For the past 15 years I've noticed I've been seeking out fewer and fewer 
traditional cookbooks and instead I'm using blogs for recipe inspiration.  
The results are not always great but, hey, that's been the case regardless 
of medium.  What I especially appreciate about online recipes is how they 
are usually accompanied by reviews so I can often fine-tune from the get-
go.

So, with this item, I'm going to start sharing links to recipes I've made 
along with some quick thoughts on the dish.  I'd encourage others to 
likewise share but, please, only on recipes you've made or at least 
tasted.

253 responses total.

Last night I made Asian-Style Pork & Noodles.  It was a nice switch from 
the usual stir-fry and quite good. I've added it to my "keepers" 
collection. Makes 4 reasonable portions. The only changes I made were:

1. I cut the amount of noodles in half to decrease the overall 
carbohydrate load.

2. I used whole wheat egg noodles.

2. I added 1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce to the sauce for a touch of heat. 

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/asian-style-pork-and-noodles

Here is another recipe I made a few weeks ago.  It's a yummy panini 
which goes together quickly and is great paired with soup. I don't have 
an electric panini press but instead just use a heavy grill pan and a 
weighted top. 

Sisters Sandwich

http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/meaty-mains/sisters-sandwich/

The panini "lid":

http://tinyurl.com/2ddjyx9

I go online a lot as well.  One of my favorite sites is 
www.smittenkitchen.com.  I've made several of Deb's recipes and am 
rarely disappointed.  (Her kefte meatballs made with turkey is one of 
my favorite things to eat.)

I'm going to be making this:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake-
recipe/index.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/5b79su


Alton Brown's Tres Leches cake, tomorrow, for a friend's birthday.  
Huge payoff for a small amount of labor.

Kofte (o umlaut) is Turkish for meatball.  Which makes kefte meatballs as
redundant as pita bread or daikon radish.

Amazing, Brooke.  I made that same exact Alton Brown recipe last May, for 
a Cinco de Mayo gathering, and it was a big hit.  Huge hit.  Most had not 
had anything quite like it which is hard to pull off.

But, I'm anxious to hear what you thought.  You have a trained (baker's) 
palate. 

I've made it several times before....it's my go to tres leches cake, 
and considering the cultural climate here, it gets great reviews 
(there are many tres leches cakes out here).  I usually put dulce de 
leche on top of it and people LOVE it.

Isn't dulce de leche that stuff you make by heating up condensed milk in
the can?

So I've been roasting chickens since before there were eggs but I've 
never really found them to be better than a good store rotisserie 
chicken.  So that's a convenience I've embraced.  But, then I ran across 
Ina Garten and her "Perfect Roast Chicken" technique and the three 
hundred and some people who rave about the results and I was intrigued.

So I made it last night exactly as she suggests.  It's a winner - far 
superior to anything pre-cooked at the grocery store.  Even the breast 
meat was juicy and the lemon, fresh thyme and garlic really did perfume 
the dish. At 425 degrees, uncovered, for 90 minutes?  Who would have 
thought.  But, I can now die knowing I can roast a chicken.  Yeah! ;-)

http://tinyurl.com/5rlnnw

Re 7  Yes.  To make it at home, you take sweetened condensed milk and 
cook it in the can in boiling water for like 4 hours.  Or you can just 
buy it in the Hispanice section of your grocery store.

OH, I didn't know you could buy it already made. I've heard it is
amazing and would like to try it sometime so maybe I'll stop by Dos
Hermanos in Ypsi and see if they have it :)

I've found it at Meijer.  

I'm a big fan of traditional fish & chips.  But I don't deep fry at home.  
So when I ran across this recipe for (are you ready?) cornflake-crusted 
pan-fried fish I was skeptical.  But people raved about the results.  So I 
gave it a whack last night and it was excellent. I followed the recipe as 
written except haddock wasn't available so I used orange roughy.  I 
suspect any medium-thick, mild white fish would be fine. 

http://tinyurl.com/24y6dsf

My father used to bread with cornmeal (no sugar added, unlike cornflakes).
He may have first dipped in egg.

For years and years I've been making a turkey meatloaf with a tomatoey 
glaze.  I thought it was pretty good but I've found a recipe that, 
although similar, contains a few tweaks that really takes it up a notch.  
This one comes from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  I've yet to find 
one of her dishes that didn't please.

I made this exactly as directed but scaled it to feed 4 - cutting all 
quantities by 4.  I served it with mashed potatoes and sauted spinach.

http://tinyurl.com/59wwrc

I used to make a pretty good turkey meatloaf when I worked at ASH. One
time I accidentally grabbed a thing of turkey sausage instead of the
usual ground turkey (so it was 1/2 sausage) and it was a huge
improvement :) 

Yum, sounds like a nice addition.

