CONTEST WINNERS and final Japan blog :)

Contest winners!!
The contest winners were randomly chosen! The winners are Melissa, Lisset, and Vanessa--packages will be sent soon! Everybody who sent me their addresses should watch their mailboxes though :)

If the winners (and anyone else who gets a prize!) would send me your thoughts on the snacks, that would be awesome--I would love to include someone else's opinion on these foods!




Blog about Japan

My camera was found and the pictures that were on it were saved!! So what were my final photographic thoughts about Japan?




I think it's really funny that enough people randomly come to the park to do karaoke that a sign has to tell them not to do it.



What does this sign even mean? I totally don't get it. I like to think it's about swimming through the air, which I try to avoid. I mean, that hasn't been a popular dance since about the 1950's and who wants to look that out of fashion?


An exhibit at the Tokyo zoo incuded:








What do bison, wild pigs, prairie dogs, and a turkey have in common? All are native to the US...could this be an America exhibit? And it was! I thought that was a hilarious mixture of animals. A couple of squirrels and a few rabbits would have really added to it, I thought.



What are these flowers that my mom is standing around? They were growing in water. Are they lotuses?





Rachel and I watched a movie about killer sheep not too long ago (just before I left for Japan, actually) and that is exactly what I was thinking about as I posed for this picture!




My last night in Japan with a couple of my co-workers in a very Japanese pose :)




Some of the final foods that I tried (most of which were sitting around the apartment for about a month):



1. Caramel corn/cream soda puffs. Horrible. I will give you that they tasted like cream soda but they also had a weird carbonated flavor. How do puffs taste carbonated? Don't know.

2. Caesar salad Pringles. Uck. Let's just say I don't expect to see these on our shelves any time soon...that being said, they did taste exactly like a Caesar salad...

3. Mitsuya Cider, grape flavored. I hate fake grape flavoring (I won this one) and it was SUPER sweet. One drink and in the recycling bin.

4. Cake soda. First drink--wow this tastes like a cake! Second taste--boy, this is pretty sweet. Third taste--why am I drinking this?


Curry Pringles--really good! Odd but really delicious. I ate the whole tube of them. i love curry.




Duchess and her sushi toy:




The sushi toy is easily one of Duchess's favorite toys. Mom's dog Gracie also enjoyed it:




Until next time!

Becker Pork Hash (p. 108)

I had leftover pork from the roasted pork I made a few days before, so I browsed TJOC for leftover pork recipes and I found Becker Pork Hash (p. 108). I actually meant to make this recipe for a few days before it actually got made--the recipe requires pork or Marsala, neither of which I had, and both of which a thorough googling taught me are substitute-free. I kept forgetting to pick the alcohol up! I eventually made it to the liquor store (and I picked up some mead while I was there--super cool!), bought some Marsala, and was able to make the hash.

Easy start (and TJOC's typical beginning), chopped carrots and onions are sauteed in butter. Chicken broth (homemade--I use it constantly!), the precious Marsala, and soy sauce are then added. Wow! This looks really good!





The next step made me feel like Sandra Lee--I added two cans of cream of mushroom soup.




Uh oh, it's starting to look more like mud (dog food?)...that's not an appetizing sign...

The glop is reduced until it's thick and then pork and peas are added:






The recipe says to serve over egg noodles or toast. I was out of egg noodles and the idea of this over toast was horrifying to me. So I went through my cupboards for an acceptable alternative...for a while I thought it might be elbow macaroni but then I saw it....



Spaetzle! That has to be better than elbow macaroni, right? My mom bought the spaetzle for me at World Market quite a while ago and this would be the perfect time to use it!




So how was my hash on spaetzle? Eh. Josh liked it, which was good, and it made a good lunch dish, but I thought it was spectacularly bland--and I'm not sure what I would have done differently or added to make it less bland. Is hash always bland? I've never had it before. The spaetzle was pretty good though.

Stuffed Baked Summer Squash (p. 308), Green Beans, Potatoes, and Smoked Meat (p. 251), Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (p. 576), and Au Gratin (p. 961)

I was super-excited this weekend! There was going to be a pet expo at one of the local humane societies (Animal House--it's a great rescue group), although there was also going to be a home football game (the stadium is right next to our house and our road gets shut down--it's absolutely nightmarish and we have a hard time getting in and out of our home). I love bringing Duchess to pet expos so I was really excited.

