Fish & Shellfish

Dinner - Sunday, February 28th, 2010.

Subjects - Us except Bryan who got called into work, Hubby's oldest sister, youngest sister's family(but not her).

I put off this section by giving myself a two week vacation, partly because of the kind of crazy weekends we've had and partly because there's quite a few seafood dislikers in the group.

Spicy Cornmeal Cod - I love fish and thought this was great.  Isaac one of the dislikers was impressed that he really liked it, the kids all found it too spicy.  Easily fixed though so I will definitely make again!

Shrimp Scampi - Big hit!  I think all the kids wanted more! I personally would cut the parsley at least in half, but since everyone in our little family likes shrimp I will have the chance to make this again and again until it's perfected. :)

Eggs & Cheese

Breakfast - Monday, February 8th, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's parents & 2 Grandmas, Becky
Since these were breakfast foods and we already had dinner planned for Sunday, I agreed to delay a day because we would still have plenty of company in the morning to help test.

Quiche Lorraine - This was so loved by Bryan's parents they came back for more the next weekend. :)  I accidentally didn't turn down the temp like your supposed to 15 minutes into baking so it came out much better than the first time.  I'll turn it down some in the future because the pasty gets a little too brown, but if you turn it down like it says your cheese won't melt.  It's wonderful when you mess up and it turns out better.



Brunch Oven Omelet - I really liked this.  Hunter and Lexi did not, and I don't know what anyone else thought because they had filled up on crepes and quiche by the time it was done.

Sorry no pictures :(

Desserts

Dinner - Sunday, January 31st, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's older sister, younger sister & fiance, youngest sister & family.

 Divine Caramel Sauce - This is not as yellow as it looks in the picture.  This was too elastic.  It's like I should have cooked it longer and just made Caramels.  The taste is good on things but there's got to be a better recipe somewhere with a different texture.

Creme Brulee - Once again this link takes you to a much better recipe than the one I made from my book, which was great as eggnog but didn't set up at all.  Oh well, at least I have a different recipe to try now.  Katie was excited to hear I was making this because she knows it from High School Musical.

Cookies & Candies

Dinner - Sunday, January 24th, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's older sister, younger sister & fiance, youngest sister & family.


Buttery Spritz - So apparently spritz means use your cookie press. I had not been to fond of the cookie press before, it seemed like a lot to clean and I suppose the cookies aren't my favorite, but it is SO much faster than scooping and Betty's recipe was a much better consistency than the recipes that came with my press.  In fact when I looked at the book for the press I saw I had completely scribbled out one recipe.  These were a little pink because Hunter was helping and wanted to add color.  They tasted fine to me, but like I said they're not my favorite, others said they were yummy.

Toffee - I'm noticing that when I look online to find the recipe I made from the book, they've made improvements to it.  I guess I'll have to check online before from now on, because the toffee in the book is almost the same but puts the nuts on top instead of the bottom which not only would be less messy, but better for those like me who didn't care for pecans with it and could have picked them off.  I like almond rocha better.

Really for this section, everything that looked really good to me I had already done, and wanting to try something new I went for others.  It's nice to know what something tastes like instead of looking at the recipe and wondering though.

Cakes & Pies

So you know I'm doing great when I'm behind with my posting after only 2 weeks. *eye roll*

Dinner - Sunday, January 17th, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's older sister, younger sister & fiance, youngest sister & family.

Icy Chocolate Roll - This was nothing fantastic, but good.  I had never done a roll cake before, so that was fun.  Now that I'm experienced I need your pumpking roll recipe Beth. :)
(the pics are on Isaac's camera)

Mud Pie - I used the same boring chocolate ice cream in this as the roll, so Bryan had to scrape it out and put in mint'n'chip which he thought turned out fabulous. This was a bigger hit, but I had a chocolate & custard birthday cake so that was really better than anything I made.  Thanks Becky!

 

Breads

Update on the Roasted Garlic - Monday Bryan buttered the french bread, spread some roasted garlic on then grilled it face down.  It was a much bigger hit!

This past week I made Betty Crocker's recipe for -
Turkey à la King minus the pimientos.  Turns out this is just how Bryan would make his just w/o the mushroom and bell peppers.  The peppers totally overpowered the sauce and not in a good way.  I think I was the only one that would like to have the mushrooms in it again.
Blueberry Streusel Muffins I took to the Ross', but I don't know what they thought of them, because they were eating donuts when I got there.  I thought they were delicious.  I used frozen blueberries cause that's what I have.

