[ Update ] Indian Potato Salad

Good afternoon, my fellow friends!

I apologize for letting my blog fall to the wayside yet again (I know, how many times have I said that now?). I've (still) had my hands full for the past while and haven't had much time to document each and every cooking adventure. However, rest assured that I haven't stopped cooking and do so every time my schedule allows me to!

Last night, for example, I made Indian Potato Salad from Food Network's site again.

What I used, with modifications in brackets: (Note: I doubled the original recipe)
·  6 tbsp grape seed oil
·  1 cup chopped red onion
·  3 tbsp chopped garlic
·  2 chopped tomato
·  2 tsp turmeric
·  1 tsp whole mustard seeds (instead of 2 tsp of brown mustard seeds)
·  1/2 tsp cumin seeds (instead of 2 “pinches”)
·  1/2 tsp crushed red chili peppers (my own addition)

·  3 tbsp curry powder (instead of 6 tbsp dried curry leaves)

·  1 tsp cardamom seeds

·  pinch of salt

·  2 lb baby red potatoes, washed and cut into quarters

·  3/4 cup low-fat sour cream (instead of 2 cups regular sour cream)

·  1/2 cup mayonnaise (my own addition)

·  1/3 cup water, optional**

My thoughts:

Oh my. Where do I even begin? This was such a hit amongst my family and it was hands down one of the best potato salads I have ever had/made. I really have to hand it to Bal Arneson, the creator of this recipe. This was far better than my initial attempt at this recipe. It is the perfect blend of spices, and the flavours really explode in your mouth. I highly recommend this if you love curry!

As an aside, I got the mustard seeds at my local bulk food store; they did not come in powder form, only whole, so that was what I bought. With the mustard seeds in a bag, I attempted to crush them by pounding on the bag with a hammer but to no avail! I was in a pinch for time, so I used them whole. Fortunately, after cooking, these did soften up a fair bit, so don't worry about anyone choking on the seeds.

Also, I discovered that if you cut your potatoes into smaller chunks, it absorbs more water and as a result, you may not need to add water. The particular variety of potato that you use also probably affects how much water you need, so use your own discretion in determining how much water, if any, to add.

I wish we hadn't all devoured the whole thing so quickly so that I could've taken a picture to show you all. But is definitely going into my regular rotation of salads, so I will take one next time.

That is all for now, my friends. Happy cooking!

-KG

Indian Potato Salad

Hello, my fellow foodies!

I was watching "Spice Goddess" on the Food Network while at the gym the other day, and Bal Arneson (the chef) was making Indian Potato Salad. I was seriously salivating while I was huffing and puffing through my workout, but the thought that I would have some room to "reward" myself afterwards with some exotic, spicy Indian potato salad was good motivation.

Here is the original recipe, courtesy of Food Network Canada.

My modifications:
·  Omitted brown mustard seeds
·  Omitted dried curry leaves (instead, just gave it a few sprinkles of curry powder)
·  Added 1/2 tsp of salt
·  Added 1/2 cup of whipped salad dressing (Miracle Whip)
·  Used cardamom instead of cardamom seeds (not sure if they're the same thing)
·  Used cumin instead of cumin seeds (again, not sure if they're the same thing)

My thoughts:
I didn't make this until about a week after I'd watched the segment on Food Network because we didn't have red potatoes. I finally found the time to pick some up this week and give this recipe a try.

This was super delish, and fairly quick and easy to make.. two thumbs up! This recipe gets bonus points because it allows you to make some pretty significant changes without compromising the turn-out.

In hindsight, I think the addition of chopped green onions just prior to serving as well as bacon bits would have really given this a nice kick. Of course, adding bacon bits makes this less Indian-style. Anyway, this was such a hit last night that I plan on making this again tonight!

I would love to hear how yours turned out. Happy cooking :)

-KG

Fra Diavolo Sauce With Pasta and Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Hi all!

I'm very sorry for being M.I.A. lately. I have had a lot going on lately, but I finally managed to put some time aside to make pasta and pulled pork.

Fra Diavolo Sauce with Pasta (click here for the recipe from Food Network Canada)

My modifications:

- I did not add oil while cooking the pasta, and so I only used a total of 1 tablespoon for this recipe.

- I added 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a splash of brandy, a dash of garlic powder, a dash of ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar, 1 chopped fresh basil leaf and 1 tsp of minced garlic while sauteeing the seafood. I served with some grated Parmesan.

