Archive for the ‘Recipe of the Month’ Category
Well I haven’t gotten totally back in the groove, and with the Thanksgiving holiday last week I realized I completely forgot to post, I do apologize. Unfortunately I don’t think this post is really going to make up for it though, because I will be the first to say this recipe was sort of a dud.
Like many people this time of year, I am in love with fall flavors and more specifically pumpkin flavored just about anything, so I was intrigued by the idea of Rachael Ray’s Pumpkin Cheddar Mac and Cheese. I mean what could be bad about it, pumpkin is very versatile, it can be sweet or savory. I mean, I like noodles, I love cheese, I like pumpkin… it had all the makings of a perfect fall comfort food dish. So one evening I was able to quickly whip up this dish for us to enjoy, one perk of any Rachael Ray dish is that they really do come together very quickly. And this one, although seemed a bit more time consuming due to the sauce you make, it really was not difficult, very similar to making a béchamel sauce and adding pumpkin to it. I also thought the addition of some amber beer was an interesting and potentially flavorful addition to the dish.
Pumpkin Cheddar Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat or whole grain short-cut pasta, such as rigatoni or penne
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 slightly rounded tablespoons flour
- 1 cup amber beer
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 cups whole milk
- A couple of pinches ground cloves or 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- About 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 14-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin purée or 2 cups puréed fresh roasted pumpkin or butternut squash
- 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese, divided
- Sweet paprika, for sprinkling
- Chopped parsley or chives to garnish
Yields: 4-6
Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it and cook pasta to al dente. Drain and reserve. Preheat broiler.
Melt butter in a medium saucepot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, cook for 1 minute, then raise heat a bit and add beer. Reduce until almost evaporated then whisk in honey or syrup and milk. Season with cloves or allspice, mustard, cayenne, a little freshly grated nutmeg, some salt and pepper. Thicken to coat spoon, a couple of minutes, then taste to adjust seasonings.
Whisk in pumpkin purée then stir in about 2 cups grated cheese with a wooden spoon until melted. Combine pasta with sauce and arrange in a casserole or individual ramekins. Sprinkle remaining cheese and a light dusting of paprika. Broil to brown and bubble. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives.
It emerged from browning in the oven looking positively creamy, cheesy, and delicious, but unfortunately this dish looked better than it tasted, it just really fell short in the flavor department. Adam and I both took a big ol’ bite and were both more than disappointed. For someone who loves mac and cheese as much as Adam this really missed the bar and as for me, I just was disappointed that it really had no flavor. I mean you could taste the pumpkin, but it really added more in texture than any distinguishable flavor. And because of the pumpkin addition adding creaminess, I assume this is why Rachael uses less cheese in the recipe, you know to make it healthy. But I’m sorry, if I’m going to eat Mac and Cheese, I’m not really concerned about the health factor. I’m also now convinced that I really don’t like whole wheat pasta, I have tried it many times and I like many many healthy and whole wheat items, just not pasta. So again, if I’m going to enjoy it, I would prefer the real deal. Whole wheat pasta just ends up tasting chalky to me and that coupled with the texture of the pumpkin did not help me in the taste department. I will say that with the addition of more cheese and letting this dish sit another day or so, did allow us to somewhat enjoy the leftovers, but we both agreed this dish needs some major tweaking it we were ever going to truly enjoy it.
TASTE: Well if you hadn’t gathered from my description the taste of this dish was rather nondescript and bland. While the pumpkin flavor came through slightly, it didn’t add enough to the dish and needed some other major flavors to complement it, instead it just fell flat.
EASE OF PREPARATION: For a dish that comes out looking very pretty and gourmet, it was very easy to put together and really only took about 30 minutes or so, so while the taste wasn’t outstanding with a few tweaks it could be a very easy flavorful fall dish to whip together.
COST: Along with not being very complicated, it also wasn’t extremely expensive since it doesn’t require any obscure ingredients. Unfortunately for us we couldn’t find anything smaller than a case of amber beer, so it cost us considerably more to make, but if you are just figuring what you need for the dish alone, it would be fairly cheap to put together.
COMPLEXITY: Like I said, not overly complex, really just boiling the pasta and while you are doing that making the pumpkin cheese sauce that will go over it. The most complex part is just making sure you are stirring the sauce consistently so it doesn’t burn and thickens without getting clumpy.
PORTION SIZE: I felt that the recipe was correct in saying that it would feed 4 to 6, we each had a fairly large portion the first night and then were able to split the leftovers, so it could easily feed 4-6.
I was pretty disappointed that this dish didn’t turn out to be as exciting as I had hoped, another case of the result not meeting the expectations. While we agreed that some additions could possibly make it better, I’m not sure I would even say it was worth trying again. While I had high hopes, this dish fell short and therefore only gets 2 little piggies.
