A friend on Facebook has been showing too many tasty pictures from his Hawaii trip. One curious item I saw was called Haupia. Some sort of white jello thing and I had to look it up.
It is a Hawaiian coconut pudding commonly served at Luau. I decided to try the recipe from the Polynesian Cultural Center.
The recipe looks extremely easy, however, simple recipes are often failures in disguise. Since I've never had Haupia, I do not have an idea what it's supposed to taste like. My result tasted ok. It has a nice coconut flavor with a hint of sweetness. The texture reminds me of the Asian azuki bean desserts. The mixture thickened so suddenly that I didn't mix it well enough, I think.
Showing posts with label ok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ok. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Chili
My sister went to a work party and bought me a new cookbook. How nice, but the only catch was that she wanted me to make her the chili from the book since she enjoyed it that much from the party.
Specifically, the recipe is called "Chili for a crowd". A crowd of 35-40 people and involves 8 lbs of beef and 2 lbs of Italian sausage. I am not sure if I have a pot big enough to host all that meat, and I didn't have that many people coming to dinner so I cut the recipe down to 25% and followed it as close as possible.
I bought a nice chunk of chuck roast from Whole Foods and asked the guy to ground it up for me. I am not sure if it's Whole Foods or the nice meat, but the grounded beef didn't gross me out as they normally did.
The recipe contains a few uncommon chili ingredients such as basil, oregano, dill and Italian Parsley. Overall, the chili was one of the best I've had. The flavor was very vibrant and delicious, but there was too much meat and too little beans for me. I will try this recipe again with half the meat and twice the beans. And maybe more tomatoes too.
Specifically, the recipe is called "Chili for a crowd". A crowd of 35-40 people and involves 8 lbs of beef and 2 lbs of Italian sausage. I am not sure if I have a pot big enough to host all that meat, and I didn't have that many people coming to dinner so I cut the recipe down to 25% and followed it as close as possible.
I bought a nice chunk of chuck roast from Whole Foods and asked the guy to ground it up for me. I am not sure if it's Whole Foods or the nice meat, but the grounded beef didn't gross me out as they normally did.
The recipe contains a few uncommon chili ingredients such as basil, oregano, dill and Italian Parsley. Overall, the chili was one of the best I've had. The flavor was very vibrant and delicious, but there was too much meat and too little beans for me. I will try this recipe again with half the meat and twice the beans. And maybe more tomatoes too.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Spinach Pasta with Alfredo Sauce
I had some baby spinach that didn't look good enough for a salad anymore so I decided to make some spinach pasta.
The pasta recipe came from a cooking class and included:
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 eggs
3 oz of spinach blanched and pureed
Not all the flour got incorporated into the dough; however I had to add lots of flour back during the rolling step to prevent sticking. My pasta maker rolled out sheets beautifully but the fettuccine cutter was broken. I ended up cutting the pasta into 1/2 x 2 inch strips so that my baby girls could eat them easily.
The Alfredo sauce was made based on a Cooks Illustrated recipe. It seemed extremely unhealthy: cream, butter, cheese plus seasoning. The dish was quite a hit with the husband but I found it way too rich for my taste. My baby girls were intrigued by the green noodles initially but felt full pretty soon.
Overall this was a fun experience. I suspect that the consistency and texture of the pasta cannot really be described in a recipe and I might have to take a pasta making class again if I want to make it better. Alfredo sauce really isn't my favorite, so I shall also try a healthier sauce next time!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Split Pea and Ham Soup
I had a big chunk of fancy ham that I didn't know what to do with. After a huge batch of potato salad (Japanese style with ham) there was still more than a pound of meat left.
The Cooks Illustrated has a very straight forward recipe for Split Pea and Ham soup and I happened to have all the ingredients except for fresh thyme. I used dried thyme instead. The split peas I used actually came from the famous Pea Soup Andersen's (home of the split pea soup!), thanks to my friend Haruka!
The result was a hearty, tasty soup but not all that impressive. However, when I added a bit of balsamic vinegar to the leftover soup 2 days later, the flavor really popped. Interesting!
The Cooks Illustrated has a very straight forward recipe for Split Pea and Ham soup and I happened to have all the ingredients except for fresh thyme. I used dried thyme instead. The split peas I used actually came from the famous Pea Soup Andersen's (home of the split pea soup!), thanks to my friend Haruka!
