Rice pudding- the challenger

Well, I decided to steal my mother-in-law's recipe for a bit more of a traditional rcie pudding than the stovetop one that we made previously. This one is baked in the oven for about an hour and contains eggs.

Despite the long oven time, it was very easy to make and, in a lot of ways easier to make than the stovetop one. The texture; however, is very different and I have to say that I think I like it better. The eggs make it a bit more custardy and it seems less sweet than the one we made previously. I can see where one night want to serve it with some light cream on top......

Sandy, you will have to make it and compare.

Scones

Wow, I am finally caught up on this recipes! Dayum, it feels good. This is my first try at making scones. Why you ask? Scones typically remind me of dry and not too flavorful “fillers”. Scones are like the desperation pastry for me. Like when I get to Starbucks in a morning on an empty stomach dying for a caffeine injection and the overwhelming need to fill my belly with something, anything, can be quelled by the only appealing thing in their case of pastries, which ends up tasting chalky and flavorless (unlike the glory of their non-fat half decaf pumpkin spice latte). Alas, the reason why I think they should stick to drinks. Anyhow, I digress: I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this recipe. The scones had good texture (not too dry) and flavor. Yes, FLAVOUR AND MOISTNESS!

Some key ingredients to this recipe included oats and a nice hit of cinnamon. The recipe traditionally calls for raisins as the add-in, but you could use chocolate chips, dried apricots, etc. Because I split my dough into two so I could make two different kinds of scones, their sizes ended up being a bit small once I had cut them into wedges. I therefore coined them mini-scones. It’s a revolution.

Can you decide what two kinds I made from the picture?

(hint: raisin and craisins; pecan chocolate)

I cooked them just under the recommended cooking time since mine were getting quite brown within 10 minutes. I also added a sprinkle of sugar on top of each one (because I was worried they would be bland).

Not only did I make scones tonight but while I had the oven on I decided to also make homemade pizzas. I have a great thin crust pizza recipe of Giada De Laurentiis’ from the March 2007 of my Bon Apetit magazine. It’s so quick with crispy, yet tender results (just like they say in the magazine!). I made one with prosciutto and basil and then another with ham and pineapple.

I am looking forward to what recipe will be put to the test next. Car, it's your go.

YUM---rice pudding

Well, it’s been awhile since Sandy’s Test Kitchen has been at work. This week I tackled Rice Pudding that big sis made waaay back, like over one month ago.

I have to say I quite liked it! It’s so easy to do and quite quick, so I am not sure why I don’t make it more since I cook rice practically every other day and almost always have leftovers. I haven’t made rice pudding in a few years…last time I did, the recipe I used wasn’t as sweet and had a strange aftertaste. I enjoyed the level of sweetness and the use of vanilla (strong, but not overpowering). I made it with skim milk and about a tablespoon of cream to make it a bit more silky. I used jumbo raisins and also tossed in a few Craisins. I think it would even be good without any raisins. I would like to try making it using soy milk---another option could be reducing the vanilla, or removing, and serving with warm vanilla soy milk (such as So Nice’s Vanilla flavored soy milk).

Husband liked it a lot. He loves anything that starts with “pud” and ends with “ding” so I was pretty sure it would be a hit. My next recipe test is the scones and then Car and I are caught up! Thank god…I have been suffering from major Perogy Passing guilt.

Down home cooking

Today was a old time cooking extravaganza. Sauerkraut soup and baking powder biscuits with cheese and green onions. Very good. Jason loved both but was concerned that the biscuits were "fat bombs". The biscuits were so easy that it made me wonder why I don't make them more often. I actually just patted them into a round and cut it into 8 equal parts. Certainly much less of a hassle than cutting out rounds of dough with a cutter (the main reason I was avoiding making this recipe in the first place.

