Cook Club: Ming Tsai's One Pot Meals

MING TSAI'S ONE POT MEALS

AVERAGE SCORE: 3.58

HIGHEST SCORING DISHES:  Star Anise Ginger Braised Chicken, Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter, Tamari Tofu Stirfry with Rice Noodles

LOWEST SCORING DISHES: Ginger Chicken Thighs with Parsnips, Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Salad

To kick off the new year, I wanted to dive into some of the cookbooks I received for Christmas and, after a quick poll of Cook Club, we selected Ming Tsai’s One Pot Meals.  I was excited to try this cookbook because it offered a different flavor profile from the other cookbooks we have tried recently.  Chef Tsai drew on a number of Asian countries in his recipes, including China, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.  Also, who doesn’t love the simplicity of a one pot dish?  As you’ll see though, the “one pot dish” concept was a little bit of a stretch for some of the dishes, but overall, the dishes were not too complicated or difficult. 

This round also marked the first DC Cook Club party with me, Lisa W., Sonia, and Rachel (and our lovely guests).  We decided to take a page out of the Dallas cook club girls’ book (Anjali, Amanda, and Lisa H) – they’ve been cooking up dishes for cook club and serving them up for one another for awhile now, which is an idea I always loved because what makes food even better is sharing it and experiencing it together!  So you’ll see mixed in some of the reviews the added comments of some of the cook club-ers that were in attendance at each party. 

Because the reviews are almost all entrees, I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by the name of the cook club-er.  As an extra treat, here is the recipe for our top scoring dish – Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter – (SO GOOD).  Enjoy!

Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter

Ming's Notes:  This recipe elevates humble yet healthful tofu to great, delicious heights.  It's flash-fried, which makes it golden brown and crispy.  The tofu is then dolloped with a flavorful miso butter whose richness is offset by ponzu and iceberg lettuce -- a lettuce I've always loved for its compatible, no-frills crunchiness.  This makes a great light meal or appetizer.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons shiro miso
2 tablespoons naturally brewed ponzu, plus more for drizzling
1/4 pound salted butter, at room temperature
Grapeseed or canola oil, for frying
Two 12-ounce packages silken tofu, each portion quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon togarashi or chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups rice flour
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 tablespoons finely sliced chives, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the miso and ponzu.  Using a hand blender or sturdy whisk, whip until well blended.  Add the butter and whip until blended.  Set aside.

2. Fill a heavy medium skillet 1/2 inch full with the oil.  Heat over medium heat to 375F.

3. Meanwhile, season the tofu with the togarashi and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the rice flour on a large plate, add the tofu, and dredge on all sides.  Shake off excess flour and, using a skimmer or slotted spatula, transfer half the tofu to the oil.  Fry the tofu until crisp, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  Repeat with the remaining tofu.

4. Transfer the lettuce to a platter or divide the lettuce among four serving plates.  Drizzle with the ponzu, top with the tofu, and dollop with the butter mixture.  Garnish with the chives and serve.

Ming's Tips:  The frying is best done in a heavy, straight-sided pan, but any heavy pan will do.  You may have extra miso butter.  Refrigerate it and use it later for searing fish or meat.

To Drink: A crisp lager like Yanjing from China

REVIEWS

Amanda’s Chile Pork Chops with Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Score: Pork Chops - 2.5; Brussels Sprouts - 4.0

I picked this recipe because I LOVE brussels sprouts, especially when they have been roasted, :) so this recipe was an obvious choice. The preparation was very simple and straightforward. The mixture of spices--chili powder, brown sugar, and garlic--were a great combination for the pork, I just wish it would have had more flavor after cooking it in the oven. I think next time I will marinate the pork chops for a bit before cooking to see if that enhances the flavor. The Brussels sprouts, on the other hand, were very flavorful. The first step in cooking them was to quickly heat them in the skillet with the same spices as the pork. Yum! They were definitely my favorite part of the dish! Another modification I would make is roasting the potatoes separately for a longer time, or at a higher temperature. They were, much to my embarrassment, undercooked for our dinner party. :-/ Overall, I really liked the recipe and would like to try it again with adjustments.  Anjali also enjoyed this dish and gives it overall a 4.0.