- I don't like my pasta too chunky, so I pureed the tomatoes.

My thoughts:

- I don't think adding that tablespoon while cooking the pasta would have helped the flavour in any way, so why add the extra calories?

- All the extra seasonings/herbs/condiments I added were necessary, I felt. With these modifications, I thought this dish was just okay. Without them, I would imagine the dish would be quite bland.

- I felt it needed a deeper cheese flavour like Asiago or mozzarella. I didn't have these on hand, otherwise I would've added them.

- I only had frozen cooked shrimp. Uncooked shrimp would have definitely given better results, as all the flavours would have penetrated the shrimp better than the cooked variety.

- Overall, a mediocre dish. I think more oil is needed, not while cooking the pasta, but to saute the seafood. Cheese and more seasonings/herbs are definitely needed.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (click here for the original recipe from All Recipes) 

My thoughts:

Okay, I made one huge mistake. I cooked the pork (I used pork butt instead of tenderloin) in both the root beer and BBQ sauce, instead of cooking it in the root bear and adding the BBQ sauce at the end, as per the recipe's instructions. The result? An overly-sweet sauce. I attempted to rectify this by dumping another half a bottle of BBQ sauce, but the dish could not be salvaged. (My guests said they enjoyed this dish, but declined in taking home leftovers.)

 

Would I make this again? Possibly, but I would definitely scale this down a lot; for even 5 guests, this yieldd a lot of food. And, of course, I would definitely make sure to add the BBQ sauce at the end!

Next up...

Hello all!

I came across some blogs while surfing through other Food Network users' food photos, and came across these:

Cheesy Spinach Macaroni (link)
Lemon Ricotta Souffles (link)

They both look divine. The latter link is an adaptation from another recipe. Here is the link to the original recipe:

Sweet Cheese Souffle with Compote of Cherries (link)

From skimming the ingredients, I think I have more of the original recipe's ingredients. I can't wait to try these out!!

-KG

Banana Crumb Muffins

Bonjour, bonjour, toute le monde!

Let me start off by saying that I actually took a photo for this recipe, Banana Crumb Muffins! Yay :) Actually, I baked mine in a loaf pan, so technically, it was banana bread, and also, I didn’t remember to take the photo until after cutting and eating a slice (whoops!). But a picture nonetheless, lol!

Anyway, please click here for the original recipe, courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

My modifications:
·  To compensate for using an 9-inch loaf pan, I baked mine for 45 minutes (without changing the oven temperature).
·  To cut down on calories, I did not make a crumb topping and reduced the sugar from 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup.
·  I used 1/3 cup white and 1/3 cup brown sugar instead of all white.
·  I used 3 extra-ripe bananas and blended them to save me a bit of work.
·  To give it a richer flavour, I added 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 3/4 tsp cinnamon.

The result:
...was fantastic! I have made this numerous times, and it has never failed me. I really recommend this one if you love bananas! I'd love to hear how yours turned out, so please share :)

-KG

Peppered Shrimp Alfredo

Hello!

I made Peppered Shrimp Alfredo with some adjustments, and it was delicious! Please click here for the original recipe, from Allrecipes.com.

And here is what I did differently...

·  I halved the recipe.

·  I omitted the parsley, Romano cheese and mushrooms because I did them on hand.

·  Instead, I used approximately 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels. While it was cooking, the aroma the dish produced was amazing.

The end result was great and very flavourful. Also, the colour of the corn and the red peppers really added to the presentation. A simple recipe that I will definitely make again. Thanks for reading!

-KG

KG-Style Mushroom, Pea & Corn Risotto

Okay, my second post of the day. After a dry spell, I'm on a roll now, aren't I? ;) 

I made risotto last night and *I have pictures*! Yay!! I finally remembered to have my camera on-hand before consuming the food or packing it up in drab Tupperware, lol.

Okay, I just have to say one thing upfront. I don't know what it is with me but for some odd, unexplicable reason, I always find that I have to cook my risotto for about 4-5 times longer than what most recipes state. Case in point: last night, I cooked my risotto for over 1.5 hours! But anyway, they turned out well and my sister enjoyed them (even though she is not normally a fan of risotto).

So here is the recipe.

Mushroom, Pea & Corn Risotto

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock

1 tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 cups white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tbsp margarine

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh

Grated parmesan, optional
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat chicken stock. Cover and keep warm over low heat.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add margarine and saute mushrooms and lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Set mushrooms, in their juice, aside.

