The theme of this month's Daring Kitchen challenge was Peru. Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.
I made the Papas Rellenas as suggested by Kathlyn, but instead of the Salsa Criolla she recommends, I went with a Huancaína sauce that my mother-in-law got from her co-worker who is from Peru. She's been telling me how great it is on potato dishes, so I've been meaning to make it for awhile now. So it was a perfect time to try it out when a Peruvian challenge came up that featured potatoes!
Ok this is sort-of cheating, since I used a box to make this cake. But I promise it was the most complicated box mix I've ever made! A few family members recently took a trip to New Orleans, and brought me back a box of Mam Papaul's Mardi Gras King Cake Mix. Having never heard of Mardi Gras King Cake, nor having ever been to New Orleans, I was pretty excited to try it out. I made it on Sunday, and today being Mardi Gras, decided to come out of my blog-hibernation to post about it.
January's Daring Cook's Challenge was a perfect one for this cold, snowy month - cassoulet. It's a French stew with lots of meat (usually duck or chicken), white beans and pork. This was honestly the most complicated dish I've ever made for the Daring Cooks. It took 4 days! But then I probably picked the most complicated of the cassoulet recipes they provided.
Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.
My favorite restaurant, Cafe Madison, had a spectacular dish on their menu called the Don Quixote - braised short ribs in the most delicious sofrito and rioja wine sauce. They recently opened up into an expanded space next door (the Point), where the short ribs are sadly no longer on the menu (except for the occasional special).
My mother-in-law gave me the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook for Christmas, which had a recipe for braised short ribs.So I figured it was time to re-create this wonderful dish, and along the way make a small step towards overcoming my fear of cooking meat.
I don't even want to actually figure out how long it's been since I've posted, so... very sorry about that. No excuses really, I've just been lazy. But I have been cooking! And I have four dishes queued up to post very soon, including a failed cake, an Italian classic, the best sandwich ever, and a carnivore's dream.
Stay tuned!
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With Christmas cards to write, and presents to buy, and traveling to visit family, I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't have time to do this month's Daring Cooks challenge. Luckily I found a bit of time yesterday to pull this one off, and I was absolutely thrilled with the result.
Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.
Alton Brown is, by far, my favorite TV chef, and the next time I do Eggs Benedict I'll go straight to his recipe. But this time I chose to do the more challenging and complex Oeufs en Meurette - a poached egg on a slice of fried baguette, topped with a red wine bacon mushroom sauce.
Here are some stray pictures from Thanksgiving, some taken by me, and some taken by my cousin Liam, as he likes to steal my camera whenever it's in his presence.
