Karin's Recipes: 2008

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Curried Pork with Apples

This one was kind of spur of the moment. I hadn't planned anything for dinner, but there was a pork tenderloin in the freezer (actually there were several, but one expired in January 2007) and some apples in the fridge, so we decided to go with it.

Curried Pork with Apples

Comments & Modifications:

The whole structure of this recipe kind of confused me. I thought that you're supposed to cook pork until it's just barely done, but the instructions have it in the pan for like 35 min. I think it would be better to add the pork and onion to the pan at the same time to speed up the cooking process.
I couldn't taste the apples much in the end, and wished there were more. Also, I think it would probably help to add the apples later in the cooking process so they don't get so mushy.
At the end, instead of adding the chicken stock and covering the pan, I left it uncovered and reduced the liquid to a thicker sauce. To reduce cooking time further, I'd probably add only 1 1/2 cups of stock so it doesn't have to boil down as much.
I used 2 tsp of curry powder, and it really could have used a bit more.
My bouillon is a bit salty so I waited until the end to adjust salt levels. It needed just a tiny bit more.

Verdict: With the modifications above, this is another winner. Dan even liked this and he's really sensitive to pork that's been overcooked. We'll definitely be making this again!

Pumpkin, Sausage, and Sage Pasta

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while. Something about the combination of pumpkin, sage, and sausage sounded so appealing to me, even though I'd never heard of it before. So this week I had leftover pumpkin puree (squash, actually, but same difference) from making pies and decided to give it a try.

Pumpkin, Sausage, and Sage Pasta

Comments & Modifications:

I halved the recipe in case it turned out nasty. Also because dishes like this tend to taste better fresh.
I used whole milk instead of heavy cream. I'm sure it didn't taste as good, but hey, it's the week after Thanksgiving.
I didn't feel like measuring the pumpkin or milk so I just kept adding more till it looked right.
I omitted the cheese.

Verdict: Okay, but not great. The pumpkin had very little flavor, which is really strange when you consider that fresh is usually much more flavorful than canned. I couldn't get a good balance of salt, either; it was either too salty or practically flavorless. The sausage and sage bits were good, at least. It's good enough to eat the leftovers for lunch, but not good enough to get made again. From now on, leftover pumpkin = more pumpkin pie for me.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Mmm, chocolate bread pudding. I ran across this recipe on another food blog, and the author raved about it so much I just had to save the link. I've been waiting for a good time to try it since many of the ingredients I don't generally keep on hand.

So, this past Thanksgiving weekend turned out to be convenient, because we had leftover italian bread from Dan's family's gathering. (We brought way more bread than was necessary.) I thought chocolate bread pudding sounded like a breakfast mood, so I made it on Black Friday morning (we didn't go shopping).

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Comments & Modifications:

There's a lot of changes for this recipe. First of all, I decided a 9x13 pan was way too big for just Dan and me, so I started by halving all the ingredients.
I used whole milk, and did not include any cream. I suspect even skim milk would have worked, not that I'll ever try it.
I didn't have coffee liquor, so I substituted strong decaf coffee from instant.
For the future, I would cut back on some of the sugar and possibly substitute Splenda for some of it. I like sugar, but I like not having diabetes too.
I misread the amount of almond extract and put in almost twice as much. It was good, but probably better to stick with the amount called for.
Instead of 4 oz grated chocolate, I threw in a healthy handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled some more on top before putting it in the oven. This way you get pockets of chocolate in the bread pudding that really provide contrasting flavors.
Next time I'd add a pinch of salt. I'm really sensitive to lack of salt in sweet things.

Verdict: This is really, really good. I'd definitely make it again, next time I have all the ingredients on hand and want to gain a couple of pounds. Dan and I had some right out of the oven for breakfast, and the bread cubes were still all distinct from each other; after cooling it kind of solidified into a chocolatey delicious mass. Either way it's very tasty. Probably not really appropriate for breakfast, though.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

This seemed like Dan's kind of dessert, so I decided to give it a try.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

Comments & Modifications:

I had trouble with the crispy crust. Apparently when using a candy thermometer you aren't supposed to touch the bulb to the bottom of the pan, since then you'll just be measuring the temperature of the pan. Well, I didn't remember that, so my crust is kind of goopy instead of crispy, and it only got more goopy as time went on.
For both types of chocolate I substituted regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. I only keep so much of the good stuff around, and I was worried that I'd use it all up on a recipe that wasn't worth it. This was a good move.

