Other People's Recipes

I recently came across a couple of new blogs, well, new to me. Lottie & Doof and Sprouted Kitchen. I decided to make Sprouted Kitchen's Mushroom & Poblano Tart. This is a very curious recipe. The "crust" of this tart is baked soft polenta or grits. It's super easy to make, but I have to admit, I was a little concerned that this would not work.

Well, it didn't just work, but it was divine! This is one of those recipes that I wish I had thought of. I will certainly make it my own by changing up the filling ingredients (the mushroom & poblano part). The soft polenta "crust" is still firm enough to hold its shape when cut and was made for the mushroom and poblano egg custard filling. What a perfect match! The fun part will be trying to find a new filling that is as tasty and beautifully paired as the mushroom and poblano. Maybe gruyere, bacon, and asparagus or spinach? Can't wait to try.

Next up was Food & Wine's Baked Currant Doughnuts from their July 2010 issue. These were originally intended for our favorite server, Jeff, at Restaurant Iris. Motivated by my last yeast-rising success story of the Parker House Rolls, I quickly began to decide doughnuts were wwwaaaaayyy more work than rolls. Needless to say, 3, yes, 3 rises later, I put the first pan in the oven for the 25 minutes at 400 it called for. I knew to trust my instinct that this was too hot and too long.... but I did pilates instead and waited for the timer. Burned! Like, black, smoking-bottom burned. First pan in the trash. It only had 6 doughnuts on it, for cryin' out loud. This left the 6 remaining doughnuts. The math wasn't working out in Jeff's favor on this. I cooked the second pan at 375 for about 15 minutes. Perfect. Yummy. Jeff did not get any doughnuts. Btw, I used dried blueberries instead of the currants.

I also made Cooking Light's Superfast Chicken Posole. Really, really good, light, quick, and super tasty. I was actually mad when this was gone. I forgot to take a pic of it...oops.

Last but not least are the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins and Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins, also from Cooking Light. I substituted unsweetened apple sauce for the chocolate muffins, bringing the calories and fat down even more. These are just like the article says, fool-proof!