Monthly Archives: December 2009

Christmas Cookies

Posted on by
3

So, we were gone all last weekend for Christmas-family-visiting, which means we didn’t get a chance to write Sunday’s post. I know you’re all aghast and astounded and are crying over spilt milk, but we are back, and today I’m going to make sure to write for Sunday as well (yes, early!), so that New Years’ partying won’t detract from the blog. That being said, I waited until after Christmas to do this post, because it talks about the presents I made for everyone–cookies (and recipe cards)!

With no further adieu, I give you pictures and recipes!

Choc’ full of burgers

Posted on by
1

Hamburgers are one of the quintessential American foods. They are also fairly versatile, allowing you to enhance the flavor of the beef (or turkey, or veggie, or whatever) patties by adding cheese, mushrooms, and other condiments. Another, slightly different, addition is dark chocolate chips. Since they are mostly cocoa, and not very sweet, they mix well with the ground beef, and give it an unusual, but very pleasant kick. This allows you to spice up your hamburgers without having those extra condiments on hand (or even in addition to them).

–Cory

Food Country: Russia

Posted on by
1

Our next stop on our global conquest of food is mother Russia. Home to two of my favorite things, pirogi and vodka. And while I would love to have a global drink conquest as well, for now we are sticking with food. The food we chose from Russia is pelmeni, which is a meat filled pirogi. The good thing about cooking this was we learned the basic steps to make virtually any filled pasta, although these are more moon shaped than, say, ravioli (but the basic concept is the same).

Back in the kitchens of the USSR

Pumpkin French Toast

Posted on by
Reply

After our pumpkin learning experience, we ended up with a lot of extra pumpkin puree. It only took one pumpkin to fill the pie, and the whole other pumpkin was ours for the eating. So, two Sundays ago, we were starving but didn’t want to go out or spend money on food…which inevitably leads us to creating (or in this case, trying) something awesome: pumpkin french toast. Usually when we are low on supplies and hungry in the mornings, french toast is a quick, easy solution to being hungry. And, what’s great about it is that you can try so many different variations and never have the same kind twice (change up your spices or even adding fruit makes for a brand new breakfast option!)

I know the generic measurements and ingredients that go into french toast, but I often look up recipes on Google to remind myself. This particular time, I somehow stumbled across a pumpkin french toast recipe, which was made with wheat bread (all we had at the time…not that I like wheat bread) and pumpkin–exactly what we had available (which never happens with recipes, let me tell you!) Luckily, because of the spices and the fact that cooked french toast doesn’t really let one taste the bread within, this was delicious. Flavor peculiarities of your bread (for example, if it is wheat) won’t really show up in the final product–hooray for french toast!

This recipe is also fun because it plays on pumpkin pie flavors–with a dash of nutmeg added to the cinnamon, and of course, the pumpkin–but it is still very much a flavor profile that anyone can relate to. Pumpkin in french toast is perfect for us because it is not too sweet (Cory doesn’t have as developed a sweet tooth as I do, especially for anything that isn’t a dessert), and it gives a little extra pizazz that a more basic french toast might lack.

-Ashley

Walnut Oil

Posted on by
1

The spice aisle in the grocery store makes us feel like kids in a candy store. So many different things can be layered to create time-tested or wholly unique flavors. The oil section is recently becoming a favorite of ours as well. It is amazing the different flavors and results you get from different types of oils. Olive oil is always delicious and healthy: extra virgin tastes very distinct and robust, while regular is more easily blended into other flavor profiles. My sister in law introduced me to Grapeseed oil, which is divine because of its ability to make things so light and crisp when used as a frying oil (in her case, she used small pita pieces to make amazing pita chips for dipping.) The flavor is also very faint, making it a good oil substitute into any dish requiring a vegetable oil.

A few weeks ago, Cory and I stumbled across what is now a favorite oil made from toasted walnuts. Yes, you heard that right…. they can make crazy oils out of olives and various veggies… and also from nuts.
walnut_oil_3
As one could imagine, there is a very concentrated nutty flavor to this oil. That said, it is also very delicious, especially when added to hearty foods–for example, sausage cooked in a little bit of this tastes like Germany in your kitchen. Something about the walnut essence gives foods a really wonderful, hearty, earthy, umami even, taste. (Click on umami if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, and it’ll direct you to the Wikipedia article–really interesting stuff, even if you’re not a foodie) My point is, it’s the new arrival in cooking oils, but it’s really a must-try for anyone who needs a bit of oomph in their dishes.

-Ashley