I am trying to decide what to do next year. I have really enjoyed this, but I don't know if I want to do exactly the same thing next year. I do want to keep some kind of recipe-centric challenge going though. Anyone have any bright ideas?

12/11/2011 12:13:51 PM

Maybe once a week you try a new ingredient or fruit/veggie that you haven't used before? Or you could go through the alphabet (26 letters and 52 weeks mean you would use each letter twice) and say week 1 is A and your goal is to cook X number of things where something starting with A is the main ingredient.

Could be interesting/challenging although I don't know much stuff that would start with a X

12/11/2011 12:19:06 PM

we could name a random and maybe somewhat rare food that you would have a week to make a dish with.

12/11/2011 1:10:17 PM

I do like the idea of using rare stuff or ingredients I've never used, but that could get pretty pricey I think. And when it comes to produce there aren't too many things I've never used that are readily available.

But it would be like my own personal version of Chopped

12/11/2011 1:14:06 PM

and i'll be the judge

12/11/2011 1:25:41 PM

mail all your vegetarian dishes to me...i will be the judge!

12/11/2011 2:06:01 PM

I really liked the maja blanca. the corn gets dense and chewy and the jelly/fudge has a strong coconut flavor. I haven't made any yet, but it's on my list after christmas.

I found the basics of this recipe on my giant bag of red quinoa, but I swapped the cranberries for dried blueberries and added the onion and nutmeg. I'm not really a big fan of quinoa, and I thought this was pretty tasty and had a good texture.


Blueberry Almond Quinoa

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup dried blueberries or cranberries
3 tsp dried onion
1/2 a carton of fresh button mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
pinch of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste


toast almonds in a dry skillet on medium-high for a few minutes until golden brown, stirring constantly. add quinoa and shake until the quinoa begins to change color and becomes fragrant. add boiling water and the rest of ingredients (I actually added them to the water, wanted to use my skillet again) and simmer covered for 20 minutes until water has been absorbed and the quinoa grains have released their tendrils. let sit 5 mins and fluff with a fork before serving.

12/13/2011 12:26:43 AM

Pancetta Almond Orange Salad

1/2 pound greens (spring greens, little gem, romaine etc)
1 handful almonds
2 oz pancetta
2 oranges
Small handful of chopped strawberries
2 tbls champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
olive oil
salt

Sautee pancette on medium high heat with the almonds. When the pancetta gets a texture like crispy bacon take it off the heat. Check the almond for brittle crunch texture. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and add the champagne vinegar and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil and salt to taste. To serve toss the salad with the vinaigrette and garnish with the pancetta, strawberries, and almonds.

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 12:34 PM. Reason : a]

12/13/2011 12:33:45 PM

my offer still stands

also i really really need to learn how to bake! (my plan for the christmas break)

12/13/2011 12:36:45 PM

start with the tollhouse cookie recipe, that never fails

12/13/2011 12:38:40 PM

i like the idea but i need to find a way to bake without using eggs in the recipe

12/13/2011 12:40:52 PM

^

That's actually the same recipe in Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc. I've always thought it made the best cookies ever... So long as you use better chocolate and butter

12/13/2011 12:40:52 PM

ground flax seeds, apple sauce and bananas are good substitutes for an egg, but they change the texture. At whole foods market or another veggie-type store, they have a box of powder available called egg substitute. it's stuff to help baked goods rise like baking powder and binders like tapioca starch.

[Edited on December 13, 2011 at 12:52 PM. Reason : i hate vegan baking though]

12/13/2011 12:52:34 PM

335. Pineapple with Ginger Yogurt Sauce: http://www.marthastewart.com/314130/ginger-yogurt-sauce-on-pineapple — I didn't bother with juicing the ginger and just grated it into the yogurt. Had some canned pineapple rings that I needed to use. I wouldn't omit the almonds. It needs a crunch factor.


336. Potato and Turkey Hot Dog Soup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/potato-and-turkey-hot-dog-soup-with-herbs-recipe/index.html — Don't ask. I used 1/2 can diced tomatoes, homemade vegetable stock, a splash of half and half for cream, didn't have sage, and didn't peel the potatoes or blend them after cooking. I just mushed them up a little with a spoon. It was better as leftovers.

