Most families have favorite recipes in their arsenal that they bring out as a dish to pass at a friend's get together. That's where I first discovered the sweet bliss of drumstick torte, the perfect combination of Oreo cookies, cream cheese, peanut butter, whipped topping, and chocolate pudding. One of our family friends brought drumstick torte as a dessert for our New Year's Eve party and everyone fell instantly in love with it. Whenever we know that we're having a party, we ask her to bring drumstick torte.
After receiving and reading the recipe, I thought it was fairly easy to make. I was wrong; the directions were simple enough, but the physical effort and time it took to mix the ingredients together to get the correct consistency was a patience required activity. It also would have been very helpful if I had remembered to take out the cream cheese beforehand so it could have softened and been easier to mix with the peanut butter and whipped topping.
Seeing as this is my favorite dessert, I decided to share it with my classmates and science teacher. Our science teacher's pregnant wife had stopped by to surprise him, but we surprised her with a piece of torte. She was thrilled! Teagen claimed the torte was heavenly. There were claims that it was "pure ecstasy". Our science teacher liked the drumstick torte so well that he made a deal. He would give me a recipe for cinnamon rolls better than Cinnabon rolls for the drumstick torte recipe. It was a good trade! I believe my classmates really enjoyed this dessert, they keep asking when I'm bringing it again.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tortellini Soup
Have you ever had that sinking feeling where you know you're forgetting something, but you just can't lay your finger on what it is you're forgetting? I had one of those moments this morning as I was getting ready for school. All of a sudden it hit me, it was Monday and I had to bring food to school for my blog! Sarah called me thirty seconds later asking me what I was bringing for lunch. Good thing I had another slow cooker recipe for today. I was able to throw the ingredients together in about ten minutes, and then take the slow cooker to school to finish off the dish.
The tortellini soup consisted of cheese tortellini, diced tomatoes, carrots, green beans, and plenty of either beef broth. This short list of ingredients and easy preparation should mean no problems to report, but today was definitely one of those days where something about your dish is bound to go wrong. Aside from almost forgetting to cook, I realized that eight cups of broth in our smaller slow cooker wasn't going to make it to school without overflowing onto my sister, the official slow cooker holder. We had to remove some broth, which then allowed for some of the green beans to fit in the slow cooker. I modified this recipe to fit my needs today, but if you have time I would suggest cooking the soup in a pot on the stove.
Even though my soup was thrown together this morning, it received many compliments. Teagen said the soup had just the right amount of spices. My favorite part of cooking is sharing a recipe with someone who really liked your dish, which happened today with my science teacher. He said the soup was delicious and he was going to make it at home soon. The ultimate compliment for a cook is being asked to share a recipe. I hope for many more instances of recipe sharing.
The tortellini soup consisted of cheese tortellini, diced tomatoes, carrots, green beans, and plenty of either beef broth. This short list of ingredients and easy preparation should mean no problems to report, but today was definitely one of those days where something about your dish is bound to go wrong. Aside from almost forgetting to cook, I realized that eight cups of broth in our smaller slow cooker wasn't going to make it to school without overflowing onto my sister, the official slow cooker holder. We had to remove some broth, which then allowed for some of the green beans to fit in the slow cooker. I modified this recipe to fit my needs today, but if you have time I would suggest cooking the soup in a pot on the stove.
Even though my soup was thrown together this morning, it received many compliments. Teagen said the soup had just the right amount of spices. My favorite part of cooking is sharing a recipe with someone who really liked your dish, which happened today with my science teacher. He said the soup was delicious and he was going to make it at home soon. The ultimate compliment for a cook is being asked to share a recipe. I hope for many more instances of recipe sharing.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Manicotti
Last week was a no fuss, ready when you are kind of meal. This week that was not the case, as manicotti is a hands on meal that requires advanced planning, plenty of time, and a bit of ambition. My family enjoys a meal like this on a nice, calm Sunday evening as a way to start a busy school and work week.
Manicotti is a pasta dish with a ricotta cheese filing inside noodles and spaghetti sauce covering the noodles. There are many different ways to make the filling like mixing the ricotta cheese with mushrooms, spinach, or meat. The type of filling depends on your family’s preference; my family prefers ricotta cheese mixed with mushrooms. This dish is simple enough to make, but has one very tedious step. The filling that you mix up must be put into each shell by hand. This may not sound like a big deal, but after getting enough pasta goo on your hands, it becomes quite difficult to keep the noodle open wide enough to be stuffed.
Seeing as I usually have a few minor inconveniences occur while I am cooking, I’m pleased to say that my latest cooking session went off without a hitch. The manicotti dish turned out “fabulous” according to Teagen. After Lisa said she could smell the food all the way down the hall, Eric walked in at lunch saying, “give me some”. Allie even came back for seconds today.
Hearing the reactions of my classmates reminded me why I love to cook. However, making food for only my classmates has left my family feeling neglected. After realizing how much I enjoyed making this dish, I’ll have to make it again sometime soon for my neglected family.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Chili
As in many other households, there usually isn't time for a nice, home cooked meal on a weeknight. That's why in my house, the slow cooker is the greatest thing ever invented. You can throw a roast or stew in the slow cooker in the morning and by the time everyone returns home, there's a delicious meal ready to be eaten. This is how chili is made in my house. While most people cook chili on the stove, my family prefers the slow cooker because it's convenient and delicious after a long, crazy day.
