Pound Cake Review

So, I won't be sharing the Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe. While the taste was lovely, the texture was off and it was missing the all important crunchy top layer. A pound cake without that layer simply isn't worth the caloric investment, in my humble opinion. My mom is sending me her recipe that incorporates beaten egg whites at the very end. I will try that one next time. Next on my cake agenda is a Honey Angel Food Cake, so stay tuned.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Made for the squirt to mix it up a bit. Turned out so great that he had to wrestle me to make sure he got his fair share. Considering that he eats about 40% of everything I attempt to eat myself by circling me like a vulture with a gaping mouth, it only seemed fair that I should do the same.

400 degree oven
chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
panko breadcrumbs
freshly grated parmesan
dried Italian seasoning
egg

I beat the egg in a small bowl. In another bowl I combined the panko, parm, and dried Italian seasoning (would have added some lemon zest if I had a lemon). Breaded chicken by dipping in egg then in panko mixture (pressing it on all sides). Placed nuggets on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (no clean up!) and a spritz of cooking spray. I also spritzed the nuggets themselves to help the panko brown a bit. I think I cooked them about 10 minutes and then flipped them for even browning. Back in the oven for another 6 minutes or so (depending on what size nuggets you cut).

Surprisingly tasty to the adults and the munchkin devoured them! That's a win-win!

Snow Day

Two days in a row....oh my! Being snowbound inspires cooking for some reason.

Had leftovers of yesterday's Beef Stroganoff but made a side of Roasted Asparagus with a Mustard Vinaigrette:

400 degree oven
1/2 bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off
olive oil
salt
pepper
dijon mustard
cider vinegar

Tossed the asparagus with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I put it in the oven, tossed them after about 7 minutes, popped them back in for another 5 minutes. Mine were rather slender spears (I prefer those to the thicker ones), so adjust time if you have different size spears. (I tried coming up with a way to say this that didn't result in setting myself up as the butt of many a joke, but couldn't find a way, so joke away.) While they were roasting, I whisked together the oil and vinegar in a roughly 2:1 ratio and added a squirt of mustard and whisked again to incorporate. (If I'd had some whole grain mustard, I may have used that instead.) Once the asparagus was out of the oven, I drizzled it with the vinaigrette. So pleased was I that I ate the entire half bunch myself.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Being housebound should result in dissertation work but instead resulted in leafing through cookbooks. As usual, I was most attracted to the sweets. I've never made a pound cake (Gasp! A Southern girl who has never made a pound cake? Does such a person even exist?) and I had all the necessary ingredients, so I gave it a go. Still waiting for it now, but I can say that it smells heavenly and that the batter was sinfully delicious. Nice bit of irony there, huh?

Beef Stroganoff

Holy smokes: A blog entry from the long lost belle of Mass Confusion! Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's procrastination, but nonetheless, a post is born.

I figure that if I start writing about kitchen adventures, it might give me something to write about other than diapers, baby meals, unwritten dissertations, and gushy recaps of AGM's latest feats of greatness.

When I moved to Boston, I reconnected with an old friend from home who reminded me of everything I love about home, minus all things I don't so much love. Then, said friend abandoned me and moved to Portland, OR. Luckily she still shares great recipes with me. She sent me the link for this Beef Stroganoff recipe from Cooking Light.

There was no top round at my grocery store (And I've never been able to ask the butcher for something specific, despite how easy Ina Garten makes it look.), so I settled for beef round stew meat. The plus of this was that I didn't have to bother slicing it. Of course, I couldn't just get 1.0 lb of meat because there never are 1.0 lb packages. The package I settled for was 1.33 lb. Since I don't have a clue what a person does with a third of a pound of stew meat, I just chucked it all in. To compensate for the extra meat I added a bit extra broth (which I made from beef base rather than using a partial can) and a bit extra of each of the seasonings. The only other change I made was adding about 1/2 cup of red wine. Smelled divine all day. When it came time to turn it off and add the sour cream (which I upped a bit because of the extra liquid and meat), there was still a bit too much liquid for my liking (I presume this has to do with my last minute decision to add the wine.) To solve this problem I made a slurry of roughly 2 tbsp of cornstarch and some water. I transferred everything from the crock pot to a deep saute pan, brought it to a low boil, added the slurry, and let it bubble away for a bit (10ish min?) and thicken up. Worked like a charm!

As a side, I halved two roma tomatoes, drizzled with some olive oil, topped with a mixture of panko, parmesan, and herds, finished with a spritz of cooking spray (to help panko brown without adding any butter or oil), and popped in a 400 degree oven. Tops brown before tomatoes softened, so I just put a sheet of aluminum foil on top and finished baking. Not bad for just trying to get rid of odds and ends reaching the end of their shelf lives.

In the end, I lost the ever alluring one pot meal designation, but I was pretty well pleased with the outcome. Pretty perfect supper for a snowy, snowy day.