Week 9: Cheese - Mini Cheese Souffles [Baking]

Intro from Baking Challenge: There are so many varieties of cheese, and as many ways that you can incorporate it into baked goods. There are savory options, like baked cheese crisps, cheddar biscuits, and baked jalapeño mac and cheese. There are plenty of sweet options as well, like ooey gooey baked brie, goat cheese swirled brownies, or this sophisticated sounding gouda and tart apple pie.

Pictured here: Sad (but tasty) collapsed souffles

They came out of the oven beautifully puffed, I turned to get my camera, and they had collapsed.  Sigh.

But at least they tasted amazing!  I used this recipe, except I used four mini souffle molds (I had leftover mix, I probably could have filled six with what the recipe made, but I only had four rammikins).  I think I could have left them in a little longer, but I just couldn't wait / was super worried about my first attempt at souffle!

Week 9: Garlic - 44-Clove Garlic Soup [Cooking]

Intro from Cooking Challenge: Garlic! A relative of the onion and chive. While raw, it's very sharp and biting, but when roasted it can be such a mellow treat. You can use it as a spice to enhance, or make a whole dish from it. Garlic has a bit of a cult following, spawning festivals and places such as this. California is a huge producer of the crop.

"Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic.” -Anthony Bourdain

I conveniently had a TON of garlic laying around needing to be used after I vastly underestimated how many clovers are in a head (my cornish hen recipe for Week 5 called for 20 cloves...so I bought 10 heads).  I roasted the whole bunch (less the 18 raw cloves called for in the soup recipe) and put the extra not used here in olive oil to save for bread dipping this weekend!

This is also the week it became abundantly clear that I do not have a future in food photography.  My Henrik Lundqvist bobble-head has joined the party, because garlic soup is very boring in pictures (although oh so tasty)!

Recipe taken from here.

Week 8: TV Show Inspired - Soup Nazi Crab Bisque and Corn Muffin Tops [Cooking]

Intro from Cooking Challenge: The way I look at it, there are two ways to go about this: you could go the literal route and cook food actually featured on a tv show: Hannibal has some exceptionally well done food scenes (Jose Andres is the show’s culinary advisor), although the ingredients tend to be really out there (silkie chicken soup is one of the more accessible dishes). Some Simpsons-themed ideas include gazpacho (from Lisa the Vegetarian) or spicy chili (from El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer). If you have an iron stomach, you can try a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style pizza.
You could also go a more ‘inspired by’ route as well. Fans of Psych could make something incorporating pineapple (there’s a hidden pineapple in every episode) or blueberry (in honor of Gus’s Toyota Echo). Here’s a blog of Gilmore Girls inspired eats. There’s also a good Game of Thrones related cooking blog, but since the recipes tend to be drawn from the books (and I honestly can’t remember how many specific foods they mention on the show) I’d say this falls into the ‘inspired by’ category. Really, the only limitation this week is your imagination (and how much TV you watch).

Seinfeld has always been a family-favorite TV show around my house, so of course I opted to make the Soup Nazi's crab bisque for this week's challenge.  Fair warning - This soup takes FOREVER to make.  Seriously, if you do it all by hand (e.g. not using pre-shelled and -cooked crab and stock), it's at least eight hours start to finish.  It also has some serious heat to it, so if you're not a spice-lover, tone down the pepper.

Recipe taken from here.

Week 8: Gluten Free - No-Bake Nut Butter Bars [Baking]

Intro from Baking Challenge: The challenge for Week 8 is - gluten free! That means no regular flour, my dears! There are lots of gluten free recipes out there and there are tons of sites dedicated to gluten free food that offer recipes and tips and tricks. gluten-free-girl has a handy little basic guide to gluten free baking, and All Recipes has a nice list of gluten free recipes - both savory and sweet. One favorite gluten free treat, that everyone seems to love, is the French macaron. Nom!

Based off this recipe, I used gluten free Rice Krispies to make the whole thing gluten free.  I also found a coconut peanut butter from Earth Balance at the grocery story and used it as the nut butter, and it was amazing.  For those that like coconut, it gave the bars a deliciously fresh taste that wasn't overwhelming.  We were eating the leftover peanut butter straight from the jar for days.

The only downside is that the bars didn't hold together as well as I would have hoped.  This seems to be a problem a lot of people have when making granola bars at home.

