Zette Loves the Kitchen

Zette is as bad as the dogs about hanging out in the kitchen. He loves to sample everything. Don't worry, I didn't use the Parmesan he ate out of for the dinner I prepared for my company the photo was taken last week. I love the second photo of him - it's perfect the way he just happens to be licking his lips. I had to distract him with a cat treat to get him out of the way so I could take a picture of the ingredients used for the pizza. He was being so funny they way he wanted to be right there to watch me work. If he was human (a step down, in my opinion) he may be a chef!

Heavenly White Porcini Pizza

I made the "Heavenly White Porcini Pizza" on Saturday for my dad and me for lunch. I changed quite a bit about it. First of all, I did not have the right cheeses: Parmesan and fontina. I had used all the parmesan for the eggplant dish, and I was not able to find fontina cheese. So I used mozzarella and manchego cheese (all I had). Instead of parsley (which I don't care for), I used dill. Also, I knew my dad would not like a pizza without a sauce, so at the last minute I decided to add tomato soup for the sauce (I didn't have any sauce and no money to buy any). The crust was the only thing I did exactly the same, and it is the best pizza crust ever - really soft and yummy. When I was sauté-ing the garlic, mushrooms, and onion (I added the onion), I accidentally burned the garlic and onion, so I wasn't able to put any on the pizza, just had to pick out the mushrooms, but they tasted like garlic. This is an award-winning recipe, so I would like to try it again without the sauce and the right cheeses. But it was still pretty good, an 8 1/2. (I'm eating leftovers right now for an early lunch.)

Frittata Bites With Chard, Sausage, and Feta

Friday evening I made the "Frittata Bites..." Again, I could not find Swiss chard, so I used spinach. Also, I used veggie sausage instead of the real thing. This was another success and would be a great brunch item on my menu. Really good, a 9 1/2. I think sour cream and maybe even salsa on top would push it to a 10.

Root Beer Baked Beans

On Friday I also made "Root Beer Baked Beans." It was one of those recipes I was intrigued by and just had to try. They were a bit disappointing; they were good, but not great. I added about half a jar of honey to it and that really improved the flavor. I used veggie bacon instead of actual bacon (of course), but did everything else the same (until I added the honey). Mom and I had these after the eggplant dish. She said the more she ate it, the more she liked the taste (She didn't try it w/ honey), but did not like the onion. I liked the onion. By the way, the silly picture of me in the surgical mask is what I decided to try to not feel like I've been pepper sprayed when I chop onions. It worked! All in all, I'd give this dish a 6 1/2 pre-honey and an 8 post-honey.

Eggplant Parmesan Rolls With Swiss Chard and Fresh Mint

Friday I made the "Eggplant Rolls..." They are the recipe featured on the cover of the magazine. As you can see by my photo, my eggplant rolls do not look so nice and neat and fancy. But they were very good - a 10! I made them for lunch for my mom and she really loved them (took home leftovers). I could not find Swiss chard, so I substituted it with spinach. And I forgot to brush the eggplant with olive oil before I broiled them, but it was still very tender. I would call this dish a big success and would be great on my menu!

The Little Red Cat Specialty Drink

I decided "The Little Red Cat" would need a specialty drink that represented the luncheon's name. This is what I came up with. I give it a 9. I'm not sure it would be something everyone would like though. But I really like it. I'm especially happy with the way my ice cubes turned out. I had originally wanted round ice cube trays, but haven't been able to find them. I forgot I had the heart-shaped trays. The goal was always to add red hots to the ice cubes, and it turned out be perfect for the heart shapes, as it shows in the photo of the unfrozen trays, the red hots fit a perfect heart. Then when they were frozen, they look so pretty, I wasn't expecting that, it was a good surprise (I thought the red hots would be floating in the middle, but I like this better). I don't quite have the portions right yet, but it's a simple drink - club soda, cinnamon extract, vanilla syrup, and half-and-half. I got a lot of suggestions from Nicole at work for a red drink, all sounded good, but none of them reflected Corin's personality. That is the purpose of the name of the luncheon, so therefore, the purpose of the drink. It is sweet and spicy - it totally reflects Corin. I love it! I just need to maybe add red food coloring, and find some great red straws (the fancy, twisty kind). A few more tweaks, and it will be a 10!

