Danielle's Squash Dumplings

This was kind of a weird recipe for me. In the end, the dumplings tasted pretty good. But the process was off.

Alton says at the beginning of the recipe (in the book) that this was not a favorite with viewers, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. The biggest complaint in the online reviews seemed to be that the dough was really wet and required way more flour than called for. In the book, Alton added weights to the amount of squash and potato you need, presumably to address the wetness issue. I weighed my ingredients, but I made a mistake and used double the potato I was supposed to (I was making a half batch and forgot to halve the potato). I don't know if that's why my dough ended up so loose, but like many of the online reviewers, I had to add TONS of extra flour... and I still had a wet dough that was difficult to work with.

After adding lots and lots of extra flour, I decided I better stop adding more because I was sure I had already overworked the dough. There was no way I was going to be able to roll out the dough so I just grabbed clumps of dough, rolled it in my hands, and plopped it in the boiling water.

My dumplings were kind of tough, but they tasted pretty good. I loved the sage flavor, but it was overpowering when I got an actual piece of sage in my bite. I think when I make these again (I have lots of dough still in the fridge), I'll add the sage to the butter while it browns but then skim it out before adding the dumplings.

One of the online reviewers said she squeezed her squash with paper towels before mashing it to get rid of excess water. She said she was able to get a good texture just with the amount of flour called for in the recipe. I wonder why Alton doesn't say to do this in his recipe...

Danielle's Pot Roast

Our dinner conversation the other night --

Danielle: "This roast is pretty good, but I can't say it's the best I've ever had."

Max: "Can you say any roast is the best you've ever had? Isn't every roast practically the same as every other roast you've had?"

Danielle: "No.. well... Ok maybe you've got a point."

As I thought about it, I couldn't distinguish between roasts I've had based on taste. Really, the only thing that has determined a good roast for me is how it's cooked (i.e. has it cooked long enough to be falling apart). In that respect, I only did an ok job with this roast. I cooked it for about 4 hours at 275 degrees, and I thought it needed more time.

I was going to use my crock pot like Cami did, but my crock pot wasn't big enough. My Vons didn't have a good selection of chuck roast, and the only thing I could get was a 3.5 lb boneless roast. So that plus all the veggies was too much for my slow cooker. So I put it in a large stainless steel pot and roasted it in the oven.

I would've liked to try the foil pouch method that Alton Brown uses, but I didn't have heavy duty foil and I had my hands pretty full as it was that day. I suppose my roast may have cooked more effectively with the foil pouch, but I don't know that I'll ever get around to trying it out.

The things we really liked about this roast recipe (and that set it apart from other roasts) were the pearl onions and the fresh thyme. I think the fresh thyme is what makes this recipe.

Pot Roast

The recipe this week comes from Episode 49, season 4 A Chuck for Chuck. You can find a recipe here but it is different from the one in the book. He explains in the book that he received lots of feedback that the original recipe was weird. It has raisins and olives. I stuck with the recipe in the book but next time I will probably add the raisins and cumin. I love cumin. I would love to know how it tastes with olives and raisins.

My husband loves pot roast. Me, not so much. I generally make it a few times a year because I know he loves it, it's easy and cheap. So, I thought this was a good choice. I loved the pearl onions and I think the tomato juice adds a nice flavor.

I made mine in a crock pot. So easy. The meat just fell apart and was very juicy. I must say it was the best pot roast I've ever made and probably the best one I've ever eaten. Oh and he thought it was great, of course.

Danielle's Indian Spiced Cauliflower & Potatoes

Like Melanie, my husband claims to not like cauliflower. I've always liked it so I cook with it occasionally, and basically, Max eats whatever I make for dinner. Max actually said he really liked this dish and would be happy to eat it if I made it again.

I liked it, but I can't say I really loved it. I mean, it tasted good. But realistically, I don't see it being a favorite that I'll make over and over. I think it needs a sauce or something. As is, it seems like more of a side dish. But I appreciate any good vegetarian meal, so I might try this again and make up some kind of sauce.