Week 7: Poaching - Poached Salmon with Cucumber Tzatziki Sauce [Cooking]

Intro from Cooking Challenge: Poaching is a moist heat cooking method which involves slowly cooking foods submerged in flavorful liquid. Most notably featured in the classic Eggs Benedict, the technique can also be applied to a wide array of foods such as chicken, fish, shellfish, and even beef! Normally, poaching liquid consists of wine or stock, but any flavorful liquid can be used such as fruit juice, milk or cream, or even tomato sauce. While poached eggs are a great topping for almost any dish, I'm looking forward to seeing some great creativity this week!

This was the main course for our Valentine's Day.  I'm usually not a fan of cooked salmon (I'll eat it raw all day long, but I find it tastes too fishy when cooked). However, poaching it was amazingly good.  It came out perfectly cooked all the way through and the cucumber sauce was a really great addition.

Recipe found here.

Week 7: Chocolate - Chocolate Mousse! [Baking]

Intro from Baking Challenge: Valentines Day is coming up, so it's only fitting that this week's challenge be chocolate. This week, make a nice decadent treat for yourself or a loved one.
Chocolate pairs well with so many flavors. From mint, to chili, to orange - you can mix it up. For the chocolate purists, of course, straight chocolate deserts are always an option as well! If you're of age, it's always fun to do something alcohol themed. You don't need to wait until Saint Patrick's day to break out the Guinness , Baileys, and whiskey for these boozy cupcakes - they're a personal favorite. Or, how about a romantic chocolate champagne cake?

A great little treat for dessert on Valentine's Day.  I used this recipe, except I opted for 10oz bittersweet chocolate and 2oz milk chocolate for a richer taste.

Week 6: Jamaican - Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa [Cooking]

Intro from Cooking Challenge: Jamaican food is known for its spices and bold flavors (jerk chicken, anyone?) but there are also a lot of influences on the food from the foreigners that visited the island. The Spanish had a big influence on the food, followed by African flavors. I think the most important thing to consider when making Jamaican food is how to use the spices of the island. Get that down and you're on your way! For those that aren’t familiar with the flavors, there are some great ideas to get you started here and here. Some common Jamaican dishes are curry goat, ackee and cod, jerk chicken or pork, and of course Jamaican patties. Some of the ingredients used in Jamaican food may be tough to find in some areas, though even ackee comes in cans now, but substitutions can always be made to make the dish you prepare unique!

I tried to get fancy and try out this recipe for Bobby Flay's jerk chicken.  On the whole, it came out pretty tasty and I was proud of myself for tackling a recipe with so many moving parts.  However, cooking down the vinegar for the habanero mint glaze stunk up my whole house for weeks.

Week 6: Bread - Ice Cream Bread! [Baking]

Intro from Baking Challenge: Bread, first made around 30,000 years ago, still remains a dietary staple in many cultures around the world. There are a lot directions in which you could go for this challenge. You might try an unleavened recipe, like tortillas, pita, or the the potato based lefse (I've never had this before but it looks goooood!). Maybe you want to make a leavened bread, like a crusty french baguette or a beautiful loaf of challah? You could always go smaller, if you like, there's nothing like soft and warm rolls at dinner.

A while back, I found this blog post about making bread from ice cream.  Even though I was skeptical, I was intrigued.  When I saw this week's theme was bread, I figured it was a great excuse to try it out!

I made two loaves - one with Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey (banana ice cream with walnuts and fudge chunks) and one with butter pecan.  I have to say, I was really suspicious at how well ice cream and flour would come out...and it was DELICIOUS!  The Chunky Monkey was definitely the winner, but the butter pecan was fantastic in the morning toasted with a little butter.

Week 5: Chinese New Year - Pork Gyoza [Baking]

Intro from Baking Challenge: Kung Hei Fat Choi! Chinese New Year celebrations start January 30th and the new year starts on the 31st. So get ready to party! A huge part of the new year celebration is dumplings. You can make them savory with pork, sausage or Chinese black mushrooms, or sweet with a coconut filling. Sometimes they put coins in them! A lot of the food that is chosen to eat during the new year are homophones for positive things such as fish (yú) which sounds like surpluses and niángâo which sounds like "a more prosperous year". The word for cake (gao) sounds like "rising" or "growth" so taro and turnip and any other cake is also very popular. Another thing you can try is to make uncut noodles as they represent longevity. A few other traditions are red envelopes, which are used to gift money, and fireworks! You can also take some more general Chinese flavors such as mandarin oranges and green tea to create something. For further reference on Chinese baking, this lady has an excellent cooking blog!

These were a blast to make.  I prepared the filling the night before and let it sit in the fridge to soak up all the flavors into the pork.  I was amazed how well they came out.  This is definitely a recipe I would do again.  The sauce was a mix of Hoisin and soy sauces.

The recipe (found here) is from one of my new favorite blogs, Budget Bytes.