Kimchi Fried Rice

I occasionally buy kimchi and want to learn to eat it more regularly and have it in ways other than by itself. As it turns out, kimchi fried rice is a pretty basic home cooked meal for Koreans so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Notes:

• I left out the salty meat since I didn't have any on hand, and added some salt toward the end.
  
• The kimchi I used was from a Japanese grocery store so I suspect it was a quite mild variety in terms of spicy heat level.
  

Verdict: It was yummy! I will probably add some gochujang next time to make it more spicy, though it might have just been a really mild jar of kimchi I had this time.

Edit 3/31/23: I made Maangchi's kimchi fried rice recipe today, but I liked the flavor of this original recipe better.

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RECIPE: Kimchi Fried Rice (NYT Cooking)

Cinnamon Rolls

I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from making gingerbread cookies and a hankering for cinnamon rolls, so I made these.

Notes:

• I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast (letting it bloom in the milk/butter mixture for about 10 minutes before adding it to the recipe) and it worked fine.
• I used a stand mixer to mix and knead the dough.
• I did not make the icing in this recipe so I haven't tried it yet, but this particular recipe author tends to know what she's doing so I bet it's great.
  

Verdict: These are probably the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made. They had a really nice texture, very soft and pillowy on the inside. I would absolutely make them again, and now that I have a recipe I know I like, I can keep using it!

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RECIPE: Easy Cinnamon Rolls (Sally's Baking Addiction)

French Onion Soup

We had everything we needed to make this (even Gruyere cheese!) and I hadn't made French onion soup in a LONG time so I decided to give it another go.

Verdict: I was not especially happy with it, for some reason. The flavor was not quite as rich and robust as I am accustomed to. My stomach also did not agree with it. I might try a different recipe next time.

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RECIPE: Essential French Onion Soup (Smitten Kitchen)

Café Coffee Cookies

I came across these while looking for recipes for "coffee biscuits", something from a Final Fantasy game I have not played, because they sounded good. The official recipe didn't look all that interesting but I had to try these once I saw the picture.

Verdict: They were good but I think I really wanted the flavor of coffee + milk and the coffee flavor here sort of blended into the chocolate. I was afraid of adding too much espresso powder and making them bitter. I am glad I tried them and they are pretty but I don't think I'd go out of my way to make them again unless someone specifically asked.

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RECIPE: Café Coffee Cookies (Betty Crocker)

Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup

This sounded really good to me when it scrolled by on Instagram so I decided to try it.

Verdict: It was quite good! I think I would serve this as a side dish unless you specifically wanted a very light meal.

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RECIPE: Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup (Omnivore's Cookbook)

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.

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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.

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RECIPE: Skyline Cincinnati Chili (Insanely Good Recipes)