Molasses cake with fresh ginger

For the past few days, I have dreamt of a molasses cake that I used to buy in the early aughts at Marvelous Market, a now-defunct local chain that served delicious baked goods. They sold their molasses cake in square-shaped slabs, similar to the freshly baked cornbread at Whole Foods. The cake had notes of…… Continue reading Molasses cake with fresh ginger

Simple pumpkin pie with a frozen crust

We misplaced our pie weights, so we weren’t able to blind-bake (prebake) a frozen pie crust. We decided to try this recipe, which calls for a frozen crust: https://startcooking.com/pumpkin-pie-for-beginners. Our modifications: first, we placed a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet in the oven before preheating to 425. Second, in lieu of 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice,…… Continue reading Simple pumpkin pie with a frozen crust

Minced turkey and vegetable soup

We had a craving for a vegetable-heavy soup with minced meat, so we tried this recipe: https://www.sandravalvassori.com/ground-turkey-soup/ For the vegetables, we used: carrots, celery, onion; Yukon potatoes (skin on), fresh tomatoes (see below); and fresh corn off the cob and baby spinach. This was a delicious and relatively healthy soup. Our modifications: first, instead of…… Continue reading Minced turkey and vegetable soup

Dominican braised chicken (pollo guisado)

We made this dish, and it was delicious: https://www.sandravalvassori.com/dominican-pollo-guisado-braised-chicken/. We made the recipe in our Ultimate pan. We closely followed the instructions, but had minor modifications. First, we used 4 chicken quarters. We skinned the quarters and cut them into three pieces each (drumstick plus the thigh cut into two parts), for a total of…… Continue reading Dominican braised chicken (pollo guisado)

Roasted beet, orange, and arugula salad

We made this recipe for a BBQ hosted by good friends: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015857-beet-orange-and-arugula-salad?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share. It was easy to prepare ahead of time as components (roasted and dressed beets, orange segments, dressing, arugula, and walnuts) that we later assembled at our friends’ home. Our modifications: first, we found the dressing bland and too oily (see Note below). It…… Continue reading Roasted beet, orange, and arugula salad

Vietnamese-style shredded cabbage salad with fried tofu

We decided to make this for a light lunch: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12372-vietnamese-inspired-cabbage-salad-with-tofu?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we halved the amount of cabbage (to 3 cups shredded) and the salad dressing. At the same time, we maintained the original amounts of extra firm tofu, carrot, and peanut. Second, for the extra firm tofu, we followed a method from SkinnyTaste…… Continue reading Vietnamese-style shredded cabbage salad with fried tofu

Senate navy bean soup, Instant Pot style

We have been curious about Senate navy bean soup for a while, and we decided to try this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027174-slow-cooker-senate-bean-soup?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we converted this recipe from a 6-8 hour slow cooker recipe to a Instant Pot (120 min high pressure) recipe. We based this conversion on RecipeTin Eats’ recipe for pea and ham…… Continue reading Senate navy bean soup, Instant Pot style

Dominican turkey picadillo

We tried this picadillo recipe: https://www.sandravalvassori.com/turkey-picadillo/. This recipe is our favorite picadillo recipe to date. Our modifications: first, we used a mix of minced turkey (1 lb) and minced chicken (1/2 lb). Second, for tomato paste and tomato sauce, we used no-salt versions. Third, based on our pantry, we made some substitutions: 1/2 cup caper…… Continue reading Dominican turkey picadillo

Fried sweet plantains (maduros)

We often bake sweet plantains to make them healthier, but we decided to try this traditional preparation: https://mydominicankitchen.com/fried-sweet-plantain-slices-platanos-maduros-fritos/ We used a large nonstick pan and 3/4 cup canola oil (instead of 1 cup). Immediately after placing the cooked plantain slices on a paper towel-lined plate, we sprinkled them with a little kosher salt. We served…… Continue reading Fried sweet plantains (maduros)