Amanda’s Thai Basil Shrimp Risotto

Score: 3.5

Risotto was always a dish I wanted to learn to make, but have never found a recipe that really appealed to me. This one caught my eye though, and I decided that the time had come for me to figure it out. The recipe itself was very easy to follow, although I think it should have included more flavor or spices. Overall, the dish seemed to be missing something. That said, I understand that risotto takes some practice in order to master, so part of this score could be stemming from my lack of technique. If anyone knows of a step by step guide for cooking risotto, let me know! :) I will definitely try this one again!

Amanda’s Ginger Chicken Thighs with Parsnips

Score: 2.0

I chose this recipe for the parsnips. Having never cooked or eaten them, I thought this dish would provide the perfect opportunity for both. :) They are a very interesting vegetable, flavor-wise, and I think roasting them is the best way to cook them, which is what my recipe instructed. Again, I feel like this dish was missing something, and was a bit bland. The chicken thighs were very moist and tender, but needed lots of seasoning after they were cooked. The recipe said to bake everything together, (hence the name of the cookbook, I suppose) but I think the vegetables would have tasted better roasted separately and for less time.  Anjali dined on this dish as well and gave it a 3.0.

Anjali’s Star Anise Ginger Braised Chicken

Score:  4.75

I chose the dish because I have never braised anything besides turkey on Thanksgiving and the flavor profile appealed to me.  This recipe was incredibly simple! The "One Pot Meal" technique always makes like a little easier.  The prep work was easy, but of course, the cook time is lengthy, but that just means more time to drink wine while in the kitchen! The end result was a hit at the party.  The meat was incredibly tender (I forgot to mention, I cheated and bought thighs/breasts instead of a whole chicken because I don't like carving meat!).  The flavors were rich and deep.  Lucky for me, there are leftovers!

Jackie's Kung Pao Chicken

Score: 4.0

I was curious to see Ming Tsai's take on kung pao chicken, a standard Chinese take out dish.  The directions reminded me of the stir fry dishes that my parents typically made, so I was mainly curious to try out the flavors of the kung pao chicken.  This recipe called for sambal, which I could not find in my grocery store, so I substituted it (as suggested by the internet!) with sriacha and hot sauce... I was worried about overdoing it on the spicy, but I think next time I would kick it up a bit more. In general, the recipe was very straightforward, the chopping/cutting of the chicken and veggies took much longer than the actual cooking!  I enjoyed the flavors and would make this again.

DC Cook Club Comments: “Loved that this wasn't greasy, and the peanuts really make it. The veggies add a nice crunch.”  “This was a flavorful dish that had an extra crunch from the peanuts that I loved!”

Jackie's Curried Beef

Score: 3.8

My husband and I love curry dishes, so when a very cold wintery day rolled around (we've been having so many of those), we decided to make this dish.  And let me tell you, it is perfect for warming up your insides and making your house smell delicious.  I unfortunately could not find any skirt steak, so I substituted with another cut of beef... even though the dish cooks for quite awhile, the beef was still a bit tough (but not overly tough... not too chewy).  The curried beef cooks up with the potatoes, so the curry flavor permeates everything.  We served it with some rice, but I think a vegetable would make an excellent accompaniment as well.

Lisa W.'s Asian Spaghetti

Score: 3.0

My husband's favorite food is spaghetti so he naturally picked this recipe for the cook club this month. The ingredients that made this dish "Asian" are Thai basil leaves, soy sauce, and pork. Ming states that this recipe feeds 4. This recipe could easily feed 15! Overall, we thought it had a nice flavor. However, we agreed that we prefer Italian spaghetti and would stick to that as our spaghetti of choice!

The DC cook club-ers agreed, that this “tasted like very good spaghetti,” but “nothing particularly Asian about it.”  “The flavors were great” and the dish created “good leftovers that stood up well to reheating.” 

Lisa W.'s Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter

Score: 5.0

I cannot rave about this recipe enough! First of all, miso butter is delicious! The creaminess of the butter paired with the miso and ponzu created the perfect sauce. The tofu was dusted with rice flour, which when fried, created a yummy shell of crunchiness! The tofu was served over a bed of lettuce. In the future, I am going to cube the tofu and serve the miso butter as a dipping sauce and eliminate the lettuce as it did not enhance the flavor of the dish. Overall, this was my favorite recipe from the DC cook club party!

