Cranberry Beef Stew

Many moons ago way back before the teen was even a blip, I attempted to make the classic version of beef bourguignon. Maybe it was the inexperience, maybe it was the cut of meat, maybe it misguided view of wine. Whatever the reason I don't remember enjoying the meal. With time and learnings I have come to appreciate cooking with ingredients outside my comfort such as wines. Not being a consumer of any alcohol it is hard to know what is good wine and what is bad wine. Thankfully today there is the internet to help in learnings.

Ever in my quest to cook cranberries in dinner, Cranberry Beef Bourguignon was cooked yesterday and served to tonight.

Modifications Made:

Holy moly, this recipe stated it served six but called for two and half pounds of meat. Therefore, this recipe was halved for all ingredients except the meat which only totaled .97 pounds.

Cognac was omitted as the wine was enough alcohol flavoring for my taste. Carrots were increased to four large sticks and mushrooms were increased to 16 oz to offset the decrease in meats.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You
Have no reasonings for not liking the bourguignon other than it is just an overly fussy meal. Flavor was full, meat was tender, and carrots and cranberries offered a nice color. For all of the effort, this table would rather have had pot roast with cranberries added.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

Way Too Rich, Extra Heavy Cheesecake

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001. Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old. Eek. Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake. In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years. That is just too long. Too long. Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven. A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature. If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix. Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

Parker Potato Folds

Last weeks Should Have Bread Rolls sent me on a mission. A mission for smooth in texture, puffy with some weight, slight chewy dinner rolls. What I found when searching for dinner rolls was a recipe for lemon bread pudding staring Parker House rolls as the base. Never have I eaten, seen, heard about Parker House rolls. Apparently, Parker House rolls have a cult following. After reading several sites noting slight differences in ingredients, King Arthur Baking recipe was used because it contained potato flakes and came with a great step by step photo blog. Dinner rolls for dinner and dinner rolls for dessert tomorrow. Perfect, perfect. Modifications Made: None. Bread making skills are still lacking. Scaled for Likability: Good One day bread will be produced at this table that is county blue fair award winning. Until then, lots of dense, under or over risen, too chewy, lacking fluffy bread and bread rolls will be consumed. These Parker House rolls were very tasty just not made corr

Eating Waffles

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