Verdict: At first, I thought these came out really good. The chocolatey part tastes a lot like fudge, and if the crust wasn't perfect it wasn't a big deal. As time went on, the crust got more and more soggy until it was inedible. Even if the crust were made correctly, the bars themselves are so rich that eating one (1/16th of a 9x9 pan) gave me a stomachache. So, while they were good, I wouldn't be surprised if I never make these again. Oh well.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

So, my coworker and I were looking for cookie recipes because we're both in the mood for baking, and she found this recipe. She made them and brought one in for me, and I was hooked.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Comments & Modifications:

This looks like a pain to make, but it actually works out pretty well. You make the crust, and while it's baking make the filling. While the filling is baking, prepare the topping. Then it goes in the oven one more time and you're done!
This was pretty mushy right out of the oven. I put the pan in the fridge for a bit to help firm things up, which helped a lot. I'd leave a good 3-4 hours before cutting (or less in the fridge) to give it time to cool down and firm up so you can get them out of the pan without falling apart.
I sprinkled the pecans on before the rest of the topping, because my coworker said the topping was hard to crumble with the pecans in there.
I'd double or triple the amount of pecans and chop them a little better. I only halved most of mine, and I ended up with 1-2 pieces of pecan per bar. Not really enough.
I multiplied the brown sugar and butter for the topping by 1.5, which turned out to be fine but a little on the sweet side. I ended up using my fingers to crumble and sprinkle, but still got some big sugary sections. No one seemed to mind.

Verdict: These are really, really good. They taste a lot like pumpkin pie, but in a way much more interesting. The crust is really tasty with the oats and brown sugar, and the pecans on top add a lot of flavor as well. I brought these to Dan's family's Thanksgiving, where they were a big hit! Everyone wanted the recipe!

Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

I'm really on a roll today with the reviews, aren't I? Good thing it's slow at work. Gives me time to catch up on my real life.

I bought a bunch of apples for Dan on sale for .99 cents/lb, but he didn't eat them quickly enough and they got weird. Not moldy or really gross, just not quite crisp like you want when eating them with caramel dipping sauce that he's obsessed with. So I started thinking about ways to use them up.

Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Comments & Modifications:

This was pretty easy, and came together quickly.
I like spices, so I added a bit more than what was called for here. This was a good decision.
The batter was very, very stiff. It took some work to stir in the apples and spread the batter out in the pan.
When I added the apples, it looked like it was going to be so much more apple than batter. I was wrong. This isn't very apple-y. I'm not sure how it would work to add more, since it was already so hard to stir in the apples.
After baking a lot of the apples turned funny colors, like reddish or dark green. This may be because I used a metal baking pan. It was kind of gross looking, but they tasted fine.
The brown sugar icing rocked. I know it's disgusting, but I still licked out the bowl when I was done. And *ahem* I may not have been very careful to get it all out when pouring the icing over the cake.

Verdict: This was good, but not great. I took it to work and everyone loved it, but I thought it should have been apple-ier. Also, even though it's thin, the taste of the icing totally overwhelmed everything else. Good thing the icing was super tasty.

Now I only have like 17 more apples in the fridge to use up!

Crockpot Taco Soup

Dan picked this one out for us to try. Every week I ask him what he wants for dinner, and every week he says, "Uhhh . . . I don't know?" So I've started showing him the recipes listed to try on this blog, and then he has a fixed set of options to choose from.

This is good, because he tends to choose stuff I'm not in the mood for and would probably never get around to making. And I would be missing lots of good stuff. Like this soup.

Crockpot Taco Soup

Comments & Modifications:

The recipe as written makes A LOT. I made half and it fit nicely in my smallish crockpot.
Despite halving the ingredients, I added the full amount of spices. (Well, I didn't really measure the taco seasoning since I have a giant bottle of it. But still.) It had just a bit of a kick which is nicely offset by the sour cream. If you really like spicy food I'd add some tabasco.
This calls for just a small amount of meat. That works great for me, since in my opinion meat is optional and easily replaced by beans, but if you really like/need meat you should add extra.
I agree that cheese and sour cream are not optional. I imagine that crumbled tortilla chips would also be tasty added just before eating.

