Sunday, April 28, 2013
Recipes I will HAVE to show you!
Here are some of the meals I've made in the last 2 weeks or so. I took pictures of the finished product but didn't take pictures throughout me cooking them since I hadn't started the blog yet. They were all really really good! (Especially the chicken!) I will have to cook them again in the near future and show them to you.
Spicy Italian Sausage Fettuccine!!
Ok so I realized the lighting in my pictures are awful. I'll try and so something about that soon.
Today I'm going to show you a recipe I make that my papa gave to me. It is SO delicious!!
(Remember to season your food with salt and pepper always. Season as you go and taste until you think it's perfect. In this recipe don't season until you've added at least the heavy cream to the dish. The sausage will be salty so you could easily over season it.)
Here's what you need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 Tbsp crushed red pepper ( we like it spicy!!)
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 red onion, chopped
2-4 large cloves of garlic (we love garlic so I added 4)
1-1.25 lb spicy Italian Sausage
1 1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbsp dried or fresh sage. (Optional)
1 lb pound Fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
My husband and I live near St. Louis and yesterday we went up to a place called The Hill. It has AMAZING Italian restaurants, bakeries and Italian grocery stores. We went into this grocery store we love called Vivianno's and bought some of their fresh (dried) fettuccine noodles. It comes in a 5 lb bag and is priced really well! As I'm walking around the store I see their cheese section. They will just cut you any size you'd like and I decided on the Parmesan. Now I've always bought my wedges of parm at the regular grocery store and I love it. Well they had parm that was 8.99 per lb and 18.99 per lb. I decided to get the more expensive imported one. I told her to cut me about 8-9 bucks worth and then she cut us off a piece of each kind to compare them. HOLY CRAP!! It's a night and day difference, the imported one was so good!! Of course I won't buy that all the time but at least I know where to go to get amazing cheeses.
Anyway since I had bought the fettuccine and that amazing Parmesan I decided to make a fettuccine and remembered the recipe my papa had given me. This recipe isn't how I usually make my fettuccine sauce and this one has tomatoes in it. I will show you my fettuccine sauce soon.
I start out with a little bit of olive oil in the pan and add the crushed red pepper to it. Heat that a little while so the red pepper flakes flavor the oil. When your oil is nice and hot add your hot Italian sausage. Let the bottom brown up real nice before you start and crumble it up. I use a potato masher to crumble it up. That makes it much more easy to get smaller chunks. And it's faster!
After the meat is browned and cooked through add your fennel seeds, chili powder and Italian seasonings. (I even added a little more red pepper flake. We LOVE spicy!) Add your dried sage if you have it. If you have fresh wait until later. Mix that up and add your sliced up onion and garlic. I grate my garlic in. It's much easier than chopping it up.
Side note: if you don't have fennel seed and you don't feel like running to the store don't worry about it! Your sausage should have fennel in it.
After your onions and garlic have softened add your heavy cream. If you don't have heavy cream add half and half. Heavy cream will make your sauce thicker and creamier though. Let that simmer low for about 5 mins. This helps it thicken.
Now add your diced tomatoes and simmer low for another 15-20 mins. While that is simmering cook your pasta. Make sure you don't over cook it and make it soggy! Cook it until its al dente. Which means it still has some bite to it. Not crunch, bite! :)
Reserve about 1/2 to 1 cup of your starchy cooking liquid from the pasta. Only use this if you don't have quite enough sauce and your pasta seems to dry. You probably won't need it but just in case you'll have it.
A minute or two before you drain the pasta chop up your fresh sage and add it to your sauce.
Drain pasta and put it back into the pot you boiled it in. Add your sauce to it and toss it vigorously for about a minute. This helps coat all the pasta and it also helps the pasta soak a little of that sauce in. Since you cooked your pasta to al dente it can continue to cook a little so it draws some of that hot sauce in.
You can add your Parmesan before or after you toss the sauce with the pasta. Just make sure it's well incorporated.
You can use pre-shaved Parmesan and even the grated Parmesan that comes in the plastic can. I usually buy a wedge and grate it in myself. I feel like I get more out of it that way. (Maybe not. But it feels like it) :) Also if you have the crushed garlic out of the jar that's fine too!!
Now just serve in a bowl and top with some more freshly shaved parm.
We usually serve it with some buttered bread. Yum!