Dinner - Sunday, January 10th, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's older sister, younger sister, youngest sister and family. 

Focaccia - was the yeast bread for the evening.  Big hit! Light and fluffy, and we decided it would also be great minus the cheese/herb topping in exchange for some cinnamon sugar.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake - was from the quick bread section.  I made it as our dessert.  I liked how the cinnamon sugar was mixed throughout the cake instead of just the top.  I think if I was to have it as a dessert again I would make a lot more frosting, but for a breakfast cake it was good.  Well, actually brunch, cause it takes an hour to bake :)

The journey begins...

I don't really know how to cook.
I can follow simple recipes and actually am a little known for my baking, but cooking is a whole different venture, that frankly I never cared to venture into.
My husband wears an apron that says "She married me for my cooking" and though that is not the reason, it was a great bonus. Why bother learning to cook, when he's so great at it, and I'd rather read a book or do a puzzle. Well, the reasons kept coming... I'm a stay-at-home, Mormon mother of 4 (soon to be 5). I should not only have dinner made from our years supply of food storage, but wearing a dress I made myself. Ok, so maybe I should take baby steps first, like a cooking class. That's the answer right? Build some confidence in the kitchen, learn a few more recipes. Well, since the cost of such things keeps me out of many classes I wish to attend, my sister was telling me that all her "cooking class" entailed was basically reading their book: The Betty Crocker Cookbook, and making at least one thing in each section. Who needs a teacher? I know how to read, and I've made a few things out of that cookbook already. Sure they were all desserts, but still.
So here began my adventure! Read the book cover to cover, then make at least one thing from each subsection. The first week was pretty standard: glossery words, deffinitions, techniques. Then on to appetizers and beverages. The day I read the carmel corn recipe I had to try it. Too bad it takes over an hour to make. I think my husband thought it was worth it and would like me to add pecans next time. He says most things are better with pecans. So hey, first try, house still standing, everyone loves it. This confidence building is working great!

Now the deal is that every Sunday (we always have company, usually family) I will test my new recipe. Today was the first Sunday. On the Betty Crocker Menu: Roasted Garlic, Crunchy Cream Cheese-Raspberry Spread & Lemonade. I know I didn't have to do two appetizers, but the spread looked so yummy and the garlic so easy and intriguing, I did both. No one complained.


Dinner - Sunday, January 3rd, 2010.
Subjects - Us, Hubby's older sister, younger sister, youngest sister and family & two Elders.
(sorry I forgot to get 'before' pictures, so here's the aftermath)
Roasted Garlic: This recipe I found odd, because from the first section I learned that the definition of roast is to "Cook meat uncovered on rack in shallow pan in oven without adding liquid", yet to make roasted garlic you add oil(liquid) then wrap securely in foil(covered). Go figure! I made 4 garlics but only one was eaten. I didn't put more bread out though because our turkey dinner was almost ready & I didn't want people stuffed with bread before the meal.
Oh well. It was yummy! I made french bread the day before, but Hubby says next time the bread should be toasted w/ butter.


Crunchy Cream Cheese-Raspberry Spread: Big name for a super easy recipe. Just take the block of cream cheese and spread some stuff over it. I LOVED this one! So did everyone else as you can see. I served it with saltines, Triscuits and Wheat Thins, but it didn't seem to matter it was great w/ them all.


Lemonade: I wasn't that impressed with Betty's beverage section. It wasn't large and half contained alcohol. Being Mormon & pregnant...
Anyway, the lemon trees are all full of lemons around here and luckily my father's house a block away has one of his own and a neighbor's that hangs over his yard. It was kind of fun juicing all the lemons with a mesh colander because I don't have a juicer.
I sliced a bunch of lemons into a bunt pan then filled it just enough so they weren't floating and froze it for a pretty ice ring.

My take on the first night - SUCCESS! As you'll note everything I did was super easy, but like I said before, building confidence. Also I just love trying new things!

Now I know this may look like a huge Julie & Julia copycat and truthfully, watching that movie a few nights ago is why I decided to blog about my endevors. Unlike Julie however, I will not be making every recipe, because it's just too expensive! Also, she already was a good cook and didn't have a large family to care for. Like I said before this was an idea my big sister gave me and I am greatful. I want to learn to cook and to enjoy cooking!
After Betty is the Campbell's Cookbook my in-laws gave me for Christmas, then who knows, maybe a Weight-Watchers since the spouse is trying to loose some pounds. This could be never ending, though I can promise you I will take maternity leave when number 5 arrives by July :)

Tell me what you think!
Happy Cooking!