Cashew Snowball Cookies

We had Christmas dinner with our neighbors again and I was asked to make a dessert to share. We recently discovered the wonders and dangers of Costco and as such I had a large container of cashews in the house. I had been wanting to make this style of cookie ever since I failed at making them a long time ago (no thanks to Padma Lakshmi, lol). This time they turned out much better!

Notes:

• I added some ground cardamom to these (about 1/2 tsp) and loved it.
  
• Exercise care when rolling these cookies because they are very delicate. I managed to only break one of them.

Verdict: I thought they were delicious and relatively easy to make, and they received rave reviews at the dinner.

------------------

RECIPE: Cashew Butter Balls (Smitten Kitchen)

Skyline Chili (Cincinnati Style)

While having lunch with some friends from Cincinnati who were passing through recently, the topic of Skyline Chili came up and I was the only person at the table that hadn't tried it. I have only heard many good things about it from these and other friends, and my partner's band has stopped for it multiple times on tours (the drummer is obsessed with it). So I decided to make my own.

Notes:

• The chili is meant to be served over spaghetti and topped with an absolute MOUNTAIN of finely shredded cheddar cheese. I skipped the chopped onions on top because I'm not a big fan of raw onion.
  

Verdict: I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and I'd have it again.

--------------------

RECIPE: Skyline Cincinnati Chili (Insanely Good Recipes)

Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble

I made these to use up a bunch of ingredients I had before leaving on a long vacation, and brought them to Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors.

Notes:

• I made my own almond paste. It was super easy. My almond flour was ground quite finely so I didn't even have to use the food processor. The recipe I linked makes about 7 oz. I put the extra in the bottom of the filling as the recipe suggests.
  
• I could not resist sprinkling some ground cinnamon into the plums.

Verdict: It was a bit more work than many things I make and it was good but maybe not enough to justify making regularly.

--------------------

RECIPE: Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble (Smitten Kitchen)

RECIPE: Almond Paste (Wild Wild Whisk)

Soul Cakes

My partner is in a band and organizes an annual "thank you donors" private concert with a snack potluck, and this year, these Soul Cakes showed up on the snack table. I had no idea what a soul cake was or that they are a traditional Samhain/Halloween time item in England, but I liked them so much that I brought several home with me and tracked down the person who made them, and she was kind enough to share her recipe and methods with me.

Notes:

• SKULL PANS: The ones BurntCookie and I used are made by Wilton, or Holiday Home if you get the knockoff version. It has 6 cavities and the size of each cavity is about 4 in tall x 3 in wide x 1 in thick. The original recipe calls for 3" diameter circles that are 1/4 in thick. I find the cookies made with this pan to be quite big. If you get a different skull shaped pan, remember to adjust the baking time (less time if they're smaller) and check often to make sure they don't get too dark.
  
• I greased the pan lightly with the paper the butter was wrapped in as a precaution, but I don't think it was necessary. I think they would have released from the pan just fine even if I hadn't. It did make the top surface nice and golden brown though, which made the shape details a little easier to see.
  
• The person who made them for the party (BurntCookie) made quite a few changes to the initial recipe but didn't have exact amounts for some things, so I have approximated them here. Disclaimer: I did try this recipe as I wrote it below, but halved everything.
• I put in about 1/2 cup dried fruit total, but would use more next time. (If my partner's food mantra is "Yes! Ham!" mine is "More Fruit," haha.) I used dried cranberries and raisins because they're what I had in the house, but I think other dried fruits like apricots, prunes, or cherries would also taste good.
  
• I think some orange or lemon zest (1 teaspoon or so) would also taste delightful in these depending on what dried fruit you use.
• A teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract in the dough might also be tasty and I plan to try this in future batches.
  
• I finished them both ways that were described, and while both tasted good, I prefer the glaze since the cakes are already kind of dry and adding a powder to the top adds to the dry feel.
  