Another thing I wanted to add was that if your family doesn't like spicy you can still make this!!! Just use a sweet Italian sausage and omit the red pepper flakes! It is still just as delicious and full of flavor!! :)
I make this recipe a tad different than my papa. Remember you can make any recipe your own and to your family's liking/needs. He adds some dry basil which I didn't have and he adds a splash of dry red wine to the sauce. We don't drink wine so I didn't have any. I do use wine to cook but normally it's a white wine and I didn't want to go buy any red for just a splash. But by all means add it if you have it!!
I hope you guys enjoy!
Today I'm going to show you a recipe I make that my papa gave to me. It is SO delicious!!
(Remember to season your food with salt and pepper always. Season as you go and taste until you think it's perfect. In this recipe don't season until you've added at least the heavy cream to the dish. The sausage will be salty so you could easily over season it.)
Here's what you need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 Tbsp crushed red pepper ( we like it spicy!!)
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 red onion, chopped
2-4 large cloves of garlic (we love garlic so I added 4)
1-1.25 lb spicy Italian Sausage
1 1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbsp dried or fresh sage. (Optional)
1 lb pound Fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
My husband and I live near St. Louis and yesterday we went up to a place called The Hill. It has AMAZING Italian restaurants, bakeries and Italian grocery stores. We went into this grocery store we love called Vivianno's and bought some of their fresh (dried) fettuccine noodles. It comes in a 5 lb bag and is priced really well! As I'm walking around the store I see their cheese section. They will just cut you any size you'd like and I decided on the Parmesan. Now I've always bought my wedges of parm at the regular grocery store and I love it. Well they had parm that was 8.99 per lb and 18.99 per lb. I decided to get the more expensive imported one. I told her to cut me about 8-9 bucks worth and then she cut us off a piece of each kind to compare them. HOLY CRAP!! It's a night and day difference, the imported one was so good!! Of course I won't buy that all the time but at least I know where to go to get amazing cheeses.
Anyway since I had bought the fettuccine and that amazing Parmesan I decided to make a fettuccine and remembered the recipe my papa had given me. This recipe isn't how I usually make my fettuccine sauce and this one has tomatoes in it. I will show you my fettuccine sauce soon.
I start out with a little bit of olive oil in the pan and add the crushed red pepper to it. Heat that a little while so the red pepper flakes flavor the oil. When your oil is nice and hot add your hot Italian sausage. Let the bottom brown up real nice before you start and crumble it up. I use a potato masher to crumble it up. That makes it much more easy to get smaller chunks. And it's faster!
After the meat is browned and cooked through add your fennel seeds, chili powder and Italian seasonings. (I even added a little more red pepper flake. We LOVE spicy!) Add your dried sage if you have it. If you have fresh wait until later. Mix that up and add your sliced up onion and garlic. I grate my garlic in. It's much easier than chopping it up.
Side note: if you don't have fennel seed and you don't feel like running to the store don't worry about it! Your sausage should have fennel in it.
After your onions and garlic have softened add your heavy cream. If you don't have heavy cream add half and half. Heavy cream will make your sauce thicker and creamier though. Let that simmer low for about 5 mins. This helps it thicken.
Now add your diced tomatoes and simmer low for another 15-20 mins. While that is simmering cook your pasta. Make sure you don't over cook it and make it soggy! Cook it until its al dente. Which means it still has some bite to it. Not crunch, bite! :)
Reserve about 1/2 to 1 cup of your starchy cooking liquid from the pasta. Only use this if you don't have quite enough sauce and your pasta seems to dry. You probably won't need it but just in case you'll have it.
A minute or two before you drain the pasta chop up your fresh sage and add it to your sauce.
Drain pasta and put it back into the pot you boiled it in. Add your sauce to it and toss it vigorously for about a minute. This helps coat all the pasta and it also helps the pasta soak a little of that sauce in. Since you cooked your pasta to al dente it can continue to cook a little so it draws some of that hot sauce in.
You can add your Parmesan before or after you toss the sauce with the pasta. Just make sure it's well incorporated.
You can use pre-shaved Parmesan and even the grated Parmesan that comes in the plastic can. I usually buy a wedge and grate it in myself. I feel like I get more out of it that way. (Maybe not. But it feels like it) :) Also if you have the crushed garlic out of the jar that's fine too!!
Now just serve in a bowl and top with some more freshly shaved parm.
We usually serve it with some buttered bread. Yum!
Another thing I wanted to add was that if your family doesn't like spicy you can still make this!!! Just use a sweet Italian sausage and omit the red pepper flakes! It is still just as delicious and full of flavor!! :)
I make this recipe a tad different than my papa. Remember you can make any recipe your own and to your family's liking/needs. He adds some dry basil which I didn't have and he adds a splash of dry red wine to the sauce. We don't drink wine so I didn't have any. I do use wine to cook but normally it's a white wine and I didn't want to go buy any red for just a splash. But by all means add it if you have it!!
