Recipes Tried – Collected Sounds Media Productions

April 23, 2021

2021 Project :: April Beef Stroganoff

This is part of my 2021 project where each month I choose a recipe from the current issue of Bon Appetit and make one of the dishes, trying as hard as I can to do it exactly the way the recipe says. A real challenge for me.

This month I chose Beef Stroganoff from page 22 of the April 2021 issue of Bon Appetit.

A commenter on BA’s website, who didn’t even make the dish complained “This might be beef stroganoff, but there ain’t nothing russian about it.” (yeah, he didn’t even capitalize Russian). The rest of the comments were talking about how rude this guy was. So of course, I was intrigued and I had to look up real Russian “beef stroganov”.

I guess I’m the idiot, I didn’t even know it was a Russian dish, and I have Russian heritage! I think of it as being similar to Swedish Meatballs, so I assumed it was Scandinavian.

Anyway, the commenter said that there should be no tomatoes and should not be served with rice or pasta because they didn’t have wheat in the peasant fields of Russia. Then he spelled “umami” wrong. So take that with a grain of salt.

The “real” recipes I found did have tomato and were served on a starch.

So, I made this and long story short (too late) it was amazing.

Beef Stroganoff

We could not find a one-pound skirt steak only a two-pounder and it was $25! But we bought it and Greg cut it in two, saving one pound for later.

Here’s the prep for it. I chose to get everything ready in advance (mis en place).

For this recipe you cook the meat whole, let it rest, and cut it into strips at the end just before you put it back in the sauce to warm it up. Or in our case, cook it through. Haha, mine ended up a little rare, even though I cooked it the time allotted per side (yes, I even timed it…with a timer!)

These mushrooms were amazing.

bowl of mushrooms — these were so so good

I served this with steamed broccoli.

bowl of broccoli — side of steamed broccoli

Look at that beautiful sauce.

Beef Stroganoff in pan

This was a winner!

Beef Stroganoff final plate — Tada! Dig in!!

April 21, 2021

Recipe :: Crispy Fried Tofu Sandwich

Crispy Tofu Sandwich on bun — Final sando

This is a riff on a recipe that I found on New York Times Cooking. I say “riff” because while I intended to follow the recipe, once I got started, I realized it wasn’t going to happen.

Check out the original recipe here.

For the marinade:

I used the juice from a jar of pickles that I realized too late, I do not like. But it still turned out good. I can’t wait to try it with pickle juice I like!

I did not use hot sauce because the pickles I used the juice from were already spicy pickles. But I did use red pepper flakes.

I let it marinate a day longer than the recipe said because we ended up making alternate dinner plans on the night we were going to have it. It was fine, feel free to do this if you need to.

For the Dip and Dredge prep:

Why should I use ½ cup of Dijon when that much was not needed? Same with the flour. I’m not into wasting food. So, I just used what I felt was necessary and still had too much of both of those.

For assembly:

I didn’t want to buy a whole head of cabbage so I just got a bag of coleslaw mix. I figured that would be better because it’s a mix of cabbages. Variety, the spice of life!

I also didn’t use that much oil just because I didn’t have that much on hand. I had a small container of oil in the fridge that was leftover from frying something previously and then the rest of the vegetable oil I had in the house. It probably was only one inch thick in the pan. I used a small pan so it would be deeper and I worked in batches.

OK with all that out of the way…

These turned out about 100 times better than I had hoped. When I smelled the marinade, after the tofu sat in it for 2 days I was not hopeful. It was not pleasing.

But I persevered, and I’m glad I did.

Fried Tofu trying on rack — after it came out of the oil

I put the fried tofu pieces on a nice brioche bun (from Imperfect Foods), topped with the coleslaw and since I wasn’t a fan of the pickles we had, I used dill pickle relish.

It was very tasty, but I felt it could be better if the mayo was mixed into the coleslaw mix as well as the relish. I also felt it needed a piece of cheese.

So here are the ones that I made.

Crispy Tofu Sandwich on bun open-faced — before the slaw

While I was eating it, I was pretty amazed at how the inside actually looked like chicken!

inside of Crispy Tofu Sandwich on bun — Here’s what the inside looks like, almost looks like chicken!

Then Greg wanted another sandwich (a good sign) but since we were out of brioche buns he used a hoagie roll. He did mix the mayo, coleslaw and relish and also used cheese. I tasted it, it was MUCH better.

tofu dansich on a hoagie roll with cheese — Greg’s version, on a hoagie roll with cheese.

So here’s my updated recipe.

April 14, 2021

Experiment :: One-Pan Egg Toast

After seeing this on TikTok for a month or so, I finally called “uncle” and tried this.

Let’s just say the first try was not a success.

toast with egg on it — What a shame, had to throw out 2 slices of yummy Dave’s Killer Bread.