• I might slightly increase the amount of spices next time because their flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked. But the ones I used were kind of old so maybe that was why.
• I would use either lemon juice or vanilla in the glaze, but not both together.
  

---------------------

RECIPE:

Soul Cakes
adapted from Cooking Journey Blog by BurntCookie and me
Makes about 10 (4 in x 3 in x 3/4 in) skull shaped cakes, or about 18 round cakes

Cakes:
175 g butter, room temperature (6.1 oz, about 1 1/2 sticks)
175 g white granulated sugar (about 3/4 cup)
3 egg yolks
450 g all purpose flour (about 3 5/8 cups)
2 tsp cinnamon, or mixed spice (= 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger)
85 g (about 3/4 cup) dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit of your choice, chopped in small pieces
6-7 tbsp milk

Glaze:
120 g (about 1 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk, water, or lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Special equipment (optional): Mini skull shaped nonstick cake pans (see above note for details)

Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Place butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Cream butter with sugar until lightened in color and fluffy. Add egg yolks and mix again until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine flour and spices. Add flour mixture into the butter mixture in 2-3 additions, mixing after each one. Add milk in several additions, until the dough comes together. Mix in cranberries/raisins/dried fruit on low speed (or by hand with a spoon or spatula) until well combined.

Press dough into each cavity in your skull pan about 3/4 full, up to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) from the top. (If you don't have skull cake pans: Transfer the dough to a silicone mat or other surface, dusted with flour. Roll the dough with a flour-dusted rolling pin to about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thickness. Cut round shapes with a 3-inch round biscuit cutter or other similarly sized cookie cutter, score a cross onto the top of each [optional], and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until the edges are golden. (For rounds, bake for 15-20 minutes.) Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely, then turn cakes out onto the rack or other flat surface. Dust cakes with powdered sugar, or dip in sugar glaze (see next paragraph). Soul cakes will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Glaze: Mix glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until the glaze is thick and will coat the back of a spoon but not immediately run over the sides. (If too thick, add milk/water in very small increments; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.) Dip each cake face down in the glaze to coat it, and set on wax paper glazed side up until glaze has dried and hardened completely.

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Pizza with Blue Cheese

Inspired by a pair of new friends that made and served us delicious vegan pizza for dinner when we went to visit them a couple of weeks ago. They made a mushroom and caramelized onion pizza and I kept thinking about it. I also had a big tub of spinach in my fridge that needed consuming, and some blue cheese crumbles I also needed to use up, and all of these things sounded good together so I got to work.

I tried a new from-scratch pizza dough recipe for this that was both quicker than my bread machine can make and tasted a lot better too, so I am likely to use it from now on when I make pizza.

Notes:

Dough

• I used all purpose flour.
• I only had active dry yeast so I did let it proof for 10 minutes in warm water mixed with the sugar before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients and it worked great.
• I added dashes of garlic powder and thyme with the dry ingredients.
  
• Since it's winter and it's cold where I live, I proofed the dough in a very slightly warmed oven. I let my oven preheat to its lowest temperature (170 F), then turned it off as soon as it reached temperature, and let the dough proof in there.

Toppings

• For sauce I used about 1/2 cup jarred alfredo sauce because I had it and it sounded good, but you could also just drizzle/spread the top of the rolled out crust with some olive oil.
  
• I chopped 8 oz crimini/baby portabella mushrooms into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft but not until all their liquid had been released.
• I caramelized 2 small-medium sweet onions in a couple tablespoons of butter with a pinch of salt for ~20 minutes.
• I wilted about 6 oz spinach in a saucepan with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some garlic powder and salt on after cooking, waited until it was cool, then squeezed out most of the water. I then chopped it roughly.
• I used about 3-4 oz blue cheese crumbles. These went on last.

Verdict: I was really impressed with the pizza dough! It was pretty straightforward to make, easy to work with and shape, and tasted great (significantly better than my previous go-to recipe). I was especially happy with the texture. The combination of toppings was also better than expected, really wonderful for a clean-out-the-fridge creation. I would gladly make this dough again and even this exact pizza.