I hope you guys enjoy!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Beef Enchiladas!!!
Ok so for my first recipe post I wanted to share something pretty easy. (As you can tell I only know how to add photos to the bottom of the post and not throughout. I'll figure it out eventually.) I came up with this recipe a while back and have been tweaking it ever since. I think I finally got it down to the way WE love it. You guys can make it your own. It really is pretty versatile. You might not even make this recipe. It could inspire you to make something completely your own!
I'm going to show you how I make Beef Enchiladas. My brother and sisters are pretty picky eaters and they all four loved this. It's simple and super tasty.
I start out with a pound to a pound and a quarter of ground beef. Use whatever you like. If you have one that has a higher percentage of fat just make sure you drain it. Don't add oil to the pan because we want to make sure and brown the beef not boil it. You can add a little oil if you are using ground turkey. Get your pan hot and add the beef. Let the bottom get a little bit of a brown crust on the bottom before you mess with it. I use a potato masher to "grind it up" after the bottom has browned a bit. (I learned that from Rachael Ray and it works wonders!)
Get all of the beef nice and brown then add about a half an onion, more of less if you prefer. I used a red onion. Then cook that out a little and then add a few cloves of garlic. Like I said add the amount that would suit your taste. Cook all that out until the onions have softened.
This is the part where you can change things around if you want. I had taco seasoning on hand so that's what I used. I usually do. I added about a pack and a half of taco seasoning to this. You can definitely mix up your own seasonings if you'd like. ( chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, etc.)
You can even add fajita seasoning.
Add the water and simmer. After simmering for a bit I slice up a jalapeño and add it to the beef mixture to cook out a little.
While I was doing all of this I cooked up about 1/2 cup of white rice. After the jalapeños have softened add the rice and stir together well.
Now it's time to assemble. Put a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of your baking dish so it just covers the bottom. Add a scoop or two of beef mixture to your tortilla. ( I bought the super soft ones) Roll it up and set it in baking dish fold side down. This always makes me a 9x13 pan. After your pan is stuffed full of your enchiladas pour the rest of your enchilada sauce (I use about 2 cans of sauce for the whole recipe. I like it spicy so I buy the hot ones.) over them so they are all covered. You don't want your tortillas to burn. Then top it all with LOTS of cheese. I was running a little low on cheese so mine looks a little skimpy.
Bake this on 350 degrees until your cheese melts and starts to brown.
Top with any fixings you'd like.
More cheese! Avocado, sour cream, lettuce etc. The list could go on and on.
I usually serve this with refried beans. I always thin my beans out with a little water or beef/chicken stock. Sometimes I add hot sauce or chipotle and adobo too.
Side note: Don't be afraid of a recipe that calls for chipotle and adobo. It's in almost every grocery store I've been in. It's either by the pickled jalapeños or in the Mexican food isle.
Plus it's super yummy!!!!
Usually I add cilantro to this dish. I was out this time. I am a cilantro addict!
I hope you guys enjoy. Like I said I'm super new to blogging. Hopefully I'll learn as I go. I just want to share my ideas more than anything.
(Btw if you know how to add pics throughout the blog and not just at the end let me know! :) )
I'm going to show you how I make Beef Enchiladas. My brother and sisters are pretty picky eaters and they all four loved this. It's simple and super tasty.
I start out with a pound to a pound and a quarter of ground beef. Use whatever you like. If you have one that has a higher percentage of fat just make sure you drain it. Don't add oil to the pan because we want to make sure and brown the beef not boil it. You can add a little oil if you are using ground turkey. Get your pan hot and add the beef. Let the bottom get a little bit of a brown crust on the bottom before you mess with it. I use a potato masher to "grind it up" after the bottom has browned a bit. (I learned that from Rachael Ray and it works wonders!)
Get all of the beef nice and brown then add about a half an onion, more of less if you prefer. I used a red onion. Then cook that out a little and then add a few cloves of garlic. Like I said add the amount that would suit your taste. Cook all that out until the onions have softened.
This is the part where you can change things around if you want. I had taco seasoning on hand so that's what I used. I usually do. I added about a pack and a half of taco seasoning to this. You can definitely mix up your own seasonings if you'd like. ( chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, etc.)
You can even add fajita seasoning.
