Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Recipe: Broccoli Cheddar Soup // Mangio da Sola

Rating: 

I have made this soup before and enjoyed it again tonight. I added an extra can of chicken broth when my base looked too thick, but I think I should have just added one cup of water. I didn't add any extra salt, but this still tasted salty to me (we used low sodium broth). It's still a nice soup, and I expect we'll make it again.

Stuffed Peppers with Goat Cheese and Couscous

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers with Couscous and Goat Cheese // How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (pg 399)
Side Recipe: Blumenthal's Roast Potatoes // Serious Eats

Rating: 

This was a tasty vegetarian entree. The peppers, goat cheese, and couscous blend well together. We roasted the peppers over our gas stovetop before stuffing them; we set them over a low flame and let the skin soften and blacken. The original recipe calls for quinoa, but we had couscous on hand, so that's what we used.

My favorite was the roasted potatoes. We liked them better than our homemade fries. The recipe called for peeled potatoes, but I like potato skins, so I left them on. They were great.

Chicken Kiev & Roasted Broccoli

Recipe: Chicken Kiev // Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
Side Recipe: Roasted Broccoli // Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
Kiev Rating:  
Broccoli Rating: 

I didn't have faith that the Kiev was going to hold together, but it did! It was pretty simple to put together overall, although I would have liked more filling in the piece I ate. Perhaps I didn't put enough of the butter mixture in each chicken piece. The mustard added to the dipping egg added a nice, subtle flavor. We used store-bought breadcrumbs; they turned out just fine. I gave this an rating of 3 because it's a solid chicken recipe, but nothing that blew me away.

The broccoli was awesome, though! Four kitties! Cooks Illustrated has a variation in their cookbook that calls for shallots rather than garlic--I copied it down before returning the book to the library. It's basically the same recipe linked above; just omit the garlic and when the broccoli finishes roasting, add shallots cooked in oil and parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker: Three Alarm Chili

Recipe: Three Alarm Chili // Slow Cooker Revolution Cookbook

Rating:

Another winner. This chili took some prep work, but it turned out spicy and flavorful. I would make this again.

Slow-Cooker: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Recipe: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 232)
Rating:  

This was the best lasagna I've ever had. It had excellent flavor, wonderful texture, and it wasn't overly cheesy. A real winner, and I'm not usually a lasagna fan.

This recipe required all the prep for a lasagna cooked in the oven (pre-cooking noodles, sautéing vegetables and the like), so the only real convenience is that you come home and your meal is already cooked. The authors do not try to disguise the fact that most quality slow cooker recipes require a fair amount of prep work. Regardless, I can't wait to try more from this cookbook.

I have been looking for a quality slow cooker cookbook, and I think I have found one worth purchasing from the fine folks at America's Test Kitchen & Cooks Illustrated.

Blackened Salmon with Crunchy Coconut Couscous

Recipe: Blackened Salmon with Crunchy Coconut Couscous // Serious Eats
Rating: 

This was fine, but there are other salmon recipes I enjoy more. The coconut milk added a mild coconut undertone that wasn't overwhelming, and I liked the combination of scallions and parsley. I wouldn't use the pumpkin seeds in the couscous if I were to make this again.

Maybe the overall flavor combinations were just too wild for me. Here's a plus, though: it came together quickly! Really--five minutes, and then we just waited for it to cook.

Pizza: My Favorite Food

Recipe: Cornbread Pizza Dough + Toppings // Bread Lovers Bread Machine Cookbook (dough)

Rating:

I like making pizza at home because I always want to eat pizza. Today we made a margherita pizza and a caramelized onion, shallot, and garlic pizza.

Espresso Chocolate Muffins

Recipe: Espresso Chocolate Muffins // Serious Eats

Rating:

Me: "Seth, what rating do we give these?"
Seth: "Four! They're chocolate muffins. I expect these every Sunday morning."

A little more like a cupcake than a muffin, but still tasty. I used 1/4 cup regular cocoa powder and 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder, so they were more like Espresso Dark Chocolate Muffins.

Update: I liked these even better the next day. Tasted less like a cupcake once it had time to cool.