- In September, I posted that I wanted to make Mexican Pot Roast Tacos by Tyler Florence. I've made them twice, including while I was in Oregon last week, and they are fabulous! The eight different people who ate them also thought the same. I really enjoyed Tyler's salsa in the recipe and was impressed with it coming from canned tomatoes. It is absolutely a keeper, and I made no changes to it. It's quick too if you don't do the tacos. I used my own guacamole recipe but Tyler's is pretty similar to mine. I used flour tortillas instead of corn, and they were awesome fried the way he instructs.
- Two must-haves for these tacos: queso fresco cheese (Costco and Sam's usually has it) and Cholula hot pepper sauce. Most grocery stores have it for $2-3, and it's the kind with the round wooden cap. I love that stuff.
- The second time making the tacos, I used the leftovers on nachos using Lime Tostitoes. Excellent.
- Looking for a new cheesecake to try? A friend (hi meg!) gave me this cheesecake recipe by Nigella Lawson and it is also AMAZING. I couldn't find custard powder when I made it, so I used 1tsp cornstarch and a little vanilla. Also, My aunt just sent me this cheesecake recipe which I'm dying to try, maybe for the next fellowship dinner. Because it received a 4-fork rating after 145 reviews, you can tell it's a winner.
- Other new recipes I've made recently include Caesar Club Sandwich (a "make again" recipe, was really good), Creamy Red Pepper Soup (pretty good - I added heavy cream to it). My friend who doesn't like soup liked it (I didn't know he didn't like soup when I planned the food, oops).
I must rave about some Award-winning Thai Burgers - an explosion of flavor! My mom made them for us in Oregon, and she found the recipe in the paper. The creator is from Portland and she won $50,000 for the recipe. If you're interested, here is a video of her making the burgers on TV. My mom read elsewhere that lime juice loses most of its zing 40 minutes after juicing (is that the right time, Mom?) so add the lime juice to the topping and mayo just before assembling. The rest can be made ahead. Also, the burger mixture is best if it sits and chills a few hours or overnight before grilling. The flavors are more developed. Pic from the KATU website.
I haven't posted in a while...but I knew I had an excuse :-). Things to update:
I'm getting married! (duh). Ryan and I are getting married February 23, less than three months from now! We are thrilled at God's timing and can't wait to be married. Pre-marital counseling is well underway, lots of wedding details have been settled so far. Ryan will have a quarter break for seminary, and we're honeymooning to Estes Park, Colorado. I'm honored to have Ryan's three sisters along with Erin and Danila as my bridesmaids.
I was thrilled and thankful that Ryan and I didn't have any delays flying to and from Oregon last week for Thanksgiving. I head back for Christmas in three weeks. We had a great time with my family, and it was a delight to see my nephew Cohen grin and coo all throughout the week. Adam loves being an uncle. The misty waterfalls were beautiful and wet. The food was fabulous and abundant. God is good. More pictures here.
- I continue to be amazed at the work of God in His church in Airdrie, Scotland - He has been bringing many new members this year. Many. Praise be to God for building His church. He said He would do it.
- Ryan's sisters are visiting from Kansas this weekend. I'm so excited to spend more time with them! (We really like each other :-)). My menu plan is:
- Tuscan White Bean & Garlic Soup by Giada (make ahead) for lunch Saturday
- Cranberry Pot Roast (unbelievably fabulous roast....oh my) with some sort of made up Smashed Red Potatoes with chives for dinner Saturday, and green beans (probably with toasted pine nuts and garlic - an easy way to step them up). Individual Chocolate Melting Cakes are for dessert. I only have the Pot Roast in Word, which I can email. The recipe originally came from a NW B&B cookbook, and I adapted some pot roast techniques from America's Test Kitchen, including a roasting temperature of 300 instead of 350 and only bringing liquid halfway up the sides of the roast. I've cooked the roast for 4.5 hours in the oven that way and it really gets to the wonderful fall-apart melty stage. I also nearly doubled the cranberries.
- Lunch on Sunday will be the award-winning Thai Burgers I raved about in a post to follow soon.
- My recipe links became funky since I last checked. I revised the links, so they should come up cleanly now. I might revamp the way I share the links because I have many non Cooking Light recipes I like to keep handy that I have online elsewhere. I learned I can make free webpages using Google - maybe I'll try that.
- I have succeeded twice in cutting Ryan's hair. I think I'm too impressed with myself, according to Ryan.
A big cooking post to follow. . .
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