I forgot that I was supposed to flip the bread so that it was eggy on both sides…which isn’t actually suggested in all videos, but should probably be done. My other issue is that the egg stuck to the pan and I couldn’t flip it.

pan with egg stuck to it

Second attempt was much better. I used only one piece of bread (Dave’s Killer Bread…it’s the best) and I flipped the bread so it had egg on both sides.

eggs in a pan with toast — Freshly flipped bread

This time I was able to flip it.

eggs in pan with bread — the whole thing, flipped

I filled it with turkey, cheese and sliced scallions.

eggs with turkey, cheese and scallions — Filled the sandwich

After folding the egg in, and putting it together, I flipped it one more time.

Finished sandwich — I flipped it once it was all closed up

It was delicious!

I used Dave’s Killer Bread from Imperfect Foods.

Use my link and get $10 off your first box. Full disclosure, I get $10 too.

March 11, 2021

2021 Project :: March Green Curry Soup

I decided that I would like to create a little project for the new year. I decided that I would make one dish from each issue of Bon Appetit, starting January 2021.

So, the one I chose from the March issue of Bon Appetit Magazine is Green Curry Lentil Soup (page 46). I chose it because I had all the ingredients and had just gotten some new green lentils from Imperfect Foods. I also had some sweet potatoes that were starting to mock me because I let them sit on the counter for too long.

set up for Green Curry Lentil Soup

The only thing I did differently is that I cooked it in the Instant Pot. This was a super easy and pretty quick dish to make. It involved a bunch of chopping, but you could certainly buy onions, garlic, and ginger prechopped to make this even easier and quicker.

I actually measured the green curry paste and holy Jebus was it HOT! I love spice but this was off the charts. It was still delicious, but yowza!

This is the curry paste I used:

mae ploy green curry paste

I would make this again and the Instant Pot worked well. Here’s the recipe.

When you get your April issue, let me know what I should make for April!

January’s project meal

February’s project meal

The lentils, sweet potatoes, lime, and garlic were all from Imperfect Foods. Use my link and get $10 off your first box. Full disclosure, I get $10 too.

March 7, 2021

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

Last week I made the Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Roasted Garlic and Crispy Sage. This is from the cookbook Passion: My Journey Through Food by Jules Meyer. Full disclosure; I know Jules. She’s my cousin. We grew up almost like sisters.

She released this book last year and it’s really beautiful.

You can buy it here

Here’s the recipe on her blog.

I love mushrooms, garlic and risotto so I was pretty sure I’d love this.

I made a few changes (shocker) out of necessity.

Firstly, I didn’t have fresh sage. I know, it’s an integral part of the dish, but I didn’t have it, and Greg and I were both in COVID quarantine* and weren’t able to leave the house to get sage. I wasn’t about to put in an Amazon Fresh order for only a bunch of sage and then wait a day. I wanted this NOW!

So, I used fresh thyme and rosemary. It was still amazing, but I do recommend using sage if at all possible. Because crispy sage is so delicious.

The only other thing I did differently is I didn’t use that much cream. Mostly because I was panicking about the butter and cream already in there. I think I used about a cup.

Oh and I didn’t have regular button mushrooms so I used two packages of bellas.

As you know, risotto is busy work. You have to stand there stirring for ages. But it’s so worth it. With the roasted garlic and the mushrooms, it’s heavenly.

mushrooms and garlic — Mushrooms and garlic for the Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Roasted Garlic and Crispy Sage

I wanted to eat the whole pan, but I only ate ¼ of it. I don’t even want to know if I had more than one serving.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Roasted Garlic and Crispy Sage

Greg who is a caveman and can’t have a meal without meat, added some sautéed chicken thighs to his.

Leftovers were reheated the next day for lunch. Then the following day, I reheated the risotto and plopped an egg on it for breakfast. Amazing! (sorry I didn’t take a pic.)

Try this one, and let me know what you think.

Or get her cookbook and try any other wonderful recipe!

You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3riqAWB

*we don’t have COVID, we had just gotten tested (negative) and needed to quarantine because we were both having medical procedures at the end of the week.

February 23, 2021

Dinner :: Buttermilk Marinated Air Fryer Whole Roasted Chicken

Recipe: https://www.skinnytaste.com/air-fryer-whole-chicken/

We made this as a Sunday Dinner. This is from Gina over at Skinnytaste, so we knew it would be good! But, we had a little trouble cooking:

I did this in my regular oven on the Air-Fry mode because my Instant Pot (with air-fryer lid) isn’t large enough for this chicken.

After it cooking for 25 minutes on each side, the breast was still raw. I’m not sure how this is possible. It came from the store refrigerated (not frozen), it sat in our refrigerator for 2 or 3 days before we marinated it. Then it sat in the marinate for a day, and out on the counter for an hour before cooking. So I’d be really surprised if it was still frozen.

