Cook Club: Cooking Up a Storm

TOTAL SCORE: 3.717

Highest Scoring Dishes:  Crab Bisque (above), Bon Ton Bread Pudding, and Warm Potato Salad

Lowest Scoring Dish: Baked Rice Pudding  

In celebration of Mardi Gras (and as it so happened, the celebration of the New Orleans Saints Superbowl win!), January/February Cook Club focused on the cookbook COOKING UP A STORM: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans.  Our Cook Club NOLA-alum, Anjali, selected this cookbook for us this round and it promised to be a good one.  This cookbook, chockful of recipes for nearly any occasion, was created after Hurricane Katrina as New Orleans residents began rebuilding their lives.  The Times-Picayune of New Orleans became a "post-hurricane swapping place for old recipes that were washed away in the storm."  I was so excited about this cookbook that I actually bought one for myself -- and I'm glad I did.  All the recipes come with an anecdote, giving you an insider glimpse into the back story of each recipe -- who requested it, who had it, where it came from, and so forth.

Below are all of our reviews of our dishes!  This is only a small subset of the over 250 recipes in the cookbook, so I hope this encourages you to try it out for yourself.

Appetizers

Amanda's Crab Bisque

Score: 4.8

I made the bisque the night before, (despite the fact that the recipe recommended serving it immediately) which turned out to be a good decision. What was a bland, so-so soup turned out to be a very flavorful, nicely spiced starter to our meal. The recipe was very easy to follow and make. There was relatively little chopping and prep work, which was nice. I was also excited to make a roux for the first time ever! The only thing that I changed was the amount of black pepper and Tabasco...it needed a lot more in my opinion! This was a crowd favorite at the dinner party. I saved the leftovers for my friend Tiffany, who could not be there...she said it best: "I was going to eat some for dinner, and save the rest for the next day, but before I realized it, the soup was all gone!" A definite success, in my opinion...I will be making this recipe again in the near future.

Amanda's Cafe Degas Stuffed Peppers

Score: 4.25 (Amanda's Score = 4.5, Anjali's Score = 4.0)

Anjali, Lisa H, and I threw our dinner party on a Friday night, which was a good idea in theory, but meant that I was extremely tired from the week, and also explains why I chose to cut the peppers in half instead of leaving them whole for stuffing...duh! I very diligently cut and seeded all of the red peppers that evening, then realized my goof. I had no time to get more peppers, and had no idea what to do with nine pepper halves, so I worked with what I had. This silly mistake turned out to be a good decision, as the peppers were quite large, and probably would have been too much to eat whole with all of the other yummy food we had. The stuffing was fairly easy to assemble and had several of my favorite things...goat cheese, spinach, and walnuts, not to mention other tasty ingredients! The recipe also called for kale, which I was not able to find at the Tom Thumb I frequent, so I decided to wing it with extra fresh spinach instead of making trips to other stores. Despite the last minute modifications, the peppers turned out great, and were a hit at the dinner party. This recipe is a keeper! (Anjali also rated this dish with a 4.0)

Jackie's Blue-Cheese Puffs
Score: 4 

The blue cheesy puffs were certainly a popular selection!  I managed to lock them up though and was excited to try these.  In the past year, I've been making quite a few dishes out of blue cheese (a certain blue cheese souffle comes to mind, mmmm.), so I was excited to try these out.  The little story that went along with it recommended doubling the batch if you're throwing a party because these would surely fly off the plate.  And even though there were only two of us eating them, they did fly ... into our mouths.  I've actually tried to make cheese puffs before and failed miserably -- those puffs deflated and basically tasted rubbery.  But these were light and airy -- the blue cheese wasn't too overpowering (although our house did smell like blue cheese for awhile afterwards) and reminded me of gougeres that I've had at restaurants.  We paired the last several blue cheese puffs with hot sauce -- reminded us of buffalo wings with blue cheese...but without the chicken of course :).  Definitely will make these again!

Lisa H's Artichoke and Oyster Casserole

Score: 3.625 (Lisa's Score = 3, Anjali's Score = 4.25)

For our party (thrown by Anjali, Amanda, and I), we actually made the appetizer of the casserole. I used phyllo shells and the crispy/flaky was good. I used two cans of artichokes and took off the leaves then put them in the food processor instead of fresh. I have never cooked with oysters and didn't realize they come in different sizes (something important to know prior to cooking with oysters;-).  The recipe called for 6 dozen oysters, I used 20 large oysters and cut them up. When making the recipe you need to look at the size of the oysters or I think you might get too much oyster.