The result was a hearty, tasty soup but not all that impressive. However, when I added a bit of balsamic vinegar to the leftover soup 2 days later, the flavor really popped. Interesting!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Ginger Oatmeal Cookies
It was a decision between chocolate chip oatmeal and ginger oatmeal cookies. It should have been a no-brainer, but the ginger one was picked because the husband is on a weight loss challenge and I don't really give my little girls chocolates.
The recipe came from the Cooks Illustrated and there were several variations of the oatmeal cookies. All of my tasters liked the cookies which were rich in ginger flavor and had a good texture of crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. To me, it seemed to lack something, like raisins. Maybe I should try to chocolate chip oatmeal recipe next time.
The recipe came from the Cooks Illustrated and there were several variations of the oatmeal cookies. All of my tasters liked the cookies which were rich in ginger flavor and had a good texture of crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. To me, it seemed to lack something, like raisins. Maybe I should try to chocolate chip oatmeal recipe next time.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
We have three sick people in the house this week so I decided to try the "Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup" recipe from the Cooks Illustrated. It seemed pretty complicated but didn't require hours of cooking.
I got an air chilled whole chicken from Whole Foods and asked the butcher to remove the breast and cut the rest of the chicken in 2 inch pieces. The guy replied "we can cut it any way you want". I was dumbfounded when I saw my bag of chicken pieces. Where are the breasts?! I also couldn't decide which piece was actually 2 inches. Anyway, I picked out pieces that had "rib like" bones or boneless and designated them breasts.
The recipe was followed closely except that I substituted homemade spaetzle for the egg noodles. The substitution worked well and did not require too much additional time. It was a tasty chicken soup with good flavor; however I personally prefer the chicken fricassee recipe from the Joy of Cooking for my sick days. The main difference was probably the thickening step in the Joy of Cooking recipe which makes the soup much more fulfilling.
As the only healthy person left in the house, I suspect that I will get to make another chicken soup to my liking soon. Stay tuned for the chicken fricassee.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Chicken Pot Pie
This was made for my sister's birthday dinner. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite American dishes; however, most pot pies I've tried were disappointing. After looking through several recipes on Cooks Illustrated, I decided to use their pie crust recipe but combined it with my mother-in-law's filling recipe. It was easy, and I knew it was tasty.
The pie crust recipe from the Cooks Illustrated was meant to be for the top crust of a 13x9 chicken pot pie. I divided the dough in half and made a double crusted round 9 in pie instead. For the filling, I cooked boneless chicken thigh in chicken broth for 20 minutes as described in the Cooks Illustrated recipe, cut it into cubes, and combined it with 2 cups of cooked veggie (3/4 cup each of peas and corn, and 1/2 cup of carrots), and 2 cans of Campbell's cream of potato soup (concentrated. Do they actually sell the straight-up version?). The pie was baked at 350F for 1 hour.
The resulting pie was tasty, although a bit on the dry, salty side for me. Perhaps I should add a bit of broth to lighten it up. The crust came out beautiful and flaky, although the flavor was a bit flat. A slightly sweeter crust would probably off set the saltiness of the filling.
This is definitely a fun dish to make and full of possibilities for various combinations of filling and crust. It will be put on my "experimental dish" list.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Carrot (Cup) Cake
As much as I bake, I have never made carrot cakes before. This time I had way too many carrots in my fridge so I decided to try the "simple" rather than "light" carrot cake recipe from Cooks Illustrated.
Shredding carrots with a food processor was a breeze, and I liked it even better that I got to use the same bowl for making the cake. The recipe called for a metal 13x9 baking pan, which I don't have, so I made cupcakes instead. The cooking time was about 23-26 minutes.
The cupcakes were popular, with or without the frosting. I personally thought it was alright. The texture was lighter and fluffier than I expected, but the flavor was kind of one dimensional. It was tasty but not quite a "wow" piece.
Shredding carrots with a food processor was a breeze, and I liked it even better that I got to use the same bowl for making the cake. The recipe called for a metal 13x9 baking pan, which I don't have, so I made cupcakes instead. The cooking time was about 23-26 minutes.
The cupcakes were popular, with or without the frosting. I personally thought it was alright. The texture was lighter and fluffier than I expected, but the flavor was kind of one dimensional. It was tasty but not quite a "wow" piece.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
French Toast Casserole
To save a nice baguette from the ACME bakery, I decided to turn it into French toasts. Both the Joy of Cooking and the Cooks Illustrated have recipes for French toast recipe that can be prepared the night before. The Joy of cooking calls for "slices of white or egg bread" while the Cooks Illustrated calls for "supermarket French or Italian bread". I picked the Cooks Illustrated recipe because my baguette resembled French bread more. Personally I also prefer thicker French Toasts.