Well I was trying to be more consistent about writing, but such is life and unfortunately my posts are still a bit sporadic, I apologize. I would like to say that once baby Davis arrives I will have more time to devote to the blog, but that likely won’t be the case, but I’m going to try! Speaking of baby Davis, we are more than ready to meet our little bean and I must admit I am driving myself a little nutty counting down the days until we maybe get to meet her. I am not going to lie, I have had a relatively easy pregnancy and I don’t think I have not complained much, Adam might disagree, but in comparison I feel as if I have sort of floated through the whole experience, yes women you can hate me now. While I am not saying it has been a cake walk, there have certainly been many a moment I wish I hadn’t been pregnant for a certain situation or right about now am growing tired of feeling like a hippo, but that being said there has been a part of me that has really relished just listening to my body and honoring it with the food that it wants. I have tried to be consistent with my 80/20 healthy eating habits, however I will admit that desserts are one area where I have let myself live pretty freely. Weekly and sometimes a couple times a week ice cream trips have not been out of the question and cake when at all possible has also been enjoyed.
Now one dessert that I have never really gone out of my way for or had a hard time turning down was pie, I know how un-American. Now that isn’t to say that I HATE all pie, rather it just isn’t my dessert of choice, nor is it rarely something I have a craving for. I don’t know what it is, it just really isn’t the sweet treat that does it for me. However, a few weeks back I just couldn’t get the idea of some sort of chocolaty pie out of my mind, now this could be the fact that Adam had been talking about chocolate silk pie for weeks on end, but I just really wanted a smooth and velvety piece of chocolate pie myself.
I poured over tons of recipes, trying to find one I deemed worthy enough to make and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Pioneer Woman’s jumped to the top of the list…there must be something about her recipes and me being pregnant. On a side note, have you been able to catch her show yet, it’s on Food Network, I just love how real and down to earth she seems, like you have known her forever, but I digress. Her pie really stood out to me and I knew I was going to have to make it the contender, there was just one little problem…little did I know at the time I was researching these chocolate pie recipes, most of them require raw eggs in them, since these pies are uncooked. While I would typically not care about such things, it really isn’t the smartest choice to be making when I am growing a little bambino. But not to be easily deterred, I did a little research and found that if I used egg substitute instead I could garner the same results without any possible harm, crisis averted!
So I set out one Sunday afternoon to make said pie and while it was easy enough to follow her directions, her recipes are always laid out so nicely step by step, I was totally unprepared to have to whip each egg in individually for 4-5 whole minutes. While not a huge deal, I will admit having a stand mixer would have been super helpful, rather than having to stand there myself for 20 minutes. However, she is completely right when she says this is what it takes to create the texture you are looking for, it is pretty remarkable how just whipping those eggs individually allows it to take such shape.
Recipe: Delicious Chocolate Pie
Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4 ounces, weight Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
- 1 cup Salted Butter, Softened
- 1-1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 whole Eggs
- 1 package Baked Pie Shell
Preparation Instructions
In small microwave safe bowl melt 4 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of regular (salted) butter and 1 ½ cups of white sugar until fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes). When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a Kitchen Aid mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).
Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes add in the four eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).
Plop a heap of whipped cream and garnish with a few chocolate curls if you’re feeling sassy.
I easily went about compiling the ingredients and before long I was quite pleasantly surprised when it started to take shape and really look quite smooth, creamy, and delectable. Now one thing I will say is I chose to buy frozen pie crust instead of making my own, I know I could have easily taken the time to do so, but let’s be real it has been hard enough to find the time to make such things, much less add onto the time, so I cheated. Also you can disregard the pregnant lady in her pajamas putting the finishing touches on this pie, I never said it was always pretty 
.
Overall, I was quite pleased with how my pie turned out and while I am not sure I was as wowed by the flavor as I thought I might be, it truly did come out looking beautiful with very minimal effort.
TASTE: This is an area I feel the worst about, because while I did enjoy my slice of pie, Adam wasn’t as huge of a fan. Part of me wonders if because it was “French Silk” instead of straight chocolate, or because it was heavy of the dark chocolate making it really really rich and sweet. Either way, he didn’t like it as much which made me feel bad since he was the one who had been craving it so badly. As I said I did enjoy my slice, but boy was it rich and I definitely did not need that full on sugar rock that was then sitting in my belly, perhaps next time I would opt for a smaller slice.
EASE OF PREPARATION: Like I mentioned, this recipe is super easy to follow. There really isn’t any difficult task, outside of having to attend to those eggs individually, which is by no means hard, rather more time consuming. So if you happen to have one of those lovely kitchen mixers, by all means drag that puppy out for this!
