Plum (Pear) Torte

Recipe: Plum Torte // Smitten Kitchen
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I used tiny pears that I bought at the farmers market instead of plums. My guess is that plums would be jucier, but this was still delicious. A quick and easy dessert for any time of year!

Pumpkin Pie

Recipe: Libby's Pumpkin Pie // Can of Libby's Pumpkin
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My sister visited last weekend and she made a pie in celebration of fall. I love pumpkin pie, but this one just wasn't as delicious as the ones my mom makes (sorry Anna). I think it tasted more sugary and less pumpkin-y. The recipe made two pies, which is too much for my small household. In the future, I'd cut the recipe in half unless I was planning on guests.

Marble Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Recipe: Marble Chocolate Pumpkin Bread // Serious Eats
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This was a treat. I especially like it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We weren't finishing the loaf in a timely fashion, so I froze half of it.

Chicken in Pan Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe: Chicken with Pan Sauce // Mark Bittman via Serious Eats
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Side Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato Fries // Serious Eats
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We've made (and probably featured) this chicken before. I love it. The sweet potato recipe was new, and we enjoyed it!

Basic Cheese Quiche

Recipe: Basic Cheese Quiche // How to Cook Everything

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The last time I made quiche, I added a lot of extra fillings and removed one egg. Turns out ALL the eggs are needed for the quiche to set properly. And a variety of fillings really didn't taste as a good as a basic one- or two-ingredient quiche. Bittman mentions this in his book, so I should have known better. Anyway, this one had only cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, pecorino) and sauteed mushrooms. It turned out quite well.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes // Annie's Eats
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Yum. These pancakes had just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. We served them with PA Maple Syrup. The texture of the finished pancake is a little wet, but I think it's just the pumpkin puree makes it less cake-y. We cooked our pancakes slowly on a medium temperature, and I didn't mind the texture. We didn't have any dried ginger on hand, so we omitted it from the recipe.

Spicy Sesame Chicken & Couscous

Recipe: Spicy Sesame Chicken // What's Cooking Chicken
Side Recipe: Couscous // Seth's Grandma

Rating:

This was nice! The chicken recipe called for curry paste, which we did not have. We substituted some Dinosaur BBQ dry rub seasoning. The dish was pretty mild overall, not really spicy. I might have liked the flavor of the curry. We added parsley to the couscous, which I enjoyed.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini Boats Appetizer // Not sure where Seth got this one from
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In the process of making actual dinner, Seth and I got too hungry to wait. He whipped up these appetizers for us -- we had zucchini & feta that we were looking to get rid of, and he searched for an appetizer recipe that would use both.

They were great! I added dill on top. Delish.

Stuffed Tomato (In Which We Use Peppers)

Recipe: Summer Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes // Serious Eats
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We spent a glorious labor day weekend in Ithaca, NY. While there, we visited Wegmans at least three times. On our last stop on the way out of town, we picked up a bunch of local produce. We found ourselves left with much of it at the end of the week, and needed a recipe that made use of it.

This was great! We didn't have tomatoes, but we had big peppers, and the substitution was fine in my opinion. I was afraid this recipe was going to be too veggie-y for me, but it really wasn't. We used fontina cheese because it melts beautifully (and we were out of mozzarella). It had a sharper taste, which I enjoyed. Seth was liberal with the olive oil. The fresh basil was essential. Definitely a good one for summertime produce.

Pasta and Kidney Bean Soup

Recipe: Pasta & Kidney Bean Soup // Serious Eats
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I wasn't convinced that it was going to be any good -- the recipe seemed like one of those where you throw a bunch of cans into a pot and called it soup. But it was great! We made it with turkey sausage and added a parmesan rind. Not exactly kosher, but we're working on it. I only had one can of red kidney beans, so I used a can of cannellini beans as well.

Huli Huli Chicken

Recipe: Huli Huli Chicken // Slow Cooker Revolution
Side Recipe: Whole Grain Rice & Roasted Broccoli

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This was an easy & tasty chicken slow cooker recipe. That said, it didn't blow me out of the water. I'd make it again, though.

When Seth brought home the wild rice, I was thinking there's no way I'm going to eat/enjoy that. But I did! It was a lot like rice pilaf. How nice.

Crunchy Mustard Baked Salmon

Recipe: Crunchy Mustard Baked Salmon // Serious Eats
Side Recipes: Couscous (not pictured), Corn, & Roasted Broccoli

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I burnt the salmon topping a little bit in the broiler, but we still liked it. The corn was delicious for being so early in the season. We'll use this recipe again.

