I made these delicious Baily’s flavored cookies from Baker by Nature. First off, I HATE baking. I think most of the reason is that I always end up with flour all over the place. It just explodes on me for no reason (that I can tell). But I was determined to make these because they looked soooo good on her website (a friend posted the recipe on Facebook).
Another reason I don’t like baking is that the things I make usually aren’t very good. But I think it’s because I can’t seem to follow directions. Mostly I am too impatient to make the dough and let it chill. But this time I did it right! And it paid off.
These are good! They’re gooey, and almost not done in the middle. So, they’re perfect for heating up in the toaster oven if you want to eat them warm.
I’m ready for my close up
They’re very sweet though, so I I gave them 4 stars of 5. I would leave out some of that brown sugar. It was too much. Do any of you bakers know, can I leave out some of that sugar and not have it affect the outcome? If not, what can I do to reduce the sugar/sweetness?
I finally made The Pioneer Woman’s “Perfect Pot Roast”.
I mean, perfect is pretty hard to attain, but this was certainly one of the best I’ve ever had.
It turned out great! What did I change? Glad you asked.
-I did add about a pound of creamer potatoes to the vegetable mix. -I didn’t use wine because I was too lazy to go downstairs and get some. That’s all. Everything else I did just as written!
Here it was going into the oven:
Before the oven
We loved it. Our roast was 2.5 pounds so we cooked it for almost 3 hours, I think we took it out a tad early.
after removed from the oven
Greg spooned off some of the braising liquid and made a delicious gravy. Then with the leftovers (though there wasn’t much left) we just cut the meat into smaller pieces and mixed it with the vegetables, juice and gravy and it was a fabulous stew for lunch the next day.
This was a Plated dish called Indian-Spiced Chicken with Cardamom Brown Butter, Pistachios, and Roasted Carrots. I’ve made it a few times now, without the kit and make some changes. Sine the meal kit it came from is discontinued I think I can share the recipe, especially since I’m not sharing their recipe, but my adaptation of it. Here’s what it looked like when I made it with the kit:
done with the meal kit
The second time I made it, I substituted thighs for breasts. I don’t recall why I made that choice, but I prefer dark meat, and usually have it on hand more than chicken breasts, so that’s probably it.
without the kit, subbed meat and no nuts
The third time I made it, well…the new change was an accident. I prepped the carrots and put them in the oven. I set a timer, but I didn’t hear it and didn’t remember the carrots until we were done eating. Ooops! Luckily it was still amazing!
on my own, who needs carrots?
Indian-Spiced Chicken with Brown Rice
3 ounces baby spinach 2 tablespoons sliced almonds 6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 cup quick cooking brown rice 2½ cups water 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ tablespoons golden raisins 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt Dash of cayenne black pepper
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat (if you’re making the rice on the stove). You’ll be draining it so you want at least 2 cups of water.
Rinse spinach and pat dry with paper towel; roughly chop.
Pat chicken very dry with paper towel and cut into 1/2″ pieces. Season all over with garam masala, a sprinkle of salt, and pepper.
Meanwhile, season boiling water generously with salt. Stir in rice and cook until tender, 22–25 minutes. Drain and return to pot, off heat, then cover to keep warm. Or you can make the rice in the Instant Pot, quick release and drain off excess water.
While rice cooks, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken; sear until golden and pieces easily lift from pan, 6 minutes. Stir and sear other sides until cooked through and no longer pink, about 6 minutes more. Remove pan from heat. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside to rest; wipe pan clean for the next step.
Place pan from chicken over medium heat, then add butter, cardamom, and almonds. Swirl pan occasionally until butter turns golden and fragrant and pistachios are toasted, 7–8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired; remove pan from heat.
To pot with rice, still off heat, add golden raisins, spinach, and half of cardamom brown butter and pistachios. Stir everything to combine and wilt spinach slightly. Taste for salt and add as needed.
Divide rice between serving plates. Top with Indian-spiced chicken and spoon over remaining cardamom brown butter and almonds.
I did think that this would be great with roasted vegetables such as carrot (which the original recipe called for) or asparagus, green beans, brussels sprouts, or broccoli. Any veg that roasts well. I think I will do brussels next time.
Let me know if you try it (or if you have in the past!)
Well, this year was different for all of us. We usually have my parents over to dine with us. But last year my father died, and then this year…well, we all know what this year brought. My dad’s wife spent Thanksgiving with her family and we were going to have my mom over. But as the day got closer she decided she didn’t want to chance it with the virus spreading like wild fire.
We’d already bought all the food so we were doing the meal either way. Greg really likes doing the turkey and I like doing all the sides, so we had a very small Thanksgiving with just us and the pets.
Click the names of the recipes to visit the sites where they came from.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Honey and Miso. This is from the New York Times so if you don’t subscribe you may have trouble seeing this one. You may know of my love/hate with NYT cooking (last year I used their mashed potatoes and they were TERRIBLE) but this one is great!
And the Pièce De Résistance…
Yes, the top looks burned. It got a little hot at the end, but it was delicious!
Greg’s Brined and Roasted Turkey
I wrote up the recipe based on what he told me. I think he left some things out, so if you use this, you might have to improvise a little. Nothing is specific. That’s how we roll.
Brine Ingredients: 1¼ cup Kosher Salt 2 cups sugar 2 cups honey 1 big bunch of parsley 6 or more sprigs each of thyme, tarragon, sage (if you don’t have fresh, I just use up my old dried herbs). 3 lemons halved 1 can concentrated apple juice 1 gallon (16 cups) boiling water 1 gallon cold water You can also throw in an orange of whatever else that is hanging around and seems good. 12 pound turkey
Roast Ingredients: 3 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut into 8 wedges 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 10 garlic cloves, peeled 2 tablespoons fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in resealable plastic bag 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 lemons, halved 1 stick butter, room temp/softened
Brine Directions: Combine all ingredients except water in a large stock type pot. Boil 1 gallon of water and pour over the brine ingredients. Simmer on the stovetop for 5 minutes. Add one gallon of cold water Bring mixture to room temperature. Submerge turkey (after washing and getting all the gross stuff out of the inside) in this fantastic brine and refrigerate overnight 12-24 hours (original recipe says 18 hours is optimal). If you have to use more water to submerge the turkey, just add some more salt.
Roast Directions: Cook fennel in large pot of boiling salted water until tender when pierced with knife, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons oil; garlic; 1 tablespoon each fennel seeds, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and marjoram; then 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix remaining 1 tablespoon each fennel seeds and herbs in small bowl. Rub 1 stick softened butter under the skin of the bird. Oil up the bird and rub with salt, pepper, fennel herb mix. Fill cavity with herb, garlic, lemon, apple, onion, celery. In large roasting pan, arrange remaining fresh fennel mixture along with any of the other veg that didn’t fit in the cavity. Place turkey, breast side down on top of the vegetable mixture. Tie the legs together. Roast for 30 minutes. After that time, turn the heat to 350F and continue roasting turkey, basting occasionally with pan juices until juices run clear when pierced with fork in thickest part of thigh, about 2 hours longer. Transfer turkey to a cutting board and let rest for about 30 minutes before carving.
We don’t serve the veggies. But you can save them to use in the Instant Pot later when you make broth out of the carcass.
Pour pan juices into bowl; skim off fat. Make gravy from the drippings. (butter, flour, broth and juices).
It made so much that I was able to pack up several boxes of leftovers and give some away.
It was really nice, but I do hope we can have more family visiting for Christmas.