COST: I was super impressed that this recipe, while looking uber fancy, really isn’t all that expensive to make either. The only ingredient I didn’t have on hand was the baker’s chocolate and egg substitute, which I had to go pick up so as not to use the raw egg part. So we are talking simple ingredients, none of which cost a lot, to whip up a dessert that looks quite distinguished when you are finished.
COMPLEXITY: I touched on this above, but this recipe is far from complex, in fact it is almost as easy as whipping up brownies from a box, just add the ingredients as you go in the order she says and beat those eggs individually and voila, you have yourself one decadent, chocolate, creamy pie.
PORTION SIZE: I would say that while this recipe says it will feed 8, I think it could easily feed more. My eyes, per usual, were bigger than my belly and I cut some pretty generous slices, but this pie is so rich you really do not need a lot to feel satisfied. So rather than cut the big ol’ boys like I did, I would try and definitely cut 8 if not 10 or even 12 slices from this one pie, believe me a little goes a long way.
So while the pie was not Adam’s favorite, nor hit the chocolate pie spot he had been craving, I still found it to be very good and maybe with a few tweaks the great pie he was looking for. That being said I do think I need to possibly keep doing my research and find that chocolate silk pie that will melt my man’s heart, because unfortunately this just wasn’t it and while it is hard to say it was just too sweet. That is why I am giving it two little piggies.
Today was one of those days where it finally felt like summer. Rather than out enjoying our pool, I was unfortunately running around like a crazy person all day. That being said I still knew a refreshing beverage was in order after a long day, and what a better week to test a simple drink recipe, than when Adam is out of town. While I would have much preferred a tall Blue Moon…I have to wait a few more months for that…I decided to test out a non-alcoholic recipe of Claire Robinson’s that caught my interest. What I love so much about Robinson’s recipes are their simplicity, I mean with a show like “5 Ingredient Fix,” it is hard not to be drawn to recipes that are so simple.
Strawberry Lemonade
Recipe courtesy Claire Robinson, 2010
- Prep Time:
- 2 min
- Inactive Prep Time:
- —
- Cook Time:
- —
- Level:
- Easy
- Serves:
- 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
- 1/4 cup agave syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons mint leaves
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 cups seltzer
- Ice
Directions
In a tall glass or shaker, combine the strawberries, syrup and mint leaves. Mash with a muddler or a ladle. Add the lemon juice and seltzer and pour over ice-filled glasses. Serve immediately.
So after I was able to take a moment to breathe, I was quickly able to assemble a batch of this lemonade to accompany my equally summery satisfying dinner of a hot dog (A pregnant girl’s gotta do, what a pregnant girl’s gotta do!)
TASTE: Believe me, I had such high hopes for this drink, I thought it would be my refreshing answer to a hot summer and with the addition of mint be a similar alternative to my favorite mojitos. Unfortunately, this just did not do it for me…I think it was the lemon juice. I literally looked over the recipe 10 times after I put together my batch to see if I had the ratio wrong, but since I didn’t I just couldn’t get past just how tart this was. Now I LOVE tart, but this was too tart and really didn’t have a good alternative flavor besides the punch of lemon.
EASE OF PREPARATION: This recipe is simple, just put a few ingredients in a glass, muddle, and pour over ice. With how easy this was to make, it made it all the more disappointing that it didn’t taste good.
COST: Now I happened to have all of the ingredients, but the mint on hand currently, so the cost for me was very minimal, but even if you had to pick up the other ingredients, this is a very cost effective recipe.
COMPLEXITY: As I mentioned above, not complex at all, which makes me want to figure out a better tasting option that is just as easy.
PORTION SIZE: The recipe makes 2 large glasses of lemonade, so perfect for you and a friend, or I could easily see being able to make a large batch quite easily for a crowd, just up the ingredients.
I just was so sad when I took a sip of this and realized there was no way I could be able to drink it. Now, I’m not sure if it is something I did wrong, my pregnancy taste buds, or I just did not like the ratio of ingredients, but I will not be making this again unless I can tweak it to make it sweeter. I still love Claire and her recipes, this just didn’t hit home for me. So if anyone has an alternative I would love to hear it, because I am still on the lookout for a fun pregnancy mocktail!
So this post isn’t a total downer, I do hope you take glance back at a recipe I featured awhile back that I am going to be whipping up for a work barbecue tomorrow. This green bean salad is a constant fave and would be a great addition to your summer get togethers, and do feel free to try this Strawberry Lemonade, just know that I am giving it a measly 1 Little Piggy.