And some comments from our DC cook club party: “The miso butter makes this dish. It would be good on anything. I suspect (but do not know) that the fried tofu was a lot of work, and that I'd rather just make the miso butter and put it on a baked sweet potato :)”

“Score: 4.5!  The miso butter stole the show at the dinner party!  It was really flavorful and complemented the tofu perfectly.”

“I'm kind of obsessed with this fried tofu with miso butter dish.  I could have eaten the entire plate myself and was very happy with my leftovers the next day.  I adored the miso butter – gave the perfect kick to the fried tofu.  I definitely want to make this dish.”

Lisa W.'s Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Score: 2.0

This dish definitely wins the award for being the most colorful dish! I love avocado with everything so I thought that this dish would be a winner. However, I realized that I am not a fan of pairing shrimp and avocado. The textures of the shrimp and avocado did not work well for me.

And some comments from our DC cook club party:  “Perfect light salad - would make a great picnic item or light dinner on a hot day.”  “I enjoyed the slight spiciness of the shrimp balanced by the creamy and cool taste of the avocado.”

Sonia's Wild Mushroom Polenta with Thai Basil Salad

Score: 3.5

This is an interesting combination of Asian and Italian influences.  The mushrooms were hearty and stood up well to the creaminess of the polenta.  I used regular basil instead of Thai basil, but the salad turned out nicely, and the bright, zesty flavors of the herbs and lemon was a good contrast with the earthy mushrooms.  I was a bit perplexed as to why pink peppercorns were really necessary in the recipe.  I ended up buying pink salt instead, and it made no difference with the end product (you couldn't see it at all).

Our DC Cook Club thoughts: “Unexpectedly GREAT. This would be a really nice, warm, filling vegetarian entree for a winter day, and the basil topping keeps it from feeling heavy or too ‘casserole-y’.”

“I really enjoyed this dish.  Another dish that I could eat a ton of!  I am a big fan of polenta and mushrooms, so the two of them coming together was ideal for me.  I was very happy to snag some of the leftovers for the next day.”

“Typically, I am not a huge fan of polenta, but the addition of the wild mushrooms made this dish delicious!”

Sonia's Hot and Sour Soup

Score: 4.0

This soup has a lot of flavor, and is very spicy.  The mushrooms and tofu made it substantial enough for a main course.  I would definitely make this soup again, but might scale it down a bit and add bamboo shoots for a little extra crunch.

Sonia's Tamari Tofu Stirfry with Rice Noodles

Score 4.5

I think that the "one-pot" aspect of this dish was stretched a little thin (wok, colander, bowl of ice water, extra bowls for cooked broccoli and noodles), but beyond that, this was an excellent stir-fry.  I was wavering as to whether or not to be lazy and skip the ice water bath, but I'm glad I didn't, because the broccoli came out bright green and really crunchy.  I used brown rice noodles to up the nutritional content, and couldn't tell a difference at all.  I also substituted seitan for tofu, because that's what I had on hand.  The marinade was really flavorful with the addition of garlic, ginger, and chili sauce, and my only complaint was that it wasn't really enough to coat all the noodles, and it came out a little dry.  Once everything was mixed together, I added a bit more soy sauce and some sesame oil, which corrected the problem.  I was very impressed by how this turned out, and will definitely be making this regularly.

And as an added bonus… Sonia made these amazing cupcakes for our dessert at our DC cook club party.  Even the name alone sounds delicious: almond chocolate souffle cupcakes with white chocolate ginger cream.   Check them out in full at her blog.

Cook Club: Nigella's Christmas

NIGELLA'S CHRISTMAS

TOTAL SCORE: 3.84

Highest Scoring Dishes: Boozy British Trifle / Poinsettia

Lowest Scoring Dishes: Roast Squash and Sweet Potato Soup / Panettone and Sausage Stuffing

For Christmas 2009, I received Nigella Lawson's "Nigella's Christmas" as a gift!  Even just reading it, I LOVED this cookbook.  It had Nigella's typical lovely commentary -- little bits of insight into her life as well as her own suggestions and solutions for a fun holiday season.  Even better, the recipes looked applicable to all sorts of parties and even just your everyday dinner.  All in all, it was a very jovial and enjoyable cookbook to read through.  So when November/December cook club rolled around, I thought Nigella Christmas would be a wonderful cookbook to try out -- many of our members are quite busy around the holiday season, so I wanted a cookbook that would be applicable for all those holiday parties and gatherings that everyone would go to.  So thanks to everyone for taking part!  Here's how it all turned out:


