Table Talk

PAN-SEARED SHRIMP WITH GARLIC AND LEMON

I love a recipe that's healthy, simple, quick, AND that the family will eat.  This recipe was almost there since all the kids at least tried it and most of them liked it.  I'm giving it four stars.

I feel like it could have used a little more flavor.  Maybe next time I'll throw in some lemon pepper.  I usually serve shrimp with pasta, but I'm interested to see what everyone else did!  Check out Janet's blog, HERE, for this great low-cal shrimp recipe.

TABLE TALK

STIR-FRIED BEEF AND BROCCOLI

Love this cookbook and the tips!  I think I say that every time, but I do!  Having said that, I didn't love this recipe, but I loved the way it was cooked.  My meat didn't get overdone and the veggies were perfect.  I think if the brown sauce would have been different then I would have loved the whole dish.  

What I learned:  There is a section in the cookbook that gives you a 101 on Asian ingredients.  Apparently rice vinegar and Chinese rice wine are not the same--wish I wold have read that before I cooked, maybe my sauce would have tasted less vinegary. 

What I'm glad I did:  I like oyster sauce WAY better than hoisin sauce so I used that instead.

Overall:  3 stars, based on popularity by family.

I very much recommend making this, even if its only for learning the correct way to stir-fry.  Plus, it might taste different with the correct ingredients (rice wine).

Amanda was our host this, check out her fabulous blog for the recipe, HERE.

TABLE TALK: WEEK 1

CHICKEN PARMESAN

This was a great recipe to start the year off with!  Rarely do all my children (I feel like I should do AMC for that) like the same dish, but this one they did.  Even my four-year-old said he like it without any prodding and for that reason I'm giving this five stars.  The chicken stayed moist and I really liked the homemade sauce on top.  I used the rest of the sauce on some penne pasta and served together.  My only complaint on this recipe is that it used a ton of dishes.  Something new that I learned and loved was baking the chicken on a cooling rack (on a baking sheet) so that the bottom didn't get soggy.  I love the tips in these cookbooks!  To get the recipe, head over to Jen's blog, HERE.

BAKE 52: WEEK 52

THICK AND CHEWY TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

I''m pretty sure if I wouldn't have been completely hypoglycemic from eating all my stocking candy in two days that I would have loved these cookies.  They were rich and chewy and everything you would expect in a thick and chewy triple chocolate cookie!  I'm sure I will be craving these in a couple of weeks when I'm back on WW's!  Thanks, Janet, for a great recipe to end with!  You can get the recipe at Janet's blog HERE.

BAKE 52

ALMOND BISCOTTI

I actually made a round version of these last week when I forgot to time my cookies.  The difference between those and the biscotti I made today is biscotti is supposed to be crisp.  Plus, the burnt cookies tasted, well, burnt, and they didn't soften up in milk.
The biscotti, however, had a great mild flavor and a crisp texture expected with biscotti.  I went for the chocolate chip version and it was wonderful dunked in hazel nut hot chocolate.  It softened up just right when soaked in the hot chocolate without getting soggy, doughy, or falling apart.

Thanks, Emiy, for picking a recipe I could use my cute tea cups with!  You can get the recipe at Emily's blog, HERE.

BAKE 52

GLAZED CHOCOLATE CREAM ROLL

This week's pick was a great one for the holidays and since I have a party this weekend I had every intention of freezing this roll and taking it to the party.  The only problem was every kid wanted a taste and decided they loved it (not the problem), but now I need to bake another one, which, as I think about it, really isn't a problem either.  However, I wanted to love this roll too, but I only liked it.  Maybe that's the problem?  Hmm, anyway, here's my break down on the glazed chocolate cream roll:

What I didn't love:  Cake rolls in general are spongy due to all the eggs in the batter that help it not brake when being rolled.  This one was no different and I'm not fond of the spongy texture.  

What I loved:  The marshmallow filling!  Hello, did anyone else eat spoonfuls of it first?!  It was so good! Spoonfuls good! I also love the look of cake rolls--very festive and yet easy.

What I changed:  Every time a recipe has called for bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, I have always thought it a bit too bitter.  So this time I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the bittersweet chocolate.  It was a subtle change but just enough for me. 

What I will change next time:  Double that filling!  It was too thinly spread for my liking (even if it would have had those extra spoonfuls that I ate:)), I wanted more cream in my bite.  Also, was greasing the sheet pointless to anyone else?

Thanks, Michelle, for picking a great recipe that I can take to my family party this weekend!  You can get the recipe (and a gluten-free version) at Michelle's blog,  HERE. 

BAKE 52

LARGE DANISH BRAID

Yummy, right?!  Flaky, sweet, buttery deliciousness--that pretty much sums up this pastry.  I went with a cream cheese and raspberry filling that i loved as well.

Now, I'm going to be totally honest, I cheated!  I just didn't have the patience today to wait the hours in between rolling and folding, rolling and folding, rolling and folding (even just typing that out was laborious)--so I didn't!  I just rolled and folded one right after the other and skipped chilling.  And guess what?  It worked!  I even forgot to let it rise, but I still had plenty of flakiness plus the rest of my day.  Wahoo!  There was only one down fall; by the last roll out before I put the filling on, the dough was getting sticky which made braiding kinda tricky.  Some of the braids broke and I had to piece them back together.

So, it wasn't the prettiest braid, but it was the price I was willing to pay today.
Jennifer was our host this week and you can get the recipe from her blog, HERE.