P.S. I have photos to post of a dog costume contest I went to yesterday, but it's getting late, and I still have more to do, so I'll post them later. But it was fun, I brought Bailey as a dinosaur again,

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto

After the cookies and wraps, I later made (5 hours later!) "Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto." There was the option of fettuccine, so I used that instead of the hard-to-find tagliatelle. I give it a 7. Only because I think it called for way too much basil, and I like basil better in small quantities. Next time I'll make it with a lot less. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I'll substitute the basil for dill. That would be good. Also, it's supposed to have a corn pesto on top (as the name says), but I don't have a food processor, so I just had to put it on top without it being pesto-like. Still not bad, just didn't like all the basil. Also, I couldn't find pine nuts, so I used peanuts and toasted them in the toaster oven. And it called for bacon. I cooked some veggie bacon, but decided at the last minute not to use it - I still don't think it would have tasted good with that on top. Maybe. Anyway, not a bad dish, but not great. I would like to try again with a few changes.

P.S. Note the yummy looking dessert on the cover of the magazine this recipe came from. It's "Blackberry, Lemon, and Gingersnap Cheesecake Pudding." That is on my wish list to try. Maybe next payday? Instead of buying gingersnap cookies though, I want to use the "German Molasses" cookies I made last week.

Pancetta-Wrapped Dates Stuffed With Manchego Cheese & Mint

After the cookies I made "Pancetta-Wrapped Dates Stuffed With Manchego Cheese and Mint." I first saw this recipe in February in "bon appetit" and was very intrigued. I wanted to try it with veggie bacon instead of panchetta. And yes, it tastes as good as it looks! A 10! Wow! I couldn't find the right dates, so I just got the ones in the baking isle. They are supposed to be stuffed with a mint leaf and the cheese (By the way, I am surprised I found the manchego cheese - I had never heard of it before. It is really good!), but since I got the wrong type of dates, I just split them open and filled them with the mint and cheese (as in the photo) and then wrapped the veggie bacon around them. Any way, they are so yummy, a perfect mix of sweet and salty - the only thing I would change is that I should have added a little more cheese. This would be a must have appetizer on "The Little Red Cat" menu!

Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Cookie

This morning I made Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Cookies. Not too bad, but a bit dry. I'm not a big fan of peanut butter cookies because they tend to be too dry (unless the baker under cooks them, then they are just gross!). They had crushed up "Butterfinger" candy bars in them. I give them a 7 1/2. I was thinking they would be better with a chocolate drizzle on top. I will say, however, that the peanut butter I chose was a brand I had never seen before, "Peanut Butter & Co.," and it was made with white chocolate. It is amazing peanut butter (easily the best I have ever had) and would be good all by itself on pretty much anything.

Mexian Scrambled Eggs

This was just scrambled eggs mixed in with the leftover ingredients I had used to make the "Mexican Stuffed Peppers." Not a bad invention. I give it an 8.

Where are our cookies?

Jonah and Bailey were in the kitchen the entire 2 1/2 hours I was making cookies. I had to snap (& post) this cute picture. They were anxiously waiting for me to drop something. Plus, they like to taste-test the cookies too!

German Molasses, Oatmeal Drops, Rosenmunnar, & Snicker Doodle Cookies

I went cookie crazy today! I was only going to make snicker doodles, but as I was glancing through my cookbook, I saw too many that looked interesting, so I decided to make 1/2 batches of 4 kinds of cookies. (I'm listing these in alphabetical order because I'm weird, but I did not make them in this order.) I've had the cookbook in the photo for a long time (probably 20 or more years). I think it may have been the first cookbook that was mine and not a family book. It was the first time I started putting ratings in the cookbook on items that I had made so I knew not to repeat a bad cookie recipe. Anyway, 2 of the cookies I have made before, and 2 were new.