That looks amazing.  My new BFF and I are making Sunday dinner 
together this weekend:  homemade pasta and an Italian style gravy.  
We're pretty excited to be working together, as we have an amazing 
kitchen synergy.

Gravy?  I'd be interested in what it is and how it comes out.

The thing that cracked me up about Ina's meatloaf recipe is how big it 
was.  I mean, 5 pounds of turkey?  That would feed 20 people.  Hey, a new 
Thanksgiving tradition is born! ;-)

resp:18 I thought that part of the point of making meatloaf was to make
extra because when it comes to leftovers, meatloaf is pretty good :) 

20 people? ;-)

No. Ten meals for two people :) 

Last night I made Pork Chops Marsala from this recipe:

http://tinyurl.com/24xhmhn

The only change I made was to use 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon 
olive oil to brown the chops.  I've never found "spraying the pan" to be 
enough to get a tasty browning.

The dish was wonderful, very tasty.  A keeper.

I just now made up a batch of this cranberry sauce.  Super easy and tasty 
- just the right mix of sweet and tart.  It comes from The Pioneer Woman, 
a blogger and cookbook author that seems to be wildly popular at the 
moment. As I spent about 15 minutes looking through her site I can see 
why.  Anywho, here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/23qnwq5

s/that/who

That looks like it's something even I can do... Let's see if I remember 
at Thanksgiving!

Well, after it had a chance to cool and thicken I served it with dinner.  
Next time I'll probably increase the sugar to 1 cup as it's on that edge 
of being too tart.  I'm going to freeze half of it and will let you know 
how that goes.

So yesterday's Sunday gravy experiment went *extremely* well, even 
though we didn't do homemade pasta.  The recipe can be found here:

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=20291

but you have to have a log-in to see it, so I just cut and paste it 
below:

Serves 8 to 10

We prefer meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal) 
for the meatballs in this recipe. Ground beef may be substituted, but 
the meatballs won t be as flavorful. Six tablespoons of plain yogurt 
thinned with 2 tablespoons of milk can be substituted for the 
buttermilk. This recipe makes enough to sauce 1  pounds of pasta. Our 
preferred brands of crushed tomatoes are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen. The 
sauce can be prepared through step 4 and then cooled and refrigerated 
in the Dutch oven for up to 2 days. To reheat, drizzle   cup of water 
over the sauce (do not stir in) and warm on the lower-middle rack of a 
preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour before proceeding with the 
recipe. 

Ingredients
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 rack baby back ribs (about 2 1/4 pounds), 
cut into 2-rib sections
  Table salt and ground black pepper
1 pound hot Italian sausage links
2 medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups) 
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano 3 tablespoons tomato paste 4 medium 
garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 
teaspoons)
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (see note)
2/3 cup beef broth 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 
Meatballs
2 slices hearty white sandwich bread , crusts removed and bread cut 
into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk (see note)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves , chopped
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 
2 teaspoons)
1 large egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red 
pepper flakes 1 pound meatloaf mix (see note)
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto , chopped fine
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese , grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup olive oil 
Pasta
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti or linguine
2 tablespoons table salt   Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
1. FOR THE SAUCE: Adjust oven rack to lower- middle position and heat 
oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high 
heat until just smoking. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season 
with salt and pepper. Add half of ribs to pot and brown on both sides, 
5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer ribs to large plate and brown remaining 
ribs. After transferring second batch of ribs to plate, brown sausages 
on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer sausages to plate with 
ribs. 
2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and oregano; cook, stirring 
occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomato 
paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very dark, about 3 minutes. 
Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed 
tomatoes and broth, scraping up any browned bits. Return ribs and 
sausage to pot; bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook 
until ribs are tender, about 2  hours. 
3. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Meanwhile, combine bread cubes, buttermilk, 
parsley, garlic, egg yolk, salt, and red pepper flakes in medium bowl 
and mash with fork until no bread chunks remain. Add meatloaf mix, 
prosciutto, and cheese to bread mixture; mix with hands until 
thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 12 pieces; roll into balls, 
transfer to plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to 
use. 
4. When sauce is 30 minutes from being done, heat oil in large 
nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs 
and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer 
meatballs to paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly. Remove sauce 
from oven and skim fat from top with large spoon. Transfer browned 
meatballs to sauce and gently submerge. Cover, return pot to oven, and 
continue cooking until meatballs are just cooked through, about 15 
minutes. 
5. Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 
salt and cook until al dente. Reserve   cup cooking water; drain pasta 
and transfer back to cooking pot. 
6. TO SERVE: Using tongs, transfer meatballs, ribs, and sausage to 
serving platter and cut sausages in half. Stir basil into sauce and 
adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Toss pasta with 1 cup sauce and 
reserved pasta cooking water so that sauce lightly coats pasta. Serve 
pasta, passing remaining sauce and meat platter separately.


