Three Free Thursday Part III: Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe:  Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers

Source: @Real_Simple

Link: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-and-gruyere-turnovers-00000000052482/index.html

I'm always looking for interesting ways to use up leftovers in creative weeknight meals, so @Real_Simple Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers seemed like an excellent way to use up leftover shredded chicken and partially consumed bags of frozen vegetables.  Also, puff pastry is delightful - whether homemade (which I'm slightly afraid to try) or frozen pre-made versions from Pepperidge Farms or others.  To see some gorgeous homemade puff pastry, check out this post from the inspiring Small Boston Kitchen who clearly mastered puff pastry day at culinary school : http://onceuponasmallbostonkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/02/thoughts-on-puff-pastry.html

Findings:

This @Real_Simple Chicken & Gruyere Turnovers recipe is simple as promised.   The preparation time was less than fifteen minutes (after the puff pastry had thawed for forty minutes) and cooking time was twenty-five minutes.  I wouldn't make this recipe regularly for a weeknight meal (too many saturated fats in puff pastry), but it is perfect for entertaining.  Make mini turnovers for guests or slice full-size turnovers into tasty slices (note: cutting puff pastry does cause it to fall and lose some of its' delightfull puffiness). The best way to make this recipe more interesting - explore new filling combinations (see Tips section for more filling ideas)!  I personally greatly enjoyed replacing the frozen peas with layers of fresh baby spinach.  Delicious!

Tips:

• Freeze prepped turnovers prior to baking if you don't plan on consuming all in one meal. Otherwise, only make a half batch of turnovers or thaw until room temperature and eat as a cold lunch- these do NOT reheat very well.
• Substitute turnover fillings - add fresh baby spinach instead of peas, add some carmalized onions or use a mix of grated cheeses. Go meatless by adding lots of spinach, chunks of canned artichoke hearts (rinse well first), other mild-flavored greens, sliced sweet potatoes and/or sauteed onions. Be creative - almost anything tastes good in puff pastry. ;-)

 Rating: 3 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part III: Brown Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Brown Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies

Source: @bonappetitmag http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/02/cocoa_brownies_with_browned_butter_and_walnuts

What was Betty Crocker thinking when she started making boxed brownie mixes??? Betty brought us her infamous cookbook (aptly titled "Betty Crocker's Cookbook") and followed it up with box after box of blasphemous 'baking mixes'.  Everything from cakes to cupcakes to brownies to cookies and then eventually into the frosting market. But why? Brownie recipes are simple things - eggs, cocoa, sugar, flour, butter, vanilla, salt, etc.  I will agree that some homemade brownies lack the gooey, chocoloate fudge intensity of their boxed brethren.  This recipe demolishes that concern - you can make homemade brownies so fudge-like and delicious that your friends and co-workers will insist they came out of a box. 



 Findings:


This Brown Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies recipe is sensational.  Clearly written and well detailed as are most Bon Appetit recipes. The final product is intensely rich flavor from the browned butter and hot melted sugar and cocoa.  The only problem with this recipe - it doesn't make more brownies! I suggest making multiple batches of these brownies.  You won't have a problem finding a home for them - my co-workers finished a batch in under 15 minutes... at 10 a.m. ;-) As an engineer, I work on a team of fifteen men and myself - they have no shame when it comes to inhaling baked goods. 

 

Tips:

Luscious batter!

• Be careful not to overcook.  The easiest way to destroy a great brownie recipe is to set your oven timer for 25 minutes and walk out of the kitchen.  Turn the pan halfway through baking time to ensure consist heat and test brownies with a toothpick at the 15 or 20 minute mark.  Best way to know when to toothpick test - the first appearance of surface cracking and color change.
• Never ever buy boxed brownie mix ever again. Seriously, pinkie swear!

Rating: 5 out of 5   

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part II: Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pasta w/ Butternut Squash & Sage

Source: @TestKitchen

Link: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=18099&Extcode=L1BN3CA00

It is bright, blue-skied afternoon as I prepare to cook up some new hearty pasta dishes featuring savory cheeses and winter vegetables. Despite local retail stores being stocked full of early spring/summer inventory like light pastel-colored cotton cardigans and even short shorts (gasp!), it is still winter in New England. While I may desire a brightly-colored trench coat, I still need that boring old wool coat.  It's still brutal out there and there are ten calendar days left until spring truly begins,  so let's send out the final winter root vegetables and hearty comfort foods out with a bang.  This Three Free Thursday, I'm making two pasta dishes - @TestKitchen Pasta w/ Butternut Squash & Sage and @Real_Simple Cheesy Baked Pasta with Spinach and Artichokes.