I made: 1) German Molasses Cookies II - These are my favorite of the day and would definitely go in "The Little Red Cat" bakery. I give them a 10! They are chewy and sweet and really yummy. It was interesting because the recipe had me melt the butter, molasses, and brown sugar, then add to the dry ingredients. So when I formed them on the pan, they were warm and soft. They were supposed to be rolled out with a rolling pin, but because my counter space is so darn small, I hate to roll cookies out in such a tiny space, so I just pressed them flat on the cookie sheet.

2) Oatmeal Drops - When I first taste tested them, I gave them a 7. They were missing something. So, since I had added pure maple syrup to the recipe (my idea), I decide to drizzle the maple syrup on top and put them back in the oven. This really helped bumped them up to a 8 1/2. I made them a little too thick though. I can see by the last time I made them that I had rated them a 10. I'm guessing it was because they were flatter and crispier. That would definitely help. They are a little too thick, but they are moist and tasty. (the pure maple syrup came from my Aunt Paula's farm - they make & bottle their own)

3) Rosenmunnar - Never heard of these before, but they are a basic thumbprint cookie with only 4 ingredients. They called for raspberry jam, but I only had some freezer jam from one of my mom's friends (can't remember which one). I think it's plum, and it's pretty good. The cookies are so-so. I give them a 7 1/2. I had added some lemon juice at the last minute to make the dough less boring, and that helped, but still something missing. Maybe almond extract would be good, or some finely chopped nuts in the batter.

4) Snicker Doodles - A classic, I've made them lots of times before. I used to have a crush on a man at the college I worked at in the late 90's and he always loved my version, so I made them quite often to bring to work. I see I rated them a 10 in the past. Maybe I'm more picky now; I'd give them a 9 today. They are supposed to be rolled in cinnamon-sugar, but I have a pre-made mixture of cocoa-cinnamon-sugar (my invention), so I used that instead. They would be at the bakery on a rotating basis, but not all the time.

Anyway, that was my fun cookie-making day!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

I tried another cooking experiment yesterday. This time I was successful! I used the concept of stuffed peppers, but made them Mexican-style. I stuffed them with veggie "beef"

crumbles, southwest seasoning, re-fried beans, diced tomatoes, onion, and Mexican-style cheese. I put salsa and sour cream on the top (on off to the side for more). I think I could have even added black beans and rice, but I was afraid of adding too much. They were really good. My dad came over so I made them for him and he really liked them and took some home. Yeah, a good experiment! I know, my presentation is messy, but it sure tasted good! My only complaint was that I had to use a regular onion because just I was about to chop it, I saw mold, and had to run to the store, and the one close to home does not have sweet onions. Also, I think the peppers were not the best quality, but I couldn't help that part. I also prefer red peppers, but the ones at the store were really weird shaped (tall ad skinny), and wouldn't have worked for stuffing. I rate this one a 9 1/2 and would definitely put it on the menu at "The Little Red Cat."

A Failed Experiment

Wednesday afternoon I was excited to try a new dish. I wanted to improve upon the "Lemon Mushrooms With Noodles" that I made on Sept. 26. The title to today's blog gives away what happened - it was indeed a failed experiment. I also did not get any photos because I had forgotten my camera at work.
Here was my idea: use angel hair pasta instead of the Chinese-style noodles, added sweet onion, and poppy seeds. I kept the mushrooms and lemon the same (except I grated instead of peeled it). So far, so really good. It smelled amazing while I sautéed the mushrooms and onions. The lemon peel and juice also made the whole kitchen smell wonderful. But here's where it went wrong... I read in a magazine earlier this week (won't say which one) to substitute butter with plain Greek yogurt in any recipe that called for butter. It would be healthier and taste better. Healthier was probably true, but not the taste! I am positive it was the Greek yogurt that ruined this dish. I only ate 2-3 bites before tossing it, and I really hate to waste food. I would only rate the new lemon mushroom noddle dish as a 2. I want to try it all again but use butter or maybe even sour cream or ricotta cheese.?
I was really frustrated because I hate to fail. And I should have listened to my gut, which told me not to use the yogurt, but I trusted the magazine instead of my intuition.
For someone who wants to run her own luncheon someday, I should not have created something so disgusting. But failure leads to success if I don't let it get me down and can learn from my mistakes. So I'll try again with a new idea for stuffed peppers this weekend. Wow, was I actually just positive?