In case you were wondering if my cooking motivation has fallen off, it hasn't. It's just that when life gets busy, I don't spend as much time on elaborate meals—or photos of those elaborate meals.
I cooked three times this past week, however, and tried a new recipe each time. They're all quick and easy and worth cooking should you be so inclined:
Garlicky broiled salmon from Real Simple—very flavorful; I skipped the tomatoes but do want to try them with it next time
Beef and noodles from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook—not the most gourmet meal in the history of the world, but it's a hearty home-cooked dish nonetheless
Lemon chicken with olives from Real Simple—also pretty flavorful, although cooking takes a lot longer than estimated when you're using giant chicken breasts rather than the cutlets the recipe calls for
In other dining news, Conservative Boy treated me to a terrific meal last night at Swingers Grille in Bloomington. I had the Blue Cheese Flat Iron Steak with Truffle Mashed Potatoes. (I just finished my leftovers for lunch, by the way.) C.B. had Crab Stuffed Shrimp. (No leftovers there.) And although we were stuffed, we had chocolate covered strawberries that were to die for. Yum.
Oh, and one more thing: We stopped at Great Harvest Bread Co. yesterday too. So this morning we had fresh Cinnamon Crunch bread for breakfast. If you've never had it, you must try it. Heaven, I tell you. (We picked up a loaf of honey wheat for sandwiches too, so now I'm delaying my foray into bread-making for another week. Stay tuned!)
2.08.2009
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2 comments:
The BH&G cookbook may not be the bible of haute cuisine, but it is an incredibly useful reference for a wide variety of basic recipes. What you do with them is up to you. If you want to follow the recipes to the letter, that's your business, and you will undoubtedly produce hearty home cooking. On the other hand, you can take the generally applicable principles from the recipes in the book and apply them to your own ideas, which is much more fun. Almost (imperfect analogy, I know) like a style guide.
You are so right. I think everyone needs a basic cookbook like the BH&G cookbook or the Betty Crocker one my mom has (that's where some of my most favorite recipes from childhood came from). I kind of like your analogy, actually. It is a style guide of sorts. I have a new "basic" cookbook on my wish list: "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. I may break down and buy it this week.
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