Chocolate and/or baking. Or even better, baking something chocolate. The perfect stress-reliever. The job at the kitchen store is not going well, to say the very least, so today is my last day. Having been a store manager and being meticulous, I can't stand by and watch the whirlwind of chaos and questionable money handling without getting stressed out, so I'm outta there. Easy come, easy go. My family and I will have a much nicer holiday season without that job hanging over my head anyway.
The stress from the job has had me wanting to bake all week, but I've been too busy. I had to get DS to Tae Kwon Do this morning and will be working later today, but I had to bake some cookies. I don't make chocolate cookies all that often, so that's what I decided on when I started looking through my various Martha Stewart magazines and cookbooks. I finally decided on a chocolate cookie that actually calls for dried cherries, but I substituted peanut butter chips. Peanut butter, cherries, what's the difference as long as the cookie base is yummy, right?
These cookies are very good. The Dutch Process cocoa gives them such a rich, dark color that my youngest thought they were just really burned. He soon discovered that they didn't taste burned by any stretch of the imagination. These do spread a bit, but hold their shape just enough to not be too thin. They are a tad greasy coming off the pan, but are fine after they firm up - I've had this happen with at least one other Martha Stewart recipe and I wonder if the extra half stick of butter is necessary or not. The cookies are chewy and slightly crispy along the edges, softer in the middle, just how I like them.
These are a keeper and I'm very anxious to try them with the dried cherries next time.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Yummy Sweet Potato Side
Tonight I was planning to make a yummy sounding Rachael Ray recipe using flank steak, but somehow I forgot to check the recipe and get the necessary ingredients. Typical! Change in plans! I decided to throw together the rough ingredients for the Korean BBQ we made recently and use it for the flank steak.
As a side, I decided to revisit a recipe from Cooking Light that I made quite a while ago that I thought would go very well with the flank steak - Soy Glazed Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a fairly recent addition to our diet. I had grown up thinking of sweet potatoes as tasteless mush hideously hidden underneath a sickeningly sweet layer of marshmallows. However, when I started reading how nutritious they are a few years ago, I decided to give them another try - with one condition - they couldn't be sweet. It worked! I like sweet potatoes quite well and so does the rest of the family. We usually cut them into thin rounds, toss with savory spices and herbs and then roast until crispy.
The soy glaze does not result in a crispy sweet potato, but it does create a very nice, caramelized glaze that is delicious. I stuck to our usual thin rounds to make sure they cooked quickly enough and it worked, but they didn't look very pretty, so I didn't take a picture. Wedges, as the recipe calls for, are probably the better option here.
In any case, it's a recipe worth sharing. I don't think I would have ever paired Asian ingredients with sweet potatoes if not for this recipe and the rave reviews....
As a side, I decided to revisit a recipe from Cooking Light that I made quite a while ago that I thought would go very well with the flank steak - Soy Glazed Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a fairly recent addition to our diet. I had grown up thinking of sweet potatoes as tasteless mush hideously hidden underneath a sickeningly sweet layer of marshmallows. However, when I started reading how nutritious they are a few years ago, I decided to give them another try - with one condition - they couldn't be sweet. It worked! I like sweet potatoes quite well and so does the rest of the family. We usually cut them into thin rounds, toss with savory spices and herbs and then roast until crispy.
The soy glaze does not result in a crispy sweet potato, but it does create a very nice, caramelized glaze that is delicious. I stuck to our usual thin rounds to make sure they cooked quickly enough and it worked, but they didn't look very pretty, so I didn't take a picture. Wedges, as the recipe calls for, are probably the better option here.
In any case, it's a recipe worth sharing. I don't think I would have ever paired Asian ingredients with sweet potatoes if not for this recipe and the rave reviews....
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
What's for Dinner? Roasted Salmon with Horseradish Crust
As I searched the web for recipes for salmon, horseradish kept popping up as an ingredient and captured my attention. After narrowing my search for salmon and horseradish, I came upon a recipe from Global Gourmet that sounded easy, elegant and delicious.
The crust is easy enough to throw together, although I had a hard time getting it to puree in the food processor - nothing seemed to really want to move around and blend. It was also a bit difficult to get it to spread nicely on top of the salmon pieces - I had to flour my hands and pat the crust on - it was very sticky and wanted to stick to everything BUT the salmon.
The crust did have a wonderful flavor, but it did not get crispy, something I would have expected from a "crust". I did cut the butter in half, so that may have been part of it and perhaps a few minutes under the broiler would have helped it to crisp up and brown nicely, but I did not have it in the proper dish for broiling.
Everyone did like it quite well, I just need to figure out how to make the crust crispy and perhaps a little more colorful - maybe a little parsley thrown into the mix.
The lack of color in the crust and my lack of colorful sides to pair with the salmon also made for a rather boring picture, but I'll include it anyway...............
Tags: salmon, horseradish, seafood, food, recipe
The crust is easy enough to throw together, although I had a hard time getting it to puree in the food processor - nothing seemed to really want to move around and blend. It was also a bit difficult to get it to spread nicely on top of the salmon pieces - I had to flour my hands and pat the crust on - it was very sticky and wanted to stick to everything BUT the salmon.
The crust did have a wonderful flavor, but it did not get crispy, something I would have expected from a "crust". I did cut the butter in half, so that may have been part of it and perhaps a few minutes under the broiler would have helped it to crisp up and brown nicely, but I did not have it in the proper dish for broiling.
Everyone did like it quite well, I just need to figure out how to make the crust crispy and perhaps a little more colorful - maybe a little parsley thrown into the mix.
