Week 8- Recipes

Here's this weeks recipes. One is a Giada recipe & the other is an Ina recipe. Enjoy!

Parmesan Chicken http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-chicken-recipe/index.html

Butternut Squash & Vanilla Risotto http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/butternut-squash-and-vanilla-risotto-recipe/index.html

Still waiting on a new camera!

Sorry about the boring look of the blog lately! Our camera broke & we haven't gotten around to getting a new one. But that soon will change & I promise I will get pictures up of the new recipes as soon as I can!

Week 7- Results

Sorry it has taken me so long to get the results to you for the 2 recipes from this week. They both were really easy, which is great for a weeknight meal. The artichoke gratinata will be on my weekly dinner menu rotation VERY OFTEN! Did you know that artichokes have the most fiber of any vegetable? Granted this calls for bread crumbs, but overall it is healthy. Especially for a fast dinner side dish. 2 things about this recipe that I substituted: I used Panko bread crumbs instead of regular. I did this simply because the Panko has more of a crunch to it & I was afraid the regular bread crumbs would just get lost in the artichokes texture. Panko bread crumbs are Japanese bread crumbs & there isn't any other difference than regular bread crumbs other than their thicker texture. I liked the crunch on top that the Panko gave it, yum! My other substitution was the Marsala wine. I didn't have any & the only thing close to it I did have was cream sherry. It tasted fine to me. I googled substitutes for Marsala & it said you could use various liquors (some of which I didn't have) to mix. It said sherry could be used in a mixture, so I just winged it & used my cream sherry. Like I said, it tasted fine to me, but maybe one day I will try it with the Marsala. Other than that, there weren't any strange ingredients, although the frozen artichokes were a little expensive. No unusual cooking utensils were needed either. It was a great side dish that I really liked.
The Fusilli pasta was pretty good. It too was not hard to make & didn't require anything out of the ordinary. I thought it turned out good, but wasn't one of my favorite Giada pasta dishes. I liked its simplicity & it felt healthier than other pastas to eat because it was lighter than some other pastas I have made recently. I absolutely love Asiago cheese though, so that definitely made it better!
Try out these recipes for yourselves & let me know what you thought about them. Bon Appetit!

Exciting News!!!!

I was just at one of my favorite places on earth to shop...Target! Anyways, they now have a new line of cookware from Giada! I was soooooooooo excited! I bought 2 items & will test them out & let you know how they are. I want to try one of her cookware pans because if they are good quality & cook well, that would be GREAT because it is at a lower price point than other brands of cookware. I love Giada so I hope these products are good! I will let you know!

Week 7- Recipes

This week I wanted to try 2 new Giada recipes that looked really good & really easy to make. Those 2 things are very important to me when cooking (I will try things that aren't easy, but for a weeknight dinner, the easier the better!) So, without further ramblings, here are this weeks recipes:

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/fusilli-with-spinach-and-asiago-cheese-recipe/index.html

Artichoke Gratinata http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/artichoke-gratinata-recipe/index.html

Week 6- Results from Valentine's Day Dinner

I was very excited about this weeks recipes not only because it was for a holiday, but because I had never tried Gorgonzola before. Whenever there is a holiday or any special occasion, my mind always goes to the same question first..."what am I going to make?" My life often times revolves around food. Now that can be a good thing, and that can be a bad thing (still trying to get in shape after the 3rd baby), so thank goodness my other passion has become exercising. Focusing back on the food, I was disappointed in the outcome of the dinner! I am very sad to say this. It wasn't that the food was bad, it was all the Gorgonzola together that made it a bit much. I am still new in my passion for cooking (and maybe this is where cooking school would help) & I think I was trying to pair up foods that had similar ingredients, but probably should have gone a different direction in my choice for a side dish. I will break it down for you recipe by recipe now.

The Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Gorgonzola butter was my husband's favorite of the evening. It was not hard to make and not too time consuming. The Gorgonzola was a little on the expensive side, but you only need 3 ounces of it, so it isn't terrible. The beef was the most expensive, but I got it on sale so that was not too bad. Would have cost more if we had gone out to a restaurant to get it. It also helped that I used my beloved new AllClad D-5 Stainless Steel saute & simmer pan. That was my Valentine's Day present & I must say it cooks wonderfully. Now, you don't need this particular pan, but I am just saying it did help to have a pan that wasn't a non-stick pan. The dish did turn out quite good (with me being a not-so-lover of meat.) The wine sauce was tasty & the Rosemary Gorgonzola butter complemented the wine sauce beautifully. I must say it did make A LOT of the butter, so next time I would cut the recipe in half. I also served steamed asparagus with the Rosemary Gorgonzola butter on top & that was VERY good!

The Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Risotto was an interesting experience. I had gotten this mushroom risotto from the store a few weeks ago (before I found the Giada Risotto recipe), so when I had found it, I thought I could combine the 2 recipes. Well, it may have worked out okay except I started the Risotto too late (it should have been the first thing I started because the steak was done well before the Risotto), I was trying to figure out how to make the 2 recipes work together & cut it in half (I am never good at this) & stressed because all the other food was done just as I was starting the Risotto. I had never made Risotto before, but it really wasn't hard at all. A little time consuming, but the overall recipe was not complex. It probably would have been okay except I forgot that I had cut the recipe in half & added the amount of Gorgonzola for a full recipe. Needless to say it was VERY Gorgonzola tasting. I also didn't use dried Porcini mushrooms because I couldn't find them. I used crimini instead & just sauteed them with the onion. I must admit it was too much flavor that night, but I had some for lunch today & it wasn't that bad. I really like risotto a lot, but if I were to make this recipe again, I would remember to cut down the Gorgonzola amount!

The Brownie Pudding was without a doubt THE BEST THING OF THE NIGHT! It was really easy to make & didn't require anything too out of the ordinary as far as ingredients went. I always have cocoa powder in my pantry, but if you don't you can find it at your local grocery store (hopefully!) The batter was to die for (and I am not one to eat batter.) When we ate it, it was warm and gooey goodness. It had a harder crust, but when you got to the middle it was a cross between a brownie and a mousse. It was so good. It was very rich so do serve it with vanilla ice cream to off-set the richness of the chocolate. You have to make this dessert! It is one of the best I have ever made! I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did eating it. Bon Appetit!

Side note- sorry there are no pictures for this week. I really wanted to take some, but our camera broke on Valentine's Day, so I tried with my phone, but it didn't do the food any justice. Sorry! Next time I make the pudding, I will take a picture of it I promise!

Week 6- Valentine's Day Dinner

I wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day Dinner. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach (and lately, mine too!) And seeing that I married to the best man in the world, I am going to make something he loves...meat! So, here are this weeks recipes. Hope you enjoy & get inspired to cook for that special someone this week too.

Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Gorgonzola Butter and Red Wine Sauce http://http//thefreshmarket.com/recipes/recipes_details_review.aspx?RecipeID=1545

Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Risotto http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/gorgonzola-and-porcini-mushroom-risotto-recipe/index.html

Brownie Pudding http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/brownie-pudding-recipe/index.html

Week 5- Results Grilled Cheese

Sorry it has taken me so long to get the results out. The taste test with the grilled cheese sandwiches turned out really well. I liked all 3 of them, but LOVED one in particular. My favorite was the White Cheddar and Arugula on Focaccia bread. I loved the creaminess of the cheddar and the peppery taste of the arugula with it. The Focaccia bread was fabulous (as always!) I love the taste of Rosemary that is on the Focaccia bread and how it makes anything you use with it taste wonderful.
The sandwich I liked least of all was the Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar and Basil on Sourdough. I think it was the Raw Milk that I had a hard time with. The very nice lady that helped me at Fresh Market said that it would melt well, and it did, but it is an unpasteurized cheese. I think from being pregnant for so long & being told not to eat unpasteurized cheese, my body just didn't warm up to the taste. The FDA requires the cheese to be aged for 60 days so that it is safe from potentially harmful pathogens. The lady at Fresh Market said this cheese was aged for 180 days, so I figured it was safe to consume. Apparently, unpasteurized cheese is more flavorful. Who knew? My husband loved the Raw Milk sandwich the best, so I guess different people, different tastes!
The Raclette sandwich was okay. I think I needed to add something with it like Ham or something because it tasted to plain. The Chiabatta bread was good, but a little overpowering of a bread to use without anything accompanying the cheese.
I also went and got some Gruyere because I love this cheese & couldn't have a taste test without it. I must say the Gruyere and basil on Sourdough was my favorite of all the grilled cheese sandwiches I made. So, there you have it everyone. You can have fun with recipes you think are boring & are tired of. As Ina would say, "we are just turning up the volume on an old recipe." So, go turn up the volume on an old recipe! Bon Appetit!