Recipes

Spicy Pulled Pork

What shall I say about this?  Let’s see.  Well, first, this one is notable because it was the very first recipe in my Dutch Oven.  It did quite well even though it nearly broke the wire racks because it was so heavy.  Wowsers.  What else?  Let’s see…hmmm…what else can I say before I give this a not so fantastic review?  Oh, let’s just get to it.

I think this recipe gave me high hopes!  Really high hopes!  It’s called spicy and man, did I want spicy.  As in, I hope this pork is so full of spice and flavor that Lexi complains and I have to eat her leftovers.  Well, it was not so.  It is not that the pork was bad.  Because in fact, it was yummy as far as pork shoulder goes.  All the kids ate it and it received compliments.  I rather enjoyed squeezing the limes over it and felt like the Austin-ite that PW described.  But I don’t know, it surely was not spicy and except for the pieces that were on the outside it was barely flavorful.  I also find it quite tedious to pull the uber-heavy dutch oven out every single hour to turn the meat.  I guess what I’m saying is I’d rather just stick a Boston Butt in my crockpot and call it a day.

Iny’s Prune Cake

This, my friends, is what you need to go buy the ingredients for and make TONIGHT.  Seriously.  I just laughed a little as I read PW’s post and she said the exact same thing.  But we’re serious, folks.  It is SO GOOD.  And before you go, I should tell you you can find prunes in a can where all the dried fruits are.  That will save you about 15 minutes of shopping the fresh fruits and vegetable aisles and then asking a cashier about them.

Overall this cake was super easy to make.  The hardest part is figuring out when to quit cooking the caramel topping but it is so worth it.  So. worth it.  The caramel seeps in to the cake and makes it so moist.  Everyone had seconds and sometimes thirds for dessert and I might have eaten it for breakfast as well and we might only have one piece left.  It’s in her breakfast section in the cookbook but had there been an eat any time, all the time of the day section, this would be in it.  Go make it.  Now!

Only 4 more to go!

Y’all, I’m still a little giddy from meeting PW Friday.

Tres Leches Cake

PW posted a link to Tres Leches Cake on Cinco de Mayo and since we had had a Mexican meal just a few days earlier and I didn’t want it again and our lunch at Taco Bell didn’t really count as a celebratory meal but I still wanted to make something for the occasion, I decided to make the cake.  Whew.  Talk about a bad sentence.  For some reason the instructions scared me a tad but it turns out this is a pretty easy cake to make.  I’d never had one but this one came out very moist.  Heather who was on hand at the finish line loved it.  Even Scott who is not a big cake fan scarfed (why doesn’t my spell-check like that word? scarffed? scarved?) it down.  I have to say it wasn’t directly up my alley.  Emma really liked it and Lexi didn’t like it at all.  That makes it 3.5 against 1.5 so I’d say this cake is a winner.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

When I think of this, there are just a few words that come to mind.  Expensive.  Rare.  Tender.  Yummy.  If you can get past the expensive and rare, you’ll find tender and yummy waiting on the other side.  I just realized the recipe I linked to is not the same as in her cookbook.  The process is the same but the coating (what IS that called?) you put on the top is different.  It includes bacon grease and I will be slathering that on all future pieces of red meat.  Amen.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

I have a hard time with veggies. I like the usuals…corn, peas, green beans, carrots.  Beyond that, I get a little nervous.  Asparagus is one of those that I’ll eat it if it’s in front of me, but it’s usually something I substitute for french fries at a restaurant.  I say all that to say that the asparagus prepared this way so far has been my favorite. I  actually sprinkled on a lot of fresh parmesan thanks to a hint from Jo-Lynne’s recipe and I think that made it.  Lexi hated it and Emma ate hers but didn’t want more.  The adults all seemed to like it.  I do have to say this was SUPER easy.

Crème Brulee

PW claims this is her favorite dessert in her cookbook and I see why.  This was liked by all.  It was creamy and sugary and crunchy and sweet and all things good to taste and bad for your arteries.  And I got to use a flaming kitchen tool, y’all!!