Vodka Cream Sauce, Pasta & Fresh Salad

Recipe: Vodka Cream Sauce // Serious Eats

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This was my most favorite vodka cream sauce that I've ever made. Seth is more talented at making them than me, so I used a recipe for success.

The salad was my first harvest from my tiny container garden. There is a 100% chance I ate a bug. Oh well. Fresh & delicious!

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Recipe: Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce // Basil

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We liked these gyros very much. The chicken was flavorful & tender, and the tzitziki complimented it well. We also made hummus to snack on while we were cooking, but I thought it tasted good with the pita, too. I'll definitely make this again and I think it would be good for entertaining.

Tequila & Lime Turkey Chili

Recipe: Tequila & Lime Turkey Chili // Slow Cooker Revolution

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We made this for Cinco de Mayo. It was alright. I didn't love the texture of the turkey. The overall taste was unique - sweet for chili. It was an entirely edible meal, just not a favorite. I made Seth eat all the leftovers.

Braised Sweet Potato

Recipe: Braised Sweet Potato // How to Cook Everything

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This was an excellent side dish. Flavorful & healthy. I highly recommend.

We Recreate a BBQ Experience at Home

Recipe: Pulled Chicken in the Slow Cooker // Jesse Cardozo
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Side Recipe: Macaroni & Cheese with Black Beans and Chipotle // Serious Eats

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Side Recipe: Roasted Russets with Chipotle Aioli // Moosewood Restaurant

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Appetizer: Fried (Baked) Pickles (not pictured) // Full Flavor Food

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In spite of the varied kitty ratings, this was a favorite meal! The chicken was superb, and not actually cooked by Seth or myself. Our friend Jesse was the master chef there, and we enjoyed it with smoked apple cheddar.

What Seth and I did make was all the side dishes. I enjoyed the idea of the mac & cheese, but our pasta ended up being overcooked because it finishes cooking on the stove. I would have preferred if the dish had been baked. But it was creamy, and I liked the addition of the chipotle and black beans for something a little heartier.

We've enjoyed the original roasted russets with chipotle aioli at Ithaca's Just a Taste Wine and Tapas bar. Ours were not as delicious as the original, but not a bad homemade attempt. I especially liked the chipotle aioli.

The fried baked pickles were edible, but nowhere near as tasty as the steaming-hot fried pickles we've had at varous pubs. I wouldn't make it again. Because they were baked, ours ended up dried out, and covered in an even dryer coating of panko and breadcrumbs. We ate them all because we were hungry, but not because we particularly enjoyed them!

Also pictured is some refreshing fruit salad that helped to lighten up the meal, and some store-bought cole slaw.

French Bread Pizza

Recipe: The Best French Bread Pizza // Serious Eats
Bread Recipe: French Baguette // Local Breads

Recipe:

Our French Bread Pizza turned out truly amazing. I started the bread in the morning, and by the afternoon we had some fresh, soft loaves. We didn't have crushed tomatoes, so we whizzed a can of whole peeled tomatoes around in the food processor. The pizza wasn't soggy in the least; our sauce cooked up nicely and we loved the garlic butter base. If I could give this five kitties, I would.

Egg Salad on Italian Baguette

Recipe: Egg Salad with Pickled Celery // Smitten Kitchen
Bread Recipe: Italian Baguette // Local Breads Cookbook from Bread Alone

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I had a good time baking the bread. It was the first recipe that I've tried from this cookbook, and I'd say it was a success. I didn't use the bread machine! I did use my stand mixer to knead it, though. Even with an extra 10 minutes kneading, I never accomplished the proper "windowpane" elasticity. I moved ahead with the recipe though, because I was afraid of over-kneading it.

After meticulously following all directions, I accidentally baked it for an extra ten minutes. When the smoke alarm wouldn't stop going off, I should have taken the hint. The bottom was burned, so you can see I cut it off.

Deb's egg salad is tasty. I doubled the recipe, because who makes egg salad with only 4 eggs? I need leftovers. Mine had too much mayonnaise because I got tired of measuring. But it's still tasty. I added dry dill and skipped the salt at the end. The mustard, shallots and celery were excellent. A very hard-earned and pleasing lunch!

Lamb Chops

Recipe: Broiled Lamb Chops // How to Cook Everything (pg. 478)
Side Recipe: Roasted Broccoli & Feta Salad

Rating:

This was our first time cooking lamb at home. It had a nice flavor, and was rare in the middle. I cooked the chops on a cast iron skillet on the stovetop, but perhaps I should have broiled them. There wasn't much to the recipe besides adding salt and pepper and cooking at a high temperature for a few minutes.

I liked the feta salad with it -- we made a lemon vinaigrette that went well with the meat but wasn't that good on it's own.