We managed to get out of the house and drive to Animal House--and it doesn't look like anything is going on. Why? Because the pet expo is the NEXT weekend. Whoops! Josh wasn't real thrilled with me but we did decide to hit up the farm stand in the parking lot. I picked up a few summer squash (both yellow and zucchini), as well as garlic, radishes, corn, etc. I love farm stands!

Looking through TJOC, I decided to make Stuff Baked Summer Squash (p. 308).

The first step was to hollow out 4 small summer squash. How big is a "small" summer squash?





Next, I melted some mutter, softened some onion, and then added the hollowed out squash pulp (hope you kept it and didn't hollow them out into the trash! I read through the whole recipe so I knew not to), as well as salt, paprika, and cloves, and cooked it until it's "hot". I have a hard time working past my view that cloves and nutmeg=dessert and I'm apparently not through my issues yet, because this smelled like a pie to me.




After the mixture was "hot" it was removed from the stove and egg, bread crumbs, and cheese (I used Monterrey jack) were added.




The mixture was then spooned into the shells. I didn't think there was quite enough stuffing...I would really like more stuffing, I love stuffing. And yes, there is an odd number of shells because I didn't think there was near enough stuffing for seven squash (squashes? squashi?), much less eight. I placed them in my roasting pan with chicken stock on the bottom.




I used Au Gratin III (p. 961) for the topping. The au gratin was easy--I sprinkled bread crumbs all over the stuffing, then some shredded cheese, and then I "dotted" it with butter. Squash and cheese go well together so I used plenty.



So how were they? Really good although the shell was strangely bitter--I blame that on the actual squash though, not the recipe. They heated up deliciously. The stuffing was great--nice and creamy. They are an attractive side dish and I think they would be really great for a summer dinner party.



I've been very interested in TJOC's salad dressing recipes but I haven't actually made any yet. Why not? The main problem has been that most of the vinaigrette require a running a food processor while olive oil is slowly poured in (to make the emulsion, I assume)--but my tiny food processor doesn't have a hole in the top to pour through. I'm hoping we get a food processor at some point, though, so I've put them off. Even so, a few of the recipes don't have that step--one of them being Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (p. 576), which I decided to make.

It's an easy recipe--combine mayo, sour cream, parsley (I used dry!), red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, ground red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Uh oh--no Worcestershire sauce....I used soy sauce instead (it's only 6 dashes and I figure the main flavor that the Worcestershire is giving is a salty taste). I had purchased some beautiful Maytag blue cheese (IOWA PRODUCTS! HOORAY!) at Whole Foods, and that got added to the mix.



How was it? AWESOME! I can't recommend it enough. It was delicious on salads and wonderful to dip vegetables into (I used carrots, Josh used radishes). The garlic gives the dressing a great bite. I don't think I'll ever by blue cheese dressing again!

I also picked up some green beans at the farm stand and couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do with them...I knew I wanted to make a TJOC recipe and there are several GB recipes in TJOC (ranging from various salads and casseroles to stir fry). I made Green Beans, Potatoes, and Smoked Meat (p. 251). This is one of the easiest recipes I've ever seen. First, you simmer some smoked meat (I used Canadian bacon) in water (I used chicken broth because I needed to use it up) for thirty minutes. I assume this is to make a tasty, smoky broth.



Next, I added green beans and potatoes (Yukon Golds of course!).



The pot is covered and the mix is simmered for about twenty minutes (less for those of you who don't battle altitude!). They are then drained, the meat is chopped up, and it's ready to go!



How was it? Wow was it good. (Full discloser, I wrote this entry a couple weeks after I made the recipe and I've made it again since!) It's smoky and salty and the mixture of flavors is amazing. I actually ate this and thought of my father--he would LOVE this recipe and his would be even better because he could use garden-fresh potatoes and green beans (I don't think he has any bacon-plants, Canadian or otherwise). If you like these three items you MUST make this recipe--it's great.

I also made some beautiful chocolate chip cookies, I thought they should be admired :) They were from my own recipe, not from TJOC.