I would rate this recipe 3/5, because of the large amount of anxiety I had prior to and while making this recipe. As a side note, I don't know that I have ever had anxiety prior to making anything. The appetizers had a great flavor and everyone seemed to like them. I would make this again. (Miss Anjali also scored this one!  This one for her got a 4.25)

 

Entrees


Anjali's Shrimp Creole

Score: 3.75 (Day of results = 3.5; Next day results = 4.0)

So this was pretty much the cookbook's version of a tomato-based shrimp etoufee (check out my Where in the World Wednesday NOLA edition here for more info!).  While I prefer the cream-based etoufee, I wanted to try the healthier kind! The recipe was very straightforward and easy to understand. My critique? Make this the night before!  I made the base several hours before my guests arrived and put the shrimp in just before serving, to avoid them getting tough.  The results were good. BUT, the leftovers the next day were amazing! Serve over rice and with an Abita. ;)

Becca's Meaty Gumbo Over Warm Potato Salad

Meaty Gumbo Score = 3.5

Warm Potato Salad = 5

I made the meaty gumbo over warm potato salad.  The gumbo contained lots of yummy (and hearty) ingredients, including ham, chicken, andouille sausage and pork sausage.  The original recipe called for a whole chicken to be split into cooking pieces, but I am not that savvy so I bought a split breast and two bone-in skin on chicken thighs.  The cooking process wasn't terribly complicated, but there were a lot of steps.  I had to brown the chicken in batches because my dutch oven wasn't big enough for a whole bird, so I just chopped up the veggies while that was cooking.  Once everything was in the pot, all I had to do was let it sit (and fill the house with yummy smells).

The potato salad was also pretty simple.  I had a hard time finding creole seasoning in my grocery store, so I made my own based on a recipe I found online (from Emeril Lagasse I believe).  Though I must confess I didn't write it down, I can say it was basically paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, cayenne, thyme and oregano.  I didn't have any onion powder on hand, but I don't think the dish suffered.  The genius thing is, you boil the potatoes in the creole seasoning (I cut them into bite size pieces first, though I think the recipe calls for boiling them whole - I like my way, maximum seasoning!).  After that just add celery, celery salt, a little mayo, grainy mustard and eggs.  The potato salad was really yummy on its own, nice and spicy, and when mixed with the gumbo, added a nice creaminess.

I would recommend giving this dish a shot, especially if you're, say, snowed in when DC is randomly getting 3 feet of snow...  I don't know if I would bother with the whole chicken (or the bone in parts even) because the gumbo is rich enough with all the other meats I don't think the chicken skin & bones add much other than the need to pull out skin & bones before you serve it.  This would be great for a non-vegetarian winter gathering.

Jackie's Shrimp & Grits
Score: 3.5

I was at a bit of a loss when I saw all the wonderfully tasty sounding dishes up for grabs in this cookbook.  So I put together a list of dishes that I wanted to make and sent them to Mr. J for him to pick out a dish for us ... and his selection was shrimp & grits!  I was excited to try this out because I loooove shrimp and grits, but have never made it myself.  This was quite easy to make, but took some time.  I wasn't expecting to put this dish in the oven, almost like a rectangular casserole --  the grits reminded me of sliced polenta instead of the creamy grits I've had in previous shrimp & grits dishes.  I really enjoyed the flavor of the grits though -- made simply with chicken broth and Parmesan cheese, they were savory but not overpowering.  The shrimp had a great flavor too, although I think next time, I would try to make more of a sauce to pour over the shrimp and the grits as they are baking together.

Sides

Anjali's "Jerry's Crawfish Bread"

Score: 4.5

I have had my share of crawfish bread when I lived in NOLA, and I always loved it, so I thought having this in my arsenal would be a good idea. Unfortunately, I am not a baker, so it made me very nervous!  The base of this dish was again very straightforward.  It was the construction, with putting the filling into the bread and then carefully closing it and putting it into the oven that was a little difficult! The dish calls for cream cheese, presumably to make the filling thicker, but I think the water from the vegetables still made it runny. Plus, I used a more natural version of cream cheese, so maybe this affected the texture?  Either way, once this finally came out of the oven, it smelled amazing and was a hit at the party! Add a little extra hot sauce for a nice little kick. :)