After the air-frying, we put it back in on bake for another 10 minutes. I was afraid the dark meat would be overdone. So we carved it up, served the dark meat and the breasts went into the microwave to finish. Not the way I would have preferred to cook it, but it worked.

Air Fryer Buttermilk Chicken

And holy cats was it delicious!! Only buttermilk and salt and pepper and it was amazing. I served it with baked potatoes (with sour cream, butter and green onions) and Brussels Sprouts. The chicken may appear burned but it is not! The Brussels on the other hand were inedible.

Air Fryer Buttermilk Chicken

After eating and carving all the meat off the bones, the bones went into the instant pot with the potato skins and some seasoning and we made a nice broth.

Day two, the leftover chicken was used both as an addition to an otherwise vegetarian ravioli dish, as a main course (with gravy made from the broth) and then day 3 as a topper for salad. It remained moist (yeah, I said it) and flavorful. I don’t know if I’ll ever NOT marinate in buttermilk again.

Highly recommended. Just be sure you have a meat thermometer and be sure the breast is done.

We have this one, but it appears to be out of stock.

This one looks close to it.

Try this and let me know what you think!
Skinnytaste Recipe:

February 20, 2021

2021 Project :: January Broccoli Soup

Last month I decided that I would like to create a little project for the new year. I decided that I would make one dish from each issue of Bon Appetit, starting January 2021.

Click here for last month’s project.

So the one I chose from the February issue of Bon Appetit was the Broccoli Soup With Turmeric, Peanuts, and Crispy Shallots

I was taken by that beautiful photo! Kudos to the photographer and food stylists.

One of the “rules” of this project was that I really wanted to follow the recipe exactly and that I would not substitute any ingredients.

This is harder for me than I thought it would be. Not because I can’t follow directions, but because I just don’t always have everything on hand (or I don’t want to buy a bunch of something and waste the rest).

The first issue is that this recipe was for 4 servings and I was making this for myself (the husband doesn’t like soup or vegetarian dishes so this was a nope on both aspects).

So I scaled the recipe in half.

Then I realized I didn’t have serrano, but it did say “or other green chile” and I did have jalapeno so I used that and I think that’s acceptable.

I didn’t have a big Yukon gold potato and even if I did I probably wouldn’t use it because what am I doing to do with half a potato, since I’m halfing the recipe? So I used a bunch of small potatoes.

The only other change I made was that I didn’t have cilantro or mint for a garnish.

Here’s my set up:

Ingredients for Broccoli Soup

So the changes I made were really miniscule and I think would be allowed by the recipe author. Right? Please?

Oh and because I was making this in the bar kitchen, I didn’t have a large soup pot so I made it in the instant pot, but I didn’t pressure cook it. I just used it on Sauté Mode.

Ingredients for Ingredients for Broccoli Soup

This was putzy to be sure, but pretty easy to make. It was sort of a lot of chopping, but I don’t mind chopping. As long as I have a good knife.

Before blending Ingredients for Broccoli Soup — Before blending

I used the immersion blender, right in the pot instead of a blender.

after blending Broccoli Soup — after blending

The part where I almost said “F this” and did it my own way was at the very beginning. The recipe says to cook the shallots, peanut and turmeric in the oil, separate them (drain the shallots and keep the oil). Then for reasons I can’t fathom, it says to mix them back together.

Well, that’s just ridiculous. So I compromised. I made the oil as told, then I separated them, but I kept them separate (don’t tell me how to live my life!) I’m glad I did. Because of that oil? It was amazing!! I would make that again and use it to drizzle over everything!

oil

I’m not sure why the recipe doesn’t say to just cook the vegetables (step 3) in the oil you just made. It says to use regular oil. Why?

How did I do?

Comparison

The end result was a good soup. Good, not fantastic. I happily ate my lunch, I also added a slice of toasted bread (we call that toast, Amy). But I never ate the leftovers. I planned to, but each time I saw it in the fridge I went, “ehhhh…” and chose something else. So I guess I didn’t like it that much.

Final result

But it sure is pretty!

February 2, 2021

Dinner :: Chef John’s Salisbury Steak

One night when my husband and I were watching TV a conversation came up on Salisbury Steak. I think he said he didn’t like it, and I said I loved it and would make a good one for him to prove it.

However, my bravado wrote a check that my skills couldn’t cash. My favorite Salisbury Steak is this one.

Swansons TV dinner from the 70s

Those silky potatoes and that chocolate cake was sooo good, even when it burned a little. But the steaks were so tasty and that gravy!? *Swoon*

Also, I used to work at a place that provided lunch for staff and their Salisbury Steak was the BOMB! They didn’t make it in house, it was from a food service company. So it was like school lunch, but better.