Just a few things I learned on this one.  The torch only cost $12.99 at a kitchen supply place. I expected it to be much more expensive.  It did not come with the Butane gas.  For some odd reason, Scott had a bottle in one of our kitchen drawers. I suppose it came with some other lighting thingie he keeps for the grill.  So I guess you can buy Butane at your local Wal-Mart?

Also it took me two grocery stores to find super-fine sugar.  I had not a clue what to look for as far as packaging.  Well, do you see that yellow and red container behind my arm?  That’s the Dixie Crystals version.  It was the only one Harris Teeter had and it says it’s made especially for Iced Tea.  Who knew?

Only 6 more recipes to go!  I feel like I need a disclaimer here to say I’m not planning on making the Sangria, Ribeye with Whiskey Sauce or Linguine with Clam Sauce because of the irreplaceable alcohol content.  I do have to say I’d probably eat the ribeye with whiskey sauce or linguine but I don’t know, I can’t seem to make myself cook it.  It’s ok if you think I’m weird.  So barring those, I have the 6 left.

Hey guess what?  In TWO DAYS I get to meet the Pioneer Woman herself at her book signing in Charlotte.  PW!  20 minutes away!  In 2 Days!  I never thought when I started doing all this cooking that I’d actually get to meet her.  In those days, all her book tours were out west and I was sure she’d never come East.  So glad I was wrong.  I can not wait to tell her face to face how she changed my life.  And I don’t say that lightly.  I do not look at cooking the same way I did 4 months ago. 

The other night I had cooked dinner and stuck some of her oatmeal cookies in the oven while we ate.  We were eating one of the cookies after dinner and Scott said, “Well, you’re just turning into a regular mommy.”  I pretended to take offense to that.  But I knew what he meant. I have fond memories of my Mom’s home cooked meals every night and I know he does too.  I can’t wait to thank PW in person for helping me create those memories for our girls.  And yes, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a little tear in my eye at the table with her.  Gah!  I must think of something funny to say!  I do want to take her a gift in appreciation.  Anyone have a good idea?

Potato Leek Pizza

I should have included this in last week’s but I completely forgot it (probably because I forgot to take a picture )!  And I’m so bummed I forgot it because this pizza was super yummy!  I’ve never cooked with a leek before.  In fact, the only way I knew what it was and how to use it was I saw I think Rachel Ray or Giada or maybe that big guy with the kitchen show on Food Network using one.  Obviously my memory is not serving me well.  In any case, I wasn’t completely clueless when I chopped the leeks for the pizza.  More than just unknown veggies on a pizza though, I was a little concerned about putting uncooked slices of potatoes without any sauce.  But alas, I shouldn’t have worried.  This was a super yummy, very filling pizza.  Scott liked it as well but we both agreed we still like the Tomato Basil one better.  The kids always request the traditional pizza when I make one of the “fancy” ones but they tried a bite or two and liked it.

Pico de Gallo and Guacamole

I made the Pico de Gallo and the guacamole together.  To make the guacamole, you just stick a bunch of Pico de Gallo in the mashed avacodo and stir it up so it would be kind of impossible to make guacamole without Pico de Gallo.  It was comforting to see PW’s post included both as well even though they are very separate recipes in the cookbook.  Look!  We’re both smart! 

With all the Mexican-ness going on, I made some rice and beans and put out some shells and had Mexican the other night for dinner.  The Pico de Gallo was alright with chips.  I still prefer salsa and/or cheese for my chips.  I enjoyed it more as a topping on my taco.  As for the guacamole, I usually only eat it as a topping and that I did.  It was yummy and I felt very accomplished with homemade guacamole.  So bottom line for us, I think these two things are more of a topping than a dip.  They were both super easy to make and definitely made our tacos better.   You should make some today for Cinco de Mayo!  If I was super smart I would have waited!

Comfort Meatballs

We had a family friend over for dinner Saturday night whose family was out of town so I decided to do a PW dinner.  I made meatballs and her homemade mashed potatoes and some corn.  It was yummy.  The meatballs were super easy to cook.  The hardest part was browning them before baking them.  That is to say, not too hard.  I loved the onions in the sauce.  The kids loved it, our guest loved it and we loved it.  These are definitely going on my rotation list.  Also, they went so fast I forgot to take a picture. Head on over to PW’s site and amazingly, they look similar!