3. In the same skillet, add oil and saute onions until translucent, about 1 minute. Add garlic and continue to cook.

4. Add rice; stir to allow oil to evenly coat rice. Turn heat on high and add wine. You should hear a crackling sound. Continue stirring mixture until wine is fully absorbed.

5. Add dried thyme and parsley. Mix well.

6. Add approximately 1/2 cup of the heated chicken stock. Stir continuously until liquid is fully absorbed - it is okay if you feel like you are almost toasting the rice. Continue adding stock and stirring until rice is fully cooked through (for me, this was approximately 1-1/2 hours). If by the time you have used up all your stock, and the rice is still not cooked through, try a bit of the rice. If it has enough flavour, use a bit of boiled water to cook further. If you feel it needs more flavour, heat some more chicken stock.

7. Add peas, corn and cooked mushrooms to risotto. Mix until well-blended.
8. Place in serving bowls. Top with grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

Tip: If you have a tendency to need to cook your risotto for a very long time, like myself, then I would suggest that you double the recipe.

I promise to post pictures soon. Enjoy!

-Kitchen Girl

KG's Beef Burritos

Hello again, my fellow chefs!

So it has been awhile since I blogged and I apologize. For a few weeks, I felt I'd lost my touch and that nothing I cooked was turning out. I think I was stressed. I still am, but I think it has eased down a bit.

Anyway, on Monday, I made burritos for my sister to bring to school for lunch the next day. They turned out really well and they were my own creation :) They really hit the spot if you enjoy Mexican food. The recipe is as follows:

Beef Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• 1/2 medium white onion, diced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning, adjust to your liking (recipe to follow)

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/3 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen

• Salt & pepper, to taste

• Flour tortilla

The ingredients below are optional. Adjust all to your liking.

• Sour cream

• Shredded cheddar cheese

• Plum tomato, diced

• Black beans (if you feel like indulging or if your waistline can afford it, refried black beans taste a lot better, in my opinion!)

• Guacamole

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté and translucent, approximately 1 minute. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add ground beef and taco seasoning; stir until almost fully cooked and drain excess oil. Add corn and continue stirring until fully cooked. Season with salt & pepper.

2. Spoon approximately 1/3 cup of the mixture onto a tortilla. Top with optional ingredients, if desired.

I made mine with everything listed in the "optional" list except guacamole and black beans. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love guacamole but they're not in season and are rather expensive. Also, I strongly recommend the use of taco seasoning. If you don't have it, try to whip some up (it's super easy) or buy some at your local supermarket. I burrito just isn't the same without it.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of BILL ECHOLS from Allrecipes.com.

Taco Seasoning I (link)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight.

If you made this recipe, I'd like to hear how yours turned out!

-Kitchen Girl

Some (very early) mornin' cookin'

A very early good morning to you all, folks!

I have a lot on my mind lately, and couldn't sleep. I've been up since 2:30 this morning! I listlessly laid in bed for about 2 hours and decided that I wasn't going to fall asleep, so I might as well do something productive, like make my lunch. 

I decided to make Poulet au Paprika (Food Network). I was trimming the fat and skin off the chicken legs for the Poulet au Paprika recipe when I thought to myself, Man, I never realized how smelly raw meat is! That was when it occurred to me to check the best before date, at which point I discovered the chicken had gone bad :'(

I then remembered that I still had some asparagus from when I made the Salmon Wellington. I also distinctly remember my sister saying that the asparagus was hard and tasted "not fresh", and me realizing that I forgot to trim them (doh!). Anyway, I hadn't trimmed the asparagus today and was about to throw the chopped up pieces on a skillet. I tried to justify not trimming them by saying to myself that I would be increasing my fiber intake, but I knew I was lying to myself; who was I kidding? I was just being lazy, haha. Also, I had never trimmed asparagus before. So, take note, my fellow aspiring cooks, if you have not trimmed asparagus before, because I have learned an easy way to do so! (Yet again, I should have taken pictures, but it's upstairs and everyone is still asleep. I promise to eventually take and post a picture of this because I'm not how well I can explain it!)

First, I held an asparagus stalk perpendicular to me. Using a steak knife as a fruit peeler, I peeled the husks but quickly realized how much 'meat' this took off the asparagus. I decided to try a different approach. I lay the asparagus stalk on a cutting board, and with the steak knife perpendicular to the axis of the stalk, I used the very end (sharp end) of the knife and applied light pressure, removing just the outer husks! I was so proud of myself. I self-taught myself how to trim asparagus, without the help of any Youtube video or guide. Haha!