Dessert

Amanda's Praline Cookies

Score: 3.65 (Amanda's Score = 3.8 and Anjali's Score = 3.5)

I'm not sure where my thought processes were when I was grocery shopping for this cook club, but they were clearly absent (see stuffed pepper review). The recipe called for pecans, which I quickly grabbed while shopping a few nights before our dinner party. I got home and realized that yes, I purchased pecans, but they were olive oil and sea salt roasted (quite yummy, but not for pralines). Yikes! I called Anjali in a panic, and she saved the day with regular pecans. Once my pecan issue was solved, I quickly assembled the cookies. The recipe was very simple, and required few ingredients. The final product was good, but I was expecting the cookies to be a little more...something. Sweeter maybe? Perhaps I had higher expectations because I love pralines, so I wanted these to be similar. As a cookie lover, I'm sure I will make these again in the future.  (Miss Anjali also scored this dish with a 3.5)

Bana's Baked Rice Pudding
Score: 1

Can I give this recipe a negative score?  Because, truly, this was the saddest excuse for a rice pudding recipe I've ever encountered.  Rice pudding is one of my favorite desserts and there are two basic ways to make it - baking or boiling.  As it turns out, I much prefer the boiling method (the only way I've made it up until this failed experiment).  The flavor itself was lacking and the pudding never really set, resulting in a semi-sweet rice soup, as opposed to a creamy custard.  For the first time in a long time (maybe ever?), I can say that I definitely won't be trying this recipe again.

Elaine's Eggnog Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce 
Score: 2

I am used to bread puddings that are much thicker than this recipe (maybe it's English Bread Pudding vs American? not sure) so I would definitely double the recipe next time but use the same size dish. I soaked the raisins before baking in the hopes that they wouldn't dry out like rocks in the oven (this usually works when I make oatmeal raisin cookies) but that didn't work. The flavor of the pudding was good and not too sweet but there just wasn't enough of the pudding to have a creamy bottom and a crusty top. Next time, I would also maybe try cutting the bread up in smaller chunks instead of just halving the bread slices and overlapping them according to recipe. For the rum sauce, the recipe called for corn syrup but in the UK they have golden syrup so I used that instead. The resulting sauce wasn't very rummy but very sweet so maybe next time I'll use one big glug of rum instead of 2 tbsps!

Lisa H's Bon Ton Bread Pudding

Score: 4.75 (Lisa's score = 4.5; Anjali's score = 5)

I changed some things in this recipe as well. I added an additional two egg yolks and combined all of the wet ingredients together. I combined the wet ingredients because I was worried the milk and egg solution would not combine. I also added an additional 2 cups of bread. When making bread pudding I think it should be soupy, but not all custard and there was a little too much wet so I added the extra bread. So, I would 'eye' it. The pudding baked up well with crispy on the top and soft on the bottom.

Moving on to the Whiskey Sauce. I made the sugar/butter mixture three times because the sugar would not dissolve as the recipe instructed.   I totally abandon the double boiler, because it didn't seem to get warm enough. The third attempt I decided to try to go ahead with the recipe and see how that went and...it was perfect.

I would rate this a 4.5/5. I liked this and I think everyone else did too. I would make this again. (Miss Anjali also rated this dish and gave it a big 5 (with lots of exclamation points, hee hee))

BIRTHDAY-NESS: Dinner at Komi

If you know me, you know how very much I love birthdays.  Not only do I love my own birthday, but I love the chance to shower my favorite people with surprises and happy memories.  Sooo, this past week, it was my own birthday ... and with any special occasion, my celebrations revolved around food. 

For several years, I have been dying to try out Komi -- Komi is housed in a rowhouse just northeast of Dupont Circle (and basically next to the newly revamped Sushi Taro).  Komi is known for its fresh flavors, creativity, from chef Johnny Monis.  For me, it is very difficult to "categorize" the type of food that you will enjoy at Komi -- a whirlwind of 20-some dishes appear before you, in growing size as the meal goes on -- each dish seems to be somehow tied to the next, but exactly what the common thread is is a bit intangible.  (On a random analogy, it reminds me of watching a fashion show where the collection clearly comes from the same designer, but what exactly strings each design to the next is hard to define.). 