Boneless Roast Pork Florentine (p. 499)

Occasionally, TJOC has recipes for items that I make on a regular basis and usually I really like my own version. One such recipe is for pork roast. I love roasting pork. I adore pork (grew up eating a ton of it!) and love the leftovers that making a roast gives. Plus, roasting really puts me in the mood for fall. King Soopers was having a buy one, get one free sale on pork loin roasts, so I picked a couple pork loin roast up and made Boneless Roast Pork Florentine (p. 499).

The first step is to combine garlic, rosemary, salt, and black pepper. I used my adorable zebra prep bowls and I crushed the rosemary using our tiny morter and pestle (why do we have so many miniaturized apparatuses in our kitchen?). I have no idea how crushed the rosemary was supposed to be, so I just smashed it for a while and then called it good. My mom ADORES rosemary so I grew up eating a LOT of it!







Incisions are made in the pork roast and the spice mixture is shoved in the holes. I actually enjoy this part and it's a common step in TJOC roasts (remember Stracotto? I actually make that recipe fairly often because Josh and I bth love it). It made just about the perfect amount of seasoning for three pounds of pork. You then smear (rub) some olive oil on the top.




I then flipped the roast over and put it in my beautiful roasting pan (thank you Judy and Terry!). You should always roast meat fat-side up, although that is not pointed out in the recipe.



My meat thermometer was MIA so I opened the roast up to check the color. I pulled it when there was still pink in the middle (you should be careful not to overcook pork!) and covered it loosely with foil. I was hoping the pan would have plenty of juices so I could make a tasty gravy but no luck :( It was a really attractive roast though.




I also made some roasted potatoes (although not from TJOC--from my secret recipe!). This is a picture of the plate before greenery got added (I swear it did!). The pork was delicious--tender and juicy, and well-flavored.

Chicken or Turkey Curry (p. 105)

Hmm...I still managed to have some leftover boiled chicken from making stock. HOW MUCH MEAT DOES ONE CHICKEN HAVE? (My grandmother would say that it was so big, it would be considered a turkey...I'm pretty sure that's not how it works).

I searched TJOC and found Chicken or Turkey Curry (p. 105). I've chosen against this recipe in the past because although I love curry, I don't really like pineapple in savory dishes. But it was ::sigh:: time. And if I only make the recipes that ring my bell, I'm going to have months of food that I think looks horrifying (timbales, for example...google it), which doesn't seem like a good idea.

The recipe is easy enough--you heat up butter, add onion, and then mix in flour, curry, ginger, and cinnamon. These are pie spices...not meat spices! And watch out...it's easy to burn the flour...




Coconut milk, chicken broth (homemade of course!), and pineapple are then added. Coconut milk and pineapple? A tasty tropical cocktail...not a meat concoction....





The cooked chicken is then added....




And the whole mix is served over rice...



So how was it? I have to say, this is one of the most unattractive recipes I've made in a long time. My version looks like dog food...I think it's because my curry is one of the ugliest colors in the world. It was pretty good (if you closed your eyes) but a little bland...I'm not sure how, it has a TON of spices in it...it's totally possible that it's my low quality curry that is the problem. Has anyone else made this? Did it turn out?

Sloppy Joe (p. 530), Chicken Chili Verde (p. 435), and Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Spread (p. 76)

I've been asked how I decide what to make each week (and that's a question that I would like to pose to all the other cook-through bloggers). I don't think I do it in a typical way...I sit down with TJOC and go through the whole thing, eyeing the different recipes and deciding what I think we should make. I make a list of what I would need for these recipes and go grocery shopping. If there are any great deals, we buy them and then I retroactively look for recipes. And I have a list of ideas for the week. It's not a particuarly efficient method

One recipe that has been on my list FOREVER is Sloppy Joe (p. 530). Honestly, this recipe has spent months on my to-make list. Why? First off, it's an easy recipe with ground beef. Second, I like sloppy joes but I don't like them too sloppy. So why haven't I made them? Simply put, Josh dislikes them. So I always figured that I would make them when he wasn't home but whenever I was in the mood for SJ's, we had no buns (and I didn't want loose-meat SJ's). But everything came together and I decided to finally make them!


Easy start--onion, garlic, celery, and thyme, salt and peppered, and fried up in vegetable oil. You then remove it to a bowl. Personally I think that the mix is beautiful! What pretty colors!





