Crumpets

I made this recipe as a birthday gift for my sister's boyfriend, who is inexplicably obsessed with crumpets. I brought them to Sunday dinner at my grandmother's, intending to give them to him when everyone else gave him their presents after dinner, but they were gone before I even took my coat off.

Insalata Bianca in a Parmesan Cup

Oh boy, this month's Daring Kitchen challenge really focused on a weakness of mine - creativity. I can take a recipe and replicate it to a tee, and make all sorts of dishes come out great, but I really fail at being creative. Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com.

For the bowl, I went with my most comfortable medium - cheese, of course. And the best type of cheese I could think would harden into a bowl is parmesan. That was the easy bit. Then I figured it had to be filled with something cold, as anything hot would too quickly melt the cheese, so salad seemed the obvious choice. But I didn't want to go with a plain, green salad. Instead I made a marinated Insalata Bianca - a white salad with a variety of marinated white vegetables and lemon vinaigrette dressing. 

Papas Rellenas with Huancaína sauce

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! 

Mardi Gras King Cake

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.

Cassoulet

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.

Braised Short Ribs

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.

Happy New Year!

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!


E