Herb School

6/13/10: Smoked Salmon, Sugar Snap Peas and Pasta

Meal details: This meal's sole dish had sugar snap peas, bow tie pasta, a mustard vinaigrette, tuna, and parsley.

Defining moments: This was a really easy meal to put together and I can't think of any "death defining" moments!

Recipe sources: This recipe comes from Michele Urvater, the host of Food Network's Feeding Your Family on $99 a Week. I never seen or heard of this show before so I think it must have aired pre-2001. . . The year my family switched to satellite tv. ;D

What I learned: OK, I should mention here that I haven't used many fresh herbs before. I wanted to point this out before I say that I didn't cut my parsley expertly. hehe. I noticed a few hard to chew stems in the salad. So, next time I WILL PAY CLOSER ATTENTION TO THOSE STEMS!

Any modifications? Didn't have any smoked salmon on hand (hard to believe, huh?), so I substituted it with tuna. And I used garlic scapes in replace of the green onion. And oh yeah, I used the balsamic vinaigrette from the week before for the mustard vinaigrette.

How did it taste? Besides those parsley stems, it was a delicious pasta salad. Light and refreshing. . . Perfect for June.

How about a 2nd time? Yes, I will do this recipe again.

Linguine Roman Style and Broccoli and Cheddar Buns--Buon Appetito!

1/03/10: Linguine Roman Style and Four-Leaf Clover Broccoli and Cheddar Buns

Meal details: For the main course I made a simple pasta dish that uses ricotta and cheese for the sauce. And I paired the pasta with a whole wheat bun that has broccoli puree added to the dough and sharp cheddar baked on top.

Defining moments: Making a vegetable puree was entirely new to me! I haven't used our blender a whole lot yet so anything done in that machine is a real eye opener to me. :)

Recipe sources: The pasta dish came from a new cookbook that just came out. It is called Ciao Italia, Five Ingredient Favorites and it is written by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of Ciao Italia. The broccoli buns came from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, another newly published book, written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Note to Rebekah: I did one recipe and had enough dough for 26 buns.

What I learned: I began to realize that even though a recipe (like the broccoli buns here), may sound tedious and require a good amount of steps, I shouldn't be intimidated. When I first looked at the bun recipe I thought they would take a long time to do, especially with all that dough dividing and shaping. But the authors of the book knew from the start that their recipes need to be quick for their readers, and so they made certain that their breads take on simple shapes. These buns are just made up of four small pieces of dough put together by pressing in the center. Really easy to put together and I have to say, they were adorable!
The pasta dish was very easy to do. So easy that I can remember exactly what to do next time, I usually need to go back to a recipe again and again. So I'm thinking that I will start feeling like one of those chefs that can whip up a dish without one glance at a recipe card. A dream come true!

Any modifications? Yes, I made one modification and that was to the pasta recipe. Instead of using pecorino cheese, I used parmesan. Why? Couldn't find the former in the grocery store.

How did it tasted? Both recipes were wonderful. The pasta's flavors were simple and very satisfying. And I love to know that not many dollars went into its creation. The buns were so very good! I was hoping to have the buns look like clovers more but the ridges weren't that pronounced when they came out of the oven. However! Because of the unique way you roll and shape these buns, you can easily tear off one "leaf" at a time when you're eating them. Easy eats!

How about a 2nd time? Yes, I would like to do these two recipes again.

Not Your Average Meringue

3/01/09: Spanish Chicken with Pasta and Chocolate Cream Pie

• Sources: For chicken I went to southerngood.about.com and for pie, Antoinette Pope cook book.

• Defining moments: First time for chocolate pie filling and meringue.

• What I learned: I learned that even though I've seen my mom make meringue without one bit of difficulty, that doesn't mean meringue making will be painless. Ok, yes, my meringue went completely wrong and I am still puzzled by what happened. I stayed true to the recipe--the recipe my mom uses--but my meringue still remained in a marshmellow fluff state even though I used the electric beater on it for 1/2 hour! In the end I poured the "marshmallow meringue" on top of my chocolate cream pie and baked it. The pie turned out fine (taste-wise, too) but my older sister was a bit perplexed by the pies' flat meringue surface. "Doesn't meringue pies have peaks or something?" she asked.
  

• How it tasted: The Spanish chicken was awesome I think and my youngest sister may have to change her birthday meal plan. The chocolate cream pie was good too, and no, the meringue didn't taste like marshmallows--close to it though. And my Papa told me a very funny scenario that happened this morning. When he first went into the kitchen in the early morning he saw that the leftover pie was gone and was very "upset" about it! He didn't know that the pie was placed in grandma's refrigerator. When he discovered that the pie still existed he sighed with relief. :)
  

• How about a 2nd time? Yes, for both recipes.