Week 5- Recipes

This week I will be doing something a little different. I have decided to do a taste test of sorts. Do you ever get sick of the same old boring grilled cheese sandwich? Well, I know I do & so I decided to find 3 different cheeses and 3 different breads to make some gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. I had intended to use White Cheddar, Gruyere & a Champagne Cheddar for my 3 cheeses, but when I went to my beloved Fresh Market (my gourmet grocery store that I love to go to) they were out of the last two cheeses on my list. So, with the help of a very nice lady that worked there I got 2 different cheeses. So, here are the selections I have come up with for 3 gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches:

Swiss Raclette on Chiabatta Bread

Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar and Basil on Sourdough

White Cheddar and Arugula on Focaccia Bread

Week 4- Results (Bay Scallop Gratin)

One word could be used to describe this dish....fabulous! I was a little worried about this recipe to be honest with you all. I was worried about how the scallops would turn out because I had never prepared scallops on my own. The ingredients were not hard to find, for the most part. The recipe calls for Pernod, which is a French liquor. It has a licorice taste to it, but is supposed to bring out the flavor of the other ingredients it is paired with. To be honest, I forgot to go to the liquor store (in the South they don't believe in selling liquor in a grocery store), so I didn't get the chance to use it in the recipe.I also read online that it is hard to find, so if you want to try it out, be aware it can be hard to locate. To tell you the truth, I hoped it didn't taste bad without it because the thought of putting a liquor that is licorice flavored sounded kind of gross to me. Every other ingredient, except for the prosciutto & Panko, I already had in my pantry. At your local grocery, they sell prosciutto pre-packaged or you can get it at the deli counter. Panko is a breadcrumb that is typically used in Japanese foods. It just is a little thicker consistency than regular breadcrumbs. I found it in the baking aisle of my local grocery store. It didn't take long to put together, but you do need either an electric mixer or you could try it with a hand held mixer. The recipe has you put the ingredients in separate gratin dishes, but I actually don't own them. So, I put it all in one smaller oven dish and it turned out wonderfully! Definitely give this recipe a try if you want a seafood dish that is not only easy, but tastes like you spent hours on it! Bon Appetit!

Week 4- Results (Honey Vanilla Fromage Blanc)

I have to admit I omitted a major part of this recipe! Sorry! I had forgotten to get the Fromage Blanc, so I used the rest of the ingredients without the main one! Fromage Blanc originates from Belgium and the north of France. It literally means "fresh cheese." It has the consistency like yogurt & is often used with honey & fruit (like this recipe calls for.) I cut up fresh strawberries and added that to fresh blueberries and blackberries. The sauce tasted okay, but I think I will re-try this one with ALL the ingredients next time!
When I am doing fresh berries for a dessert, I love to pair it with homemade whip cream. I am a big believer that homemade whip cream tastes mush better than store bought. I love it because not only is it easy, it tastes better and you can have fun with adding different flavors to it. I love to use heavy cream instead of whipping cream because I find the whipping cream to be too thick (like it coats your mouth when you are done eating it...yuck!) The heavy cream is just heavy enough to be whipped, yet lite enough to not stick to your mouth all night! I use a small carton (about a 1/2 cup) of heavy cream & put it in my electric mixer for a few minutes until you notice the cream starting to thicken. Then add 1 Tbs of confectioner sugar (if you don't have it, regular sugar or Splenda will do.) The confectioner sugar works best because it gives a smoother consistency to the cream than the other types of sugars do. I also add a splash (or 1 tsp) of either REAL vanilla extract or almond extract. The possibilities are endless as to what you can add to your whip cream. Amaretto, lemon or orange zest, chocolate (syrup or you can make chocolate ganache), hazelnut, espresso, or mascarpone. After you have added the flavoring, whisk until stiff peaks form. pour over fruit & enjoy!
As for the seeds of a vanilla bean that the recipe calls for, it is easy to work with, but buying them can be a little expensive. Try skipping this ingredient or substitute with vanilla extract & try that. I haven't tried substituting or skipping it, but I encourage my readers to try things out for themselves. Have fun with cooking! Bon Appetit!

Week 4- Recipes

This week I am doing 2 recipes: a dessert & a sea food dinner. I hope they are good & I hope they are easy! Don't let the name of the dessert scare you, it is just fruit with a cream sauce (in plain terms.) It does sound better the way Ina has it though! I will let you know of course :) So, here they are!