The restaurant is in a word, intimate.  But not overbearingly so and not so much so that you are constantly eavesdropping into the conversation next to you.  I actually loved the table we were seated at -- we were right next to the kitchen that had a big window so you could peer into the kitchen and see all the action.  You could see Chef Monis overseeing the dishes, looking out into the restaurant to watch dinner service... you could see the phone ringing off the hook for reservations (note: call exactly one month ahead of time at noon to get reservations for a particular date -- if you can't get a reservation you can be put on a wait list.).  You see the chefs jotting down on an eraseable board the dishes they've made and gone through.  It is all rather distracting, but in a good way. 

Not only for the blog, but just in general, I love to take pictures of memorable dishes and memorable meals.  So of course, I had camera in tow at this dinner.  But, sadly, the restaurant prefers you not to take photos of the dishes, so I only came away with a photo of the first dish -- kampachi sashimi.  This photo is currently residing at my parents' house, so it'll have to be posted at another time. 

Coming on a Saturday, we enjoyed the 20-course chef's menu (the "progressive" menu) -- the courses are preset, but the restaurant is careful to ask ahead of time whether there are any dietary restrictions, allergies, and the such and can alter the dishes as necessary.  Below is what we had our dinner. The dishes change often, but so you can get a flavor for what we had...

• Kampachi Sashimi
• White Fish Sashimi
• Brioche with Salmon and Caviar
• Scallops two ways (This was one of my fave dishes -- smaller scallops piled on a spoon accompanied by thinly sliced scallops on a scallop shell with a sliver of black truffle)
• Salmon Belly with Pinenuts
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese with Vegetables
• Caesar salad in a Crispy Shell
• Pork Belly Hoagie (another fave!)
• Grilled octopus with Brussels sprouts
• Serrano ham with potato and Asian pear
• Figs with mascarpone cheese
• Two pastas -- Ravioli and I think pappardelle
• Our "entree" -- served family style!  Super tender baby goat and suckling pig (another fave -- the meat was so tender and juicy, and the skin very crispy) served with homemade pitas (one of my most favorite parts of the whole meal!!  Still thinking about those pitas hah) and various condiments on the side (my favorite was the green salt...).
• Ricotta cheese and honey
• Meyer lemon "creamsicle" on a stick (reminded me of a margherita)
• Chocolate ganache (?)
• A pineapple "cake" with coconut ice cream
• AND housemade birthday animal cookies!  In the shapes of elephants, tigers... (loved these!)

Some of my friends have asked me how does it compare to Minibar -- Jose Andres' six-seater restaurant tucked in one of his other restaurants, Cafe Atlantico.  And, well, you can't really compare the two restaurants.  They approach the food in very different ways and the experiences are both wonderful and memorable.  For me, Minibar just edges out Komi, but that's my personal opinion -- I loved the whimsical dishes at Minibar, the opportunity to interact with the chefs as they crafted our dishes, and the laughter and silliness that sometimes ensued.  But Komi also wins out on certain flavors and dishes that have just stuck with me (for some reason, I can't stop thinking about their housemade pitas and suckling pig).  Either way you go, you'll leave with a memorable meal.

Komi Restaurant
1509 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 332-9200

Hawaii Eats Part I: Sushi Izakaya Gaku

I just recently came back from a mini vacation to beautiful Hawaii.  I love Hawaii for many reasons, many of which come from their delicious eats!  If anything is a reflection of Hawaii's diverse culture, it is the food.  In recent years, a strong Japanese influence has brought in a wave of izakayas -- Japanese food taverns -- that serve up a wide range of small plates.  In case you haven't noticed, I love the style of small plates (dim sum, mezze, tapas...) because I enjoy the whole communal feel and it gives the opportunity to try a little bit of everything!  Each izakaya has its own character and everyone seems to have their favorite.

I've only had the opportunity to try a few of the izakayas and my favorite at the moment is Sushi Izakaya Gaku.  This restaurant was suggested to me last year by multiple people.  It is one of the newest izakayas in the Honolulu scene and strays a bit away from the "traditional."  The chef/owner (who was behind the sushi bar when we were here!), Manabu Kikuchi, was a chef for 10 years at the popular izakaya, Imanas Tei -- enlisting his close friends, he opened up Gaku bringing his fresh flavors and fresh take on the izakayas.

