March Meal Plan



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A little late, please forgive me. I just didn't want to interrupt those fabulous ladies last week. I hope you all enjoyed them and had fun visiting their blogs.

This month was a bit tricky! It's Lent! So, I switched around my normal categories so that Friday was now a Meatless Meal. Like usual, we end up with bits and pieces from other meals that we need to use up, so those will get used in the OPEN days. Nick was away for a few days also, and with some leftovers in the fridge, I was happy to have those days OPEN as well, so that's why it looked like I was a lazy cook Week 1.

I'm already happily planning next month because guess what showed up at my doorstep?! Presents! (Even though I ordered them, I will continue to call them presents since I bought them with a gift card. :-p)

I was so excited to get these. I had already purchased the samples on my kindle (and even tried a few recipes), so I was so excited to get the real deal.

In general, I have mixed feelings about cookbooks. With so many recipes from highly acclaimed chefs available on the internet, along with a host of blogs with even more recipes for free, I'm hard pressed to find the need for cookbooks. I have several, but they tend to hang out on a shelf as dust collectors the majority of the time.

But as I've gotten more experience in the kitchen, I've asked my cookbooks to do more than I originally intended. As I'm sure it is with most new cooks, I started out (in college) with a basic recipe book (Better Homes & Gardens) and a few others by some of my favorite TV chefs. I have used them, and still make some of the recipes (by now, memorized). Now, this time I wanted cookbooks that I could continue to learn from as well as keep me pursuing in my newest cooking categories (ice cream making and baking in particular).

I recently read Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and really enjoyed the set up of the book. While it is a bit hard to follow the recipes as it is really written like a novel, she gives many variations on a Master Recipe, essentially instructing you on the basics while also giving you the leeway to come up with your own variation.

It was the type I was looking for. I realized that the books I had, while the recipes were good, didn't really teach me much but to make that exact recipe. I like the idea of learning the basic recipe and then learning how to vary that recipe. That's essentially how you learn to cook anyway. So, I ordered some samples on my kindle (I just love that feature) and made a few recipes and ordered the books.

Which just dropped in on my doorstep, so you'll have to wait for a full review of these as I make more recipes, but from what I've made so far, these are keepers.

What are some of your favorite cookbooks? Have you started meal planning? If so, how's it going?

Beer Review - Bitches Brew (Dogfish Head)

We recently came across this beer at Whole Foods. We were so excited since Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale is probably one of my favorites of all time but I rarely can snag more than a 4 pack a year since it is sold in such limited quantities since it's seasonal *boo-hoo*, so I was thrilled to try another beer from Dogfish Head.

Yes, it was New Years, so we did, in fact, drink this out of our fancy wedding champagne glasses.

By the way, have you seen Brew Masters on Discovery? It's a pretty interesting show following Dogfish Head's beer making process. I was pretty tickled that they started this show, because I love their beers and it's been fun to see their behind the scenes conceptual process (and their antics of course!). Their first episode looked at how they make Bitches Brew - a collaboration with Sony for the re-release of the Miles Davis record of the same name. The concept for the beer, as explained on the show, was to have a fusion of a dark (Stout) and light beer (Tej), similar to how the record combines African and American music styles. The tej beer is a traditional Ethiopian brew using honey and gecho sticks and leaves.

The beer itself is very dark in color, as expected considering the 3 parts stout. But unexpectedly, the flavor is not heavy, syrupy or oppressive as it is with more common dark beers. I suspect that by combining the dark beer with the light beer, it lightened it's flavor enough to make it a quite drinkable dark beer. It has a bold, slightly sweet flavor, but is surprisingly light in mouth feel considering the color. You can also taste the gecho - I suspect this is where the woodsy flavor comes from. The flavors definitely hit you on the front end, but they don't linger too long - which is a plus in my book. Ours was sold in a 1 pint bottle, which was perfect when split between Nick and I. It has only 9% alcohol by volume, which is pretty low for Dogfish Head, but pretty high for a dark beer. This also makes it fabulous for drinking.

One other thing that helps this beers drink-ability is the carbonation. It is carbonated since it's beer obviously, but it's not so overly carbonated like some other beers. For me, this is a two-fold blessing. First, because it is that much nicer to drink and secondly, because it saves the sofa. Nick, not a fan of highly carbonated beers, holds his thumb over the top and shakes them to release the excess carbonation to make them easier to drink. Usually this works out okay; however, sometimes this leads to a beer explosion and it spews beer all over the place. And beer stains. (Thank You Dogfish Head!)

Be prepared for the price though, our one pint bottle cost about $15. Dogfish Head beers in general cost more than the average beer ($10-$12 for a 4-6 pack around these parts), but for a reason - these are not average beers. Personally, I would rather pay for one glass of a good beer than drink 3 glasses of a not so fabulous beer.

We thought of what foods we would pair it with if we have the opportunity to purchase this brew again and have thought to do something meaty, but spicy. Ribs came to mind, but the sweetness in the beer wouldn't go well with a sweet BBQ rib, so we were thinking a spicy dry rubbed rib, charred a bit on the grill or smoker. I think the combination would be fabulous. The spice would contrast the sweetness in the beer and the char would compliment the woodsy flavors in the beer. Click on this link to see Dogfish Head's recommendations.

Pumpkin Crazy! A list of pumpkin recipes I can't wait to try.

Pumpkin patches.

 

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I miss them greatly. I haven't been in years, but just the fact that they don't exist here in Florida makes me nostalgic. And craving pumpkin. I love love love pumpkin recipes. Fall may be my favorite season for the warm, comforting foods that are plentiful (and holidays that require you eats lots of them!) and the addition of sweaters and scarves to one's wardrobe.

Since this week is scary busy at work and we are basically eating a combination of freezer meals (made previously) or simple to prepare meals that require little effort, unfortunately pumpkin was not on the menu.
 
To satisfy my craving however, I found several pumpkin recipes that I would just love to try in the upcoming weeks and months (it may take years..I went a little crazy). I thought I would share them with you all in case you are my pumpkin-loving kindred spirit. And please, if you have any additional pumpkin recipes, leave a link in the comments section. I can't get enough!

Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin Lasagna
Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Bread Sandwich with Cream Cheese Filling
Pumpkin Roll
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pork and Pumpkin Chili
Pumpkin & Cranberry Rissole
Pumpkin Ravioli with Hazelnut Cream Sauce
Savory Pumpkin Ravioli
Pumpkin Filled Ravioli
Pumpkin Pasta
Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecake
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin Sage Cream Sauce
Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Pumpkin Risotto
Pumpkin Cannelloni
Pumpkin Tiramisu
Pumpkin Bars 
Pumpkin Soup
Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts
Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Pumpkin Fritters
Glazed Pumpkin Cookies


What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?