APPETIZERS

Amanda's Roast Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Swirl

Score: 2.5

Of all the recipes I chose, I was most excited about this one, so, I was a little disappointed in how the soup turned out. Overall the dish was a bit bland, and missing some flavor...I am still unsure what. While I was preparing the soup, I liked the fact that the recipe said to leave the potatoes and squash unpeeled (much easier prep!), but disliked it when the soup was put together. The flecks of skin gave the soup an odd texture (yuck!). As a whole, the recipe was very straightforward and easy to prepare, I just wish the flavor would have been better. 

Jackie's Cranberry and Soy-Glazed Cocktail Sausages

Score: 4.0

These sausages were SUPER simple to make and a big hit at the holiday party we had my house!  I ended up using small cocktail sausages instead of breakfast sausages, and all it required was mixing up the marinade, letting the sausages marinate for several hours/overnight, and then baking it up.  These definitely had a bit of a zing -- I love the slight heat with the tangy flavor.  Definitely would make again!

ENTREES


Sonia's Butternut Orzotto
Score: 3.5

I made this dish the night before my company's Thanksgiving potluck lunch, and with a bit of extra vegetable stock, it reheated nicely.  This recipe made A LOT of orzo, so I would recommend scaling it down if you're not cooking for a crowd.  I interpreted the "mace" in the recipe as cayenne pepper, and halved the amount in the recipe (1 teaspoon would have been overkill), which gave the dish a substantial and unexpected kick.  The combination of the mascarpone cheese and pureed squash with the cubed pieces, along with the the pine nuts, was a nice blend of textures.  The taste was good, but it lacked a depth of flavor (parmesan cheese? salt? herbs?) that would have really elevated this dish to something special.


Suzie's Cornish Game Hen

Score: 4.75  

As someone who had never made any type of whole poultry before, I was surprised that they are actually very simple to make (except for the fact that I forgot to defrost them).  The prep is easy, and then you just have to put them in the oven while you do anything else you need to do.  They take over an hour, so its not a quick meal, but certainly not difficult. They turned out super yummy and moist, and I was told they were even better than the ones we had at an actual restaurant the week before  :)  The flavors were nice and complemented the couscous that I will comment on later.  Only problem was that my spice rack was a little lacking in the spices, so it made it a little more expensive the first time.

SIDE DISHES


Amanda's Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce
Score: 4

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorites, so when I saw this recipe, I HAD to try it! Honestly, I was expecting the recipe to have a few more ingredients or steps, but the dish did not disappoint. I chose to use Cointreau instead of cherry brandy, (mainly because I couldn't find a small bottle of cherry brandy) and was glad I did! I loved the orange flavor the Cointreau added to the dish, and the simplicity of the flavors were perfect. The entire recipe took 10 minutes, start to finish, so it's definitely an easy one to throw together when lots of other cooking is going on. I will definitely make this again!

Anjali's Beet and Ginger Chutney

Score: 3.25

This was a totally random pick. most because I love condiments and have never cooked with beets.  It was fairly easy (apart from the fact that chopping beets is hard!). The end result was fine, but I had to wonder with what Nigella intended me to eat it.  The British do have a somewhat odd palette...

Jackie's Panettone and Italian Sausage Stuffing

Score: 2.5

We made this dish as part of our Thanksgiving dinner with my family...  I was disappointed with the dryness of the stuffing, but my husband and my dad loved the stuffing with its sausage.  This makes a HUGE portion of stuffing (well, I suppose the fact that we made another stuffing along with this one made us a little ... overstuffed :)).  I didn't feel like this stuffing had much more to it other than sausage, bread, and a few veggies, and that it wasn't very flavorful.


Suzie's Festive Couscous

Score: 4.75

Once again, super easy to make.  I had the same problem with the spices as with the hen, but I certainly needed to expand my spice rack.  Other than that, you could certainly subsitute different components for this dish.  I added cranberries and pecans because I had them for the cookies, and couldn't find pomegranite seeds.  But quite delicious and a nice break from the usual side dishes I make.