Only 8 more recipes I want to make!

This post is actually really hard to write after being down for 2 days with a stomach bug.  You should see the grimace on my face. 

Cheese Grits

These came out really well.  They were super easy to make and thought they had a great taste for what they were.  I say that because I’m one of those sweet grits girls not savory.  The taste reminded me a bit of the grits in shrimp and grits and I do like shrimp and grits.  But I don’t know.  Overall, I still just like butter and sugar in my grits.  It’s one of those things where I’ll eat it if it’s in front of me but I probably won’t be adding this into our meal rotation.   The kids didn’t care for it so no reason to have that many grits around.

Chicken Fried Steak

Getting towards the end of this book is kind of hard.  Because I made all the recipes up front that sounded so yummy.  So the recipes I’m making at this point are for check list only purposes.  So I’m not a huge fan of chicken fried steak.  It’s another one of those I’ll eat it if it’s in front of me but I don’t have it my rotation.  This didn’t go 100% as planned as the oil burned the first few pieces.  Mine wasn’t a nice golden brown like hers.  In fact, I couldn’t even convince myself to add the picture in the collage.  However, overall I thought it was a good attempt.  The kids ate it and really can’t ask for too much more than that.

Fried Chicken

I will never, ever, EVER complain about fried chicken again.  KFC, I’m bowed down in awe.  It took me forever to get this done.  PW had so many instructions about the oil temperature and I simply could not get mine to stay at the temp she required.  I even switched pans midway through. In the end though I had fried chicken and it was good.  The crust was super yummy and really what else could you ask from fried chicken?

Macaroni and Cheese

These were yummy.  Easy and yummy.  I prefer these over the crockpot versions I’ve done before.

Breakfast Potatoes

Once again I had issues with this. When I went to cube the potatoes after they were cooked, none of the skin would stay on and the potatoes were a bit mushy.  However, I threw them in the pan with the onions anyway and it was all edible. 

Migas

This dish was probably the most out of my tastebuds’ wheelhouse.  I’m not one to throw in a bunch of different vegetables and eat them. When I get an omelet, it’s a cheese omelet.  But I have to say, this had a really good taste.  Loved the Monterey Jack cheese on it.  And Heather tells me it was good with the potatoes.  The kids did not like it at all though so I doubt I’ll make a redo out of this one.  Also?  It was a lot of prep time cutting everything. I definitely would never take the time to do this in the morning.

Wow, this felt like a rough round of cooking.

I’m down to 14 recipes to make!  Make sure to visit PW’s site for more recipes!

Thanks to a little dinner party, I have enough for a weekly update!

Huevos Hyacinth

I went into these knowing these weren’t really my thing but I figured Scott and Emma, whose taste buds tend to match up, would dig them.  And they did.  Scott I think would have preferred the tomatoes versus the picante sauce I used and I wish I would have had a different cheese to use than just sharp but it worked.

Maple Pecan Scones

I have been so anxious to make these but I kept holding off because Mom had pecans for me.  However, I kept forgetting to get them.  Finally, months later I took a bag full of them to crack open and made these scones Saturday.  Before we get to that can we get to the whole cracking pecans thing?  Because no one told me how to open them.  I figured it was like the little peanuts at restaurants.  Give them little mush and they’d fall right out.  Well…as you know, you can’t do that with a pecan.  So then what do I assume?  Since I don’t have a nutcracker I’ll just go get Scott’s hammer!  I wish I would have taken a picture of the disaster THAT made.  The worse part is the girls decided they liked them so they kept eating whatever little bits I was able to salvage.  I had a certified MESS.  Only later did I find out I could let them soak and they’d come right out.  OH WELL. I got my 1/4 cup of nuts and made the darn scones. 

But the work was so worth it because the bits of pecans in the scones is my absolute favorite part of them.  And I think scones get a bad rap for being dry but I found with the icing they melted in my mouth.  YUMMY!  The girls devoured them with the icing but no one else seemed too interested.  That makes EIGHT scones for me to eat!  I’ve been having one for breakfast every morning.   When I complain about not losing weight, please point me back to this post, please.