Findings:

This Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage  recipe is delicious and so rich in flavor that you don't need a big serving to feel satisfied. Sage is one of my favorite herbs - delicate, velvety leaves, but rich flavor and alluring aroma.This is a very fragrant dish that will infuse your kitchen with aromas so intoxicating that your neighbors are likely going to invite themselves over for dinner. 

Fresh sage leaves...velvety texture
with an intense fragrance.

You will need to adjust this recipe to obtain the required 2 Tbsp of bacon fat required to carmalize the butternut squash. Either double the amount of bacon (8 slices) or add 1 Tbsp of olive oil the pan prior to adding squash.  I believe you can never have too much bacon, but you be the judge.  Also a warning about cooking time - be careful that squash is completely tender before removing from heat.  In my experience, the recipe's timing suggestion was insufficient to produce consistent tenderness in the squash. Serve with nice dry white wine, a green salad and a crusty bread. 

Tip:  Many people dislike handling fresh butternut squash because of its tough peel and hand-staining flesh and seeds. Instead of substituting frozen squash, which can be watery and flavorless, use this technique to easily work with fresh butternut squash. First, cut off the top and bottom of the squash to create flat surfaces.  Stand squash up on a wooden cutting board and place palm atop the squash pressing it gently into the cutting board. Use a very sharp vegetable peeler and peel skin off in a downward motion away from you.  Using a paring knife, remove any leftover skin from the base of the squash that you missed.  Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds using a large spoon and then proceed to cut the butternut squash into 1/2-inch pieces using a large knife. See how easy that can be?

Sidebar: While sauteing the sage and bacon (see delicious photo above), the smell of cooking bacon made me crave breakfast food.  Something inside me kept screaming SAGE & BACON OMELET... so I think Sunday breakfast could be interesting this week - stay tuned!

Tips:

• To make this a vegetarian recipe, eliminate bacon and cook sage leaves in olive oil for 1-2 minutes to infuse flavor of sage into the cooking oil.
• Penne/ziti are boring! Mix it up with farfalle ("bowties") or campanelle (“bells”). Try using wheat or whole grain pastas to enhance the nutty flavor.  This dish would also go famously atop a bed of cheese tortellini.
Go for it - add a little extra Parmesan cheese and bacon to make the dish more savory.  There's loads of time until bathing suit season truly begins...
• Don't forget to toast the almonds. It's the little things in this recipe that add tremendous flavor and make this dish memorable.

Rating: 5 out of 5 

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part I: Cheesy Baked Pasta With Spinach and Artichokes

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Cheesy Baked Pasta With Spinach and Artichokes 

Source: @Real_Simple

Link: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cheesy-baked-pasta-spinach-artichoke-00000000031335/index.html

It is bright, blue-skied afternoon as I prepare to cook up some new hearty pasta dishes featuring savory cheeses and winter vegetables. Despite local retail stores being stocked full of early spring/summer inventory like light pastel-colored cotton cardigans and even short shorts (gasp!), it is still winter in New England. While I may desire a brightly-colored trench coat, I still need that boring old wool coat.  It's still brutal out there and there are ten calendar days left until spring truly begins,  so let's send out the final winter root vegetables and hearty comfort foods out with a bang.  This Three Free Thursday, I'm making two pasta dishes - @TestKitchen Pasta w/ Butternut Squash & Sage and @Real_Simple Cheesy Baked Pasta with Spinach and Artichokes.

Findings:
This @Real_Simple Cheesy Baked Pasta With Spinach and Artichokes recipe is simple as promised.  The entire cooking time was under twenty minutes much of which was completely hands off. I wouldn't make it for a dinner party, but this recipe does well as a quick weeknight meal. The dish is sinfully cheesy and an excellent way to get more nutrient-rich spinach into your diet during the bleakest part of the year.

The best way to make this recipe more interesting - explore new pasta shapes. Simple dishes are a great way to experiment with new pasta shapes and try out different thicknesses, lengths and styles of pasta. I'm constantly amazed by the number of different, crazy pasta shapes that are available and how adults react when child-like enthusiasm when presented with a dish containing an unusual pasta shape. Does anything beat watching adults enjoy a bowl of "wagon wheels"?   I read in the New York Times last December about an interesting new book called “The Geometry of Pasta” by Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/dining/29pasta.html I plan to obtain a copy of this interesting, new book soon and would love to review as part of this blog. 
   

Tips:

• Reheat slowly (either in a microwave on low power or in a warm oven)with a sliver of butter on top to avoid drying out the dish.
• Substitute fresh spinach and 1/4 cup of cream for frozen spinach if, like myself, you MUCH prefer fresh greens to the frozen variety.
• Add shredded chicken to make this a filling dish with a healthy source of protein hidden under all that luscious cheese.