DESSERTS

Sonia's Gold Dust Cookies
Score: 4

This dessert wins points for its aesthetic appeal.  The gold dust (I used pearl dust, not real gold powder) gives the cookies a subtle sheen, and the star shape definitely gives it a holiday feel.  I served the cookies at Jackie's holiday party on a gold-colored plate, which made them look extra pretty.  But, the real surprise here is the flavor.  It looks innocently like a sugar cookie, but the ground ginger is a nice twist that gives a bit of warmth and spiciness.  My only complaint is that they are crunchy, and I prefer a soft and chewy cookie.  This did not vary despite tweaks of thickness of the dough or decreased baking time.  The taste was still very good, though!

Amanda's Spruced-Up Vanilla Cake

Score: 3

I opted to make the "spiced" version of this cake, with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and I think that was a good choice. This recipe reminded me of a bread (Friendship bread) that my mom used to bake. The cake was very easy to put together, but I was a little nervous to bake it in a bundt pan. In my experience, cakes are not cooperative in these types of pans. I was correct...the cake completely fell apart when I turned it out of the bundt pan! Overall, I was not a huge fan of the flavor. I thought it needed more spice, but my parents loved it! It flew off the plate within a matter of days. I will probably try this again, but with more spice. :)

Lisa H's Boozy British Trifle

Score: 5

I should first start out by saying I like trifle.   Correct that I LOVE trifle!  Whenever I have a chance to have it, I will.   So, when I saw this recipe I had to try it.  Well it turned out GREAT!  I think this recipe calls for a bit more sherry than most recipes, which is good because I think it makes the cake more moist.  An additional trick that I used was to lay the pieces of pound cake on a cookie sheet when applying the sherry.   It helped to spread the sherry more evenly.  This made the cake layer significantly more moist.   Which is always, as Martha says, “a good thing”.   I’ve never used frozen berries before but they turned out surprisingly well.  They held their consistency and tasted fresh even in the dead of winter.  I did not use the rose petals as suggested, but if I had some I would.  

Jackie's Sticky Gingerbread Cake

Score: 4.25

I made this for a holiday party at my work.  The cake was moist and had a wonderful light ginger taste -- it smelled and tasted just like the holidays.  I definitely recommend taking Nigella's suggestion in frosting the cake with a cream cheese frosting or a lemon frosting or dusting it with powdered sugar (I didn't do either due  to transporting issues and figuring that people dressed in dark colors wouldn't want powdered sugar all over themselves!) -- without, it looked a little bit plain, which may have explained why those cupcakes covered in icing flew off the dessert table faster than the gingerbread cake!  No worries though, I took the leftovers home to my parents' house and my dad devoured the cake. (...and then I powdered sugar on it for the photo ;)) So, I think it was a success :)


Suzie's Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Score: 4

Basic cookie from scratch as far as technical difficulty.  Uses pecans and oatmeal, so makes for a nice grainy, healthier feel for it :-P.  They came out a little crunchier than I prefer for cookies (I like mine super soft), but I found even when I cooked them less, they didn't have the chewiness that I like.  But I certainly liked the flavors of the cranberry and white chocolate.

BREAKFAST

Amanda's Triple Cheese and Onion Strata

Score: 4

Typically, I am not a huge fan of stratas because of their soggy nature, but this recipe caught my eye. The recipe said to let the bread stale throughout the day, but I decided to leave it out for a good part of the day and overnight to see if that would help some of the sogginess. It turned out to be a good decision. The strata was flavorful, and not at all soggy. Yay! The recipe was very easy to put together. The only problem was that I used the tops of green onions to garnish, instead of chives, which made the onion flavor a little too strong. I will definitely make this again! 

Anjali's Pumpkin Pancakes

Score 3

I chose these because I love both pumpkins and pancakes! I also thought this would be a good breakfast dish for the holidays.  It was very straightforward, sadly, when I see the words baking soda and baking powder, my "non-baker" self starts getting scared! Additionally, my mother does not own measuring spoons.  Indian food doesn't require them. ;) Therefore, I had to approximate...which I knew would alter the final product. And it did; the batter was a bit thick. Nevertheless, we happily ate our pumpkin pancakes

BEVERAGES

Sonia's Poinsettia
Score: 5

Party punch is an irresistible delight for me, and this recipe did not disappoint as the signature cocktail for our Christmas party.  I used a cranberry-pomegranate juice blend, the tartness of which was sweetened with the orange flavor of the triple sec.  I loved the bubbles of the sparking wine--it made the drink feel fun and fancy. The color was also quite stunning, so don't even think about serving this in Solo cups!  I garnished each glass with a few pomegranate seeds, and it was perfect.