337. Eggnog Jello Shots: http://thatssomichelle.blogspot.com/2011/12/eggnog-jello-shots.html — I made them in syringes so just did eggnog, liquor and gelatin. I decided that I was going to use liquor I already had on hand and go with rum, but then when I went to make them I really wanted to do bourbon. But I only had 3/4 cup of bourbon and I was quadrupling the recipe, so had to finish with rum. Dairy jello is weird. It was like a custard, but not in a good way. They were too strong and tasted way boozy, and imo they might have been better with a bit less gelatin. I had a few people tell me they loved these and take some home, but the resounding opinion (which I agree with) is that they were gross.

338. Tuna Zucchini Burgers: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=735001 — I halved-ish it, with a 5-oz can of tuna, and used half flax seeds and half bread crumbs. They turned out pretty moist and a little soft. They were sort of bland on their own so I had to top them with a bit of sauce.


339. Zucchini Zips: Crescent roll dough spread with dijon mustard, topped with onion, zucchini, mozzarella cheese (I used Swiss), 2 eggs and seasonings and baked. Yummy.

340. Cucumber Cups Stuffed with Spicy Crab: http://domesticfits.blog.com/2011/07/07/cucumber-cups-stuffed-with-spicy-crab/ — I used Sriracha sauce as the hot sauce. It seemed a little bland to me. I added more bit by bit until I was starting to worry it would be too spicy for other people. I guess crab from a can doesn't have a ton of flavor. They went fast at the party I took them to. I used one regular cucumber and one English, and I couldn't tell much of a difference. I didn't peel the whole thing, but cut off alternating strips of peel, so they were stripy on the outside. Two inches was too thick. I think one inch is fine, you just have to be careful not to scoop all the way through the cucumber.

341. Crescent Roll Breakfast Bake: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,175,158177-244203,00.html — I had some leftover crescent rolls from the appetizer. Made two individual dishes with two rolls, two eggs and one sausage patty each. Used cheddar. Deliciously awful for you. I debated adding some veggies in with it, but was feeling unmotivated. I think that would be good though.


342. Bacon-wrapped Pineapple: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2010/10/bacon-wrapped-pineapple-bites.html — Used some pineapple rings and turkey bacon and sort of weaved the bacon around the ring. Interesting.


343. Soy Sauce Eggs: http://rasamalaysia.com/soy-sauce-eggs-shoyu-tamago/2/ — They look kind of creepy. I was worried the yolk would get chewy, but it didn't. I liked them.


344. Crab-Stuffed Zucchini: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mandys-crab-stuffed-zucchini/detail.aspx — I repurposed a little of the crab filling I had for the cucumber cups for these. Didn't top with butter or Parm. Tasty and quick to mix up.


345. Five Minute Chocolate Oatmeal: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/21/five-minute-chocolate-oatmeal/ — Things I make with cocoa powder never taste as much like chocolate as I feel like they should. I didn't really like this.


346. Curry Sauce: http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/rsc/sauce.htm — This seemed the least complex of the recipes I found. Another one said a key to the flavor was cooking the onions really well before adding the other stuff, so I did that. They also said to blend it really well, but my food processor is kind of meh, so I did the best I could. For the tomato paste I used a bit of canned diced tomatoes I had leftover.

347. Crock Pot Curry Tofu: http://whatscookinwithmary.blogspot.com/2011/01/thai-one-on-five-ingredient-crockpot.html — I didn't use a whole onion, had two smallish russet potatoes, and threw in a tiny bit of green bell pepper since it was leftover. It was not too special before adding Sriracha and a little garlic salt, but after that it really brought out the flavors and was great.


348. Radish Salad: http://www.inerikaskitchen.com/2009/02/standing-up-for-radishes-of-world.html — I had a couple I needed to use before I left town. I just sliced them by hand. It didn't taste lemony, but that cut the spiciness of the radishes. It was good.


349. Detox Green Soup with Broccoli, Spinach and Ginger: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/01/detox-green-soup-recipe-with-broccoli.html — I don't go for the whole "detox" BS but it sounded interesting. I didn't have a parsnip and used a little leftover canned spinach instead of fresh. It was the best bowl of green I made in this challenge by a long shot. Not that that says a lot. But I did like it.