Bay Scallop Gratin http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/bay-scallop-gratin-recipe/index.html

Honey Vanilla Fromage Blanc http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/honey-vanilla-fromage-blanc-recipe/index.html

Week 3- Results (Almond Pancakes & Citrus Smoothie)

The citrus smoothie was surprisingly good! I am not a big orange juice fan, but thought I would be adventurous this week. That and my mother-in-law was coming in to town & I wanted to make her a special breakfast. The only thing that was a little bit of a pain, was making the simple syrup ahead of time so that it could cool for 20 minutes. After that, you just put everything else in the blender. I liked it with more ice than the recipe called for because I like a thick smoothie. It was surprisingly good & I even liked the greek yogurt that went in it. I think to make it healthier, next time I might skip the simple syrup & see how it tastes.

The almond pancakes were fabulous!!!! The almond paste was not hard to find. You should be able to find it in the baking section of your local grocery. According to my husband, the almond paste tasted like cookies! The only special tool you need for this recipe was a food processor. If you don't have one, you could try to pulse it in a blender & see how that works. Other than that, the recipe was not hard to make. The whole breakfast is a good one to make on the weekend when you have a little more time to make something other than cereal! I will definitely have these pancakes again! I love the taste of almond & the pancakes didn't have an overwhelming taste of almond. I would encourage even the none almond lovers to at least try it. Hope you love these recipes as much as I did! Bon Appetit!

Technical Difficulties

I have had a problem trying to get the recipes off my blog. If anyone else has had a problem, please let me know so I can fix it. I would hate to know my followers couldn't get the recipes off my blog. You would be missing out on some serious goodness!

Week 3- Results (Rigatoni pasta)

Okay so I know this pasta looks almost the same as last weeks pasta, but the noodles are different, there are mushrooms & the sauce is different. When making it, it seemed the recipe called for a lot of mushrooms. After completing the recipe, there wasn't too many mushrooms at all. I liked the variety of mushrooms the recipe called for, they complemented each other very well. The sauce was wonderful! The Mascarpone cheese with the white wine was delicious! It was a perfect amount of creaminess (is that a technical term?) I liked the firmness of the Rigatoni noodles as well. I have tried plain Mascarpone cheese & I have tried a Mascarpone cheese with a hint of coffee. I know this sounds weird, but the hint of coffee is a fabulous addition to the cheese. Either could be used in any recipe. I also used whole wheat Rigatoni instead of regular white flour Rigatoni. No special tools were needed for this recipe. The Mascarpone can be expensive, but the recipe makes enough that you can cut it in half & freeze the other half. If you make it in to two meals, the cost of the Mascarpone cheese is not expensive. I like to do that with a lot of Giada's past recipes. A lot of cheeses can be expensive, but if it is making enough for two dinners, than it really isn't that costly. I hope you enjoy this past as much as I did. Bon Appetit!

Week 3- Recipes

This week I am going to try two new recipes! Yes, I am trying another pasta dish, but as you will be able to tell with time, I am a sucker for good pasta dishes! Plus, it's cheaper to make than a dinner with meat or fish in it. My other recipe will be a pancake recipe that I am hoping will be a great addition to my breakfast recipes. I am also trying a recipe for a smoothie that I think will be fabulous! So, I will let you know this weeks results as soon as I make them. Here are the recipes:

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/rigatoni-with-creamy-mushroom-sauce-recipe/index.html

Almond Pancakes http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/almond-pancakes-recipe/index.html

Citrus Cream Smoothie http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/citrus-cream-smoothie-recipe/index.html

Week 2- Results

There is only 1 word that can describe this pasta dish...HEAVEN! This is without a doubt my favorite pasta dish I have made. This pasta is along the lines of Fettuccine Alfredo, but ten times more flavorful & indulgent. My tip for this recipe is to keep the Truffle butter out to get soft so it makes is easier to mix in with the other ingredients. Sometimes I tend to leave the garnishes out, simply because they often times seem like something I would do when cooking for guests, not myself. But trust me when I say to add the garnishes to this dish! The fresh chives & Parmesan cheese add more flavor to the dish & make it better! It was super easy to make, no special tools needed & the only substitution I made was using whole wheat fettuccine noodles instead of the noodles the recipe called for. This was really good with the salad I gave the recipe for & sourdough bread on the side. I even added steamed asparagus as a side & that was a nice pairing with the pasta as well. I truly hope you try this pasta dish & hopefully it will become a favorite of yours as well. Bon Appetit!