Add the water and simmer. After simmering for a bit I slice up a jalapeño and add it to the beef mixture to cook out a little.
While I was doing all of this I cooked up about 1/2 cup of white rice. After the jalapeños have softened add the rice and stir together well.
Now it's time to assemble. Put a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of your baking dish so it just covers the bottom. Add a scoop or two of beef mixture to your tortilla. ( I bought the super soft ones) Roll it up and set it in baking dish fold side down. This always makes me a 9x13 pan. After your pan is stuffed full of your enchiladas pour the rest of your enchilada sauce (I use about 2 cans of sauce for the whole recipe. I like it spicy so I buy the hot ones.) over them so they are all covered. You don't want your tortillas to burn. Then top it all with LOTS of cheese. I was running a little low on cheese so mine looks a little skimpy.
Bake this on 350 degrees until your cheese melts and starts to brown.
Top with any fixings you'd like.
More cheese! Avocado, sour cream, lettuce etc. The list could go on and on.
I usually serve this with refried beans. I always thin my beans out with a little water or beef/chicken stock. Sometimes I add hot sauce or chipotle and adobo too.
Side note: Don't be afraid of a recipe that calls for chipotle and adobo. It's in almost every grocery store I've been in. It's either by the pickled jalapeños or in the Mexican food isle.
Plus it's super yummy!!!!
Usually I add cilantro to this dish. I was out this time. I am a cilantro addict!
I hope you guys enjoy. Like I said I'm super new to blogging. Hopefully I'll learn as I go. I just want to share my ideas more than anything.
(Btw if you know how to add pics throughout the blog and not just at the end let me know! :) )
Friday, April 26, 2013
Picky Eaters? Salt?
I started writing my first recipe post and I started rambling on about how my husband used to be the pickiest eater I've ever met. I realized that a lot if people probably deal with this and thought I should dedicate a post specifically about it.
When my husband and I first met I lived with my parents. He was always over for dinner and I noticed he wouldn't eat a lot of the things my mom would cook. I thought this was crazy because she made such delicious food. I started noticing he would stray away from certain foods. Onions, carrots, sour cream etc. He wouldn't go near veggies. The only ones he would eat were corn and peas. I thought this was strange. How could someone be THAT picky?? But then again I love food.
It took a long time but he will pretty much eat anything now. He learned he actually did like veggies! They just had to be cooked a certain way. He doesn't really like any crunch or to much texture to them. Personally, I do. So I have to cater to him when it comes to certain foods. I don't mind that at all. I make food so he can enjoy it. That's one of the things that makes me love cooking so much.
Of course I had to cook things several ways before he would decide he liked them. Mushrooms I have never convinced him to try. He says he has tried them and they remind him of eating snot. Ew!
I love them. So when I make something that calls for mushrooms I cook them separate and keep them to the side and add them to my plate at the end. Don't skip over a recipe because it calls for something one of your family members won't eat. Either cook it separate or omit it. Of course that doesn't work for everything but just keep that in mind before you skip over 20 recipes that call for mushrooms.
I've also learned since I've been cooking that I have my own style. We love bold flavors. And salt! :) I don't go crazy with salt but I've eaten meals someone has cooked that would have been amazing if it had more seasoning. I think a lot of people under season their food because they are scared of it. Don't be! Salt brings out the flavors of your dish. I'm not a huge fan of adding salt after you plate up food either. I like to give the flavors time to meld together.
I could and have cooked for someone who never really seasons their food and my food is just "to much" for them. They aren't used to having all that flavor and they don't like it. Which blows my mind that some people love their bland food. But to each their own.
We love our flavor but just in case I'm not going to put measurements for salt in my recipes. (Not that I use specific measurements for most of my stuff. I tend to eyeball a lot of my food) Just try and season as you go. Keep tasting your food until you think it's perfect.
I feel like I had so much more to say about this but my mind has gone blank on me.
I'm sure I will be able to fit it all in Throughout my posts.
:)
When my husband and I first met I lived with my parents. He was always over for dinner and I noticed he wouldn't eat a lot of the things my mom would cook. I thought this was crazy because she made such delicious food. I started noticing he would stray away from certain foods. Onions, carrots, sour cream etc. He wouldn't go near veggies. The only ones he would eat were corn and peas. I thought this was strange. How could someone be THAT picky?? But then again I love food.
It took a long time but he will pretty much eat anything now. He learned he actually did like veggies! They just had to be cooked a certain way. He doesn't really like any crunch or to much texture to them. Personally, I do. So I have to cater to him when it comes to certain foods. I don't mind that at all. I make food so he can enjoy it. That's one of the things that makes me love cooking so much.