The preparation was relatively simple. The cut bread pieces were toasted in the oven until golden brown followed by a soaking in a mixture of egg, milk, sugar and vanilla overnight. There's also a topping involving pecan, brown sugar and corn syrup. Unfortunately I had neither pecan nor corn syrup so I skipped the topping all together.
The French toast came out pretty crunchy on the outside, but a little blend in flavor. I am sure it was because it lacked the nutty sweet toppings and more liquid was evaporated without the protective toppings. It wasn't as good as I expected, but I had faith that it would have been great if I followed the recipe completely. This is definitely a good dish for brunch parties or special breakfast, so I will give it a try again!
The preparation was relatively simple. The cut bread pieces were toasted in the oven until golden brown followed by a soaking in a mixture of egg, milk, sugar and vanilla overnight. There's also a topping involving pecan, brown sugar and corn syrup. Unfortunately I had neither pecan nor corn syrup so I skipped the topping all together.
The French toast came out pretty crunchy on the outside, but a little blend in flavor. I am sure it was because it lacked the nutty sweet toppings and more liquid was evaporated without the protective toppings. It wasn't as good as I expected, but I had faith that it would have been great if I followed the recipe completely. This is definitely a good dish for brunch parties or special breakfast, so I will give it a try again!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Gazpacho
This is a recipe from the Cooks Illustrated. It was definitely better than most gazpacho I've had, but was still on the salty side. Perhaps I should have used Welch's tomato juice as suggested in the recipe. The red bell pepper added a very nice sweet flavor and the overall ratio of the veggies were good.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Couscous
On a quest to find new food options for my girls, I tried two couscous recipes from Cooks Illustrated. Couscous is one of the most nutritious grain product. It is made from semolina durum wheat and is high in vitamin B's and low in fat content.
Couscous with carrots, raisin (and pine nuts)
This one is very tasty and refreshing (from orange). The actual recipe contains pine nuts but since I don't usually have pine nuts in my kitchen and the girls don't really care for nuts, I am skipping it for now. The recipe is very simple and the only labor intensive part is the carrot grating and herb chopping. There's a lot of room for adjustment for personal taste. I like to double the raisins and add more orange juice.
Aromatic curried couscous for two
I don't love this one as much as the one above. The smell of curry was everywhere in my home except in the couscous. Perhaps this has something to do with the curry powder I had, but the end product was very boring. This dish is more suitable as a side dish, but not good enough to be a stand alone main dish.
Couscous with carrots, raisin (and pine nuts)
This one is very tasty and refreshing (from orange). The actual recipe contains pine nuts but since I don't usually have pine nuts in my kitchen and the girls don't really care for nuts, I am skipping it for now. The recipe is very simple and the only labor intensive part is the carrot grating and herb chopping. There's a lot of room for adjustment for personal taste. I like to double the raisins and add more orange juice.
Aromatic curried couscous for two
I don't love this one as much as the one above. The smell of curry was everywhere in my home except in the couscous. Perhaps this has something to do with the curry powder I had, but the end product was very boring. This dish is more suitable as a side dish, but not good enough to be a stand alone main dish.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
King Arthur
My inbox mysterious got newsletters from King Arthur Flour's website. I love it! While I am not that big of a bread eater, I love making bread. I ordered three bread mixes from their website and tried the golden potato yeast bread on my breadman machine yesterday.
I didn't have to do much monitoring on my machine with this mix. The only additional ingredients were warm water and 2 tablespoons of soft butter. The bread rose beautifully and baked well. I did not recall the taste of other potato breads in the past, so I cannot really say whether this is a good bread or not. The texture was very nice and the aroma was wonderful during baking. Moist, good chew and a pretty thin crust. I personally would prefer to have this bread to be sweeter, but I in general like anything sweeter. At $5.95 plus Tax a loaf, it is a bit expensive.
I didn't have to do much monitoring on my machine with this mix. The only additional ingredients were warm water and 2 tablespoons of soft butter. The bread rose beautifully and baked well. I did not recall the taste of other potato breads in the past, so I cannot really say whether this is a good bread or not. The texture was very nice and the aroma was wonderful during baking. Moist, good chew and a pretty thin crust. I personally would prefer to have this bread to be sweeter, but I in general like anything sweeter. At $5.95 plus Tax a loaf, it is a bit expensive.
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