Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

When I was a kid, my mom used to make a beef stew with potatoes, carrots, green beans, and stewed tomatoes a crock pot.  I never liked it growing up, but at some point in time, our standard family beef stew switched over to beef bourguignon.  This was probably some time in my adolescent years when I had stopped eating red meat of any sort.  But after high school, I started eating meat again, and actually occasionally enjoying it.  This dish was pretty standard in our household and is definitely a reminder of home for me.  My family has always cooked it in the oven along the lines of Julia Child's recipe, but in a college kitchen and on a weekday, when I don't want to be in the kitchen for several hours, a slow cooker is an easier option.  Our family tends to serve it over egg noodles, but all to the friends I made it for said they served it over potatoes.

Lemon-Buttermilk Cake with Raspberry Sauce

In our household, everyone always seems to enjoy homemade desserts, as I would hope is the same in all households. While growing up, block parties were a large event, with a bouncy house and lots of fun for children.  All of the block joined together in the evening to share appetizers and, our favorite, desserts.  My mother made an amazing lemon buttermilk cake with raspberry sauce to share.  Although cakes can sometimes be an ordeal, this simple cake is a delicious treat.

Potato and Kale Pancakes

My family's favorite method of using up leftover mash potatoes has always been potato pancakes.  These probably aren't your traditional potato pancakes make from grated potatoes and onions.  Instead, in their simplest form, these are mashed potatoes, formed into cakes, and fried up in a skillet.  In order to make them a bit more exciting, I added kale and garlic.  My picky brother might not like them this way, but, for me, these are pretty much the perfect comfort food.

Chicken and Dumplings

Before making chicken and dumplings today, I can only having the dish one other time.  I was at one of my friends houses last winter break and our families kitchen was being remodeled at the time so a nice home cooked meal was very welcome.  I fell in love with the dish right then and there.  I have always been partial to chicken soup but the thicker broth and the fluffy dumplings of this dish just make it so much richer.  I had leftover chicken and homemade stock from the chicken that I cooked earlier in the week and thus decided to try my hand at chicken and dumplings.  I was shocked how easy it was and how well it turned out.  Definitely a dish I will be making again.

Tofu with Edamame and Shiitake Mushrooms

Edamame and tofu were to foods that I picked up when I came to college.  They were both avoided in my childhood home in favor of more traditional sources of protein (read meat).  I, however, am a bit more adventurous in my palette than my mother and thus have come to enjoy cooking with these ingredients.  And, with a vegetarian roommate, I try to cook at least a few vegetarian dishes each week.  My favorite uses of tofu are either panfried or in a soup or liquidy curry.  This dish uses the panfrying method, which results in these lovely chunks of tofu that are crispy on the outside and soft and smooth on the inside.  Combined with edamame and mushroom and served over rice, this makes for and excellent dish.

Roasted Chicken and Sautéed Kale

When it comes to meat, I am not actually a huge fan.  I read the phrase "meat as a condiment" somewhere and thought that it was a good description of my opinion on how meat should be eaten.  I rarely enjoy eating just eating meat (a good steak really isn't my thing) but I do enjoy all of the sauces and dished that go with it.  All of my favorite dishes include meat, they just also tend to involve slow cooking it with a lot of other things so that the flavors meld together.  That being said, I seem to be doing a lot with whole chickens these days.  (I like being able to use the carcass to make stock.)  Also, since I'm cooking for a bunch of friends this summer, they tend to prefer a bit more meat.

(Edit:  Can you tell that my brother and I are basically the same person?)

I made the easy standard roast chicken dish that my family generally makes.  I cook this dish mainly for the onions that go with it.  The chicken turns our well and is flavorful but the onions that cook in the lemon and chicken juices are by far my favorite part.  Also, since I don't particularly enjoy just eating chicken, this recipe leaves plenty of leftover meat that I can use in another recipe later in the week.  I served it over rice with some sautéed kale on the side for a complete meal.

Greetings, Chicken, and Tomatoes

Greetings!

As my sister has pointed out, this summer our family intends to cook much more frequently than ever before.  Although in the past cooking has never taken up much of my time, I wish to develop my skills in hopes that I will be able to enjoy better food, more frequently.  Whilst navigating an eventful summer, I still hope to find time to prepare and enjoy good food.

For my first attempt, I chose to make a chicken dish, with pan-roasted tomatoes, served with orzo and green beans.  I am not a very big fan of plain meat, especially not a steak, and normally select chicken or pasta as my meal of choice.  With my pasta or chicken, I enjoy many different sauces and flavors that go with it, including that of the juices of pan-roasted tomatoes.  This dish can be served with pasta, as I chose to do, with rice, or even on it's own.  

Welcome and Chocolate Cake

Hello!

I proposed the idea of a family food blog to my family as a way of encouraging them to cook more.  I love cooking and and food takes up the majority of my free time, whether it cooking my favorite comfort food or trying something unusual at a new restaurant.  I'm a college student, however, so free time is hard to come by.  But I just finished up my finals for the year and so I have a summer free of standard board meals and time to cook while I stay at college and work on research.  

Today was my roommate's birthday and so, since I was not busy packing up or moving into a new room, I had time to make a cake.  Chocolate cake has been a favorite in our family for a while (or at least it is the cake of my choice).  My mom generally makes it with this very rich chocolate frosting that almost tastes like fudge.  A while ago, I started putting chocolate mousse between the layers.  This turned in to me simply using chocolate mousse as a frosting.  I like it better than frosting (and maybe even better than the cake) so I decided to up the ratio of mousse to everything else as much as possible.  It makes for a very rich cake and you have to refrigerate it so if that sounds like too much, use chocolate frosting instead.  You can also simply serve the chocolate mousse by itself with some raspberries or a piece of good solid chocolate for an easy but rich dessert.