And as a bonus... the recipe to one of the top scoring recipes: 


BOOZY BRITISH TRIFLE


INGREDIENTS
For the custard:

4 cups heavy cream
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the base:
2 plain pound cakes (12 ounces each)
One 12-ounce jar strawberry or blackberry preserve
2 cups cream sherry or sweet sherry
Two 12-ounce bags frozen mixed berries, thawed zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons superfine sugar (not needed if using fresh fruits)

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
1 tablespoon crystallized rose petals (or crystallized violet petals)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the custard, heat the cream in a large, wide, heavy-based pan and while it's heating, whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs and superfine sugar in a bowl.

2. When the cream's at boiling point--though, do not let it actually boil--take it off the heat and pour it over the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go.

3. Wash out the pan (boring, but it does have to be done!), then pour the uncooked custard back into it and return to the heat.

4. Cook over a medium heat (people will tell you it should be low heat but that is just too tedious for words!), stirring all the time, until it has thickened. It must never boil!

5. After 10-15 minutes, it should be thick enough, so straightaway pour it into a cold, clean bowl, add the vanilla extract, and whisk a bit to help bring the temperature down.

6. Cover the very top of the custard, as well as the bowl, with plastic wrap and leave to cool, while you start assembling your trifle.

7. Cut each pound cake into 16 slices and make into sandwiches with the preserve. Squidge these into the base of your trifle bowl. A trifle bowl should, I feel, be glass so you can see the layers from the outside. The proportions vary and, since the point of the trifle is the layers, the dimensions of your bowl will determine how these build up and the amount of cake etc. you will need.

8. Pour the sherry over the cake sandwiches and let it soak in.

9. Now tumble in the thawed berries, with a little of their liquid. (It might seem unseasonal to use "summer" fruits, but I love their tartness against the sweetness of the custard that will drape over them.) Then grate the zest of the orange over the fruit and sprinkle with the superfine sugar; if you're not using frozen fruit (which tends to be sour), don't bother with the sugar.

10. When the custard's cool, remove the plastic wrap. Pour and scrape the custard on top of the berries. It will be soft-set: thickened but far from solid. Cover the bowl (not the custard this time) with some fresh plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half a day or up to 2 days--it's this standing time that makes the difference.

11. When you are ready to serve, take the trifle out of the refrigerator to stand for about 1 hour. Whisk the cream until softly whipped. You don't want it to merge with the custard, but nor do you want it stiffly peaking.

12. Remove the plastic wrap from the trifle bowl and spread the whipped cream on top of the custard with a rubber spatula.

13. Finely chop the pistachios, sprinkle over the top of the trifle and adorn with a few, beautiful crystallized rose petals (or crystallized violet petals, if you prefer).

Cook Club: Bon Appetit, Y'all

BON APPETIT, Y'ALL BY VIRGINIA WILLIS


FINAL SCORE: 4.25

HIGHEST SCORING DISHES: Amanda's Vidalia Onion Confit with Garlic Toasts and Jackie B's Green Beans

For September/October Cook Club, the lovely Amanda picked out Bon Appetit, Y'all by Virginia Willis. Here's a little bit about why Amanda picked this cookbook: "The book I chose for this month's cook club is Bon Appetit, Y'all by Virginia Willis. Virginia Willis is a native Southerner who was French trained as a chef, and all of her recipes have heavy influences of both cultures. I adore Southern culture and cooking, so this book seemed like an obvious choice! :) My parents introduced me to this cook book over a year ago, and they love it!" The list of dishes looked AMAZING to me -- it was so hard to pick out dishes to make. And I was very happy with my selections! Thanks Amanda for leading us this round!

STARTERS AND NIBBLERS

Amanda's Vidalia Onion Confit with Garlic Toasts

Score: 5

This recipe was super easy to put together and very straightforward. I actually made it the night before to allow the flavors to develop,and was so glad I did! The only problem I ran into was the availability of vidalia onions...they were nowhere to be found! After a call to my mother, the gardening guru, I learned that vidalia onions are more of a "summer onion"(who knew?), so I had to settle for yellow onions. My mom swore that these were acceptable substitute, and she was right! The dish was flavorful, and was only enhanced by blue cheese--per the author's suggestion. I will definitely make this again, either as a starter, or as a condiment with pork or chicken.  (Anjali's thoughts: 4.75!  So yummy, loved the blue cheese with the onions.  Simple!).  