Verdict: This was really good, a lot better than I was expecting. The combination of textures is intriguing: chewy meat, soft starchy beans, crispy corn, soft tomatoes. The cheese and sour cream don't hurt either, of course. I made this during an early cold snap, and it was so nice to come home in from the cold to a bowl of hot soup!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Molasses

It's getting close to Christmas, which means it's time to make cookies. Yay!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Molasses

Comments & Modifications:

I'm not very good at modifying cookie recipes. They're just too sensitive. So I followed this one pretty closely.
I forgot to add the salt at first. I kind of mushed the it in after adding the chocolate chips, which may explain why the cookies were a bit bland. Even so, next time I'd increase the salt to 1/2 tsp. If I used salted butter I'd still add the 1/4 tsp salt.
I omitted the walnuts, because nuts just don't belong in chocolate chip cookies.
This makes quite a lot of cookies. I didn't count, but it was a lot. I had to give them away at work. No one was sad about that.

Verdict: These are pretty good, but I really think the extra salt would make a big difference. The molasses flavor, while strong in the raw batter, is actually quite subtle after baking. I took them out of the oven while still a little wet looking in the middle, and when they cooled they were fully baked but somewhat chewy, and very puffy and thick with great texture.

Beef in Pomegranate Sauce

I can't believe how far behind I'm getting in reviewing recipes. It's actually really, really easy for me to try two or three new recipes in a week, especially if I make something sweet that doesn't count as dinner. But I better keep up with taking notes or it will all be for nothing!

Also, I could have sworn I already reviewed this one. Am I going crazy?

Beef in Pomegranate Sauce

Comments & Modifications:

Instead of leaving the beef in serving-sized pieces, I cut it up into smallish bite-sized chunks. I prefer to cut my food before it's cooked.
I totally didn't brown the beef. Too much trouble. In fact, I wonder if I even read the directions or if I just threw all the ingredients into the crockpot.
I used a bottle of pomegranate juice from an overstock store, and didn't realize at the time that it was part pomegranate, part apple juice. No wonder it was so cheap.
I couldn't find fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, so I used fire-roasted diced tomatoes. They didn't really disintegrate in the crockpot, sadly.
I omitted the raisins, because they're gross.
The meat sat in the crockpot all day while I was at work, so the beef was a bit chewy.
We ate this with rice. Mmm rice.

Verdict: This was okay. I think if I had followed the instructions more closely it would have turned out better. Next time (if there is a next time) I'd use 100% pomegranate juice to avoid the sweet apply flavor, and I'd also puree the tomatoes before adding them to the crockpot. The way I made it it was edible, but I had to really get motivated to use up the leftovers.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Oven-Fried Tilapia

Another week, another attempt to enjoy tilapia. This time I decided to go for something a bit more traditional, since the parm thing didn't really work out. A recipe for crunchy oven-fried tilapia seemed just the thing.

Oven-Fried Tilapia

Comments & Modifications:

I didn't really measure this time either.
I hate throwing away egg parts, so I used one whole egg instead of two egg whites.
The idea of crunchy fish sticks appealed to me, so instead of dipping the whole fillet, I first cut it into strips.
I sprayed the fish sticks with a bit of olive oil cooking spray before sticking them in the oven, to give them a little moisture.

Verdict: This was much better than the parmesan-crusted stuff, but it still didn't completely disguise the taste of the fish. The cornmeal provided some nice crunch and lots of flavor, and for someone who actually likes fish I can see this dish being appealing. I, however, ate my fish sticks with lots of ketchup.

Tilapia with Parmesan Crust

Dan and I have been trying to eat more fish lately, at least once a week. To that end I picked up a bag of frozen tilapia fillets from Wegman's the other day, since I've heard that tilapia is one of the least fishy-tasting fishes.

Even so, when it came time to cook it, I looked for a recipe that would drown the fishiness with other flavors as much as possible. Plus, cheese makes everything better, right?