Next, the ground beef is cooked up....I have to say, 1.25 lbs of beef is a bizarre amount to call for. A really annoying amount actually :)




Then you add chili sauce or catsup (catsup!), beer or water (beer!), Worcestershire sauce, and some hot pepper sauce (Tabasco!). Then it's simmered until it's thick. So it starts here:










And it ends here (quite a bit more thick!):










So how was it? Really tasty! I was out of buns so I used toast--but it was really good! It wasn't particularly "sloppy" and it had a really good flavor. Plus, it is really easy to customize! Even Josh admitted it was pretty good (and he ate his on hot dog bun).






For some mysterious reason, I also decided this would be the perfect weekend to make a Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Spread (p. 76). Why? No idea. Usually it's nice to have some spread or dip around for lunch, for when I'm hungry and don't have much time--but I was obviously going to have a lot of leftovers from all of the other food I made...I must have been excited about my garlic-roasting success.

This recipe takes a LOT of garlic--four roasted heads. The garlic I had was absolutely tiny so I made six.



All of the roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, basil, and salt and pepper gets mixed together in the tiny food processor. That part is easy enough...





For some reason I chose not to stir in any Kalamata olives...I have them...so I'm not sure why I didn't use them. I guess I forgot until I looked at the picture and read the recipe. Hmmm...

How was the spread?




Eh. Okay. I think it was too strongly Parmesan-y when I would have liked it to be more garlic-y. Strangely, Josh ate it spread all over rice and said it was extremely good...I'm not sure what motivated him to combine those two foods...but he said it was really good. I think it would be really good with three or four other dips at a party.



I used a lot of the chicken stock in the cream of asparagus soup but I still had a ton of boiled chicken left over...what to do with it...hmmm...Chicken Chili Verde (p. 435)! This recipe is a LOT easier if you use cooked chicken because it cuts off quite a bit of time--pretty much the first quarter of the recipe.

You start with onion, celery, and garlic (I spared you a picture of this since there are already about fifty pictures of onion, celery, and garlic cooking in a skillet on this blog already!) and then add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. I'm always worried at this point because it really doesn't take much for the spices to burn.





Tomatillos are then added. I used fresh although canned will work--I have no idea what canned tomatillos are like so I can't compare the two. The recipe then calls for an entire bunch of cilantro separated into leaves and stems.

What?

You have to be kidding! That would take FOREVER. There was no way I was doing that. I separated what I thought was enough cilantro and then called it good. After stock and peppers are added...you have chicken chili verde! Exciting, right?





Apparently I thought that this was a boring recipe because I have no "after" picture--I cooked it down for quite a while and ate it on corn tortillas.


How was it?


Eh. Not bad, but not that good. Pretty boring. I probably won't make it again.

Cream of asparagus soup (p.144)

So what to do with the rest of my chicken stock...(this is actually a question that I have quite a bit since I make chicken stock fairly often)...

Cream of asparagus soup (p.144)! And asparagus was even on sale, always a nice extra!

I used to absolutely hate asparagus. It was one of the few foods that I refused to eat (tuna, peppers, onions, asparagus, green olives) as a kid. On a whim a few years ago I tried them again--and they were extremely good. Apparently I was wrong! Actually, most of the items on that list are things that I like now--only two of them are still on my hated list :) Unfortunately for my mother, all five of those items are among her favorite foods, and since it was only the two of us, she didn't get to eat them very often!

TJOC has twelve cream soup recipes ranging from common (cream of mushroom) to odd (cream of watercress? Does watercress have much of a taste?) to bizarre (cream of chestnut?? Really?).

The recipe is easy enough--start with butter, celery, and onions, and add in a pound and a half of asparagus. I bought two pounds of asparagus, broke them off at the tough part, and considered it the correct amount.





A tiny bit of flour is then added in, and then in goes the stock:





Eventually the soup looks like this:




I know that looks a little burned but it didn't taste burned...I'm not sure exactly what happened there. I must say, I LOVE my immersion blender. This is the point where you would have to pour boiling hot soup out of a enormous metal pot, into a food processor or blender, while not scalding yourself. Using an immersion blender totally solves the problem while also not making any more dishes. Finally, the heavy cream was added and this is what you get:





Yum! It was incredibly tasty and really good. I'm looking forward to making the next cream soups! And it heated up extremely well--which makes it great for lunch.