If any of you are interested, I made some homemade naan to go with it that was quite good. The whole process takes a long time (longer than other breads I've made), but there's a lot of down time in between (for rising) that you could be doing other things so it's not too bad. I stuck with the lower end of all the time ranges and it took me about 3.5 hours start to finish.

Here's the recipe: Snowshoe Naan

Melanie W.'s Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

I wasn't quite sure about this recipe at first for two reasons 1) I don't usually make Indian spiced dishes, though I do like Indian food. I just wasn't sure how mine would turn out. 2) I never make cauliflower because my husband does not like to eat it. He thinks it's bland, has no nutrition, and he thinks old people smell like cauliflower. Regardless, I decided to give it a try.

Well, I thought it was really good!! And my husband did too. He even willingly ate the cauliflower. :) I didn't have any cumin seeds, coriander, or turmeric and I wasn't going to spend $15 on them just for this meal so I substituted curry powder and it was yummy. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. I don't like crunchy onions or even slightly crunchy onions so I sauteed the heck out of them instead of roasting them like Jeannie did. I removed all the seeds from my jalepeño because the last time I cooked something with jalepeños I left in just a few seeds and the food was way too hot, so I didn't want to take any chances. I would still consider this a spicy dish, but not too spicy.

I served it over Thai Jasmine rice because that's what I had, along with some naan bread, and it was a delicious meal that filled us up and even gave us leftovers! If I were to change anything I would probably just add more too it, like broccoli or carrots or chicken to make it a little more hearty and colorful.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

source*

I am in love with roasted cauliflower. It's ridiculously flavorful and hearty while still being super good for you. For those of you who may believe that it's a bland vegetable, I urge you to reconsider. You could actually skip all the other stuff in this recipe and just roast it in some olive oil and call it good. But the other ingredients are tasty, too, so go ahead and give it a try.

I've made it several times with some modifications that I think make it easier to prepare. Serve it up with some basmati rice and some warm naan and you've got yourself a well-rounded meal.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
Gourmet | February 2004
Posted on Epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 (1 3/4-lb) head cauliflower, cut into 3/4-inch-wide florets
1 1/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño, including seeds
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in upper third of oven and place a shallow baking pan on rack. Preheat oven to 475°F.
2. Toss cauliflower and potatoes together in a bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, cumin seeds, and1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread in hot baking pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and browned in spots and potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While vegetables are roasting, cook onion, garlic, jalapeño, and ginger in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until very soft and beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in water, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then stir in roasted vegetables. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

yield: Makes 4 side-dish servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes

266 calories per serving

Total cost = approximately $1.50 a serving (unless you don't have the spices on hand)

Cook's Notes:

• This is not that spicy. I would just say it's more flavorful. My kiddos don't mind spicy foods but I usually leave out the jalapeño seeds just to be sure.
• I don't think it's necessary to do Step 3. Why waste an extra pan? I just toss all of the ingredients (minus the water) into a bowl to mix and then dump it all onto a baking sheet to roast in the oven together.
• I've never used cumin seeds and it's still turned out great.
• If you don't have all of the dry spices and don't want to go out and get them, you could probably get by with just some yellow curry powder.

*I forgot to take a picture so I've borrowed from Epicurious. Hopefully, I'll remember to add my own soon.

Danielle's Winter Pot Pie

This was a delicious dinner. We all liked it very much, and I appreciate any hearty, delicious, vegetarian meal. I used everything the recipe called for except mushrooms (I'm not a fan). I loved leeks last time I had them, so I was excited for an excuse to use them again. And parsnips are something I'd been wanting to try.

I have to admit, I didn't really like the flavor of the parsnips all that much. I thought they were pretty bitter. Max said he liked them though, and according to Wikipedia, parsnips are rich in vitamins and minerals and are a good source of fiber. So maybe I'll give them another shot sometime. I'll just have to sweeten them up or something.