Tilapia with Parmesan Crust

Comments & Modifications:

I followed the ingredients list, more or less, but didn't really measure anything. I did cut back a bit on the butter and mayo in relation to the parmesan, in an attempt to cut the fat and calories a bit.
The parmesan mixture was too thick to spread very well over the fish fillets. It took a while to get it relatively evenly covered.
It wasn't much of a crust. More of a parmesan glob.

Verdict: I wasn't impressed. Parmesan and tilapia don't really go together at all, in my opinion. I won't be trying this again.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Glazed Delicata Squash

I wanted to try a squash that's less stringy than acorn and easier to cut than butternut, so delicata was the obvious choice. Plus, the delicata squash was just so cute that I had to buy it!

Glazed Delicata Squash

Comments & Modifications:

I halved the recipe since I only had one squash. It made just a little bit more than what Dan and I could eat as a side for dinner.
I didn't have fresh sage or rosemary, so I used dried. Immediately after putting the sage in, I threw out what was left in the bottle because it smelled gross.
Unsurprisingly I did not have "fresh unfiltered apple cider or juice" so I just used normal-people apple juice.
I didn't have sherry vinegar either. There are so many recipes that call for this, I should track some down sometime. Instead I opted to use apple cider vinegar, since the alternatives were white vinegar, raspberry vinegar, or rice wine vinegar, none of which seemed right for this recipe.

Verdict: I thought this was going to be really tasty, but it turned out kind of meh. Now, I suspect this is due in large part to the substitutions I made. The dried spices added a weird texture to the glaze and tasted a bit off (perhaps due to the sage). The cider vinegar, while the best choice available at the time, made the dish a bit too apple-y; I think a contrasting flavor would have added some much needed depth. I liked how easy the squash was to prepare, compared to butternut in particular, but I think next time I'll try roasting it instead.

Buckwheat Cookies

I totally got fun of for making these. I mean, really, buckwheat cookies? It sounds so pretentious, as if adding some buckwheat flour would turn cookies into a health food. Well, I can wish, at least.

Buckwheat Cookies

Comments & Modifications:

No changes to the ingredients.
I used my food processor, which rocks because it's so easy. It wasn't obvious to me at what point the batter came together, since it still looked very crumbly, so the best way to tell if it's ready is to squeeze it together and see if it sticks.
I shaped the dough roughly into balls, and flattened them with the tines of a fork. The cute crosshatch barely survived the baking process, so for the future I would use a flat-bottomed glass dipped in sugar or flour to gently flatten each cookie ball.

Verdict: These were every bit as subtle and delicious as the recipe promises. The cookies were a very unappetizing gray, which combined with the name turned a lot of people off. Everyone who tried them, though, gave a thumbs up. They're like a sandy version of a butter cookie, with extra earthy flavor from the buckwheat. I'll definitely make these again (especially now that I have buckwheat flour to get rid of!).

Almond-Lemon Tea Cake

I've been slacking off with the recipe reviews! Time to catch up!

Here's another instance of a recipe that got made solely because I needed to use up the ingredients from another recipe. It just keeps going and going . . .

Almond-Lemon Tea Cake

Comments & Modifications:

I didn't modify this one at all. I'm too scared to mess with baked goods.
I don't have a stand mixer, so I just used my hand mixer.
I don't have a flour sifter, so I lightly mixed the dry ingredients by hand.
I'm not convinced the lemon zest and orange zest in the batter was really necessary, since I can't taste it at all. Plus, I hate grating zest.
Almond paste is a pain to work with. I had a hard time getting it to break up with my hand mixer, and pieces kept shooting off in all directions. Eventually it seemed to come together, but it took a while.

Verdict: This came out really, really good. The cake is dense and moist and almond-y, and the glaze is crispy and sweet and tart, and together they are perfect. That said, I'd need a good reason to fight with the almond paste again. This really would be great for a tea party, since the cake is very rich so the slices are tiny and cute.

And now I have a box of cake flour to use up . . .

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup

I've never been able to make a broccoli cheese soup that meets my standards, so I had high hopes for this one. Also, I learned from making this soup that I love gruyere.

Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Comments & Modifications:

I used fresh broccoli rather than frozen, and eyeballed how much. I probably used more than was called for, but since it's broccoli, who cares?
I used the gruyere, jarlsberg, and cheddar that the recipe says.
I found that 3 cups of shredded cheese turned into very little cheese in that much soup, so we put more in. Of course, I wasn't measuring the cheese either so I could have been guessing wrong.