Braised Beef Brisket

I was scared to death of the brisket.  First off, I had no idea what to buy at the store.  Only when PW posted about the Passover Brisket and mentioned NOT buying the corned beef brisket did I have a clue.  Second, I’d heard that brisket was tough.  Well, I think brisket has a bad rap in these parts (I understand brisket to be big in Texas) because I thoroughly enjoyed the brisket.  It fell apart with a fork and had I not known, I’d simply thought it was a chuck roast someone had cooked.  I do have to say it’s A LOT of preparation.  Not a lot of work because really, it doesn’t get easier but you have to marinate it for 24 hours, and well, I just don’t think that far ahead most of the time!  Plus, it wasn’t the cheapest thing.  I think I paid $16 for a 7 lb piece.  However, it could have easily fed 8-10 people.  So, I guess what I’m saying is this is best when you’re planning ahead for a lot of people to come over.

Creamy Rosemary Potatoes

Oh boy, I could create a whole post on step 2 – use a mandoline to slice the potatoes.  Do you know how many many people do not own a mandoline?  And do you know that you have to be organized enough to keep around an extra attachment for your food processor for it to slice?  And did you know that the $19.99 mandoline at WalMart really isn’t worth the time and money?  Yeah, well now you do.  So just plan on using your sharpest knife in the drawer to slice you a few potatoes.  You don’t even have to peel them!

OK, so the sauce.  MMMmmm, the sauce.  Jill and I were licking the skillet of the sauce. I was SO looking forward to the potatoes.  But I was a little let down.  I’m not sure if I had too many potatoes or let it cook too long or WHAT.  But those were not the creamy potatoes I had hoped for.  The taste was great and the potatoes were nice and soft and but where’s the cream??

Olive Cheese Bread

I do not like olives.  Scott likes olives.  Jake doesn’t like olives.  Jill likes olives.  It was kind of a toss up.  We made it.  If you like olives, make this.  If you do not like olives, don’t make this.  The End.

Sloppy Joes

These are yummy.  Make them.  The kids loved how sloppy they were and ate every single bite of their sandwiches.  I ate every single bite of both my sandwiches  *cough* #theyweresmallsandwiches

PS.  My cookbook is now officially falling apart.

PPS. Best I can count, I’ve made 39 of her recipes and have 21 more to go.  Why?  I don’t know.  Why not?

Again, behind on the weekly update thing.  Biweekly title just isn’t as interesting though.  I keep recycling all my favorites (tomato soup, pizza, chicken pot pie, mocha brownies) and slacking on trying new stuff.  But this week I found a lady through PW that cooked the entire cookbook and it got me a little pumped. 

I never really meant to cook through the whole thing but why stop now?  Plus?  After I tweeted about it, PW offered to send me a copy of her next cookbook so I could get a head start.  OMG!

That tweet could have been a whole PW Update post on its own, but how about I share a few recipe results too?

Apple Pie (cookbook only)

This was very close to a #fail.  My pie crust was so flaky that when I folded the pie crust up onto the apples, it creased, split and started spilling the yummy cinnamon and sugar sauce everywhere.  You might be able to tell in the picture where I had tried to scoop the sauce up after trying to repair the crust.  But, it never seemed to stick and I had juice everywhere on the pan and it was burnt.  In really good news, the apple pie itself was salvageable, albeit arguably less juicy.  We plopped some ice cream on it and called it good.  Her pie crust recipe is just to die for so you know…pie crust…ice cream…can’t be too bad.

French Breakfast Puffs

These came out to perfection.  Perfection!  I felt like they were just the right consistency as if everything in the baking world timed and heated correctly to come together and make this cinnamon muffin.  I felt like I was eating something straight from the Starbucks baked goods shelf.  Score!  It was perfect as a coffee cake.

Not Your Granny’s Mac and Cheese

I made this to take to a cook-out.  We also had jalapeno poppers to take and while I wanted to try the mac and cheese in the cookbook, I just felt like the Mexican flair to this mac and cheese from her site fit better.  Well, when I started cooking it, I knew if nothing else, this would be a pretty dish.

And then I dumped the pepperjack cheese in and all my doubts began to melt away quite literally

And the finished product did not disappoint

It was yummy!

All these will be on my make-again list!

So…have you bought her cookbook yet?