Duds

Lest you think I have been remiss about my Cooking Challenge, I thought I would dedicate a post to the duds I have known and loved so far. I have already mentioned two of the duds in an earlier post, but as the duds mount, I realized that if I didn't share my failures as well as my successes, this blog could wind up being pretty sparse.

The first recipe to break my heart was Roasted Chicken and Arugula from Everday Food. I am constantly on the lookout for simple recipes with few ingredients that I can easily whip up with the baby attached to my hip. Oh, this recipe was sooooo promising. Arugula, potatoes, butter - what more could a recipe need? I really, really wanted to love this dish. But no matter how I tried, I could not even muster up an "okay" for this recipe. The chicken was bland, the arugula made my mouth feel as though I had been eating sand at the park all day, (which gave me a better understanding of why my 18 month old is so cranky when we come home from a day of sand-eating), the potatoes were so-so. My dislike for the dish made me even more sad when I realized that this is the first time in 15 years that Martha has failed me. Martha? Why did you have to harsh my mellow?

The next dud came courtesy of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, another cook for whom I have the utmost respect and rely upon to publish failproof recipes. The recipe was for Ina's Outrageous Oreo cookies, which I found published in Oprah's magazine a few years ago. Oprah, another woman who ususally knows her food. Anyway - I am so very sad about these brownies. I can't even talk about it. Just trust me, and don't waste your time cooking this (very involved and time-consuming) recipe.

Last, but not least, we have the Kielbasa, Cabbage and Rice soup from this month's Food and Wine magazine. I love, love, love kielbasa. It's crazy, really. I also am very found of cabbage and rice. Sure, the ingredients list looked a little sparse, but I hoped that this was one of those dishes that was greater than the sum of its parts. And what great parts with which to begin! But it was not to be. This soup was sooooo bland and tasteless, I picked out all the kielbasa and threw the rest away. If you knew me, you would know that this is a HUGE statement.

So that's it for this post. Stay tuned for more fun and excitement in the kitchen! Tonight I plan to bake the Confetti Bakery's recipe for vanilla sugar cookies, which cookies I will then attempt to decorate in an artistic manner. If you knew me, you would know how funny an undertaking this will be!

Love, -40

Julia Child's Home

Apartment therapy, a blog both 35 and I love dearly, had a great post today featuring pictures of Julia Child's Massachusetts home. The pictures were originally featured in a 1976 Architectural Digest article. The post came via the blog Cooked Books. Take a look when you have the time.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/inspiration/a-peek-into-the-home-of-julia-child-080697

-40

Sprinkles Cupcakes

I have been eyeing the Sprinkles cupcake mixes for a long while now, but could never justify spending $14 for a cake mix. But when my daughter's half birthday rolled around, I had the excuse I was looking for. I wanted to do something special, but didn't have the motivation to bake from scratch. What better time to blow $14 on a cake mix than for my daughter's (half) birthday?

I bought the mix from Williams Sonoma. They had chocolate and vanilla, I chose vanilla.

Isn't the packaging pretty? I'm a sucker for cute packaging. Especially when the packaging is chocolate brown and pink.

In the box, you will find the cupcake mix and sprinkle decorations.


You need to supply your own eggs, butter, and milk for the cupcakes. If you plan to make your own frosting, you will also need to have those ingredients on hand. The back of the Sprinkles box has a recipe for frosting which is quite good, though a little sweet for my taste.

After you mix, cream, beat and add all the ingredients, you will end up with these tasty morsels of yumminess:


Here's a closer look. I know, I know, the sprinkles make the cupcakes look a little like a part of the female anatomy.



My verdict? The cupcakes were very good. Much better than any I have made from scratch. They were moist, and sweet and tasted homemade. The decorations are absolutely horrible, though. Do not eat them! The frosting is great, too, but very, very sweet.

Here's the deal - if I am using a mix, I want the ease of a mix. I want to dump the ingredients in a bowl, mix everything together with a fork, dump the concoction in a pan and be done with it. The Sprinkles mix had me creaming butter, beating my mix with an electric mixer, and adding eggs one at a time. It was as much work as making cupcakes from scratch. The only shortcut I gained from using the mix was that I did not have to mix any dry ingredients. To me, mixing the dry ingredients is the easiest part of baking. It's the creaming and beating I can do without. So although the cupcakes tasted better than any I have yet to bake from scratch, I plan to save my next $14 and continue my search for the perfect cupcake recipe. In a pinch, a box of Duncan Hines cake mix purchased for $1 on sale will make my daughter just as happy as a $14 box of fancy mix.

For those of you keeping score, the mix and the frosting add up to two new recipes I tried recently. I am so far behind. But don't despair, I have weeks to catch up!

Quote of the Day

Because I have been a horrible slacker all around, my quote of the day is an entire song!

"Mama told me when I was young

Come sit beside me, my only son

And listen closely to what I say.

And if you do this

It will help you some sunny day.

Take your time... Don't live too fast,

Troubles will come and they will pass.

Go find a woman and you'll find love,

And don't forget son,

There is someone up above.

(Chorus)

And be a simple kind of man.

Be something you love and understand.

Be a simple kind of man.

Won't you do this for me son,

If you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold

All that you need is in your soul,

And you can do this if you try.

All that I want for you my son,

Is to be satisfied.

(Chorus)

Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself.

Follow you heart and nothing else.

And you can do this if you try.

All I want for you my son,

Is to be satisfied."

-Lynyrd Skynyrd

This is really a beautiful song. This is what I hope to teach my son- keep it simple, don't want too much, love yourself, be happy. Gee, is that all?

Also, this comes after I got to wanting to hear some good ol' Lynyrd Skynyrd the other day so loaded all I have onto my iPod. No, seriously, I love Lynyrd Skynyrd. Why does everyone always think that's a joke?
-35

Quote of the Day

"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do."

- Joe Walsh

Love, 40

Quote of the Day

This quote comes from a song that 35 and I played incessantly for a while after the movie Pulp Fiction was released. I still love the song, it's a great one to sing and dance along with.

"Being good wasn't always easy, no matter how hard I tried."

- Dusty Springfield

-40

Quote of the Day

"I'll stop the world and melt with you."
- Modern English

-40