The biscuit topping was delicious, and I imagine with all the vegetables this is a pretty healthy meal. I will definitely be making this again.

Cami's Potato, Goat Cheese and Spinach Quesadillas

These are so tasty. I never would have thought to put these ingredients together and I don't think I would have used this recipe just by looking at the ingredients. We made them two nights in a row because they were so good! I'll definitely make these again.

Danielle's Potato and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I have to say I was skeptical of the ingredients in this recipe... spinach, goat cheese, and potatoes with salsa and pepper jack? But I was pleasantly surprised. They worked together much better than I imagined, and these quesadillas tasted great! I'm really a fan of goat cheese so I was happy to have a new reason to use it.

For the tomatillo salsa, I used this Emeril recipe (although I tweaked it slightly*). I think it worked really well with these quesadillas. If any of you like homemade salsa, you should try this. Yum!




*I roasted the veggies on our bbq, and they smelled so delicious! I tried a similar recipe that called for boiling the veggies, but roasted tastes so much better! I also added an avocado to the salsa to make it thicker. You can't really taste the avocado, but I like the consistency.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Normally, when I think of quesadillas I think of an easy, no-brainer meal option. Something quick to put on the table that everyone will enjoy. But I came across this recipe and loved the idea of goat cheese and a little more substance (and vegetables) to enhance this main dish.

At first glance, these seem like more work than what you'd expect in a quesadilla, but I think it's worth the effort. We've made them 3 times now and they've always been well-received.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
From Bon Appétit | March 2008
Posted on Epicurious.com

yield: Makes 4

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (5 to 6 ounces)
1 1/3 cups jarred salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
4 2/3 cups coarsely chopped stemmed mustard greens (from 1 bunch), divided
4 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
3 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 275°F. Steam potatoes until tender, about 8 minutes. Place in large bowl; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Toss to coat. Cool potatoes 15 minutes. Mix in Jack cheese*. Meanwhile, blend salsa and 2/3 cup (packed) greens in mini processor until greens are finely chopped.

Arrange tortillas on work surface. Divide remaining greens between bottom half of each. Top greens with potato mixture, then goat cheese and 2 tablespoons salsa mixture for each. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling, pressing to compact. Brush with oil.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas, oiled side down, in skillet. Brush tops with oil. Cook until quesadillas are brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 quesadillas.

Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 wedges. Serve with remaining salsa.

Cook's Notes:

• I've never used Yukon Gold potatoes-- just russets-- and they've tasted great
• We've tried it first with mustard greens and then with spinach leaves the next time and have liked them with spinach better
• I've always made them flat using 2 tortillas per quesadilla instead of folding one, as the recipe says
• *I didn't think of this before, but they would stay together better after cooking if you spread the pepperjack cheese out over the bottom tortilla, put the greens, potatoes (minus the pepperjack), goat cheese, and sauce on, and then sprinkled the remainder of the pepperjack on top before you put on the second tortilla*

Do you have any pet peeves?
Sadly, too many to name. But the worst is when people smoke outside our window. Then the smoke seeps into our apartment and stinks up the whole place. Yuck!

Any other hobbies besides being an amazing cook?
Is eating a hobby? I do love to eat, more than I like to cook, actually. But I also enjoy reading, singing, acting, going for walks on the beach, swimming, photography...

What is your favorite summer activity?
Swimming. Or anything to do with the water.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I would so love to be a morning person because they seem to be much more organized, but I am definitely a night person.

Are you a go-go-go sight-seeing kind of vacationer or lie-on-the-beach-all-day kind of vacationer?
I think that I like a little bit of both. If I'm going to a foreign country, I love to see as much as possible but also spend some time on the beach, by the pool, etc. if possible.

What is your favorite store?
Cost Plus World Market. Or maybe Target. It's a toss-up.

What is your favorite beverage?
Water. But I also love Vanilla Coke every once in awhile.

If you had to go back to school, what would your major be?
Not for any sort of practical reasons, but I would love to study theater and acting (I almost minored in them!).