350. Splenda Meringues: http://www.food.com/recipe/splendid-splenda-meringues-76529 — I used lemon instead of cream of tartar. They were pretty tasty. I might try them with another flavor added.


so close

12/21/2011 9:38:08 PM

351. Baked Cheese Olives: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/CheeseOlives.htm — I used some really big jalapeno-stuffed olives and some regular-sized pimiento-stuffed olives. Both were good. The flavor on the jalapeno ones was really good, but they were kind of hard to eat because they weren't one bite, and when you bit into them the olive fell out and you were left with cheese bread stuff. But I liked them and they made a good appetizer. I just popped them in the freezer for like 5 minutes before baking at first, and they did fine. A few days later we baked them straight from the freezer and there wasn't much difference.


352. Honey Lime Fish Tacos: http://www.onelovelylife.com/?p=3419 — Marinated the fish for about half an hour. The flour coating was a little odd. It seemed like it was supposed to add a slight crispiness, but it wasn't really crispy beyond like 5 seconds out of the pan. The flavor was good though. We ate them on wheat tortillas with Greek yogurt, pico and shredded cabbage. They seemed like they needed something else to me but I couldn't figure out what.

353. Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes http://www.avacatau.com/2009/10/chili-lime-sweet-potatoes.html — I just made one potato. They turned out tasty.

354. Pico de Gallo: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-is-time-for-pico-de-gallo.html — I added more jalapeno and left out cilantro. I don't know how I have never made pico before.

355. Sweet Onion Corn and Cheddar Grits: http://www.girlcooksworld.com/2011/11/sweet-onion-and-corn-cheddar-grits.html — I just diced the onion super fine. Also used frozen corn. They were quite tasty. Not so much better than the grits I usually make, but a nice change.

356. Rainy Day Soup: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=10976 — I used bullion cube and frozen spinach. This soup was definitely way better than the sum of its parts. It ended up really tasty, and we all loved it. We decided it would be good with a few red pepper flakes too, and Aaron added some to his bowl. Then we decided that should be part of the recipe from now on. This might become one of my "I don't have much on hand or a lot of time to make anything but want something tasty" go-to foods.


357. Herb Seasoned Chicken Breasts: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/recipes.asp?recipe=1321 — Used 6 chicken breasts but kept the rest the same. It was good.


358. Italian Green Beans: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=867470 — Used butter instead of olive oil because we used the last of the oo at my parents' house. It was tasty but the flavors from the Italian seasoning didn't come across as much as I expected.

359. Chicken Marbella: http://bakedbree.com/chicken-marbella — I put this in to marinate before we left town for 2 days. Like this poster, I didn't use the prunes. I only used about 1/4 cup of brown sugar and maybe 1/2 cup of wine. I don't think more wine would have added anything, and more sugar would have been overkill. It was really good. The chicken did turn out very tender and had a nice complexity of flavor. We will be making this again.


360. Zippy Rice Pilaf http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zippy-rice-pilaf/detail.aspx — It was a nice change from plain rice. I added probably more cumin than I should have, but that was fine. The jalapenos added more spiciness than I expected, and I liked it.


361. Collard Greens with Lemon: http://www.marthastewart.com/313373/collard-greens-with-lemon?center=276955&gallery=286291&slide=228705 — I was using lemon juice from a plastic bottle, so didn't have the zest. The flavor of the broth and the lemon don't come through too much, but rather bring out a really nice note of the greens. This was my favorite way of having collard greens. I don't like them as much when they are boiled to death. They have so much nice freshness on their own that I prefer to accent by just cooking them for a few minutes.


362. Spicy Garlic Mushroom Soup: http://thenovicehousewife.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/for-lunch-spicy-garlic-mushroom-soup/#more-3690 — I usually don't like blended soups that much, but this was really good. I added some white pepper to it, and that was a good decision.

363. Cheesy Sweet and Savory Spuds: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cheesy-sweet-and-savory-spuds/detail.aspx — I halved the recipe and used beef granules and a splash of half and half with the rest milk. Probably used a good bit less cheese than it called for, as I just eyeballed it. Interesting. Different.


