It's been a while.

I know it's been a very long time since I've posted in here. It's been mostly due to a lot of changes going on in my life which have taken precedence over being able to post on my blog.

They started out as bad changes, but now they're a bunch of good changes. I'll still be very busy, but I intend to return to this blog and possibly start a couple more.

I also want to update the look of this blog, and I am debating investing in a nicer camera. The one I've been using is now poorer quality than my cell phone camera, so I won't be using it anymore. Since I want to start two other blogs (one focusing on career, one more of a lifestyle blog), I might want a nicer camera.

In general, I want to apologize to anyone who may have been following along since I did drop the ball on this blog and the original intent of cooking all the way through the cookbook. I still do cook frequently though, and I enjoy it. I want to keep posting recipes, experiments, and maybe other challenges for myself as well.

Here's to some good eatin' in the future.

Sesame-Tofu Stir-Fry

I found this recipe a while ago online here. There's a whole bunch of recipes in that series on the web-site, and I plan to do more of them later, but there's so much for me to cook! For my birthday, I received a few cook books that I also want to start cooking from. (Granted, cooking from the Beekman one is always the priority until I finish it.) Plus, I bought one at a book fair recently which is filled with quite a few recipes that are good for you and easy to make. The few that I've made so far have been impressive.

Anyway, here's how this recipe worked for me.

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cornstarch
1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts1 tablespoon sesame seeds1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper1 tablespoon cooking oil1 16-ounce bag frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed2/3 cup bottled stir-fry sauce2 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Lightly coat tofu with cornstarch. In a bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the peanuts, the sesame seeds, ginger, and red pepper. Add tofu; toss gently.

2.  Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add tofu mixture to skillet. Cook briefly, stirring gently, until sesame seeds are toasted and tofu begins to brown.

3. Remove tofu. Add vegetables to skillet; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes, or until heated through. Add stir-fry sauce; cook and stir gently until mixture is bubbly. Stir in tofu; heat through. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts and the scallions. Serve over rice.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the finished result, but I was hungry, so the last thing I was thinking about was taking a picture with my camera. It was super tasty, and it didn't take me that long at all. Plus, I wound up with leftovers that lasted me quite a few work lunches.

Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Crostini

This works well as finger food for a party, or possibly as a side for a large dinner. (Come to think of it, I bet you could sprinkle it with some cheese, heat it up, and make mini-pizzas.) Regardless, it went over well at my party, and I found it simple to make.

Ingredients: 

1 baguette, sliced

E.V.O.O

2 red bell peppers

3 minced garlic cloves

3/4c almonds (I used pre-sliced.)

2 tbsps tomato paste

3/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

After you lay out the baguette slices on the baking sheet, you should brush them with a coat of olive oil and bake them for about 5 minutes until they take on a nice golden brown color. When they're done, you set them aside to cool.

Turn your oven on to broil and adjust the cooking rack accordingly. Cut the ends off the peppers and slice the peppers into flat panels. Put these with the skin side up on a broiler pan and broil for about ten minutes. When they're done, you're going to set them aside in a bowl. Once they're cool, you're going to peel the skin off of them so that you're left with just the mushy insides. 

In a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, heat the almonds and garlic. You want your garlic to start coloring and the almonds to begin to darken. It should take 4-6 minutes. You might want to add the almonds in a couple minutes after the garlic. 

No. It's cool blogger, I like having a strange sideways pic for no reason.

Then you put the pepper mush, the almonds/garlic, tomato paste, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper into a food processor and blend it until it's still a little chunky. Or, if you don't own a food processor, use your blender like I did. (This is why I strongly suggest using sliced almonds since they're not as thick and easier to chop.)

There's the mush before blending and before the red pepper.

And the mush after blending in the red pepper.

Then you spread this mixture on your bread and enjoy because it's delicious.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Rosemary

I kind of cheated on this one. This Beekman Heirloom Cookbook recipe is supposed to be created with a whole chicken. This would require me removing the innards and fussing around with the skin and all that jazz. When I'm making a meal just for me, I don't feel like going through all that jazz. (Truth be told, even when I'm cooking for other people I don't feel like going through all that jazz.)

So, I used pieces of a chicken that had already been sectioned off. I feel like this recipe was a success when made with the sectioned off pieces, but it probably didn't hold onto as much of the flavor as it would have had I gone the route of the whole chicken. Also, mine didn't have skin on it which of course changes the flavor.