-----------------------

RECIPE: Pizza Dough (Sugar Spun Run)

Carrot Cider Cake

I really liked my wedding anniversary carrot cake, but also wanted to try this because apple cider in a cake just sounds lovely.

Notes:

• I used the large holes on my box grater to grate the carrots.
  

Verdict: This was delightful, especially with some leftover cream cheese icing spread over the top. The coworkers I shared it with also really liked it. I would absolutely make it again, and maybe add some raisins and pecans or walnuts because I love the kitchen-sink type carrot cake with all the things in it. I still dream about one my mom's friend brought us one time when I was a kid, and want to try to recreate it if I can. This might not be it but it's getting closer.

-----------------------

RECIPE: Carrot Cake with Cider and Olive Oil (Smitten Kitchen)

Plum Almond Cake

Another try on my quest for the perfect plum cake for me. My first attempt had nice flavors but was maybe a bit too dry and needed just a little more sweetness. I have generally had good luck with Leite's Culinaria recipes before and plum + almond is a fantastic combination so I decided to give this a try.

Verdict: I think I messed this up because it seemed underdone/a little raw in the middle. The almond topping just melted and baked into the rest of the cake, which was disappointing. It was just almonds, butter, and sugar though and I think it needed some kind of flour to soak up the butter and keep its shape as crumbles. Maybe the butter from the topping melting into the cake is why it seemed underdone (especially since I used 1.5 times the recipe for topping). I might try it again because I really liked the flavors, but I might also just keep looking elsewhere for my forever plum cake.

--------------------

RECIPE: Plum Almond Cake (Leite's Culinaria)

Chicken Paprikash, easier

I tried this different recipe for chicken paprikash and it turned out to be a lot easier/quicker than the first one on this diary and still tastes pretty good, so we're likely going to use this one from now on.

Notes:

• I feel like the entire 1/2 cup of flour mixture is a lot and I didn't want the sauce to be too gloopy so I left out a couple tablespoons of the mixture and didn't miss it.
• I used a mix of dried sweet paprika (a lower quality kind, mostly for color), fresh jarred paprika (about a tablespoon each of Edes Anna and Eros Pista for some but not a ton of spicy heat), and very generous sprinkles of some nicer dry smoked paprika because I like the taste.
• I used boneless skinless chicken breast, and only simmered the dish for about 20 minutes because I knew the chicken wouldn't need 45 minutes to cook.
  
• I mixed in the sour cream off the heat so that the sauce wouldn't break.
  
• We didn't have egg noodles but I cooked some gemelli pasta and we ate it with that and liked it.
  

-----------------------

RECIPE: Chicken Paprikash (Chisel and Fork)

German Plum Cake with Streusel

It's prune plum season again and I was looking for something new to try with the small cache of fruit that my partner was able to get for me. I went back to the store to get more a few days later and they were GONE. The secret is getting out!

Notes:

• The recipe called for a 27 cm (10.5 in) diameter pan but I only had a 9 in/23 cm one so I used that.
  
• I didn't end up buying enough prune plums to make this (only enough for about half) and when I went back to get more they were gone, so I used red plums for the rest. They were firmer and crisper, and did not break down as much while cooking. They let out a lot less juice than I thought they would.
  
• This is best when left to stand for at least a few hours after cooking. We ate some right away and it was kind of dry, but when I had some the next day more of the liquid had seeped into the bottom part with the bread crumbs and it tasted better.
• I think we could have done with a little more almond extract in the crust. Apparently some people make this with a shortbread type crust and I think I'd like that better, though I like the bready aroma of the yeasted crust.
• The streusel crumbles seemed to have too much butter in them -- they were really soft when I made them and especially after the cake softened they were really soggy. Maybe if I used less melted butter, or if I used cold butter to make them they might turn out better.
• I think I may have overworked the crust dough but it was really hard to knead in the butter. Maybe I didn't knead it enough? I'm bad at bread.
  

