We tried this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019188-flaky-chicken-hand-pies?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share As a shortcut, we used a 2 ¼ lb rotisserie chicken, which we pulled apart into bite-sized pieces (instead of cutting into chunks), discarding skin and bones. Because we weren’t able to roll out the single sheet of puff pastry to reach 15x15", we were able to fit only… Continue reading Handheld chicken pot pie
Tag: 2019
Winter vegetable soup
We tried this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017928-winter-vegetable-soup-with-turnips-carrots-potatoes-and-leeks?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we added 3 small shallots (cut into ½ inch cross-wise rings) and increased the garlic to 4 cloves. Second, using a low-walled Dutch oven, we sauteed the following ingredients in 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tsp olive oil: leeks, shallots, garlic, and celery. Third, once… Continue reading Winter vegetable soup
Black bean and sausage stew
This recipe is courtesy of my MIL. In a low-walled Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add 1 Tbsp ground coriander, 1 Tbsp ground cumin, 2 tsp smoked paprika, and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Saute until fragrant, then add: 3 celery stalks (including… Continue reading Black bean and sausage stew
Creamy lemon bars with graham cracker crust
We tried this recipe from Yummly: https://www.yummly.com/recipe/CREAMY-LEMON-SQUARES-9125801 The ingredients are simple: 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs, 4 Tbsp melted unsalted butter plus 1 ½ tsp for buttering the casserole dish, ¼ cup sugar (we used vanilla-infused), 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 2 egg yolks, and ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice. We found the crust… Continue reading Creamy lemon bars with graham cracker crust
Peanut butter and jelly roll-ups
This is a recipe from my childhood: a home economics class in middle school. I tracked down the same recipe here: https://dancingthroughtherain.com/peanut-butter-and-jelly-rollups/ We used leftover slices of whole wheat bread, room temperature unsalted butter, smooth peanut butter, and homemade Concord grape jam. Because we didn’t have toothpicks, we placed the roll-ups seam-side down and slightly… Continue reading Peanut butter and jelly roll-ups
Roasted sweet potatoes with smoked paprika
We were looking for a way to use up our leftovers - two raw sweet potatoes already peeled and cut into large, uneven chunks. We cut the potato chunks to make as uniform cubes as possible, and then we tried this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018993-roasted-sweet-potatoes-with-smoked-paprika?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share The recipe called for 4 sweet potatoes, so we halved the ingredient… Continue reading Roasted sweet potatoes with smoked paprika
Concord grape jam
Our friend Leah gifted us kyoho grapes, a type of Concord grape commonly found in Japan and Korea. We tried this recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/09/concord-grape-jam-recipe-grape-jelly.html Our modifications: because we had 3 ½ cups grapes (not 8 cups), we roughly halved the recipe. For the sugar, we reduced to 1 cup citrus-infused granulated sugar and 1 ¼ cups… Continue reading Concord grape jam
Stuffed shells with bolognese sauce
We followed this NYT recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6609-manicotti-with-cheese-filling-and-bolognese-sauce?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share As a shortcut, we used 2 ½ cups of premade bolognese sauce (24 oz Rao’s bolognese sauce). To reduce sodium, we used 1 oz finely chopped prosciutto (down from 2 oz). We also used 12 jumbo shells, which we parboiled for 10 mins; the 12 stuffed shells filled a… Continue reading Stuffed shells with bolognese sauce
Frozen tofu chunks for later use
When defrosted, these will become tofu crumbles - and good vegetarian substitutes for ground pork - in recipes such as vegetarian ma po tofu or vegetarian dan dan noodles. We tried this method by Andrea Nguyen: https://www.thekitchn.com/leftover-tofu-freeze-it-for-later-167830 We used Whole Foods extra firm tofu. After handpressing the 14 oz tofu brick with paper towels, we… Continue reading Frozen tofu chunks for later use
Quinoa spinach breakfast bowl with fried egg
We made this recipe: https://www.wholefoodbellies.com/garlicky-quinoa-and-spinach-brunch-bowl/ At the end of cooking, we found the quinoa-spinach mixture a little flat, so we added 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar or white wine vinegar also would work), ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp each coarsely ground Aleppo pepper and black pepper. We also accompanied each serving with a… Continue reading Quinoa spinach breakfast bowl with fried egg