Gone to Texas! (Taken with Instagram at Main Building/The Tower (MAI))
Taken with Instagram at La Boîte
The funemployment continues. (Taken with Instagram at Le Med Apartments)
First try at homemade noodles. We had to get creative with the drying apparatus, but it was delicious.
Due to a lot of change on my plate I stopped blogging about the food on my plate.
BUT as a soon to start dual degree graduate student, I am going to need to cook a lot for stress relief. That being said, I have a bunch of new recipes I’ve tried out and all sorts of new kitchen challenges I’m excited about trying. It’s fun to be back!
I absolutely love me some Thai food. However, it is a recent love discovered over the last couple of years. Growing up with Puerto Rican and Hungarian food influences didn’t exactly lend itself to making Pad Thai on Wednesday nights. That was black beans and rice night.
Over the last few months, I have spent some time making dishes with Thai influences. I’ve stocked up on the tamarind paste, the fish sauce, the coconut milk, etc. So in honor of how delicious Thai food can be, and my freshly stocked Thai inspired pantry, this week is Thai food week.
I have cravings for Pad Thai on an almost weekly basis, but I never realized how capable I was of creating this dish successfully (without using any pre-packaged sauces, flavor mixes, etc.)
The recipe I used was a mix of about 5 different recipes I found to be “authentic” (hah, not like I would actually know). I’ve only made this dish twice, so I’m going to play around with it some more before I post a recipe.
I found the recipe from the Food Network, so it doesn’t exactly scream authentic, nor was it tricky to make. I ignored the specifications of the recipe, just using the ingredients as a guide. The takeaway from the dish is definitely the peanut lime dressing. So good! See full recipe.
This was delicious! I tried to track down the recipe I used, but being incredibly organized, I have lost it. It was almost identical to this, if you want to give this dessert a try.
This was surprisingly my favorite dish of the week’s cooking events. I expected it to be a nice way to use some leftover chicken, but this blew me away! True to it’s name it is the perfect comfort food, but the blend of flavors, the coriander and coconut standing out in my mind, makes this far superior to the noodles in chicken broth I eat when I’m sick. Here’s the recipe I roughly followed.
Another successful meal! The noodles I just threw together for an interesting side. I like to use bean sprout noodles, because they soak up flavor nicely, cook almost instantly and are better for you than a bunch of white flour.
The BBQ Chicken is all about the marinade. I can’t believe I’m just now realizing how amazing lemon grass is.
Well, that wraps this week’s long winded cooking challenge. What types of foods or specific recipes should I try next? I definitely need some inspiration!
I didn’t do a Kitchen Challenge this week, because I was in Austin at Austin City Limits over the weekend. Not only did I experience some wonderful music, but some wonderful food. I captured great photos of tasty things to feature here, like the Salt Lick sloppy nachos and the Truffle Mac n’ Cheese, but sadly my camera was taken.
That being said, I’ll be back in the kitchen soon :)
- Becca Bites
Chinese food is something that I could eat any time. Much like Mexican food, it is rarely a bad idea. However, for some reason it’s one of those foods that I always turn to a restaurant for. Chinese food is not necessarily the most complex food to tackle, but it’s a stretch for me since I rarely use the flavors in my own kitchen. Therefore, this weeks challenge was a week long event, a week of cooking (not ordering) Chinese food.
Chicken Fried Rice
Orange Beef and Fried Rice
I have to give credit to my boyfriend on the Orange Beef adventure. We made this together and he is definitely the reason why it turned out to be so delicious.
Orange Beef and Ramen
Without question, I will be making my own Chinese food more often now.
Enjoy!
- Becca Bites
Beyond making homemade pasta, I upped the anie and decided to go for a full romantic Italian dinner. Admittedly, I did not do this challenge this week. I didn’t do much cooking this week, but this is a meal I’ve been wanting to share. Without throwing too many unwanted details out there, my boyfriend and I do the long distance deal. So, when we get to see each other we try to make the most of our time together. Often that includes cooking with and/or for each other.
(Please forgive the poor photo quality. They are from my phone as I did a camera fail and left it at home).
The menu:
Pasta e Fagioli, recipe from Giada De Laurentiis
Tartra (A Savory Flan), recipe from the The Taste of Italy
Casoncelli Camuni, recipe from The Taste of Italy
Ricotta and Rum Cake Trifle, a mixture I threw together that was inspired from The Taste of Italy
The Pasta e Fagioli was a straight forward hearty soup that we both enjoyed. It was balanced but flavored nicely from the fresh herbs and pancetta. I would recommend this recipe, and will definitely be making it again.
The tartra was a little lackluster, but being that I decided on a whim to make one more thing due to left over ingredients, I wasn’t too disappointed. I won’t post the recipe to this, unless someone requests it.
Now, we get down to business. This the main event, making pasta from scratch for the first time. My boyfriend didn’t have a rolling pin, so me and a cylindrical vase had to work it out. After working out a system with the vase, I was able to create a nice smooth sheet of dough, spoon the tasty filling out and create somewhat presentable ravioli type pockets. It certainly isn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made, but it was delicious! The success absolutely lies with the recipe, because I’m sure I made several attempts to sabotage it. I will post this recipe shortly.