So I just sauteed the asparagus with a few droplets of oil. No spices, seasonings or even salt. Nothing fancy, but healthy! (By the way, for those of you who don't know, it is good to eat your veggies with a bit of oil or oil-based salad dressing because there are some nutrients in veggies - and fruits, for that matter - that are fat-soluble. If something is fat-soluble, it means that it dissolves in fat. The health benefit of this is that our bodies will better absorb the nutrients! Examples of nutrients that are fat-soluble include vitamins D, E and K, to name a few).

Anyway, next, I made a crab and mushroom quesadilla. I was not following a recipe; I just threw this together. I chopped two white mushrooms into small pieces and sauteed with a teaspoon of oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Next, I added two teaspoons of drained canned crab meat and cooked for a minute. I then added a squirt of tartar sauce and a generous teaspoonful of mayo; I cooked for about 1 minute. I then removed the pan from the stove and added some chopped fresh dish. Now for the tortilla. In a skillet, I toasted a tortilla and added some shredded mozzarella cheese. (I also had cheddar but cheddar has a stronger taste and I didn't want the cheese to overpower the filling.) I topped with the crab mixture. Delicious!

Now that I know that I have enough to bring for lunch to work, I think I'm going to try to catch a little bit of shut-eye before work. I am actually quite sleepy now. Oh, it's going to be a long day!

Have a wonderful day!

-Kitchen Girl

Butter Chicken!

Wow, I just did it - I made butter chicken! I think I was intimidated by its exotic flavour, but it turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be. I did have to make a trip to the grocery store to pick up a few spices, but I'm glad I gave it a shot! (When I told my friends, they were all in awe that I had even attempted to make it, lol.)

Anyway, I used a recipe called No-Butter Chicken from Food Network. Check out the link here. I wish I had taken a picture of it before I had devoured most of the dish!

It was quite (hot) spicy, although I would consider myself to be one to able to take spice quite well. Maybe it was the combination of all the spices? The flavour was not bad, but I thought the cumin was overpowering (then again, it could be the garam masala recipe that I used, which also had cumin in it - see my last post) and that the sauce was too thick. Overall, I think I would give this a 3.5/5. I think the quantities of the various spices needs to be tweaked a little. Or maybe, Butter Chicken needs butter after all? I will keep you posted on this matter, folks ;)

As a side note, I had the Spicy Sweet Potato Soup (see my last post) for lunch yesterday and today, and as I had suspected, the more I have it, the better I think it tastes!

Another side note: One of the commentators on the Allrecipes web site (where I got the Garam Masala recipe) suggested using the Garam Masala with a bit of brown sugar to make "chai tea". I just tried it and definitely would not recommend it. The spices did not dissolve and instead sank to the bottom, so that the last few sips were extremely spicy. I must admit that the flavour did somewhat resemble that of chai tea, though. But remember, chai tea is, well, a tea (with dried leaves/plants that will infuse your drink with flavour), and this, a mixture of spices. That is my suggestion, anyway.

So that is it for tonight, my fellow chefs. I hope you all have a wonderful evening, and until next time!

-Kitchen Girl

In case you were wondering

Good morning to you all!

For those observant folks out there who noticed the time stamps of my posts and are wondering why I posted four blogs in a matter of a few minutes, I had another blog page and decided to change my site and transferred all my other posts to this one. 

Anyway, I thought I'd tell you about a really interesting soup I made last night. The soup is called Spicy Sweet Potato Soup. I decided to post the recipe here since I'm going to make a few references to the ingredients and quantities.

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup (link)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

salt to taste

1 large roma (plum) tomato, seeded and diced

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and lime zest. Set aside in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend.

2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add sweet potatoes, and chicken stock. Season with cumin, chili flakes and ginger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

3. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or regular blender. If using a counter top blender, puree in small batches, filling the blender just a bit past half way to avoid spillage. Whisk peanut butter into the soup, and heat through. Stir in lime juice and salt.

4. Ladle into warm bowls, and top with a dollop of the reserved sour cream, a few pieces of diced tomato, and a sprinkle of cilantro.

As you can see from the list of ingredients, we've got an unusual (in my opinion) combination of flavours. But do not be intimidated. The end result makes me reminiscent of a Thai dish (what with the peanut and lime flavours). Further, this was very quick and easy.