The soup was good but I did not each much once I realized that I might inadvertently cause the baby some issues if I ate too much cabbage. But it was good. Included both ribs and sausage in the soup and it had a nice smoky flavor. The irritating thing was that I had tried to make a stock using the ribs and it was so fatty. So in the end, I just boiled the ribs and then ditched the liquid and used beef broth as the soup base. Added 2 cans of V8 to it too so it would take the edge off the kraut.

Back in the Saddle

What better an occasion to bake a cake than a birthday? Yes, husband’s birthday spawned the most recent recipe testing out in my world. Not only did I make Lasy Daisy cake (is it Lasy as in LAZY or Laisy?), but I also made husband’s favorite (and Pass the Perogies tested recipe) of Nana’s Stroganoff.

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how the cake would work out. Halfway through mixing the batter, there was a lot of eyebrow raising going on. This is a fairly typical expression when I venture out into dessert making because it is unchartered territory for me. Like, it was quite thick during the “folding” section until you added the melted butter/milk mixture. Needless to say, I was surprisingly pleased with the result--it is a not too sweet, denser white cake balanced off with a sweet and crunchy coconut topping.

So, the recipe (b/c I think we should throw these in occasionally for our folks that read this site!) just as it came in the e-mail:

"1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot milk
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Topping: 1/2 cup margarine and 1 cup coconut (type not specified but I bet sweetened would be good)
Preheat oven to 375

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together - set aside. Beat eggs until thick and nearly white. Add sugar gradually to beaten eggs. Add vanilla. Fold dry ingredients itno egg mixutre,. melt butter with milk and add to batter. Bake for 30 minutes in a greased pan... (no size shape specified in recipe). Once cooked, remove from oven and add topping mixture.

Topping mixture.... melt half a cup of margarine. Add coconut, spread on cake -= place under brpoiler untol brown"

A few notes: I cooked in a round 9” cake pan. I used sweetened coconut. I think I used about ½-1 cup of coconut with butter for the topping. Margarine worked out fine. I think a tsp. of coconut flavoring in the batter may be nice. I also think drizzling with a nice dark chocolate would be a good final dressing. Easy to make, too!

The Big Cook

If no one has heard of this cookbook before, I would seriously check it out. www.thebigcook.com ...Sandy heard about it in the summertime and proceeded to buy the cookbook (and then came out after I had Grace and made a bunch of meals for me out of it). Basically, the concept of the book is to get together with a group of friends and pre-make a lot of meals that you can then put in the freezer and just make as you need them. I have since turned Lisa on to the book and she suggested that we actually do one of these big cooks. I have a few interested parties so when it actually happens (maybe end of October, early November) I will post how it went. I would not want to do as they say and make meals for 6 entire months as I do like to cook and I think that just thawing and reheating might get annoying day in and day out, but it is great on the days that you know you just won't have time to cook (and is certainly cheaper than those commercial places that you can go to and do the same thing in a commercial kitchen). Anyway, teh authors are also going to present on October 1 at a church in the park so I am thinking of going.

Rice Pudding

I am on a roll apparently and created rice pudding from my left over rice on Friday AM. I love rice pudding. Sadly my hubby does not like it so I rarely make it anymore. Again, I have no picture, this time becuase I did not think to take one. I would be REALLY good, if one used dark raisins (i used golden - they taste great but the pudding looks "washed out"). It would be even better if one used homogenized milk instead of skim. I have thought of a "twist" on this recipe too and that would be to make an asian variation of it. Sandy, you can I can discuss further off-line.

Laisy daisy cake

Fitting name for a recipe given that I have not posted essentially all summer! The cake is pretty simple and homey..... but not sure if it is truly less involved than any other cake that I have made. But a good little dessert for people who don't like anything overly sweet.

Sandy, when you try this - some tips. First, I used a 9x9 pan - an 8 x8 would likely be better. I also baked only for 20 minutes, maybe if you used a 8 inch pan you could go to 25 but not the 30 minutes it said in the recipe. Also, I used sweetened coconut for the top. Very nice. Would post a picture, but I cannot seem to get it to work tonight.

