Recipe Reviews! Week 15

I have actually been trying to "get ahead" on the recipes that I have to share so that I'm not rushing at the last minute to finish editing the blog post and get it ready for you. Also, I'm hoping that will allow me some flexibility in cooking, and I can make Jason some of the "food like we used to make" that he has been asking for. Not to mention that it's June, and it's hot (we were over 90 degrees a lot in the last half of May), and cooking/baking when it's hot just is not that appealing. But, we still have to eat, even though I still recommend fasting as an option! But on to the recipes!

This weeks recipes included....

Quiche Lorraine

Not to add any pressure, but whenever I make one of my sister Miriam's recipes, I have high expectations. Any food of hers that I have
eaten has almost always been superb! I do believe that I have made this recipe before, but it has been a few years. I used the Crisco Perfect Pie Crust recipe (from Week 8) for the pie shell. I did find that I do not have an 8 inch pie plate; only 9 and 9.5, so my crust was a little larger than needed.

The Honest Review: It was good, but I'm not sure if it was the best of all the quiches we have had recently. Jason and Pumpkin liked it a lot. Again, I'm not sure why Pumpkin loves quiche but has refused to eat other egg things; it is a mystery! I thought the quiche could use a bit more flavor, but Jason thought it was fine in the flavor department. I also found that my crust had a soggy bottom (if you've watched "The Great British Baking Show," you'll understand!), and I don't know if that is the fault of the quiche, or myself. The quiche also took longer to bake than the recipe indicated. I discovered that I think I like the pie crust recipe that is made with butter (from Week 10) better for quiche than the Crisco Perfect. The butter crust seems to have more flavor, and is crispier. I'm not sure if this recipe is staying in our collection at this time.

Possible Alterations: Use fresh mushrooms, add more salt and pepper, and maybe a little hot sauce.

Great Burgers

When we grill burgers, Jason is usually the one that mixes them up and he never follows a recipe. So far, of the burger recipes that I have tried, only one has gained his approval. I made this recipe, a half-batch, expecting that it would not pass his approval.

The Honest Review: First of all, I made the burgers too thin and they became a little dry in grilling. But, they were quite tasty! We just put cheese on top, no condiments. Jason even liked them! He said that mixing sausage with the beef was very intriguing to him, and he liked it. When asked if he would make this recipe again, he said yes, but maybe he would add some other things to it. I'm not sure what, but that is just the way he cooks: dump and stir, basically, and it almost always turns out well. This recipe is staying in our collection.

Taco Salad

I remember having this multiple times growing up, and recall that I liked it. I was kind of excited to make it, to be honest, as it has been a long time since I've had it. I did find that it should be made in a pan larger than an 8x8- I ran out of room!!!

The Honest Review: I enjoyed it, and so did Little Pumpkin. Jason, on the other hand, did not. He said there was too much "white stuff" on top, and it tasted like sour cream. (He saw the recipe before eating it, so knew that it had sour cream. Otherwise, I'm not sure if he would've known; he's sure that he would have.) He did not partake of the leftovers, and said that he would rather not have this again. Since I did enjoy it and, I think it would make a great party dip, I want to keep this recipe for now. This recipe is staying in our collection.

Alterations: make it in a larger pan; make a half-recipe of the "white stuff" for on top.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

I don't recall ever having this recipe before, but it looked like it couldn't be bad. With butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese you're guaranteed to at least have a nice flavor, right? I did make a half-batch of this recipe as that is all the potatoes I had.

The Honest Review: They were really yummy!! I kind of wish I had been able to make the full recipe as they didn't last long. We all really liked this recipe. Personally, I liked this one better than the Onion Roasted Potatoes from Week 12. And, it seems to be just as easy to make, if not easier, in my opinion! The only complaint I would have is that it was a lot of butter and I don't think it needs quite that much. This recipe is staying in our collection.

Alterations: Cut back the butter.

Home-Made Vanilla

I did not make a dessert this week, but I did start two batches of home-made vanilla over the past month. I started making my own vanilla a few years ago, but haven't done it in a while. It seemed like we were going through a lot of vanilla late last year, and early this year, and I have always remembered how much better my home-made vanilla smelled compared to the store-bought. (I may be a bit of a vanilla extract snob and only like to buy the good stuff if I can!) I don't know what "recipe" I used when making vanilla the first time, but I knew the basics: Vodka and Vanilla Beans. Jason had some leftover vodka from something, so I asked if I could use that, and I went and got another small bottle (200ml). I put one vanilla bean in the leftover bottle, but forgot to cut it open. (A few days later, I pulled it out and sliced it open.) I let it sit for about a month, which is when I ran out of store-bought vanilla, and have been using my home-made ever since. I just started the small bottle, with two vanilla beans, last week.

This is my personal recipe/method for home-made vanilla:

4-6 vanilla beans, sliced

Two 200ml bottles of vodka

Time

Put 2-3 sliced vanilla beans per bottle of vodka, write the date on the bottle, shake, and let sit in cupboard for 3 months. Shake brewing vanilla about once a week. I like to start one bottle, and then a month or so later, start the second bottle so that you always have a bottle brewing when you run out.

I searched for the recipe that I originally used, but couldn't find it. If you Google home-made vanilla, you'll get lots of information, and some say you only need to brew for a few weeks, others say the longer the better. Also, some folks will say to keep re-using your beans when the bottle gets empty; just pour in more vodka. I don't recall if I have ever done that.

The Honest Review: I really do think it smells better than any vanilla that you will get at your typical grocery store. Jason could care less whether his vanilla is home-made or generic store brand, but he does think it smells good. As far as cost effectiveness, I didn't keep my receipt for the vodka, but it was cheap, and the beans cost $9.50 plus tax for three. As you can see, that's a pretty large amount of vanilla I will end up with, and I  think one of the brands of vanilla that I used to buy was about $8-10 for maybe 8 ounces. If you can get the vanilla beans, I would say that it's worth making your own vanilla.

There are other variations for making vanilla by using brandy, or rum, instead of vodka. I did try making some with rum, but I didn't like it. It definitely carried a rum smell and flavor, and I don't like rum. Jason likes rum, but I can't remember if he liked the vanilla made with rum or not. So, I just stick with cheap vodka.

I believe that concludes my recipes for this week. Let me know if you're going to try making your own vanilla!