364. Fresh Corn and Tomato Casserole: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-corn-and-tomato-casserole/detail.aspx — Not really a casserole imo. Used turkey bacon and frozen corn. Nothing special.


365. Bacon Butter Sauce: http://www2.wkrg.com/lifestyles/2008/jul/10/fried_grit_cakes_shrimp_with_bacon_butter_sauce-ar-2154487/ — I know this isn't the most exciting end to my challenge, but we're about to leave on vacation and I wanted to eat some of the leftover we had here, plus I'm still working with bachelor kitchen. I just made the bacon butter sauce from this recipe. I used white onion instead of green, with turkey bacon. Just cooked bacon and onion in the butter together rather that cooking bacon first. Served over some fried grit cakes from leftover grits. I thought it was pretty good. I gave Aaron some, and pretty much as soon as I turned around he'd eaten it all and said "that was fucking awesome." So I figure that's a decent way to end the year.


Yay.

12/28/2011 12:34:39 PM

YAY!! AMAZING!!

12/28/2011 12:36:25 PM

I have to say, Skwinkle, I'm impressed you kept up with it!

12/28/2011 12:37:40 PM

Yay good job

12/28/2011 12:37:43 PM

fuuuu

[Edited on December 28, 2011 at 12:50 PM. Reason : wrong account]

12/28/2011 12:49:58 PM

GG!

12/28/2011 12:50:40 PM

congrats swinky!!

i used this thread to motivate myself and cook a lot more than i ever did before. I tried a lot of new recipes. I will be participating in next years challenge but i still need to set my goal for next year

[Edited on December 28, 2011 at 1:41 PM. Reason : om nom nom thread]

12/28/2011 1:41:03 PM

I <3 most of your food. I also applaud your awesome effort...

...next year... PRESENTATION

12/28/2011 3:06:34 PM

Maybe I should have asked for some photography lessons for Christmas

12/28/2011 5:28:47 PM

my first attempt at baking

Banana Bread. It dint turn out great, needed more sugar i suppose

1/5/2012 9:00:03 AM

Wrong pan size and not enough banana. what you made looks like cake, so you probably whipped too much air onto it. You want to beat the eggs separately and just gently combine the ingredients until everything is wet so the bread stays dense and chewy. A loaf pan gets it to the right depth and the smaller volume to surface area gives the bread a better texture.

1/5/2012 10:32:35 AM

the recipe said you need a 8x4 pan and i think this one was 9 something. Also i used a recipe without any eggs. I dunno i am gonna try again probably this weekend. Also in works for this weekend, chocolate chip cookies and lasagna

1/5/2012 12:18:33 PM

oh, i forgot you're doing egg-free baking. in that case, consider doubling or tripling the banana called for in the recipe and cutting the egg substitute in half, if you're using it. ground flax seed is another great addition that will make the bread more moist and dense. just add a tablespoon or so to the flour and sift it in before you make the cake.

1/5/2012 12:34:19 PM

i am not using any egg substitute as recipe never said anything about it...i will try ground flax seed...thanks

1/5/2012 12:39:07 PM

I am definitely trying at least 52 ingredients I've never used this year. Probably also aiming for 52 sauces/condiments, including making things like mayo and ketchup because I've wanted to do that for a while. Also probably trying for 365 again this year to see what happens. Not posting everything this year though.

Anyone ever made green flour? I just came across this

Quote :

"To make green flours -- harvest fresh green leaves of your favorite green (spinach -- amaranth, clover, etc.) Rinse in cold fresh water and let drain. Place leaves on a stainless steel or parchment-lined cookie Dry in oven on the lowest heat until dry -- and crisp to the touch. Put in the blender at high speed -- then sift out larger stems and pieces. Remaining flour is used in ratio of 1 to 4 for making noodles..."

Sounds kind of interesting.

1/6/2012 6:06:18 PM

Get a new thread first swinky!

1/6/2012 6:12:58 PM

Nah, I'm not going to post everything on TWW again this year. If it were a multi-user thing like the book challenge I probably would, but since I'm the only one doing the challenge (I know other people have their own challenges to some extent) I don't want to keep it going on here. I will still keep track of it though and can share that with you if you'd like.

1/6/2012 6:18:10 PM