Of course I had to cook things several ways before he would decide he liked them. Mushrooms I have never convinced him to try. He says he has tried them and they remind him of eating snot. Ew!
I love them. So when I make something that calls for mushrooms I cook them separate and keep them to the side and add them to my plate at the end. Don't skip over a recipe because it calls for something one of your family members won't eat. Either cook it separate or omit it. Of course that doesn't work for everything but just keep that in mind before you skip over 20 recipes that call for mushrooms.
I've also learned since I've been cooking that I have my own style. We love bold flavors. And salt! :) I don't go crazy with salt but I've eaten meals someone has cooked that would have been amazing if it had more seasoning. I think a lot of people under season their food because they are scared of it. Don't be! Salt brings out the flavors of your dish. I'm not a huge fan of adding salt after you plate up food either. I like to give the flavors time to meld together.
I could and have cooked for someone who never really seasons their food and my food is just "to much" for them. They aren't used to having all that flavor and they don't like it. Which blows my mind that some people love their bland food. But to each their own.
We love our flavor but just in case I'm not going to put measurements for salt in my recipes. (Not that I use specific measurements for most of my stuff. I tend to eyeball a lot of my food) Just try and season as you go. Keep tasting your food until you think it's perfect.
I feel like I had so much more to say about this but my mind has gone blank on me.
I'm sure I will be able to fit it all in Throughout my posts.
:)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
How my love for cooking began!
When I was growing up my mom was a homemaker. She stayed home with my siblings and I. She made dinner every night. And I'm not talking hot dogs, I'm talking about lasagna, pot pie or Italian sausages with mashed potatoes. Everything was always at least semi homemade. Those are the best memories. Of course I don't live at home anymore and my mom isn't a stay at home mom anymore either yet she still cooks dinner for my dad and siblings. She still did this while she went to nursing school and now even when she works full time on the graveyard shift. I never appreciated it at the time. When I was younger she cooked for 7 people every night! That's crazy!!!
This has to be where my love of food and cooking started.
My nana is also a very talented cook. She always made/makes the things other people don't make as often because they think it takes to much time or the ingredients are to hard to find. But everything is always amazing!! She is truly someone I look up to and go to for advice when I need help.
When I moved out of my moms house with my boyfriend (now husband) I didn't know how to cook anything. We mainly ate stuff that was easy. (I.e- hamburger/tuna helper or tacos. A lot of takeout too) I literally had no clue how to cook. Someone else always had cooked for me. When I moved out I missed my parents and siblings a lot so we talked on the phone everyday. Mom would always tell me what she made for dinner and so would nana. I missed those home cooked meals. So I started teaching myself to cook. Well at first it wasn't anything special. I would make pork chops with shake and bake, instant mashed potatoes and canned corn. I was so proud of myself. But it was always missing something.
I then started watching A LOT of cooking shows on food network. But they were always making things that "looked" to hard or with ingredients I had no idea where to get. Little did I know you could pick up a Fresno chili at pretty much any grocery store. I started noticing all these ingredients in the store I never knew they actually carried. So I would experiment with the cooking show recipes. I had a lot of failures at first of course but when something even half way turned out ok it was incredible. I was so proud and so was my husband. He was very impressed. That made me feel good so I kept wanting to experiment and try new recipes. I began to love cooking so much I became obsessed. It was all I could think about. (And honestly it still is.) It was fun yet relaxing all at the same time. I taught myself how to chop fast and multi task. My nana and I would spend and hour and a half on the phone talking about recipes. (We still do!)
Something that I learned after starting to cook was that you need to have an open mind. If you find a recipe that you want to try but it calls for a Fresno chili and you can't find one then use a jalapeño! Or if something calls for Crème fraîche use sour cream! Or just be creative. I strayed from a lot of recipes because I didn't know substituting wasn't a bad thing. My eyes are open now. I'll try anything and I substitute all the time!!! Everything turns out great 97% of the time. You just can't be scared. I think that's what makes a good cook. Just be creative. Make it your own!
I wish I would have figured that out sooner. Cooking awesome food really isn't all that hard. You just have to put some "love and passion" into it. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true. I think a lot of people don't try new things because they are scared or don't think they can find the right ingredients. For example I make Beef And burgundy. But I don't actually use a burgundy wine. I just use a cheaper red wine. Something that was more budget friendly. It is one of my husbands favorite meals! I found the beef and burgundy recipe in Julia Childs cookbook. But I made it my own recipe. I used the red wine in place of the burgundy and I didn't buy pearl onions I just used a good ole regular white onion. I made a couple other changes also. (Ill have to post the recipe sometime for you guys.) I'm sure it tastes different from the original recipe but it was one of the best things I've made.
