small handful of chopped prosciutto before serving would be another good variation to this. YUMMY!

I used almond slivers this time.  I can’t wait to have our fresh garden stash as opposed to the ones I have frozen from last summer!   There are endless variations you can make of this.

Chicken, Mushroom and Radicchio Lasagna was pretty good.  It’s the first time we have radicchio and I’ll admit we were both nervous when we tasted it after it was wilted/mixed into the mushrooms.  It was really bitter, but that bitterness baked off.  It was really time consuming to put together, though.  I’m still up in the air as to if I want to save it or not because it was so labor intensive.

Barbecued Chicken Pizza was really easy and really yummy.  It was a spur of the moment dinner so I didn’t have any zucchini but I put mushrooms instead.  Delicious.

Baked Pasta e Fagioli was alright.  Monkey wasn’t crazy about it, but T and I liked it well enough.  I’m not sure if I’m going to save this one either, though.  “Well enough” doesn’t mean an automatic spot in my recipe box.

I was very “meh” about Chicken Pot Pizza.  T enjoyed it and Monkey picked out what she wanted (the chicken and crust).  I found the sauce needed something.  I’m going to try it again and maybe add some thyme or wine to the sauce to give it something extra. 

Broccoli Calzones were pretty tasty.  T didn’t like the Pastry Crust dough the recipe called for so I’ll probably use my own pizza dough when I try the other filling recipe we were interested in in that article.

Image from Fresh Magazine

Beer-Braised Kielbasa with Cabbage and Mustard Sauce was really good.  I think I’ll make it again on St. Patrick’s day because it just feels like a good Irish dish. 

Okinawan Gyoza was shared with me by one of LTRLT’s fans on facebook.

• 4-5 leaves chinese cabbage, minced
• 1 bunch nira, minced (I used chives)
• 2 large green onions, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small piece of ginger, grated
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• Dash of Japanese soy sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs peanut oil
• 1 pound ground pork
• 4-5 minced shitake mushrooms
• Gyoza skins (wonton wrappers)

Pour boiling water over cabbage and allow to sit for 30 seconds, then drain and rinse with cold water.  Combine with remaining ingredients and mix coarsely with fingers.  Place a tablespoon of filling in gyoza skins and crimp edges.  Place a small amount of oil in frying pan and heat.  Place gyoza in pan and fry over medium heat until lightly browned on one side.  Add 3 tbs of water to pan and cover.  Allow gyoza to steam a couple of minutes.  Serve with a dipping sauce of soy sauce and sesame oil.

My wrappers only took a teaspoon of filling.  I ended up cooking up the remaining filling at the end because Monkey didn’t like the skins but loved the filling.  We also found it salty, but I may have put more than the recipe called for (not sure – it was a hectic evening).  I also over browned them – like I said, it was a hectic evening.  This is an absolute keeper.

Last but not least is Pork Roast with Sherry-Plum Sauce.  This is a slow cooker dinner.  I had no plum sauce on hand and didn’t want to go to the store and a friend suggested I try blueberry jam instead.  T RAVED over dinner.  I got lots of “This is REALLY good.” as opposed to the usual “It’s fine.” comments.  Monkey loved it, too.  This is also an absolute keeper.

Also, don’t forget about the kitchen challenge!  Make your soufflés this week and we’ll check in on Monday to see how they turned out!

Enjoy your kitchens!

I’m issuing a kitchen challenge

While quickly catching up on some blog reading this morning, I found this over at Inspired Kara.  It is a Top Ten Challenge.

Image from Bon Appétit

I’m going to do this challenge, taking on one item from the list per week over the next ten weeks, starting with a soufflé next week (my menu and grocery shopping have long since been planned/done for this week).

I challenge you to join me. 

We’ll check in weekly.  You need to post a picture of your dish and share the recipe you used on your blog and link back here.  Or, if you don’t have a blog, post your picture directly on Living the Road Less Traveled’s fan page on Facebook.

We’ll have fans vote on the images each week to get a weekly winner for the best looking dish.  At the end, we’ll then vote on the best of the best for an overall winner.  The best looking dish will win a prize.  (I haven’t figured out a prize yet – suggestions welcome.)

First up is Soufflé.  Pick what ever soufflé recipe you want and get cooking! 

Who’s in?