Honestly, Gaku is one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time -- in and outside of Hawaii. The food is simple, yet creative and memorable. So, I was thinking of just giving my favorite food highlights, but it is just so hard to choose! So here is a whirlwind tour of our meal :)

Hamachi Tartare with Nori Wrappers: This will forever be one of my go-tos. I had it the first time I came to Gaku and had to have it again. The slightly spicy flavor of the hamachi tartare with its soft texture matches perfectly with the crunchy thin sheets of seaweed wrappers.

O-Toro and Uni Sashimi: The o-toro here (fatty tuna) is simply melt in your mouth fresh (top).  The uni (sea urchin) sashimi is my mom's favorite dish -- creamy and slightly sweet -- presented in a shell.

Kumamoto Oysters: Our wonderful waiter suggested this special to us.  Each day, Gaku has a lengthy list of specials to choose from (hurrah for more selection!).  These were delicious -- topped with scallions and ponzu sauce, they were briny, savory, and umami-licious.

Beef Croquettes: These were also on the "specials" menu.  These croquettes are a mix of mashed potatoes and beef, coated in panko, and deep fried.  At first, I found the croquettes to be fairly bland... but then, I tried the sauces that they accompanied them and they were TRANSFORMED.  I know, it sounds crazy.  But the use of that miso based sauce just woke up all my taste buds and brought out all the different flavors in the croquette.  Drooling now thinking about that sauce...

Salmon Skin Hand Roll: This was my dad's salmon skin hand roll.  This is one of his favorite items to get at any Japanese restaurant -- and he wasn't disappointed here.  He said that the skin was incredibly crisp and did not have too much salmon meat hanging on the skin that often makes the skin soggy in other rolls.

Grilled Whole Moi: OMG.  This dish was FANTASTIC.  We had originally ordered the miso butterfish, but as it turned out, they were out of butterfish that day (which in retrospect was a blessing in disguise), so our waiter suggested the moi to us.  Once the fish of Hawaiian kings, moi is a popular Hawaiian fish -- moist, white, and flaky -- and I don't recall another preparation of moi that was this delicious.  The skin was crispy and had that deep flavor that comes from grilling.  The meat was light and flaky, yet flavorful.  Definitely would get this again in a heartbeat.

Sushi!: Of course, we had to get sushi while we were here.  Here we have the seared gold eye snapper, tuna, and scallops.  We got the gold eye snapper on a whim, and it was my favorite.  The slight searing brought out the best flavors in the fish.

Monkfish Liver: As they say, the "foie gras of the sea."  This was definitely a highlight of the dinner for my mom.  She devoured the little dish -- and agreed, it tasted just like foie gras.  Very smooth and flavorful.

Azuki Beans with Mochi Balls: Here is the first of our two desserts -- the lightly sweet azuki (red) beans surrounding chewy, soft mochi balls.  We got this every time we've been to Gaku and love the light flavors. 

 

Vanilla Ice Cream with Pomegranate Jelly: Originally, the special of the day was vanilla ice cream with blueberry... I was intrigued.  But sadly, they had already ran out of this special!  Our waiter though said he could have them whip up the same dish but with POMEGRANATE.  I immediately perked up and actually told him that that would be even better.  (How I heart pomegranate...).  And this was the perfect refreshing dish to end the meal.  I didn't realize that the pomegranate-ness would be coming in jelly form, but the jelly with the vanilla ice cream was a delectable mixture of creamy and fruity. 
Outside of the food, the standout for me is the service. The service is beyond friendly and helpful (the aloha spirit is alive and well!). And although this may have been just happenstance, our waiter actually remembered my family even though we hadn't been back in months. The feel when you walk in is immediately one of ... home. They go out of their way to make you feel at home in this small restaurant and there's a feeling of comraderie from the staff, the regulars, and even new diners like my family.

I definitely recommend Gaku to anyone visiting Oahu.  It's a place that really has something for every set of taste buds.  Be sure to make reservations though.  The restaurant is pretty small, and although they try to accommodate walk-ins, sometimes it just isn't possible.  (And on a sidenote tip, there is a small (i.e. approx 6 car) parking lot behind the restaurant where you can park -- spots disappear quickly and they are quite tight, but a great option as opposed to busy King Street.)  And if you do go, let me know what you thought and what you had!  With the ever revolving door of specials, I wish I could go back all the time, just to see and taste the chef's newest creations!

Sushi Izakaya Gaku
1329 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 589-1329

Dish in the District: Ping Pong Dim Sum

Excuse the dark photos -- such is the hazards of mood lighting in restaurants!