I never truly discovered my love for cooking until I had moved out on my own. I taught myself how to cook. (Well Mom, Nana and food network helped me out too.)
So in this blog I want to share what I cook with you guys. They won't all be my recipes. I think explaining some of the things that don't necessarily get explained will help everyone a lot!
I cook a lot of Rachael Ray's recipes. I feel like most of her food has really good flavor. I can read some of her recipes and be like "eh that doesn't sound super exciting" but after I make it it's full of tons of flavor I hadn't expected.
I just want to share my love of food and maybe help someone else discover theirs. :)
This is my first blog ever! Please excuse me if I ramble on all the time. And my spelling mistakes or grammar.... Ugh. How embarrassing.
Just bare with me. :)
This has to be where my love of food and cooking started.
My nana is also a very talented cook. She always made/makes the things other people don't make as often because they think it takes to much time or the ingredients are to hard to find. But everything is always amazing!! She is truly someone I look up to and go to for advice when I need help.
When I moved out of my moms house with my boyfriend (now husband) I didn't know how to cook anything. We mainly ate stuff that was easy. (I.e- hamburger/tuna helper or tacos. A lot of takeout too) I literally had no clue how to cook. Someone else always had cooked for me. When I moved out I missed my parents and siblings a lot so we talked on the phone everyday. Mom would always tell me what she made for dinner and so would nana. I missed those home cooked meals. So I started teaching myself to cook. Well at first it wasn't anything special. I would make pork chops with shake and bake, instant mashed potatoes and canned corn. I was so proud of myself. But it was always missing something.
I then started watching A LOT of cooking shows on food network. But they were always making things that "looked" to hard or with ingredients I had no idea where to get. Little did I know you could pick up a Fresno chili at pretty much any grocery store. I started noticing all these ingredients in the store I never knew they actually carried. So I would experiment with the cooking show recipes. I had a lot of failures at first of course but when something even half way turned out ok it was incredible. I was so proud and so was my husband. He was very impressed. That made me feel good so I kept wanting to experiment and try new recipes. I began to love cooking so much I became obsessed. It was all I could think about. (And honestly it still is.) It was fun yet relaxing all at the same time. I taught myself how to chop fast and multi task. My nana and I would spend and hour and a half on the phone talking about recipes. (We still do!)
Something that I learned after starting to cook was that you need to have an open mind. If you find a recipe that you want to try but it calls for a Fresno chili and you can't find one then use a jalapeño! Or if something calls for Crème fraîche use sour cream! Or just be creative. I strayed from a lot of recipes because I didn't know substituting wasn't a bad thing. My eyes are open now. I'll try anything and I substitute all the time!!! Everything turns out great 97% of the time. You just can't be scared. I think that's what makes a good cook. Just be creative. Make it your own!
I wish I would have figured that out sooner. Cooking awesome food really isn't all that hard. You just have to put some "love and passion" into it. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true. I think a lot of people don't try new things because they are scared or don't think they can find the right ingredients. For example I make Beef And burgundy. But I don't actually use a burgundy wine. I just use a cheaper red wine. Something that was more budget friendly. It is one of my husbands favorite meals! I found the beef and burgundy recipe in Julia Childs cookbook. But I made it my own recipe. I used the red wine in place of the burgundy and I didn't buy pearl onions I just used a good ole regular white onion. I made a couple other changes also. (Ill have to post the recipe sometime for you guys.) I'm sure it tastes different from the original recipe but it was one of the best things I've made.
I never truly discovered my love for cooking until I had moved out on my own. I taught myself how to cook. (Well Mom, Nana and food network helped me out too.)
So in this blog I want to share what I cook with you guys. They won't all be my recipes. I think explaining some of the things that don't necessarily get explained will help everyone a lot!
I cook a lot of Rachael Ray's recipes. I feel like most of her food has really good flavor. I can read some of her recipes and be like "eh that doesn't sound super exciting" but after I make it it's full of tons of flavor I hadn't expected.
I just want to share my love of food and maybe help someone else discover theirs. :)
This is my first blog ever! Please excuse me if I ramble on all the time. And my spelling mistakes or grammar.... Ugh. How embarrassing.
Just bare with me. :)
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