Potato Knish

Recipe: Potato Knish // Smitten Kitchen

Rating:

This was a fun recipe! We had potatoes that needed to be used up, so I decided to try this classic Jewish bun snack. I've only ever had knish from a food truck in NYC, so it was an experiment. Seth said there was something "knish-y" about the filling that tasted just right. It was filling & delicious.

We had it dipped in mustard with smoked turkey on the side.

Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chickpeas

Recipe: Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chickpeas // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 176)
To Drink: Villard Blanc // Goose Watch Winery

Rating: 

This was great! The recipe called for dried garbanzo beans, and I was amazed the improved texture and flavor compared to canned. I'm not sure I've had garbanzo beans except from a can; these were much better.

Like most recipes from this cookbook (which Seth bought me for Hanukkah), it required some browning on the stove, but the end result was worth it. I used chicken broth that we had open in the fridge, so ours wasn't technically vegetarian. We paired it with a lovely finger lakes white wine and some leftover Italian semolina bread. I will make this again!

Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream

Recipe: Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 80)

Rating:

This was hearty & flavorful, but I prefer this chicken tarragon recipe. I changed all the proportions because I have a small slow cooker, and did not plan on cooking 6 split chicken breasts. The prep work was easy, the sauce was tasty. The chicken fell right off the bone, but it was a tad drier than expected. In the future, I would nook my chickens deeper in the sauce when cooking (I rested mine on top).

We had it with fresh Italian Semolina bread from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. I'm experimenting with bigas.

Update: we had the leftovers the next day, and I enjoyed this even less the second time around. I doubt I'll be making it again anytime soon. I bumped the rating down to two kitties. Seth seems to like it, though.

Hanukkah Latkes

Recipe: Potato Latkes // Judy Canetti
Side Recipe: Stovetop Applesauce // (I'm not sure where Seth got the recipe from)

Rating: 

Not the healthiest of meals, but it's a welcome Hanukkah tradition. This recipe calls for blending the potato mixture; I like when there are some grated potato pieces in my latke, so we might try adding some after the blending next time.

The applesauce was homemade on the stovetop; I believe Seth chopped up some apples and simmered them with a little sugar until they was mushy.

Valentine Salmon

Recipe: Valentine Salmon // How to Cook Everything

Rating: 

Seth first made this for me on Valentine's day two years ago. I have been making it ever since. It's a tasty mix of carrots, onions & garlic in a red wine sauce. It's really wonderful. We had it with roasted broccoli. 

Mushroom Bourguignon

Recipe: Mushroom Bourguignon // Smitten Kitchen via Serious Eats

Rating:

I really wanted to love this recipe, but I think it was just too mushroom-y for me. We used shiitake & white mushrooms in addition to portabella. Perhaps we needed more seasoning, and we only had one garlic clove. Seth says he would like to eat it again, but I'm not convinced.

Update: I lowered the rating to two kitties. Edible, but I don't plan on making it again.

Man Pleasing Chicken & Roasted Broccoli

Recipe: Man Pleasing Chicken // Witty in the City
Side Recipe: Roasted Broccoli // Cook's Illustrated

Rating:

We found this recipe on Pinterest. It was quite good! We used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, but the recipe called for boneless, skinless thighs, which I would have preferred. That's the only thing I'll change in the future. 

It was nice with the broccoli, which we've made before. 

Tomato Basil Soup with Rösti

Recipe: Tomato Basil Soup // Serious Eats
Side Recipe: Crispy Potato, Onion & Mushroom Rösti // Serious Eats

Rating:

We liked this meal very much! The soup has a nice texture and was easily put together with ingredients we had on hand. We used half & half instead of heavy cream. My mom recently gave me an immersion blender and I used it to mix the soup right in the pot. It was fabulous--thanks mom!

We tried making the rösti in our cast iron skillet, but it must not be seasoned properly. It got stuck and we had to mush it all up to get it out, so ours wasn't layered as intended. It still tasted great, and reminded us of latkes. We ate it with sour cream! Definitely tasty.

Chicken Parmesan

Recipe: Chicken Parmesan // How to Cook Everything (pg 388)
Rating: 

This was a nice chicken parmesan. The chicken got crispy on the stovetop and the cheese was bubbly and melty in the oven. We used linguini noodles because I am not fond of spaghetti noodles. We've made this before, and we'll definitely make it again.

Omelette: Yesterday's Breakfast

Recipe: Tomato Mushroom Onion Cheese Omelette // Seth's creation
Side Recipe: Crispy Sautéed Potatoes with Rosemary // How to Cook Everything (pg 597)

Rating:

Seth is a master omelette maker. Yesterday he also treated me to crispy potatoes. We had it with home made toast. Weekend breakfasts are the best!