My friend Jamie and I ventured to try out the new Ping Pong Dim Sum restaurant, located just north of the Chinatown arch in DC. Although this would seem quite appropriate, DC's Chinatown doesn't actually house THAT many Chinese restaurants. The area has exploded in the past decade with restaurants of all genres popping up around the Verizon Center -- home to the Washington Capitals and Wizards.

In any case, we had heard about Ping Pong Dim Sum opening last December 2009, so when we were planning for a dinner together, it seemed like a great option. I arrived earlier than Jamie and found a spot at the end of the bar to sample some of their signature cocktails -- dotted throughout the bar were Caps fans in their bright red jerseys getting their pre-game eats and drinks (I made a mental note to come here before my next Caps game!). The bartenders were extremely friendly and helpful -- Ping Pong Dim Sum has an extensive cocktail menu with lots of delicious sounding options. My bartender suggested her favorite drink to me -- the Lychee and Roses (Bombay Sapphire gin, rose petals, lemon, and lychee juice). I LOVED this drink (and in fact ordered another one at dinner). The price was right too. During happy hour (until 7 pm! a relatively late happy hour in DC), cocktail drinks are $5 (as compared to their normal $11 or so price tag) (other "happy hour" specials are available after 7 pm Thurs through Sun).

When Jamie arrived, we decided to sit in the "lounge" area of the bar (to continue enjoying happy hour priced specials). The "lounge" area consists of several tall tables that could sit up to six or eight diners -- although there were only two of us, the managers at Ping Pong welcomed us to spread out at the 6 person table. Our waiter showed up promptly, brought by a paper menu for us to tick off which dim sum dishes caught our eye. If you haven't had dim sum before, dim sum consists of small plates -- kind of like tapas -- here, each dish consisted of 2 or 3 of the listed item. The waiter suggested that we order between 3 to 5 dishes for each of us -- with 40+ savory dishes to choose from, we sure had our work cut out for us.




Before coming to Ping Pong, I was forewarned by my London friend that the dim sum wasn't necessarily "authentic." And although I found this to be true, I also thought that the dishes were still, for the most part, flavorful and interesting. The dishes are broken down by category -- soups, baked, steamed, griddled, steamed buns, fried, sticky rice parcels, signature dishes, salads, pickles, and vegetables. My favorites were the "chicken puff" (Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple -- fairly substantial, flaky, and lots of flavor -- see photo above!) and the dumplings we ordered (including the pork shu mai -- pork and king prawns in an open pastry topped with a Chinese wolfberry).  I also enjoyed the choy sum (steamed in soy sauce and cooked with garlic) -- but really, this isn't a dish that is any different from what my parents cook up at home.  [We also tried, amongst other things, the crispy hoisin duck spring roll -- aromatic duck with cucumber and spring onion wrapped in wheat flour pastry, served with hoisin sauce -- this dish sounded amazing, but the duck gets mostly lost in the deep fried-ness and the satay squid -- steamed chopped squid in satay sauce, seasoned with ginger and spring onion.]

Basically, the dishes are loosely based on "authentic" forms of dim sum, with some having a definite "new" twist.  One example of this was the Valrhona chocolate buns -- imagine a steamed char siu bao (pork bun) but instead of roast pork on the inside, inside is rich dark chocolate.  This was our dessert of choice -- the light flavor of the bun offered a nice balance to the richness of the chocolate.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Ping Pong Dim Sum.  The service was very attentive and friendly, and there was a large variety of dishes to suit almost every palate.  This is a great addition to the DC food scene.

Ping Pong Dim Sum
900 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Cook Club: Barefoot Contessa Parties!

FINAL SCORE: 4.175
HIGHEST SCORE DISHES: Elaine's Rugelach, Lisa's Tabbouleh, and Amanda's Lemon Bars  

Our November/December Cook Club brings us Lisa's pick (check out the dish she made above!) -- Barefoot Contessa Parties!  The cookbook is categorized by different parties, ranging from Sunday Breakfast to Academy Awards, from Canoe Trip to Lunch in the Garden.  We were rather dessert loving this time around (hurray for desserts!), so check out all the tasty treats...