Summer Hiatus

The reason:

Although I don’t really have an excuse, I have to admit it’s no fun to “pass the perogies” on my own. However, I will plod onward and hope the new mom (aka Big Sis) will be able to participate when she can!

Cucumber Salad

I had plans to make Cucumber Salad over the weekend at the cottage. However, we had no Miracle Whip and the local store closed before I realized it, so I made it on Monday night along with fish sticks (yes, it was an easy dinner night...).

I remember having this often as a child, but mum and dad would LOAD it with white onion. Hot, white onions that I would spend most of my time picking out to get to the cucumber although the ratio of cucumber to onion was limited.

Anyhow, we have yet to "dish" out on some of our recipes, and I thought this one is good to share. 'Tis the summer salad season! It such a great BBQ side dish. Well, it isn't in true recipe format, but our usually text diarrhea...

Cucumber Salad
Peel one cucumber. You can also leave the skins on if they aren't too hard. Thinly slice and then slice again so you have halves (you can cut the slices into quarters if you prefer smaller pieces). Put in bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Let sit 30-60 min. and then drain (try to press out as much of the excess liquid as possible). For the sauce, whisk together about 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp of Miracle Whip (not mayonnaise), and 1 tbsp of vinegar. Blend sauce well and mix in with cucumber. For variation you could also add fresh dill, green onion, or thinly sliced onion. For a fusion mix, I would add some wasabi paste with green onion. Serve chilled.

Very refreshing!

Back with a vengeance

Well, I was cooking away this weekend - very traditional fair and some wicked southern bbq.

First up was baby potatoes with dill, onion and cream. I really just winged the recipe. In a past life I would have tried to use skim milk or evaporated 2% milk (to save calories/fat) - but I think that doing so really just wrecked some great baby potatoes. So real cream it was. Amazingly good.

Next up was Alabama BBQ chicken from Steven Raichlen's recipe book, BBQ USA. It was chicken pieces smoked over hickory chips for about an hour and a half and served with a WHITE BBQ sauce made from mayonnaise, horseradish and cider vinegar. Strange concoction but strangely good. A definite make again.....

Finally, we had - well we actually did not try it until the next day - but I did make it that same night - a rhubarb sour cream pie. I felt very southern when I was putting the streusel topping on but I did cheat and use a pre-made pie crust.

Overall a great night for food. I left Sandy with the scones and cucumber salad - guess I should have made those - but maybe the cucumbers for tomorrow night?

Who will reign supreme?

This is in reference to the post of May 23. Guest editorial by Brother-in-law and Sister. They must have made notes (I forgot I even used a garnish). Their reviews rock!

I was in Edmonton earlier this month. Brother-in-law suggested a cook-off. We tweaked the rules and then we conquered…at Iron Chef Sherwood Park!

The rules:
1. We each chose a secret ingredient.
2. We put them in a hat and drew the ingredient.
3. We had 15-20 minutes to plan and write a grocery list. No internet or cookbook referencing allowed.
4. Grocery shopping.
5. One kitchen, three people, and 60 minutes (and only 60) to make one dish with the secret ingredient.
6. Serve and judge (based on originality, presentation and flavour).

The ingredients:
My secret ingredient was smoked gouda. Car’s was mushroom. Brother-in-laws was shrimp. The winner: mushroom
[side bar: First of all, I knew Car was going to pick mushroom and secondly, I knew that would be the one picked!!!! AAGH!!!!]

The first road block was trying to decide what to make. What can you prep, cook, and plate in 60 minutes? We sat in the kitchen, sketched out our plan of attack, then shopped. A major stumbling block was discovering not only the Superstore but Sobeys, too, had very limited mushroom selections. We ended up buying a lot of Portobello’s and not as many shitakes as planned. The fresh oyster mushroom selection was slimy so was subsequently skipped.