Ok...so fairly labor intensive, but I have to say, you definitely get 
bang for the buck.  Our only changes were to use homemade chicken 
stock, not beef, and Nata had too much liquid in the meatballs.  But 
holy crap, tasty!  And everyone loved it!  Next time, we'll cook the 
pork longer.

(Mary bows to a master chef who isn't intimidated by multi-step recipes 
and lots of clean-up.)

Sounds wonderful, Brooke.  I grew up in an Italian neighborhood where many 
families were "right off the boat".  This is how they cooked.  I have 
since seldom found Italian cuisine to come anywhere close to matching my 
childhood memories of rustic Italian food.

I had a co-chef.  Nathaniel and I are culinary soul mates (not just 
culinary, but we share a bond over cooking that is unreal).  So I 
didn't do this alone.  We're looking at Greek food next!  

For a dessert last night we had vanilla ice cream with cherry sauce.  Here 
is a link to the recipe. Again, amazingly simply yet delicious.  Except 
for the part where I had to do a liquor store run for some cherry brandy. 
;-)

http://tinyurl.com/23238bg

I used frozen, pitted cherries and left 'em whole.

Looks good!

I've always wanted to make a good chicken cacciatore.  But mostly what I 
ended up with was rather heavy with a thick tomato sauce over chicken with 
a gummy coating.  But last night I tried Giada's recipe and (finally) I 
found a version that reminds me of the dish I remember from my youth. 

I stayed pretty close to the recipe as presented with the only change 
being I used 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs (no breast meat).  For tomatoes I 
opted for canned, diced, Muir Glen's fire-roasted.  I found it needed more 
like 30 minutes in the Dutch oven to be falling-off-the-bone tender.

http://tinyurl.com/58dw3y

A few weeks ago we visited Hidden Lake Gardens, out Tipton way. What a 
gorgeous park.  While there I played around with a bit of geocaching 
without luck.  I'm a beginner here.

Anyhow, while out that way we stopped at a little roadside diner called 
Top of the Hill.  It doesn't get less fancy but oh, my, the bbq was 
incredible.  So I decided to give pulled pork a try at home.  No smoker 
here which puts me to a disadvantage.  Google kept giving Paula Deen's 
recipe top honors, the reviews were great, but the seasonings sounded 
excessive.  But what the heck? All I could lose was a few hours and 4 
pounds of pork.  ;-(

Well, no loss.  The pork was absolutely delicious.  Moist, tender and 
perfectly seasoned.  The yield was 36 ounces of meat, which, to my 
taste, makes 12 sandwiches.  I froze a couple of packages and suspect 
they will reheat just fine.  Yesterday I served this as she suggested, 
on toasted buns with a spicy bbq sauce drizzle and coleslaw topping.  
Tomorrow I'll use the pork in quesadillas.  Anyhow, here is the link:

http://tinyurl.com/5jhkgu

Closing snarky comment: If this recipe wasn't on an official Food 
Network site I'd be skeptical of it being from Paula.  I mean, where's 
the butter? ;-)

Hahahaha!  When asked what her favorite dessert was, her son Bobby 
said, "Butter fried in butter."

And you were out my way!  ;-)

Today is adventures in Greek cooking....homemade Spanokopita, found
here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spanakopita-spinach-triangles-or-pie-
recipe/index.html

and homemade Moussaka, found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/eggplant-and-potato-
moussaka-recipe/index.html

A good time, and AMAZING food!!

Spanak - spinach.  Pita - bread?  The Macedonians make similar dishes.  You
can use leeks instead of spinach, or squash.

It's spinach and feta layered with phyllo dough.  It turned out well.

Wow, that Spanokopita sounds wonderful.  I've only worked with phyllo once 
and my ego took a bashing.  I suspect it takes the patience of a baker.

Now, puffed pasty is another matter.  I can defrost with the best of 'em.

Last night I wanted to use the leftovers from the pulled pork from a few 
days ago.  I decided on quesadillas but I also wanted a quick soup to 
serve with.  I'd found this recipe for tomato soup and gave it a try.  I 
found it interesting for what it didn't call for - like onions or 
oregano or cream.  

http://tinyurl.com/2dhtog8

If you like Zingerman's tomato soup this is the closest thing I've found 
to it both in flavor and texture.  I suspect the brand of tomatoes is 
important here.  I used Muir Glen fire-roasted, diced tomatoes.  The 
hardest part was washing and chopping the fresh basil which took, maybe, 
5 minutes of hands-on.  

Next time I'll do it right and serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches.  
I'm a dunker and this is rustic, dunking and swabbing soup.

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