Verdict: I would try this again but make some changes. I think I'd like to try it with all prune plums first before I make too many changes, though, because the prune plums seem to let out a lot more liquid and are more intensely flavored. This is a really delicious flavor combination, especially with the little hits of lemon and almond and vanilla in addition to the cinnamon. I feel like it's awakening ancient memories in my cells.

-------------------

RECIPE: German Plum Cake with Crumbles (Sabrina's Table)

Carrot Layer Cake

I make carrot cake so infrequently that I never remember which recipe I used. This is an attempt to stop that trend :) I know for sure I have used Orangette's recipe (a lot of work but good, and has a funny memory attached because my cat stood on it and ate a chunk of it through plastic wrap while it sat on the counter overnight).

I wanted to make a carrot layer cake for my partner and me for our 10th wedding anniversary celebration at home. Me having COVID and needing to quarantine kind of limited our plans a bit (we've hit double digits and wanted to do something extra special!) but I felt well enough to want to contribute somehow. I picked this recipe because it was small enough that I wouldn't have to do any math to refigure it for the size I wanted (6 in/15 cm diameter 2-layer cake) -- many recipes I found were either a single layer or 3 layers, and three pans seemed overwhelming to me dishes wise and also because the cake is only for 2 people. Plus I was still sick and made plans to do this the same day so I didn't want to overcomplicate things.

Shout out to the Great British Baking Show for being an eternal wellspring of motivation. It always seems to be able to give me a big push to get in the kitchen and actually make what I am thinking about making.

Notes:

• I did not have fresh ginger so I used 1/2 tsp of powdered.
  
• I used a different recipe for icing than the one the recipe suggests because I had ingredients bought before I picked a recipe, and I didn't plan for mascarpone. The Cream Cheese Frosting I used is really great structurally for building a layer cake, but after having it on a couple of cakes like this I think it might be a little too sugary/rich to use in such large quantities. (Normally I use it to decorate gingerbread cookies.) I halved the recipe and it frosted this cake generously, with a little bit (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup) left over.
• I decorated the cake with toasted walnuts and loved it, especially since there were no nuts in the cake itself. It adds something to offset the sweetness of the frosting.
  

Verdict: The cake itself baked a little funny -- parts of it looked straight up burnt when I pulled it out of the oven. Almost like the sugar started separating out from the batter. This might have been from the butter I used to grease the pans, too. However, the finished product ultimately tasted good, if a bit rich, and worked well as a layer cake. If making a layer cake will probably try a different recipe next time even if I have to do some math. And I really gotta stop using this cream cheese frosting, even though it's really good in smaller quantities on cookies.

-------------------

RECIPE: My Perfect Carrot Cake (I Am a Food Blog)

Cabbage Roll Soup

My mom made this soup and brought me some the last time she came to visit me, and I liked it so much I asked her to teach me to make it. I used some of the tomatoes she grew and gave me to make my own batch. She cobbled together a few different recipes from her collection and sent me all of them, including her handwritten version. I fleshed out the directions a bit more and added bay leaf because it sounded good. I never liked beef vegetable soup from a can very much but I LOVE this. I also love that it doesn't taste like canned tomato sauce.

There's just nothing quite like your mom bringing you homemade food even when you are a grown adult. :)

Notes:

• I used chicken and onion broth because I didn't have beef broth/bouillon when I cooked it. You can use a vegetable based broth for vegetarian/vegan soup.
  
• I used only the beef but really want to try it with beef + rice sometime. You can leave out the meat and make it with just rice for a vegetarian/vegan version. Make sure to add extra water or broth if you add rice because the rice absorbs liquid, and you want it to still have some broth after the rice cooks.
• I used about 1 tbsp dried parsley instead of fresh because I didn't have fresh.

