Cooking
Happy New Year! I had a quiet and restful holiday break. Here’s a recap of some of my favourite things I cooked over my vacation.
Tortilla Roll-Ups: these are a new recipe I added to the site over the break. They are such a yummy, easy, spicy app for gatherings. I made these for New Year’s Eve with my family!
Other things I cooked:
Alison Roman’s “A Very Good Lasagna”: the title of this recipe is perfect - it is very good. Don’t be alarmed by the anchovies - they break down in the sauce and just add a delicious, salty seasoning. I browned some sweet Italian sausage out of the casing and added it to the layers. Served with her Iceberg Salad with Onions, Capers and Parm.
Ottolenghi’s Curried Cauliflower Cheese Filo Pie: this was a new addition to Christmas dinner and it was such a fun side! The curry flavour is subtle and the cheese filling was so yummy with the crispy crust. I prepped the pie ahead of time and just baked it right before serving - had to broil at the end to get some colour on top.
Squash and Raddichio Salad with Pecans: this was another addition to the Christmas table and was such a lovely reprieve from the heavy spread. So fresh and bright, and the mustardy dressing cuts through the rest of the richness on the plate.
Alison Roman’s Salted Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Sour Cream: I halved this recipe and it still made a huge trifle - was a fun, different dessert for the Christmas table. I enjoyed it a few days later when the cookies softened between the layers. One family member declared “it’s like Oero soup!”, but like… in a good way, I swear.
Smitten Kitchen’s Cornbread Waffles: I am OBSESSED with these waffles. I added a tbsp of honey because I love sweetness, but otherwise made as is. They taste like sweet cornbread in waffle form and they are magical.
NYT Cooking Crispy Oven Bacon and Eggs: this is my absolute favourite way to cook bacon and eggs for a crowd. On Boxing Day I cooked 15 (!) eggs all at the same time, with perfectly runny yolks! I typically need to cook the bacon for double the amount of time in the recipe, and the eggs usually take 7 mins for me. Keep your fan on to avoid fire alarm (from experience).
Mushroom Orzo “Risotto”: sauteed some leeks, mushrooms, and grated zucchini and then added orzo and chicken broth to the pan (enough liquid to cover the orzo), stirring every few mins and adding more broth as needed until the orzo was cooked through. Added a touch of cream at the end. It was so yummy and creamy! I will work on developing a recipe with ratios to share for this!
Reading
Chicken Soup for the Weary Soul.
Drinking
J.D Shore Rum Cream in my coffee every morning. Sad to be going back to oat milk now.
Following
@thekoreanvegan I love her video content and storytelling.
Listening
Misnomer by The Brook & The Bluff.
Using
My little coffee pot (my name for it haha, it’s a gooseneck kettle). One morning ritual I’ve developed during the pandemic is making my morning coffee - grinding coffee beans and using my Melitta coffee pour-over cone, but I find my kettle always dumps too much water and the grinds go everywhere. This little pot pours in a perfect little stream for a pour-over. This one is quite small (12 oz) so if you are making a large coffee I would recommend a larger pot.
Thinking
Pretty hard to not think about the exhausting deja vu of the new restrictions in Ontario. Trying to focus on one day at a time, one meal at a time, and enjoying my time at home with my family. Feeling grateful to be here and to have some temporary roommates* (*my parents).
Laughing
Have a great week,
Kaleigh