Entrees

Jackie's Chicken Chili
Score: 4

Mr. J and I love chili, so I had to try this lighter version.  This recipe brings together onions, garlic, peppers (I somehow managed to forget to buy the yellow peppers, so only had two red peppers on hand...), tomatoes, and roasted chicken.  I love how the Barefoot Contessa roasts her chicken breasts -- very simple and easy -- just rub down with pepper, salt, and olive oil and stick it in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  I found though that the chicken got a little rubbery with reheats of chili.  This dish was really flavorful -- although I have to admit that I prefer a more robust chili.  I think this would be perfect for a warm day when you're craving comfort food, but don't want something super heavy.

Side Dishes

Lisa's Tabbouleh
Score: 4.5

I have made several dishes from this cookbook and have loved all of them. Ina’s recipes tend to be easy and tasty! Her tabbouleh is a very flavorful dish that requires minimal effort. It would be great to serve on a hot summer day. The flavors of the fresh cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, mint, parsley, and lemon juice combine very well together. Make sure to refrigerate for a few hours after making it in order to experience the flavors to the fullest!

Desserts

Bana's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Score: 4

I've been on a cookie kick recently, so I choosing the Peanut
Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies was a no-brainer. There were no surprises in the recipe - very standard, as far as cookies go. It's essentially a chocolate chip cookie with peanut butter and brown sugar in the batter. The cookies come out very thick and soft. Because the flavor is so rich (like an overwhelming peanut butter cup), I plan on making thinner, crispier versions the next time I pull out this recipe. And, yes, there will definitely be a next time.

Elaine's Rugelach

Score: 4.5

These rugelach turned out so much better than I expected -I even had a couple people like them so much they asked for the recipe! I'm not usually a big fan of raisins so I was worried that it would be too raisiny for my liking. I used mixed raisins instead of just normal raisins which I think made them taste nicer. Also, I used Tiptree's Apricot Conserve thus there was no need to puree in a food processor.

This recipe took much longer to complete than I expected due to the need to refrigerate the dough for an hour before making the rugelachs and also chilling the cookies for 30 mins before baking. One big problem I had making this was that no matter how much I buttered the parchment paper, the rugelachs stuck because of the oozing apricot conserve. So it took a while to peel away all the paper bits. I definitely plan to make these again but next time I will get myself one of those teflon/silpat baking liners. I also plan to experiment with the filling as well - chocolate and raspberry come to mind!

Amanda's Lemon Bars
Score: 4.5

I was very excited to make this recipe...I adore lemon bars, but have only eaten them ;), so thought this was a great opportunity to learn how to make them. The recipe is fairly involved, and has multiple steps, including chilling the crust, pressing it out, baking, cooling, then baking again with the filling. The hardest part was making the crust, and making sure I spread it evenly on the bottom of the baking pan. Once completed, they were cut up, and taken to work for a party, but not before I sampled! ;-) They were rich, and very (for lack of a better term) lemony, which is just the way I like them. I would venture to guess my colleagues liked them as well, since there was only one left when I went to get the plate at the end of the day. Despite all of the steps, I will definitely make these again!

Amanda's Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Amanda's score: 3.5
Her Dad's score: 4.5 

This recipe seemed very straightforward, but per the picture, something clearly went wrong! I made this recipe when I was home for the holidays. I couldn't find chocolate chunks at the store, so I raided my parents' freezer and found scharffen berger chocolate bars. Score! I chopped a few into chunks, and charged on. The ingredients went together very quickly and easily, but when I started baking the cookies they spread, and spread, and spread...until they were thinner than 90s Kate Moss. I tried chilling the dough for the next round, but nothing seemed to help. Despite the weirdo appearance, the cookies still had a good flavor, and my family managed to annihilate them over the next few days. My foodie father thought the recipe was good, and recommended adding pecans the next time. He also diagnosed my "super skinny" problem, overbeating! I am eager to try this recipe again with a few tweaks.

Jackie's Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Score: 3.9

These cookies were a hit with my in-laws -- and they are amazing straight out of the oven -- soft and full of chocolatey goodness.  However, these cookies harden up quite a bit.  Don't get me wrong, the cookies are still very tasty, but I prefer my cookies soft.  I always waver on how big I should be making my cookies -- my idea of how big a cookie will be when rolling it into a ball pre-baking isn't too great.  So I leaned more towards smaller pre-baking balls this time!  Next time around, I think I would try baking these a few minutes less than recommended or making these a bit thicker.

Thanks to everyone that participated!  I'm really excited for our next cookbook -- it is one that I've never tried before that Anjali introduced to us.  Be on the lookout for the post in early March!