------------------------

RECIPE:

Cabbage Roll Soup
from my mom
Serves 6

2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large onion, diced
6-8 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1 lb, about 2/3 of a medium head of cabbage)
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp each dried basil and dried oregano (or 1 tsp Italian seasoning)
½ tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable or beef broth (more if you add rice, 5-6 cups total)
14 oz diced fresh tomato (canned is also OK)
3 tbsp brown sugar (cut down or omit if using canned tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry long grain white rice (optional)
1 lb ground beef (optional)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

Heat oil in soup pot. Add celery, carrot, and onion and sauté until softened and onions are translucent. Add garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Add cabbage and cook until cabbage has sweated (about 5 minutes), then add broth, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, and rice (if using). Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until flavors have melded and rice is fully cooked. (If using rice, it will probably be more like 20 minutes.) If using ground beef, brown it in a separate pan while the soup is simmering, then set aside. Remove bay leaf from soup, then stir in lemon juice and parsley and browned ground beef (if using). Serve hot.

Chinese Style Tomato and Egg Stir Fry

A coworker who came to study in the U.S. from China sometimes brings this to work for lunch, and she made it sound so comforting and tasty that I wanted to try it for myself. It's apparently a very popular home cooked dish in China, and can be eaten for any meal of the day.

Notes:

• I ended up using garlic chives from my garden because I didn't have any scallions in the house at the time I had all the other ingredients.
• I used freshly picked summer tomatoes and I imagine that's what this tastes best with.
• I do not have a wok so I used a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
  

Verdict: It was quick, easy, and satisfying. It strikes me as a late summer version of Niratama Donburi, which I love. I would happily make and eat this again.

-----------------

RECIPE: Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry (The Woks of Life)

Cucumber Salad with Red Wine Vinegar

I wanted to make a cucumber salad that didn't involve having to salt and wait and squeeze out the water from the cucumbers, and decided to give this one a try.

Notes:

• I didn't read the directions and just mixed everything together right away and it tasted fine.
• Served with Stuck Pot Rice and Lentils, Spiced Beef Meatballs, and garlic-lemon yogurt and it was fantastic.
  

Verdict: Simple and clean flavors, and I think it would go well with lots of things. Definitely keeping it around for another time.

----------------

RECIPE: Cucumber Salad (Marcia Kiesel/Food & Wine Magazine)

Corn Salad with Chile and Lime

This was one of those recipes that caught me in the right place at the right time. I saw it and immediately went out to buy the ingredients to make it.

Notes:

• I used my broiler to char the corn and it took maybe 7-10 minutes.
• I used feta cheese since I couldn't find cotija.
  
• I served it with marinated grilled/pan fried chicken.
  

Verdict: This was INCREDIBLY GOOD and I will absolutely be making it again, especially in August when the corn here is at its best.

---------------------

RECIPE: Corn Salad with Chile and Lime (Smitten Kitchen)

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Recording this so that I remember that I tried it.

I had been wanting to try this recipe for a very long time, and finally got around to it. I was really underwhelmed though, and not just because I'd been waiting forever to try it. Maybe with premium ingredients it would have been better since it's so simple, but I'm not sure I'll go to the trouble again. Even Smitten Kitchen has a few duds I guess.

----------------

RECIPE: Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter (Smitten Kitchen)

Basic Brownies

Wanted brownies very suddenly and decided to make these on account of how quickly they are supposed to come together.

Notes:

• Threw a splash of clear imitation vanilla extract in there to really get them to taste like box mix brownies (this is the ONE thing about brownies from a mix that I just really love even if I know it's kinda trashy).
  

Verdict: A nice basic brownie that's very easy to make, and really similar to ones I've been missing. Next time I want to try them with chocolate icing and chopped walnuts on top for an exact copycat of the ones I can't buy anymore.

Edit 5/5/23: I made these again and loved them just as much as the first time. I also used them as the base of a brownie sundae (with vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge sauce, bourbon soaked cocktail cherries). God tier snacking.

------------------

RECIPE: My Favorite Brownies (Smitten Kitchen)

Brown Soda Bread Scones

I read Smitten Kitchen's Castle Breakfast post and *had* to try these.