I also made a tasty trifle that I enhanced with rum, but I forgot to take pictures of it since we didn’t eat it until hours after this massive meal.
All in all, making a from scratch Italian meal was fun and we definitely enjoyed the end product. The thing I found the most stressful was the time management and overlapping demanded of making 4 items at once. Hopefully I will continue to improve in that area to avoid stressing out.
Enjoy!
- Becca Bites
This wasn’t a challenge to stretch my cooking skills by any means, but more one of discovery. My goal was to find a fantastic baked french toast recipe that wasn’t soggy and that didn’t taste like typical french toast. Mission accomplished! I bring you Orange Pecan French Toast (So yummy!) by SR on All Recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 12 (3/4 inch thick) slices French bread
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar for dusting
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, melted butter and corn syrup.
Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish, and spread evenly.
Sprinkle pecans over the sugar mixture. Arrange the bread slices in the bottom of the dish so they are in a snug single layer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, egg whites, and eggs. Pour this mixture over the bread, pressing on the bread slices to help absorb the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. (I definitely recommend overnight).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Remove the cover from the baking dish, and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving
Enjoy!
- Becca Bites
This truly couldn’t be easier. You throw everything in a bowl, whip up some dressing and toss it all together. It’s refreshing, inexpensive and a welcome change for a lunch or dinner side
Ingredients:
For the salad:
1/3 cup of chopped purple onion (Depending on when you are actually going to eat this salad, add more of less onion. This salad keeps well, but the distinct purple onion flavor dulls after 24 hours or so).
2 large florets of fresh broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces
5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup of sliced almonds, lightly toasted in a pan
3/4 of raisins
For the dressing:
1 cup of mayonnaise (I’m one of those rare ones that likes Miracle Whip, so I use that.)
1/4 cup of sugar (The amount of sugar you use really depends on your pallet. Some like their broccoli salad far sweater than this.)
2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar
Depending on the type of nuts and vinegars I have, I like to mix and match, but this is a good base for this salad.
Enjoy!
- Becca Bites
For no good reason whatsoever, I had never made an entirely from scratch homemade pizza. My boyfriend and I decided that this weekend was the weekend to change that. As we started to plan what type of pizza we would make, it quickly became clear that we would need to make two different pizzas in order to edit ourselves and not end up with one seriously overloaded and over-flavored blob.
We finally decided on two tasty slices - 1) potato, sausage and ricotta with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan and 2) pepperoni and red bell pepper with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. The pepperoni and red pepper was delicious, the potato, sausage and ricotta was enlightening. I cannot stress how fantastic this pizza was, or how surprised we were that it tasted so amazing. Potatoes on pizza = some witty online thing people say to stress their point.
We went ultra simple, and doubted ourselves every step of the way. However, this pizza crust gave us perfect, crisp crust that stretched quite easily so we avoided that puffy, shrinking pizza crust. This recipe will make enough for 2, 10 inch pizzas.
Ingredients:
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 C water (105-110 F)
2 1/4-2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
Dissolve yeast in water, giving it time to foam.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead the dough for approximately 10 min. with floured hands, until smooth. (It is rather sticky and difficult to work with, but the pay off comes when you don’t have to struggle with smoothing it over your pan.) Separate into two balls, coat with olive oil and place in separate bowls.
Cover with a moist towel and allow to double in size, which will take 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
I searched for a perfect pizza sauce recipe, but ultimately we came up with our own creation. Simple, smooth and tasty. We lined up all potential spices and did the smell test, until we agreed upon what spices to use. We combined all the ingredients and allowed them to simmer, stirring occasionally while we prepared everything else.
Ingredients
1 15oz. can of tomato sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
I did not measure the spices at all, but this is what I used to taste:
Garlic Powder (We were out of fresh. Approximately 2 cloves)
Dried Oregano
Onion Powder
Dried Basil Leaves
Chili Powder
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt and Pepper
Swirl sauce to create an even layer over the crust.
Sprinkle three cheeses mixture (cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan).
Add a layer of chopped red bell pepper and pepperoni.
Top with a think layer of cheeses.
In the absence of a pizza stone, bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.
For the sausage and potato mixture, you’ll need:
1 white potato, chopped into bite size pieces
2 medium sized Italian sausage links, chopped into bite size pieces
2 teaspoons of basil
1 Tablespoon of butter
1/3 Cup of milk
Sauté the potato and sausage in a skillet with basil and butter. When the sausage is nearly finished and the potatoes are still firm, add the milk. This is a genius trick my boyfriend introduced me to. The potatoes suck up the milk and are ready just as the sausage is.
Swirl sauce to create an even layer over the crust.
Sprinkle three cheeses mixture (cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan).
With a spoon drop bite size portion of ricotta over the pizza.
Now add the potato and sausage mixture over the entire pizza and top with a think layer of cheeses.
Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
Enjoy!
