Trying new things

I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted any recipes.  I've been working on some new things.  I'm not completely sold on them yet so no sharing until they are perfect.

I have been messing with oven roast veggies. Potatoes, parsnips, onions.  I think I'm getting close to something. And carrots with honey or maple sauce. I wolfed down the leftovers of those a few nights ago.

Another other tasty thing in the works has been a pan seared filet mignon with a cabernet reduction.  I'm not completely in love with the wine reduction, so I have to tweak the herbage.  Also, I think next time I will fry the shallots to make them crispy and not include them in the wine sauce.  I think they would be better as a garnish.

I have also been on a cupcake mission. I made yet another batch of cupcakes yesterday containing yummy Negra Modelo beer and chocolate.  I almost have them rising well (you know high altidue makes things rise funny so it take a bit of work to get pretty cakes here) and in a moment of inspiration, discovered that clementines really compliment the cake.

One more idea in cupcake-land I have involves Meyer lemons.  I found some at Scolari's this weekend. I have been searching everywhere for a month for those little buggers.  My next batch of cupcakes will be something lemony, still contemplating what I can do to make them unique and incredible.

Stay tuned!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basque Sheepherder Bread

Image
Lately, I have been in the mood for some foods that are a bit unusual. You could say we're tired of the same old thing. I started looking in cookbooks and asking around for ideas. One of my coworkers is in the Basque Library at UNR. She recently posted a link to some Basque recipes on their Facebook page. That got me thinking. I went home and looked through the church fundraiser cookbooks, and asked Grandma Rose for ideas. I found some great stuff, like this bread. This recipe has been passed through the Winnemucca community and shared by a number of people, so I'm not sure who to credit. I made a few small modifications to the recipe. For one, I don't have a gigantic cast iron Dutch Oven, so I cut the recipe in half. Two, as I was making it, I used slightly less flour than originally called for and kneaded it slightly less.  I think next time, I will use the stand mixer with a dough hook to mix and work the dough before I knead it. I'm getting a little bi
Read more

Basque Flan

Image
Flan is such a treat!  If you're unfamiliar with flan, you must try this.  It's simply custard with caramel in the bottom of the baking dish. It's smooth, cool, sweet, and beautiful. Now, I've had some bad flan. Let me tell you. There is one very popular Mexican eatery in Downtown Reno that I just don't like. Their flan is very firm, not very sweet, and tastes almost cheesy. Yuck. And then there are times you get flan that is so good, so amazing that it's like your mouth has found paradise. There is one particular person from the church back in my hometown that made pans and pans of amazing flan for church functions.  Amazing isn't even descriptive enough as a word. A lot of the flavor has to do with the caramel.  If your caramel is very dark, your flan will take on a toasty flavor with a bitter nutty, coffee-like aftertaste. I like my caramel a bit lighter, so there are hints of that toastiness, but it's not so noticeable. Those flavors will mello
Read more

Transformers Bumblebee Birthday Cake

Image
Last week, my son turned 5. I have been a wee bit slow to get this post going. Just the craziness and excitement from Eric's birthday party and family visiting has been one thing.  Then I got him registered for Kindergarden. While at the doctor for his regular well-child check up, she discovered he had something stuck in his ear. She couldn't get it out. Two days later, we got in to see the ENT specialist, who quickly flushed out two small chunks of rubber playground mulch. I'm happy to say, Eric is totally back to normal. So with that weight off of my mind, I was able to get back to the birthday cake recap. Now, since this is where I do recipes and sometimes toss in a little family stuff for good measure, let me just say, this cake was the best tasting one I have ever made.  I've made this recipe quite a few times, but the strawberry mousse filling really set it apart. I love that this cake is technically a yellow cake, but it's not a deep yellow like store-bo
Read more