Notes:

• I could not find a coarse wholemeal flour in my store so I used the whole wheat flour/wheat germ/wheat bran mix she suggests. She says it should come out to 145 g but unfortunately she didn't include weights for each individual ingredient in the mix, so I weighed them myself:
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour = 75g
• 3/4 cup wheat germ = 55g
• 1/4 cup wheat bran = 15g
• I have used coarsely ground oatmeal to make up part of the wholemeal flour substitute mixture when I didn't have enough of everything and it worked all right. I think as long as it's not the majority of the mixture it should be OK.
• I made a buttermilk substitute. (To make 1 cup, put 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup, fill with milk to 1 cup, and let stand for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit.) I did not need to add extra. I also used Greek yogurt thinned with water a couple of times but the dough ended up a lot thicker and the breads were not quite done in the middle so you may want to cook it for longer, or make sure the consistency of the thinned yogurt is fairly liquid.
  

Verdict: Quick, easy, and delicious, and the absolute perfect vehicle for jam, especially a homemade jam. They reminded me of the oatmeal soda bread I've made before. I will be making these again, both because I like them and because I now have big bags of all three of the components for the wholemeal flour substitute.

-------------------

RECIPE: Brown Soda Bread Scones (Smitten Kitchen)

Chicken Andouille Sausage and Rice Skillet

I bought andouille chicken sausage and then remembered I didn't actually know what it tastes like, so I went looking for a recipe that sounded good and landed on this.

Notes/changes:

• Used fresh chopped tomato instead of bell peppers and basmati rice instead of regular long grain white rice.
• I didn't have tomato paste so I used tomato salsa (weird I know, but it was the closest thing I had with similar flavors to the final thing)
  
• Added 1 tsp more cajun seasoning (Penzeys makes a nice blend), and 1 extra cup of broth because it did not seem like enough liquid to cook the rice. (The ratio was 1 rice:1 liquid in this recipe and the overwhelming majority of rice recipes use 1:1.5 or 1:2).
  
• The rice was not cooked after 4-5 minutes (more cooked than I expected it to be, but definitely not done). I ended up cooking it for a total of 13-15 minutes.

Verdict: It was decent (I really liked the flavors) but I kind of want to try it again with tomato paste to see if that intensifies the flavor a little bit.

---------------------

RECIPE: One Pot Andouille Sausage & Rice Skillet (Gilbert's Craft Sausages)

Peach Matcha Lemonade

A fancy refreshing drink with matcha green tea in it. This was another drink recipe I saw on the Rishi website and had to try for myself with similar ingredients (like the Blue Jasmine Gin and Tonic).

Notes:

• I used a peach green tea for the liquid in the matcha shot.
• A bamboo matcha whisk works great to make the matcha shot.
• While the layered drink *looks* nice, it definitely tastes better when it's mixed together.
  

Verdict: I really liked it, and have made it a couple more times since the initial attempt. Matcha with fruit flavors is just really pleasant.

--------------

RECIPE: Peach Blossom Matcha Lemonade (Rishi)

Chocolate Stout Cake

Made to celebrate 17 years together with my partner. We have been married nearly 10 years but we still celebrate the day we started dating too.

Notes:

• Instead of Guinness I used Blacklist Brewing Co.'s Dark Imperial Stout with Cocoa.
  
• I added some Irish cream liqueur to the ganache (substituted for some of the heavy cream) and really liked the result.
  

Verdict: The texture was a little rubbery and I don't know if it's something I did or if that's how the cake is. I would make it again though.

----------------

RECIPE: Chocolate Stout Cake (Smitten Kitchen)

Cinnamon Sugar Scones

This is a recipe I've wanted to try for a long time and finally got around to making.

Verdict: I don't know that I'd go out of my way to make them again because they kind of fell apart as you ate them and were a little fussy for how good they were, but they tasted fine.

-------------------

RECIPE: Cinnamon Sugar Scones (Smitten Kitchen)