Verdict: Despite all the cheese, this soup really didn't taste that cheesy. I added a bit of flour to try to thicken it up, but it could have used more. Also, the cheese kind of gummed onto the broccoli and didn't taste like much. Guess I better keep searching for the perfect broccoli cheese soup recipe.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Groundnut Stew

Here's another recipe that I just couldn't resist, after reading the strange combination of ingredients. It helps that this recipe makes a ridiculous amount of food for very little money.

Groundnut Stew

Comments & Modifications:

This made a ton of food. Dan and I had it for dinner twice, and I had it for lunch at work three times, and there was still a bit left over. That's 7-8 servings!
It's better with more sweet potatoes. I only put in two and wished I had put in the third.
Next time I might try replacing some of the tomato juice with apple juice. You couldn't really taste the apple at all and I think it would have added something.
Again, we cut back a bit on the cayenne to more reasonable levels. A little goes a long way.
I would definitely add the optional cilantro, but at the end so that Dan doesn't have to have any.

Verdict: Dan really liked this, I thought it was okay but edible. It's possible that some of the adjustments above might make it more palatable for me. It tasted a little two dimensional, as if there was an ingredient missing that would bring all the flavors together. Maybe more ginger?

Friday, November 7, 2008

Gateaux Bastille

This is a rather strange recipe, but I couldn't resist making it once I read the list of ingredients. Also, I had some leftover prunes I needed to use up from a sad attempt at Mediterranean chicken a while back. And despite the chocolate, these actually aren't that bad for you, since there's no flour and very little sugar.

Gateaux Bastille

Comments & Modifications:

The liquor store didn't have cute little sample bottles of dark rum, so I used light. I also let the prunes and rum sit in the fridge overnight, which may have contributed to the lack of rum-tasting-ness in the final product.
I used 70% dark chocolate, since I had some laying around. It was fine, except for this next part . . .
I attempted to melt the chocolate in the microwave. I'm guessing the recipe instructs you to use a double boiler for a reason, since the chocolate seized after less than 30 seconds in the microwave. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away, especially since I didn't have enough ingredients to start over, so I did the best I could to mash it back into some semblance of non-seized chocolate. I also added probably another 1/4 c of cream to the chocolate, just to get it soft enough to fold with the eggs.

Verdict: Despite my difficulties with the chocolate, the end result was quite edible. The texture is dark and velvety, and the taste is rich and chocolately with occasional fruity bursts. Still, I probably won't make this again, unless of course I have more prunes to get rid of.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Jambalaya

Here's one that I made quite a while ago when I needed to use up some kielbasa. My modifications mean the resulting jambalaya isn't particularly authentic, but it was perfect for Dan and me!

Jambalaya

Comments & Modifications:

I used a whole u-shaped package of kielbasa, and no other meat.
I halved the rest of the ingredients, except for the tomato paste, where I dumped in two cans instead of one and a half.
I used store-bought chicken broth.
I cut back a ton on the cayenne pepper, and ended up using just a couple of dashes. This gave it a very light spicy taste that would probably work for most people.
I forgot the bay leaves.
For the future, I would add more vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, and maybe something green. It felt like there was proportionally too much rice and not enough veggies.
Also, I'll use the giant stockpot next time instead of the medium one, even for a half batch. It came almost to the brim, and that tomato sauce splashes when it simmers!

Verdict: Tasty! Maybe next time I'll manage to follow more of the instructions. Not following recipes is getting to be somewhat of a bad habit for me.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Curried Chickpeas and Black Beans

Okay, time to start reviewing the recipes I've tried!

Curried Chickpeas and Black Beans

Comments & Modifications: For once, I made this almost exactly the way the recipe specified.

I did leave out the parsley/cilantro because I didn't have any on hand, and I don't think the flavor suffered for it.
Next time I'll add a little extra water towards the end of cooking, because the sauce wasn't wet enough to moisten the rice.

Verdict: This is definitely a keeper. The flavor is wonderful, and served with brown rice it's quite healthy as well! I keep intending to make this to bring to work for lunch, but haven't gotten it around yet. Maybe next week.