Ingredients:

Chicken - pre-cut sections
Salt
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon
1 lb small potatoes cut into 1" chunks
5 garlic cloves, cut into pieces


In the original recipe, you do a lot of stuffing into the whole bird, but again, this is a recipe I cheated on. So here's what I did:

I layered the potato chunks on the bottom with a little olive oil. I cut off the ends of the lemon so the juice could escape, and I added a little in the pan. I then layered on the chicken pieces, and the rosemary, which I'd broken up a little first. I then sprinkled on the salt.

Then I put it in the oven at 425 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

Like I said, I don't think I got the same amount of flavor, but the flavor there was light and nice. The chicken was also quite juicy. 

I generally don't modify the Beekman recipes, but sometimes you have to because you don't have time or the people to warrant a big ol' chicken dinner. Fortunately for me, this worked out in my flavor. (HA. SEE WHAT I DID THERE?)

Smashed Potatoes

I love potatoes. I really like a good mashed potato with all the lumps and bumps. My dad prefers them scalloped. Regardless, when I made these for us both one evening, we both liked them. This is the third recipe taken from the Beekman Heirloom Cookbook for the winter section.


Ingredients:

1 lb white boiling potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup milk

First you have to put all the potatoes in a pan and cover with cool water.

Bring that water to a boil, and then add salt. You don't want the boil to be rolling, otherwise the skin will burst and then the potatoes will become water logged.  You're going to want those to boil for about half an hour, until they can be pierced with a tip of a knife.

Make sure you cook them all the way through. Otherwise smashing them is super difficult. I learned this the hard way unfortunately. 

In a skillet, melt the butter in the oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes, milk, and salt. Then, with a potato masher, mash the potatoes right in the pan. They're going to be super lumpy. When I was mashing them, I actually added more milk just to make them fluffier. I guess that's more of a personal preference than anything else. 

These potatoes came out incredibly fluffy, but with a good lumpy texture. 

Since mine weren't cooked all the way through in the first place, I had to cut them with a knife and let them cook in the pan. Then I could mash them.

I know these are pretty basic potatoes, but they were so good that I plan on making them again in the future. They were the perfect side for a day when you're snowed in like I was. 

Poached Figs

Making these made me feel like a super adult. Like I was having a fancy soiree. An ugly sweater soiree. But, anyway, these are also really easy to make. This is just another tasty recipe from the Beekman Heirloom cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped into the pan *
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds**
8 whole cloves***
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 strips lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 pound dried figs

* Or, if you don't have $11 to shell out for a bean, just use some vanilla extract. I used enough for it to make a "plop" sound when it hit the pan, and I decided that it'd do. AND IT DID.
** Ground coriander? Sure, why not?
*** 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

The Beekman Boys suggest serving this with Blaak cheese, but I didn't do that. A good substitute if Gruyere if you're interested in doing that.

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of water, the brown sugar, the vanilla, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, the bay leaf, pepper, salt, lime zest, and the lime juice. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat and let it have a little party there for five minutes.

My bay leaf looked a little lonely, so I added another one in there. 

Then you pop your figs in and cover your pan. The figs can soak for 30 to 40 minutes. You have to let the figs cool in that liquid too. Then you can serve the little lovelies up.

Figgy wigs.

They absorbed the flavors well, and people seemed to enjoy them. I liked the taste myself, but they wouldn't be something I would sit and eat like a snack with multiples at one go. They're a perfect little food for a party spread though, where your guests can enjoy a few as the evening rolls on. (Added bonus, they make your home smell awesome when they're simmering and for a few hours after.)

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

Earlier this month I had an ugly sweater party, so I made some of the appetizers from the Beekman cookbook. They planned out all of their recipes so well to compliment the seasons that the appetizers were perfect for a holiday party.

The rosemary spiced nuts are crazy easy to make too.

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans*
1 cup roasted cashews*
1 cup unblanched almonds*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

*Instead of purchasing all three kinds of nuts, I bought a batch of mixed nuts combined. I did have some walnuts and plain old peanuts thrown in there, but it's a little easier on your wallet to go about it this way.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To start, I coated the nuts in melted butter and put them on the baking sheet. The Beekman boys suggest you put the nuts on the baking sheet first, and then you pour the butter over them and then toss them. I just did the reverse.

I put the butter on right in the plastic container the nuts came in and shook it up in there so they were evenly coated.

In a bowl, I mixed the other spices. I poured those right in the container too and mixed it up in there by shaking it. It made sure everything was coated, and it kept the mess contained.

Then I baked them for 10-12 minutes. When they're all cool, you can store them for up to two weeks.