Wednesday, September 21, 2016

I'm coming back!

It has been a while since I've been here and honestly finishing my goal at this point by the end of the year may be a struggle but I'm going to cut myself a little break and may extend my deadline past the end of the year and heck maybe I won't even enforce a deadline and just keep with working on the goal of 365 new dishes/things and 52 different techniques.
 
It is funny because I'm not sure if the 52 different techniques have to be "new" of just different ones because on a regular basis I have used the following:
  • slow cooking (my gosh how I would survive without slow cooking sometimes is beyond me);
  • breading (I'm married to an English man and I now spoil him and his parents when they are here with home made fish and chips);
  • Marinating;
  • Pickling (eggs, and now I have added turnips, rutabaga and onions to the list);
  • stews; and,
  • Barbequing.
 Although my BBQ could use some work (not that I'm bad at BBQing - you HAVE to try my juicy lucy burgers anything stuffed with cheese is a winner and adding my BBQ Bacon that is candied in Bourbon and Maple Syrup is amazing).

But to affirm that I have been baking and cooking here is a list of things I've done in the last few weeks that I will need to blog and catch up on:
  • Blueberry pie (my first ever thank you very much!);
  • My B52 chocolate cake and Tequila Lime Coconut Cake;
  • Ricotta cheese (for filling Egg Yolk Ravioli again);
  • Scotch Eggs;
  • Bacon Jam;
  • Apple tartlets (using my leftovers);
  • Apple Pie (not the first time I've made it but I used a crumble topping instead of pie dough because I was using my leftovers);
  • Roasted Curry Carrot soup (my own invention no recipe - and it was very good);
  • Pickled turnips, rutabaga and onions;
  • Two different kinds of éclairs - requiring for different recipes
    • Pumpkin Spice Pastry Cream Filled
    • White chocolate mouse filled
    • both topped with a chocolate ganache


Those are the kind of new things I've been doing in addition to making home made doughnuts and pumpkin pies to spoil the people I work with (you can always win people over with food!)


I'm going to have to rethink my game plan for some of the food unfortunately as husband was just diagnosed with Diabetes and it's been a long week already with adjusting the changes we have to make so we will see.  My co-workers have already volunteered to be victims... I mean testers of my baking and the wonderful staff at my daughter's school have also put themselves on the line to test anything I come up with.


I think this weekend I might try out Tiramisu including making the lady fingers at home!


I promise to be here more often.


The other big exciting news is a trip that we are planning to New Olreans!  I'm so excited about the food adventures I get to go on between here and New Orleans and then just in New Orleans itself - like over the moon - more on that later! Now time to find lunch.