[Update] I just found out that the food we were served at work was…..{drum roll please…} STOUFFERS!! ]

So I did some digging and I already had a few Salisbury recipes in my cookbook (I use CopyMeThat). The one that had the most stars (given by me) was the one from Home Chef. Here’s how it came out when I made it then:

HomeChef Salisbury Steak — Home Chef Salisbury Steak

The sauce looks too creamy and light colored for what I wanted.

So, I kept looking. When I Googled it, I realized that Chef John from Food Wishes had a recipe. So I watched the video again and decided to use this one.

Mushrooms and onions sauteing

I did make the meat ahead and let it rest in the refrigerator, as suggested. What I didn’t love is the ketchup. Something in it felt not quite right and I think it’s the ketchup. He does say in the video that his recipe is more like meatloaf and I guess I don’t really like that aspect. If I want meatloaf I’ll just make that.

This was good, but I think the Home Chef one was better. Note, there are 2 HC Salisbury recipes, one is “steak” and the other one is meatballs. I liked them both and rated them both 4 stars, but they are different.

Maybe I have to take things from all three of these recipes and make one of my own with them as guides.

What’s your favorite recipe for Salisbury Steak?

The beef, mushrooms, and beans were from Imperfect Foods. Use my link and get $10 off your first box. (Full disclosure, I get $10 off too.)

January 30, 2021

2021 Project :: January Tofu with Rice and Miso-Maple Dressing

Tofu with Rice and Miso-Maple Dressing

I decided that I would like to create a little project for the new year. I decided that I would make one dish from each issue of Bon Appetit, starting January 2021.

I decided this around January 25^th, 2021. Because apparently I thrive on self-imposed deadlines.

So I grabbed the January issue of Bon Appetit and looked at each recipe to see which one I would make. First of all, that issue doesn’t have very many recipes. It’s all story. Which is cool, cool stories….but I needed recipes to choose from!

Part of the parameters of this are that I will FOLLOW the recipe exactly or as best I can. So I had to pick something that I already had all the ingredients for on hand.

I’m not kidding when I say the ONLY recipe in this issue that met those criteria is this one.

Tofu with Rice and Miso-Maple Dressing

Good thing I like tofu!

The marinade for the tofu was delicious, and as it turns out, it also basically the dressing (minus the cornstarch).

Ingredients on the counter

I loved the fresh flavors of this. I followed the directions nearly exactly (the only thing I didn’t do is grate the garlic because I couldn’t find the grater. I just chopped it really fine).

Finished dish

The only things I would change are…

It says to use one clove garlic. Usually I think, “aww, cute!” and then double it (at least). So, I did use two cloves of garlic and dare I say…it was too much. Since it’s raw it was really strong. I recommend sticking with one clove.
The recipe doesn’t say to do this, but I think they did do it, judging by their photo. I would toss the tofu in the dressing before putting it on the rice. Then drizzle the leftover dressing on the whole thing. The tofu was a tad dry coming straight out of the oven and I think it would have been better if it were tossed in the dressing. But you still need dressing to go over the rice and veggies.

I’ll make this again. It reminded me of the Yum Yum Rice Bowls from World Street Kitchen!

Close up finished dish

The carrots were from Imperfect Foods. Use my link and get $10 off your first box. (Full disclosure, I get $10 off too.)

January 18, 2021

Dinner :: Greek Style Green Beans

Greek Style Green Beans-Fasolakia Lathera

Original Recipe: Greek Style Green Beans

Last night for dinner I did a couple of things…one was a whole chicken in the Instant Pot, using also the Air Fryer lid. Needs work, I’ll report back on that later.

But as a side dish, I made one of the new Greek recipes I found from Olive Tomato.

This was really yummy, however, I don’t like my green beans to be cooked to the point of mush and being discolored.

I like them to look like this

Green beans, potatoes and tomatoes in pan — This was right after I put them in the pan.

But when they were “done” according to the recipe, they were brown-ish and mushy.

Cooked green beans, potatoes and tomatoes

So while I would make this again for sure, I would add the beans at the last 5 minutes, when the potatoes are done, not let them cook for 40 minutes.

Here’s the finished dish, looks better with the creamy feta on top!

finished dish, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes

Here’s a close up.

close up beans, tomatoes, and potatoes

The beans, potatoes, tomatoes and onions were all from Imperfect Foods.
Use my link and get $10 off your first box. (Full disclosure, I get $10 off too.)

Just a weird aside…when I cut open the first tomato for this dish I was horrified by what I saw and felt inside.

inside of a tomato sprouted — Coming soon to a horror movie theater near you…

I’ve been assured it was fine, just the seeds had sprouted. Which of course is what I thought, but I really didn’t think they started sprouting inside the fresh tomato! I thought they’d start once the fruit was rotting or smashed, etc.
So while it looks a little like a horror movie, it’s also pretty cool.