Week 2- Recipes

Unlike last week, this week is not very healthy. It is a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. The recipe calls for something called Truffle butter. If you are not familiar with it, let me tell you a little about it. Truffles are mushrooms and it comes in two kinds: white and black. The black is not as strong as the white & I have found many uses for it. Truffle butter is great melted as a dipping sauce with artichokes, as a spread on sandwiches ( I will post a great filet of beef sandwich that uses Truffle butter at a later date) and even in scrambled eggs! Truffle butter has become one of my favorite ingredients. You can find it at your local grocery, but it can be cheaper at a specialty grocery store. In North Carolina it is almost $2.00 more expensive at our local grocery than at a specialty grocery store. It can be expensive, but there are many uses for this great ingredient. This recipe calls for the use of Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta, but it states you can use other egg fettuccine. I am going to use whole wheat fettuccine for this pasta (an attempt to make it a little healthier.)
I am also going to include a wonderful salad dressing that is super easy to make & is one I use often. My "standard" salad for the week is easy to make, but full of flavor. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Arugula. It is my all time favorite type of lettuce to use for a salad. It has a peppery flavor to it that makes it very tasty. The recipe calls for mesclun mix, but feel free to use whatever lettuce you like. My simple salad is this: arugula, shredded Parmesan cheese & pecans, then top with dressing. I will post the results of the pasta recipe in a few days. Here are the recipes:

Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tagliarelle-with-truffle-butter-recipe/index.html

Vinaigrette for green salad http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/vinaigrette-for-green-salad-recipe/index.html

Week 1- Results

Last night I made all 3 recipes. I did 3 this week because they all seemed to go well together, but trust me when I say I will not do 3 new recipes EVERY week! Since they were new recipes it did take longer than my preferred 30-40 minute meals. It took 1 1/2 hours to make all 3 recipes. New recipes always take a little longer so don't get scared away by the time it took for all 3 new recipes.

The salmon was WONDERFUL! It will make my weekly dinner menu rotation quite frequently! I made it in my dutch oven, first on the stove top to sear it on both sides & then put it in the oven. If you do not have a dutch oven, a skillet will do just fine. It was super easy to make & only required 1 new ingredient. The ingredient was Agave nectar. It was a little expensive, but you only use a little bit so it will last a long time. It can be found at any grocery store. The sweetness of it made the salmon so good that the Salsa Verde was not necessary with it. The Salsa Verde was good, but I would do it with a more bland fish such as Talapia next time I want to make the salsa.

The salad was very good as well. The dressing was super easy to make. I like to keep a pretty well stocked pantry. Some of you may or may not have things such as red wine vinegar readily available all the time like I do (the recipe calls for it in the dressing), but there wasn't any out of the ordinary ingredients. I loved the taste of the caramelized onions with the fennel. The fennel was not overpowering because of the onions & dressing. It took a little bit of time because of all the cutting, but nothing too bad. The grapefruit was a refreshing addition to the salad.

The quinoa was very good. It is a great source of protein & a very healthy alternative to rice. The next time I make it I will probably add a little less lemon because it seemed a bit overpowering to me, but it has lots of basil in it (which I LOVE!) Basil is supposed to help your skin look healthy & is a great antioxidant. The quinoa is a little expensive so if you are working on a budget you can substitute it with couscous or brown rice (both healthy alternatives to white rice.)

Although all these recipes are healthy, other recipes I make may not be so healthy. I will always try to use healthier ingredients in place of the not so healthy & I will note any substitutes in my posts. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did! Bon Appetit!

Week 1- Recipes

This week I am trying 3 new recipes from Giada At Home. I will let you know how they turn out. Here are links to the recipes.

Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-salmon-with-citrus-salsa-verde-recipe/index.html

Caramelized Onion and Grapefruit Salad http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/caramelized-onion-and-grapefruit-salad-recipe/index.html

Herbed Quinoa http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/herbed-quinoa-recipe/index.html