Anjali's Mama's Sausage Pecan Balls

Score: 4.0

So this was actually Stephen's recipe, but Amanda accidentally sent it to me and I TOTALLY stole it. ;) Again, another simple appetizer recipe for all the fabulous parties I attend. (in my dreams) One tip for the recipe. I attempted to make the batter without the food processor and failed, but once I did put it in the food processor, it came together beautifully. Use your tools! Otherwise, it was simple and yummy!  I felt they were a little dry but the other guests did not feel that way.  You know me, I like hot sauce with everything. ;)

(Jackie's note: I was jealous that someone grabbed this before I could!  I definitely will want to make this too...)

Anjali's Heirloom Tomato and Olive Tartines

Score: 4.5

Thought this would be a good, easy appetizer recipe to have under my belt.  It was so simple! I was really surprised to see the addition of thyme and rosemary, but I LOVED them in the tapenade! They really cut the strong flavor of the olives, which I feel often scares people away from anything olive-related.  This had a really mild, rich flavor and was so simple to make.  Will definitely make this again!

Amanda's Thyme Toasted Pecans

Score: 3.5

Virginia Willlis was correct about this recipe...the fragrance is amazing when all of the ingredients are combined with the warm toasted pecans. Unfortunately, they were not very flavorful. I still love this recipe, and will make it again, just with more pepper, salt, and thyme!

Lisa H.'s Pimento Cheese

Score: (by Anjali) 4.5 

MAIN COURSES

Jackie's Coca-Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Score: 3.75

I've always wanted to make my own ribs and what is more perfect than a Southern cookbook to try out a ribs recipe?  This dish was actually a lot of fun to make... and the smell of the ribs was AMAZING while they were cooking.  The ribs were sweet (use lots of napkins!), but lacked depth in flavor.  Still tasty though.  I think next time I would maybe add a bit more salt or maybe hot sauce? 

Jackie's Country Captain Chicken

Score: 4.5

I hadn't realized how prevalent curry flavors were in the South until I did some research on Country Captain chicken!  And this does not disappoint.  I used boneless skinless chicken breasts here -- Ms. Willis suggests cooking the chicken for a shorter period of time if using boneless skinless breasts... which I tried, but the chicken was still not cooked enough.  I think next time I would cut the breasts down in a size so they are all the same size and would cook quicker!  The chicken is coated in flour with a bit of a paprika kick and the coating gets browned a bit at first to give the chicken a nice taste.  Then the chicken is piled into a pot with tomatoes, golden raisins, peppers... yum.  Mr. J LOVED this dish and happily ate it for dinner for days to come.  Definitely will make again!

SIDE DISHES

Jackie's $20,000 Rice Pilaf

Score: 4.5

Amanda sent this recipe to me to go with my Country Captain Chicken and I am sure glad she did!  When I was growing up, I always loved when my parents made for me rice with "vegetable sauce"... or rice with some chicken broth that had vegetable cooked in it.  And this reminded me of that.  Unlike other rice recipes I've tried, this one was cooked in the oven.  After toasting the rice a bit on the stove, the pot goes into the oven for the rice to cook up in chicken broth.  Yesss, yummy chicken broth.  It takes no time at all, the rice was super fluffy and very flavorful.  I could have actually just eaten the rice by itself. 

Jackie B.'s Green Beans

Score: (by Anjali) 5

Anjali's thoughts: this was possibly the biggest hit at the party. FIVE POINT OHHHHH :)

BREADS

Amanda's Cheddar Cornbread

Score: 4

In my opinion, cornbread is generally pretty amazing. Cornbread with cheese? Even better! The recipe was very easy to throw together, and had a great flavor. I liked that the recipe used buttermilk instead of milk, which makes the flavor a little richer. I usually make cornbread with shortening, and this recipe recommended butter, which was equally yummy! This definitely isn't a substitute for regular cornbread, but it will be nice to have something different every once in awhile.

DESSERT

Lisa H.'s Pecan Brownies

Score: (by Anjali) 3.5

Thanks so much to Amanda for heading up this round!!