I did, however, make some changes. First, I microwaved the sweet potatoes on high for 4 minutes to reduce the cooking time. Second, I replaced half of the chicken broth with water to reduce the sodium content. I did not add any salt in the end, and I think the soup might have been too salty if I did not make the substitution. Next, I halved the peanut butter because I was wary that the flavour would be overpowering. Lastly, I did not use cilantro because I had none.

I would rate this 3.7/5 because I am not very used to the flavour combination. The good points are that it is very quick (took me about 20-25 minutes total) and easy. Also, it makes for a good winter meal because the spices really warm you up. Of course, the health factor is important, too. I think after having this a few more times, I would give this a higher rating. As a final note, I would really recommend the sour cream topping and make sure you use lime (or lemon) zest and not juice! I think it would really compromise the flavour.

-Kitchen Girl 

Things I'd like to make

1) Sushi - Definitely at the top of my list! So expensive, yet (seemingly?) simple. Can't wait for the price of avocados to go down, though.

2) Butter chicken - Mmm.. Who can resist the rich, succulent flavours of butter chicken? I've found a few recipes that look really good. Seems like they all require garam masala, an Indian condiment. I just found a pretty simple-looking recipe on Allrecipes. 

Easy Garam Masala (link)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions: 

Mix cumin, coriander, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl. Place mix in an airtight container, and store in a cool, dry place. 

 

3) Poulet au Paprika (Food Network) - I've got all the ingredients! Can't wait to try this one! It's got red chili flakes (my current fave condiment). Just wish I wasn't at work now so I could get the chicken thighs out of the freezer to defrost.. Actually, I wish I wasn't at work, period. Lol ;)

Feel free to comment below and let me know what you'd like to make! 

-Kitchen Girl

My sister is one lucky gal

.. because she's got a sister who loves to cook! I made her pasta for breakfast. 

I made "Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream". To see the recipe, click here.

Anyway, I decided to make this because I boiled some pasta a week(?) ago and wanted to make some sauce for it before it goes bad. 

This was a simple recipe and I didn't really make any measurements, only "eyeballed" the amounts. I also added a few extra sprinklings of garlic powder, a dash each of dried thyme and ground white pepper. Also, I didn't have any Italian sausages on hand, and used chicken hotdogs in lieu of them. I would rate this 4/5 because I had to tweak it a bit. 

By the way, this recipe calls for crushed red peppers, which is my current go-to ingredient to give any dish a bit of a kick. I loves it! 

Alright, folks. Until next time and happy cooking :) 

-Kitchen Girl

As promised!

Good morning! Hope you all are having a fine start to your day.

Okay, now to finally divulge the details of my horrendous first attempt at chocolate lava cake. Why was it horrendous? It was not horrendous in taste, but texture, because my "cake" was actually nothing short of a chocolate soup. I kid you not! Literally, soup!

After pondering for weeks (again, I kid you not), I finally figured out where I made some (pretty major) blunders. First, the unit of chocolate in the recipe is in ounces, and unfortunately, this term is foreign territory for me. [ How many people have a scale in their kitchen for measuring food, I ask you? Not many, I can say with almost 99% certainty. I like to use measuring cups. There is no ambiguity in them, they are very economical, and not least of all, they're universal! Okay, I should stop. I'm just looking to put the blame on someone else. The errors were purely my fault :P ] 

So anyway, without a kitchen scale, I had to resort to looking for the metric equivalent on Google. I believe I used approximately 1.5 cups of chocolate discs (same thing as chocolate chips, only they're shaped as discs). Also, the recipe stated the oven temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and usually when recipes do that, the Celsius value is stated in brackets. This particular recipe did it the other way around, and had the Fahrenheit in the brackets, like such "200 C (400 F)". Not noticing the units, I baked at 200 F for 20 minutes, when I was only supposed to bake for 12 minutes. When I removed the "cakes" from the oven, and realized in dismay what they looked like, I added a couple of heaping spoonfuls of flour in an act of desperation [ who would want to throw out chocolate ]? I baked for yet another 5 minutes. The result was very "flour-y" cakes, not only in texture, but also in taste! Yes, the taste of the flour was very apparent. So alas, I had no choice but to throw them out :(

For my second attempt, my coworker so happened to have given me a bar of chocolate for Valentine's Day, and I had noticed on the wrapper that it is 3.5 ounces [ ounces ]! So, as mentioned in my previous blog, I scaled down the recipe, and baked at the correct temperature of 400 F, and the cooking time of 12 minutes was perfecto. I really recommend you give it a try :)

-Kitchen Girl

The turnout

Okay, so as promised, I am going to describe what I actually made tonight and how everything turned out (and also what happened in my first attempt at chocolate cake).


