Making the Cut

Since my test kitchen ran into my dinner, here’s what ended up on the final menu:

Bite Sized Baked Brie (Joy the Baker)   As I suggested before, blackberry jam tasted great in these!

Crock Pot Risotto with Gourmet Mushrooms (Kitchen Scoop!)  I made a couple changes.  I had 8 guests plus me, so I doubled the recipe.  I waited until the risotto was almost done before preparing the mushrooms.  Instead of warming oil for the mushrooms, I cooked bacon, which was cut into small pieces.  Once the bacon was cooked the way I like it, I added butter and followed the rest of the directions for the mushrooms and added it straight (without the liquid) to the risotto in the last few minutes rather than refrigerating.  I bought a precut container of shitake mushrooms and another precut container of brown mushrooms, but you can use any type of mushroom or vegetable you like.  This turned out creamy and delicious!

Perfect Roast Chicken (Food Network)  I completely mistimed this as well.  I was stressed and set the timer for the total cook time for 2hrs 30 min, but it only needed 1.5 hours.  We were watching it and decided it was done after 1.5 hours anyway, but I had already implemented Plan B at this point, so my parents took home one of the chickens.  Their recommendation?  Crush the garlic instead of using the whole bulb intact.

Layered Mocha Cheesecake (Taste of Home)  So, this made the final menu simply because of the high ratings, but no one was able to try it.  I’ve been semi-guiltily enjoying this since yesterday.  This cheesecake is divine and decadent and undeniably deserving of the rave reviews on the site.  Timing is everything for cheesecake and while I baked it in time for dinner, I didn’t have enough time to let it sit and cool for them to enjoy it.

In case you were wondering about Plan B… I ordered Thai Curry Pizza and hot wings when it looked like the chicken would leave my family waiting for food for too long.  My brother brought a strawberry and pear birthday cake from 85 Degrees C Bakery taking care of dessert.

Test Kitchen

I invited my family over for dinner at my place for the first time since I moved over six years ago on Friday.  I have no fantastical reasons like a secret life or loner tendencies for the delay.  Simply, my place is rather small and was in serious need of a renovation.  The size hasn’t changed, but I love my kitchen now and I wanted to share this new found love with my oldest loves.

As the normal result of time, my family is growing older and thus time together is precious.  My dad commented on how as hosts, we were all split between extended family and friends on Thanksgiving, often in different rooms of the house.  We resolved then to have an intimate holiday dinner.  Since it’s now January, this holiday dinner turned into a birthday dinner for my mom.

I’m a planner (when I have to be), so I searched for the perfect recipes to both appease and impress and started my test kitchen a week and a half before.  On the test menu?  Bite Sized Baked Brie (Joy the Baker – Love, Love, Love her site btw), Orange-Soy Beef with Asparagus (Woman’s Day), and Mocha Marble Swirl Cheesecake (Woman’s Day).

Hits!

Bite Sized Baked Brie

I love blackberries, so I used blackberry jam.  I used a square cookie cutter in the final recipe, but I don’t know if perfect squares are worth wasting some of the puff pastry.  These are easy to make, easy to eat, and easily a crowd favorite.

Misses!

Orange-Soy Beef with Asparagus

It’s probably not fair that this made it on the Misses List.  I actually liked it, but I decided the orange flavor was a bit strong and might not have widespread family appeal.  Plus, I couldn’t get the beef to cook in a way that I found worth sharing.  I tried this recipe twice: once with the orange zest and the whole beef slab cooking in a pan and another time without the orange zest and the beef cut into slices.  I might retry this one if I had a grill nearby.

Mocha Marble Swirl Cheesecake

It became clear that the measurements in this recipe were off, so I had to supplement the recipe with an almost identical one from another website.  The crust was awful and I’ve decided that any crust that doesn’t include some graham cracker or cookie crumbs is a crust not worth eating.  Surprisingly the cheesecake itself was good considering it was made with light cream cheese, cottage cheese, and fat free sour cream.  The swirl wasn’t enough for me, so I searched for something more decadent (subject for a future post).

Lessons Learned?  A week and a half is enough to try some recipes, but not enough to find alternatives should you need some.  If like me, you expect to eat all the test food because food isn’t cheap, you need to spread out your test recipes over a few weeks.

Love not War

Seems we’re always hearing about war.  One such war where soldiers unquestionably jump into the fray regularly is the Cupcake Wars.  Every camp is vying for the chance to raise their flag in dominance over the Sprinkles, the original cupcakery.

To much potential contention, I admittedly consider cupcakes to be better in concept and sadly disappointing in execution.  My cousin, sister and I once excitedly went to a cupcake convention in Riverside.  The cupcakes were mouthwatering and beautiful.  Chocolate ganache over frosting, sugared berry toppings, creative flavors, and ornate decorations.  Alas, the eating of the cupcakes proved to be an experience less than extraordinary.

I’d choose a slice of cake over a cupcake any day.  All the flavors are more pronounced and balanced in cake, in my opinion.

Speaking of wars, I’ve felt for a while that a mini cake would beat out a cupcake no contest.  The thought of a mini cake is glee-inspiring and sets my sweet tooth in craving overdrive.  Besides, you can brag afterwards that you ate an entire cake all by yourself!

Like many a good idea, someone thought of it first.  When I find time and get all the necessary tools, maybe I’ll try this out.

From Desserts for Breakfast

For the Love of Work

Mornings have been difficult lately.  I just can’t seem to get myself out of bed enthusiastically.  Even after nights of restful sleep, the thought of work weighs down on me like an anvil trapping me in bed for another 15 minutes.  I used to think that being 20 minutes early to work was cutting it close.  Now any minute before 06:00 hours is a minute too early, a minute wasted.

I believe in the goal of what I am doing.  I ended up not becoming a doctor for various reasons, but mainly I feel that prevention of injury or illness is as important and noble a profession as the treatment of injury and illness.  Lately–er, maybe for months now–it’s been on my mind that while I believe in the goal, I do not love my current role.

Knowing I can change my current role; however, I wish to no longer dwell on the matter.  I need reason to want to jump out of bed and conquer the day.  So I decided to partake more in the activities that I love that I’ve let slip since I got my current role:

• writing
• cooking and baking
• reading
• sewing

On a sort of related note, my boss told me his wife owns a baking Cricut.  Having just recently seen my best friend’s scrapbooking Cricut in action, I have nothing but envy and this strange delusion that I need one!