The preparation:
Brother-in-law had a one pot effort, due to his burner greedy competitors. This meant he had to be making soup. And being that he is an over the top Asian food lover, it would obviously have to be of the Asian persuasion. I immediately thought of the good ol’ favorite of mushroom soup; however, thought I would take a spin and make it a chowda with some texture added. Carlyn went rich and satisfying with a pasta dish. Sister and I both required two burners so we did some alternating.

There were some tense moments in the kitchen as the three of us sliced, diced, and sautéed our way through 60 frenzied minutes. Brother-in-law found that his competitors were mushroom greedy. “Where's the mushrooms???” screams brother-in-law, as the last shitake gets chopped up into my soup. “Please please BOIL” howls Carlyn as she prays to the Burner Gods to boil in three minutes or less… [Side note: Car almost got disqualified as in the last ten minutes she discovered that she had to cook her pasta through before stuffing. We let that slide.]

The recipes:
Sandy: Mushroom Chowder with Shrimp
Carlyn: Deconstructed Mushroom Ravioli
Bro-in-law: Jay’s concoction
[side note: I know Jay has a better title for his dish but it wasn't guest edited in!]

The ratings from Sandy:
Carlyn's dish: very tasty but salty (blamed on the pecorino), original but not super original, v. nice presentation
Brother-in-law's dish: very tasty but not too mushroomy, original fusion, good presentation
Sandy's dish: mushroomy, original but mediocre presentation (yeesh!)

The ratings from Jason:
Carlyn's dish: Whoa salty! Presentation was really good and it really tasted amazing. Totally something you would get in a fancy restaurant and enjoy. Not the most original, because it was exactly what Carlyn would cook. All the flavors were familiar. Looked wicked and tasted great. I placed this second because of the salt, but presentation was top notch.
Jason's dish: My soup was really good and tasty. Adding chili flakes last minute as decoration on the top of the soup, made it really hot once they were stirred in. Bad call. The soup did not taste much like mushrooms. Used mushroom soy, 2 types or mushrooms, but the broth of the soup and the lemongrass overpowered. I thought I should get bonus points if successful, because you would never order a soup at an Asian restaurant whose feature flavor was mushrooms. Deserved last place, but if I made it for supper…you’d love it. Also, I could never re-create it, no clue what I even put in it.
Sandy's dish: I picked this as the winner. The mushroom soup was really tasty and she used shrimp, which to me was the last thing I think of with mushrooms. She made it work, but although she can paint, she struggled to snaz it up visually. Her mushroom decorations were woody. Cost her the win. I ate all of it.

The rating from Carlyn:
Sandy’s dish: Really good. Love the cream soup. Did not die for the shrimp on top but it looked really pretty. I did not eat the mushroom garnish on top because it was one of those strong porcinis but again – it looked great. This was a dish that I would love to have in the winter time on a cold day.
Jason’s dish: Excellent Asian themed soup. Of course he went Asian themed because that is all that he focuses on from culinary point of view :-). It was a bit hot but only because of the chili flake garnish- if that had been excluded it would have gotten a higher score in my books!
Carlyn’s dish: I loved the way that this looked as I thought that it could have come on a plate from a restaurant….that said, it was WAY TOO SALTY. Helps if you taste the sauce as you make it because had I done that, I would have stopped adding pecorino romano cheese ages before I actually did. Also, it wasn’t that I didn’t know that I had to cook the pasta – it is just that I thought the pasta sheets would be softer and I could mould them into actual ravioli (i.e., seal the edges). Once I realized that that was not possible, I just cooked each sheet and made “deconstructed” ravioli- it was actually supposed to be one big ravioli on each person’s plate that was filled with mushrooms…

The total scores were out of 25 (5,5,10) [guest editor note: Sandy we can’t remember. It was close though. It’s a guess.]
Carlyn 23
Sandy 22
Jason 19

The winner of Iron Chef Sherwood Park: Carlyn. We can't wait to cook-off again in July!