First things first. I made:


Salmon Wellington (Food Network) - Wow, everyone was very impressed with this! So what this dish is, for those of you who don't know, esentially salmon wrapped in a puff pastry. This recipe has some fancier additions: a creamy dill and asparagus sauce and asparagus "logs" topping the salmon, all of which is wrapped in a puff pastry. The only downfall was that the very middle of the salmon was undercooked, even though I had cooked an extra 10 minutes at 350 F. I don't know how I can avoid that problem next time, but I will most definitely be making this again!! My family and I agree this is a close second - second only to the potato-crusted salmon by Michael Smith (F/N) - in all the salmon recipes I've made. 5/5


Sauteed mushrooms (enoki and crab) and spinach - My own creation :) Just added a few teaspoons of olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat, and sauteed some frozen chopped spinach. Once the spinach had wilted a bit, I added the mushrooms. When the mushrooms developed a golden colour, I added a splash of white wine, waited for the liquid to absorb, and added a generous sprinkling of roasted garlic seasoning, salt and pepper. Very easy! 4/5


Butternut squash soup (Allrecipes) - I think that I have made this so many times now that I refer to the recipe less and less everytime I make this. A mistake on my part. I have a penchant for thick, creamy soups, but without following the recipe, the soup was too thick, a problem that is easily rectified with the addition of water. Note to self: follow recipe next time. Flavour did not fail to disappoint. The only issue was the consistency. 3.5/5 (Don't get me wrong. This is only based on today's turnout. Again, I've made this recipe before with stellar results.) 


Molten heart chocolate cake (Food Network) - A success (this time)! However, even though I scaled the recipe down to yield 4 servings, unfortunately, even then, there were leftovers. Everyone was full from dinner! That aside, the "heart" was indeed molten and it was the level of sweetness! The recipe calls for semisweet chocolate and I only had dark chocolate, so I used the actual amount of sugar stated in the recipe. (Normally, I use about 3/4 of what recipes state - personal choice as I don't like my desserts to be too sweet.) Did I mention that it was a cinch to make? Always a bonus, of course! I have a photo of a half-eaten cake, which I promise to post eventually. (Be forewarned that I have a poor track record with posting photos in a timely manner, though, haha.) 4.5/5


So all in all, a good turnout tonight and I am definitely pleased with myself. I know I promised to share my disastrous first attempt at the chocolate cake, but it is late and I'm sorry, but I am going to have to save it for next time (again)!


Hope you enjoyed reading. Good night! 

xo

-Kitchen Girl

My first blog!

So this is it, my first blog! Welcome! I'm going to introduce myself as "Kitchen Girl". I should have started blogging a long time ago, but not being a big "techie", I found the whole idea more than a little daunting. (Not that I tried to even figure out how. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it actually is!)

Anyway, as the title of my blog suggests, the purpose of my blog is to document my "adventures" in the kitchen. Specifically, I intend keep a record of the recipes that I've made, as well as their results. I think this is now the perfect opportunity to give a little opener about myself.

As you may have already suspected, I love to cook. I have been cooking for years, but haven't yet gained full confidence (or the expertise) to come up with my own creations. So approximately 75% of what I make are things that I find on the Internet, namely the Allrecipes and Food Network websites. I have tried dozens of recipes, but up until this point, hadn't been recording which ones I had made. Of course, this puts me at risk of making a so-called "bad" recipe more than once, which is why I'm doing this!


Now that you're all up to speed with respect to why I'm doing this, I'm going to stop jabbing mindlessly and get down to business!


So tonight, I plan to make: 


Avocado Stuffed Yams, Allrecipes (link) 


Butternut Squash Soup II, Allrecipes (link) - I've made the Butternut Squash Soup many times in the past, and everyone in my family has loved it. As an added bonus, it is easily adaptable to the ingredients you have on hand and nutritious! 


Salmon Teriyaki, Foodnetwork (link) 


OR 


Salmon with Cheese Sauce, Food Network (link) 


Molten Heart Chocolate Cakes, Food Network (link) - I've attempted at this recipe before but it was an epic fail! I'll explain why later.


I will fill you in on how my dinner turns out! On a side note, I'll also have to figure out how to change the background. The bookcase theme is not the most fitting for my blog, is it? Haha.

-Kitchen Girl