The lack of color in the crust and my lack of colorful sides to pair with the salmon also made for a rather boring picture, but I'll include it anyway...............
Tags: salmon, horseradish, seafood, food, recipe
Sunday, November 05, 2006
This, that and WDB #59
Things have slowed way down here at The Savory Notebook - partly because I have gone back to work, at least temporarily. Searching the classifieds recently, I found that they were opening a temporary holiday kitchen store at our mall, so I figured, what the heck. I worked in retail many moons ago and vowed never to go back, especially now that I have a family, but it's only temporary, right? And we could really use a little extra money, so I applied and was hired. They seem to be willing to work around my schedule which is complicated because of the kiddos. I've been surprised at how unorganized this company has been. I've worked only two days, have received VERY minimal training and I opened and closed the store today. The regional manager left yesterday - after opening on Wednesday (which is also the day we began our training!) and now we are left on our own - all of us new, none of us ever having worked for the company before. Scary!
My husband was in charge today while I was at work and I was very pleased to come home to a nice warm pot of chicken soup simmering on the stove. He doesn't cook often, he does a great job when he does cook. With me working some evenings now, he'll be getting a little more practice. When he makes soup, he rarely uses a recipe, so I don't have one to share, but the soup was delicious - it had crimini mushrooms, parsnip, carrot, celery, white rice, wild rice and barley. It was fun to have an evening of role reversal - me coming through the door after a long day at work to a homecooked meal. Only his was actually ready when I arrived and the kitchen was even clean and orderly - I don't think he is usually quite so lucky. No recipe to share, but I did take a picture.....
Last but not least, my entry for Sweetnicks' WDB #59. This past Halloween, Bailey got very excited with all the little ghouls and goblins coming to our door and started carrying around one of his favorite toys - a plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket. For some reason, Bailey has always had a fascination with this thing - he loves to bat it around the house and carry it in his mouth. I never have been able to get him to carry it by the handle, like Eli over at Sweetnicks, but it still cracks me up and was especially funny to watch him carrying it on Halloween night. Silly dog. Don't forget to check over at Sweetnicks later on for the rest of the furry gang.
Bailey's on the lookout for trick-or-treaters and
is ready to join in the fun!
My husband was in charge today while I was at work and I was very pleased to come home to a nice warm pot of chicken soup simmering on the stove. He doesn't cook often, he does a great job when he does cook. With me working some evenings now, he'll be getting a little more practice. When he makes soup, he rarely uses a recipe, so I don't have one to share, but the soup was delicious - it had crimini mushrooms, parsnip, carrot, celery, white rice, wild rice and barley. It was fun to have an evening of role reversal - me coming through the door after a long day at work to a homecooked meal. Only his was actually ready when I arrived and the kitchen was even clean and orderly - I don't think he is usually quite so lucky. No recipe to share, but I did take a picture.....
Last but not least, my entry for Sweetnicks' WDB #59. This past Halloween, Bailey got very excited with all the little ghouls and goblins coming to our door and started carrying around one of his favorite toys - a plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket. For some reason, Bailey has always had a fascination with this thing - he loves to bat it around the house and carry it in his mouth. I never have been able to get him to carry it by the handle, like Eli over at Sweetnicks, but it still cracks me up and was especially funny to watch him carrying it on Halloween night. Silly dog. Don't forget to check over at Sweetnicks later on for the rest of the furry gang.
Bailey's on the lookout for trick-or-treaters andis ready to join in the fun!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
What's for Dinner? Beef Bourguignonne
Doesn't it seem like "Bourguignonne" has one or two letters too many?
Anyway, that's what was on the menu for tonight. Or almost wasn't. It was one of those poorly planned evenings in the kitchen that almost didn't turn out, but did. First, I procrastinated and didn't get dinner started until a little after 5. Then, as I was chopping the carrots and onion, I realized that this dish really needed to simmer for over an hour! Oh well, I kept plugging along and just took the chance that the beef would be tender sooner than the recipe indicated.
Turns out it was a good gamble - the beef was tender in about 1/2 less time - and everything turned out very well. I won't bore you with all the other missteps I made in the kitchen in my hurry to get everything on the table at a decent hour, but let's just say it wasn't a lesson in efficiency or grace. Ahem.
In any case, we enjoyed this dish from Cooking Light very much - it has great flavor and is one of those perfect cool weather comfort food dishes - and it will definitely be repeated in this house. Only next time I'll allow a sufficient amount of time for prepping and simmering........
Beef Bourguignonne with Egg Noodles
Tags: beef bourguignonne, low fat, Cooking Light, recipe
Anyway, that's what was on the menu for tonight. Or almost wasn't. It was one of those poorly planned evenings in the kitchen that almost didn't turn out, but did. First, I procrastinated and didn't get dinner started until a little after 5. Then, as I was chopping the carrots and onion, I realized that this dish really needed to simmer for over an hour! Oh well, I kept plugging along and just took the chance that the beef would be tender sooner than the recipe indicated.
Turns out it was a good gamble - the beef was tender in about 1/2 less time - and everything turned out very well. I won't bore you with all the other missteps I made in the kitchen in my hurry to get everything on the table at a decent hour, but let's just say it wasn't a lesson in efficiency or grace. Ahem.
In any case, we enjoyed this dish from Cooking Light very much - it has great flavor and is one of those perfect cool weather comfort food dishes - and it will definitely be repeated in this house. Only next time I'll allow a sufficient amount of time for prepping and simmering........
No time for a good photo either.....this one's a bit fuzzy, but it will have to do..............
Beef Bourguignonne with Egg NoodlesTags: beef bourguignonne, low fat, Cooking Light, recipe
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