For this blog, I made chili for my classmates to eat instead of the nasty pretzels the school serves for lunch. I came across a few major issues this time cooking. The first came when I was cooking the hamburger and didn't know how much chili powder to add, I realized my dad, the chili master, had left for Rhinelander. My mom gave her two cents, but it wasn't the same. The next problem was transporting the extremely full slow cooker down our pothole ridden back roads to the school. Luckily, my sister was able to keep the lid on tight enough and no chili was lost. When I brought the chili in the first thing that came out of Teagen's mouth was, "Allison, I love you!" She's the number one fan of my cooking. Everyone ate at least one bowl of chili, except for Eric who preferred the nasty school pretzels. I also brought sour cream, cheese, and saltines as toppings to add even more deliciousness to the chili. After simmering in the science classroom all morning, spreading its aroma, the teacher decided he needed a bowl too. The neighboring history teacher decided the same thing.
My science teacher was my biggest critic saying the chili needed more cumin to add some spice. I told him we don't do spicy in our house, just flavorful.
For this blog, I made chili for my classmates to eat instead of the nasty pretzels the school serves for lunch. I came across a few major issues this time cooking. The first came when I was cooking the hamburger and didn't know how much chili powder to add, I realized my dad, the chili master, had left for Rhinelander. My mom gave her two cents, but it wasn't the same. The next problem was transporting the extremely full slow cooker down our pothole ridden back roads to the school. Luckily, my sister was able to keep the lid on tight enough and no chili was lost. When I brought the chili in the first thing that came out of Teagen's mouth was, "Allison, I love you!" She's the number one fan of my cooking. Everyone ate at least one bowl of chili, except for Eric who preferred the nasty school pretzels. I also brought sour cream, cheese, and saltines as toppings to add even more deliciousness to the chili. After simmering in the science classroom all morning, spreading its aroma, the teacher decided he needed a bowl too. The neighboring history teacher decided the same thing.
My science teacher was my biggest critic saying the chili needed more cumin to add some spice. I told him we don't do spicy in our house, just flavorful.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Banana Cream Pie
Today I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to make a banana cream pie using my great aunt Shirley's family recipe. This pie is traditionally served on Christmas Day in my family. When waking up early to bake, you know you are going to come across a few issues, and that's exactly what I did today. The first issue occurred when I went to pick up an egg from the carton. I touched the egg and it shattered. The shattering wasn't too big of a problem, but it shattered all over the counter and the floor, creating a mess I had to clean up before my mom woke up and saw it. My second issue struck much later as I was putting the cream filling into the pie crust. The graham cracker crust started cracking! For non-bakers, a broken crust is a big deal in the baking world. Luckily, the crust didn't completely break and I was still able to use it.
Over the years there have been a few tweaks made to this older recipe to take into consideration modern conveniences. For example, the recipe tells you to cook the milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan on the stove. With that method, a baker has to be extremely careful and watchful, continuously stirring, so the milk doesn't scorch and ruin your pie filling. My grandma discovered an easier way, use the microwave to cook the milk mixture. You cook the milk mixture in one minute increments, stirring between, and the mixture doesn't scorch. The recipe also calls for a baked pie crust, but I prefer the modern convenience of already made graham cracker crusts.
My classmates were very excited when I brought the pie in for them to taste test. It quickly gained their approval. The pie received many good comments such as "very yummy", "best banana cream pie I've ever had", and "loved the texture". My opinion of the pie can be summed up with the comment, "fantastic!"
Over the years there have been a few tweaks made to this older recipe to take into consideration modern conveniences. For example, the recipe tells you to cook the milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan on the stove. With that method, a baker has to be extremely careful and watchful, continuously stirring, so the milk doesn't scorch and ruin your pie filling. My grandma discovered an easier way, use the microwave to cook the milk mixture. You cook the milk mixture in one minute increments, stirring between, and the mixture doesn't scorch. The recipe also calls for a baked pie crust, but I prefer the modern convenience of already made graham cracker crusts.
My classmates were very excited when I brought the pie in for them to taste test. It quickly gained their approval. The pie received many good comments such as "very yummy", "best banana cream pie I've ever had", and "loved the texture". My opinion of the pie can be summed up with the comment, "fantastic!"
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Before the Cooking
I'll be writing as if I were a member of the magazine staff for Taste of Home. Taste of Home is a magazine with the main purpose of sharing and improving everyone's favorite recipes for home cooked meals. I'll be cooking using recipes from Taste of Home, and then feeding my fellow English 101 classmates what results. No fears for the guinea pigs, I'm a decent cook. My following posts will be my adventures from the kitchen and the opinions and reactions of my classmates. Taste of Home shares recipes with its readers and that will be the main focus of my blog as well. Bon appetit!
http://www.tasteofhome.com
http://www.tasteofhome.com
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