Intro from Baking Challenge: This week's challenge is...avocado! This creamy delicious fruit (yes, it is technically a fruit) is often used fresh in guacamole, and is a fantastic addition to many sandwiches. But, how to incorporate it into a baked good? Did you know that, as a healthier alternative, you can actually substitute avocado for some of the butter in a recipe? There are a lot of other surprising ways that you can use avocado in baking. Some lovely savory options include baked eggs in avocado (yes, please!) and avocado crostini. If you're feeling like something sweet, avocado's creaminess lends itself well as an addition to icing , or even an avocado pie. Happy baking!
Oh man, were these delicious! I made them on a Saturday morning for a weekend breakfast treat. I used the recipe here for the eggs, using little crescents of tin foil to help hold the avocado halves level. When they were just about done, I fried up some bacon and then fried the diced chorizo in the leftover bacon fat (which was AMAZING). I will absolutely be making these again.
Intro from Cooking Challenge: Contrasting flavors are an important part of any cook’s bag of tricks. Think of how much a pot of tomato sauce can really shine with a little sugar added, or a dish like sweet and sour pork has those layers of different flavors that stack on top of each other to create something greater than the sum of its parts. We can apply the same ideas to temperature contrast, and that’s exactly what we’re here to do for hot and cold week. This doesn’t necessarily have to be high-concept – a favorite meal of mine is barbecued pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, where you have not only the hot/cold contrast but also the smoky barbecue/piquant coleslaw flavor contrast. Many top chefs use hot and cold contrast to create unique dishes – Heston Blumenthal, for example is famous for creating drinks that are hot on one side, and cold on the other (and here’s how to do it). Hot and cold contrasts can also be used in desserts. The two most famous examples of this are baked Alaska and bananas foster.
As soon as I saw this week's challenge, I knew I wanted to make black been soup. The combination of hot bean soup with a dollop of cool sour cream turns the whole thing into a silky bowl of delicious.
I made the soup from scratch following this recipe and then garnished with a generous blob of sour cream and a shredded blend of Mexican cheese.
Intro from Cooking Challenge: Pickles! Whether they're stacked on your favorite sandwich from the deli, or in the gross jar sitting on the counter at the gas station, everybody is familiar with pickles in some form. Pickling is the method of preservation that relies on controlled fermentation of foods in brine or vinegar, resulting in a salty or sour product. This method can be applied to pretty much any food that you want to preserve, whether it's fruit, vegetables, or even meat and fish! You can go for the classics, like Straight Up Kosher Dill Pickles or go for something way out there like Kool-Aid Pickles! Portland knows all about pickles, and here's a bit of musical inspiration!
Oh man, Will was so excited when this week's challenge came up. He's been begging me to make pickles for the past year. So I figured I'd make up for the delay by going completely overboard. I made four different kinds of quick pickles (at the rate Will eats pickles, there's no need to worry about longevity). The base for all four was essentially the same - two cups water, two cups white (or cider) vinegar, two tablespoons salt.
The mustard pickles have some light pickling spices added, plus a lot of mustard seeds, some mustard powder, a dash of turmeric, and a little bit of dill.
The regular dills have a liberal amount of pickling spices and a bunch of fresh dill, plus a smashed garlic clove. Classic.
The garlic & onion pickles have...you guessed it, lots of onion and smashed garlic. Unlike the two above, these and the next were pickled in cider vinegar, instead of regular white vinegar.
Last but definitely not least, here are the jalapeno pickles. Two chopped jalos are in here, along with some peppercorn and a dash of cayenne pepper (because why not make it hotter?), all pickled in cider vinegar.
Intro from Baking Challenge: This week's challenge is...flowers! You could incorporate flowers decoratively into a desert. If your piping and fondant/gumpaste skills aren't advanced, these royal icing flowers are simple and adorable. You could also incorporate actual flowers into a recipe - if you can get your hands on it hibiscus is delicious. Lavender is also a popular addition to many deserts. Feeling like something savory? Squash blossoms are a great option.
My attempt at the Wilton Rose! Considering I took a Wilton flower decorating class, I probably should be a little better at these...But I think they came out alright! The frosting is regular buttercream.
