Breakfast Bars

December 4, 2009 by Stephanie | 2 Comments

I didn’t really know what to call this post. They can’t be called walnut and dried cherry bars, because those are the only two things I omitted from the recipe…I stuck with breakfast bars because I eat these for breakfast. Any suggestions for a more interesting name?

When I saw Ellie Krieger’s recipe for walnut and dried cherry bars, I really wanted to make them. The only problem was that I didn’t have any dried cherries on hand, and I can’t bring nuts to work with me. I decided to give it a try, anyway, with raisins and dried cranberries instead.

They were so easy to make and very delicious. It took about 5 minutes to put the ingredients together and 30 minutes in the oven, and I have breakfast for a little over a week.

Japanese Sweet Potato Chips

December 2, 2009 by Stephanie | 3 Comments

japanese sweet potato chips

When I saw this at the fruit store, I just had to buy it. I didn’t know what I’d do with it, but it was really funny looking, and I had to have it. I picked the longest one in the basket and decided to figure something to make out of it when I got home. It’s a Japanese Sweet Potato. The outside is red, the inside is white. It has less moisture than the orange sweet potato that you’re used to, and I’m pretty sure that they’re not even related. Continue reading …

Asian-Style Chicken Stir-Fry

November 30, 2009 by Stephanie | 1 Comment

stirfry

I’m often inspired by the food I see at the market or in my kitchen, and that’s how I decide what to cook. This recipe is different; I was inspired by my wok. I saw it hiding in its cabinet one morning, decided I wanted to use it, and defrosted some chicken in preparation.

It doesn’t have to take long to produce a healthful and appetizing meal. This meal consists of protein and vegetables thrown into a wok and cooked with soy sauce. If you don’t have a wok, a regular large saucepan will do the trick, too.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

November 25, 2009 by Stephanie | 1 Comment

I like to cook with real pumpkin when it’s in season. About once every year I get my hands on a pumpkin, and after roasting the seeds, I cook with the flesh. Usually I make chocolate-chip pumpkin bread. This year, I decided to try a recipe I saw a lot of online: pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter sauce.

Does anyone serve dairy for Thanksgiving? Instead of (or in addition to) a traditional pumpkin pie, this would be a great seasonal recipe for anyone whose menu wasn’t filled with turkey and meat. Try this for a vegetarian (or your unkosher) Thanksgiving feast!

After pureeing and flavoring the pumpkin for the inside of the ravioli, I made my own dough to wrap it in, and rolled it out by hand. I only got about as far as 20 raviolis before I broke my rolling pin. I suggest using a pasta maker or the pasta Kitchenaid attachment. I have neither, so I went out and bought some wonton wrappers the next day (for less than $3) to form the rest of my raviolis, which I threw into the freezer to save for another day.

Skillet Corn Bread

November 23, 2009 by Jessica | 5 Comments

I’ve made corn bread and corn muffins before, but with my new cast iron skillet obsession, I knew I had to make some in there. The skillet is meat, so I had to find a recipe that I could make pareve.

I decided on a recipe with buttermilk and used rice dream with a drop of vinegar in it. The buttermilk you buy in the store isn’t real buttermilk, anyway, so why not just acidify some milk substitute? (This is real buttermilk.)

Chicken and Matzo Ball Soup

November 20, 2009 by Stephanie | 8 Comments

serve with rice

Matzo ball soup is a traditional Jewish food, usually served in chicken broth. Using the soup broth to form the matzo balls give them an extra rich flavor. Chicken soup has a reputation of having healing properties and it’s also a regular Friday night dinner dish. Every family has its own way of making it, and there are even variations within each family.

Roasted Mushroom Pizza With Fried Egg

November 18, 2009 by Stephanie | 3 Comments

I love pizza. I love making it at home, I love little mini ones, and I love pizza store pizza. Sometimes, homemade pizza needs a little twist. Tomato sauce and muenster cheese can get boring. When I saw Aida Mollenkamp make pizza with roasted mushrooms and an EGG on top, I knew I had to try it.

I made it once before, on one pizza dough, and with only one egg. That was definitely not enough – of course if two people are eating the pie they’ll fight over that lone egg. So this time I made the pizza I split the same amount of mushrooms over two pies, and put three eggs on one pie, and two on the other. The result? Well, aside from absolute deliciousness, it was a perfect meal for a busy/lazy day. I didn’t even to make a side dish that night. If you’re not lazy like I am, a nice big salad would be delicious with this. Continue reading …

Surprise Carrot Cake

November 16, 2009 by Stephanie | 1 Comment

I never knew that I liked carrot cake. Before making this one, I don’t even think I’d ever tried carrot cake. Why would I want to put vegetables in my cake, anyway? Well, vegetables make delicious desserts – trust me!

This carrot cake was a surprise for two reasons: I baked it for a surprise party, and I didn’t have time to add any carrot-like decorations on the top, so it was impossible to know what kind of cake it was from the white-frosted exterior. Surprise!

carrot

The cake was a big hit, and I don’t think everyone would have eaten it just to make me feel good about my baking skills; I genuinely think it was delicious. The recipe is from AllRecipes.com, and since I don’t like baking with nuts, I left out the pecans.

Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes

November 13, 2009 by Jessica | 1 Comment

I used to watch Jamie Oliver when he was The Naked Chef on the Food Network, but only watched his new show, Jamie at Home, once. In that episode he made game pigeon, which did not really look appetizing to me. I never tried any of his recipes, but admired his use of homegrown (or local/seasonal) ingredients. When I read this article last week, I knew I had to take a look at his new cookbook, Jamie at Home. While browsing through it at the book store, I saw a lot of unkosher recipes, and some graphic pictures of dead hanging rabbits and other animals. I did find a few recipes that looked delicious and very easy, and decided to give a chicken recipe a shot at home.

I actually got the recipe from the food network site (it’s the same as the one in the book), and changed it a bit (or a lot) to make it a little easier. Maybe I’ll try the original one next time…

Apple Cranberry Crisp

November 11, 2009 by Jessica | 2 Comments

apple crisp

It’s cranberry season! That means I get to buy bags and bags of cranberries and bake lots of desserts with some and freeze the others (you can keep them in the freezer for about a year – just throw the bag in the freezer and that’s it!).

Well, when I added too much sugar to an apple crumble recipe, I knew that adding the recently bought cranberries would be perfect to save the dessert from being too sweet. With that addition, it occurred to me that this is a great fall dessert!

apples