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.