Rating: 3 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part I of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part I: Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs with Edamame

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs

with Edamame

Source: @Real_Simple

Link:http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-teriyaki-meatballs-edamame-snow-peas-00000000006815/index.html

After the last Three Free Thursday adventure with "Pineapple-Ginger Rice with Edamame", I vowed that I would go back to basic recipes for awhile and simply help my readers find classic recipes to add to their overflowing recipe boxes.  However, after some helpful suggestions from @EatingtheWeek and reading this recipe for "Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs with Edamame", I felt I needed to try again.   

Anyone else think soba noodles
kind of look like brains?
Great Halloween dinner. ;-)

Findings:

The recipe is pretty basic and requires a bit of "re-engineering" - in particular adding different types of vegetables instead of just heaping three cups of snow peas into skillet/wok and incorporating different seasonings.  I tried @EatingtheWeek's brillant ideas - serving the dish over a bed of soba noodles and seasoning with red pepper flakes and/or brown sugar - in a few of my experiments. In the end, I settled on my favorite combination - mini meatballs atop a bed of soba noodles, adding a heaping serving of frozen stir fry vegetables in place of half of the snow peas, adding red pepper flakes and fresh ginger to a doubled amount of soy/brown sugar sauce and chilling overnight. 
After experimenting with this recipe, I did end up enjoying the final meal outcome.  It was particularly good as a cold dish for lunch the following day.  The flavors really deepened overnight and the soba noodles absorbed a bit of the sauce.  I'd suggest that everyone start with the basic recipe and my tips and then experiment with frozen vegetables to tailor the recipe to their taste. Let me know what combination works best for you and yours.

Tips: 

• Serve hot over white/brown long-grained rice or serve cold over soba noodles.
• Replace 1 1/2 cups of snow peas with 1 1/2 cups of frozen stir fry vegetables (thawed) and cook for 3-4 minutes before adding the sauce.
• Double the sauce recipe to better coat the rice (or soba noodles) and add stronger flavor to the dish.
• Make 32 mini meatballs instead of 16 larger meatballs to minimize cooking time.   
• Spice it up! Add a small pinch of red pepper flakes or 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger to soy sauce/brown sugar sauce prior to reduction.

Rating: 3 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part I of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part II: Tuscan Kale with Pine Nuts & Golden Raisins

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Tuscan Kale with Pine Nuts & Golden Raisins

Attack of the killer kale!

Source: @Sur_La_Table
Link: http://ht.ly/3Sxyp

People tend to have very strong opinions about kale.  They either shudder at the thought of this slightly bitter, nutrient-filled leafy green or delight in its chameleon-like ability to blend seamlessly into many dishes from savory soups to hearty side dishes.  I knew that some of my readers would skip this blog entry about healthy kale and move directly on to the double chocolate chips cookies - that's fair.  Still, I grew up on kale and it holds a special place in my heart as my Portuguese paternal grandmother's incredible cooking once featured a thick, flavorful kale soup.  The Portuguese are renowned for their kale soup recipes - a mix of kale, potatoes, beans and chourico (Portuguese sausage) - and a winter month never passes without my mother or I crafting a tasty Portuguese Kale Soup for the entire family.

Surprisingly, in my decades of experience with kale, I'd never tried Tuscan kale.  A flat-leafed kale that resembles collards, Tuscan kale is slightly more expensive than traditional curly green and red kale and more difficult to find in standard grocery stores.  I tried this recipe with both Tuscan kale and a mix of curly green/red kale.  The results were rather similar, however the mix of curly green/red kale was much more attractive when plated.  Feel free to substitute any type of kale available at your local grocery store or farmers market into this recipe.

Findings:

Go easy on the garlic! My one complaint with this recipe was the three full cloves of garlic minced and incorporated into this side dish were a bit overwhelming.  To limit the intense garlicky flavor in this side dish, don't add minced garlic.  Instead, crush garlic cloves and toss them into the oil for 1-2 minutes to infuse the oil with garlic flavor.  Remove cloves prior to adding the kale and you'll enjoy the essence of garlic without  the intense after-taste of garlic and ensuing dragon breath.

Once you tone down the garlic, this is a delicious and healthy side dish.  The raisins add a surprising sweet note amidst the slightly bitter garlicky kale and the pine nuts add a nice crunch.  If you are allergic to or severely opposed to pine nuts, omit them or substitute other nuts (like toasted walnuts or pecans).  This side dish works well topped by a simple chicken or pork entree and is an excellent way to get your vitamins in the depths of a dark, cold winter. Enjoy!

Tips: 

• Mix up varieties of kale - curly green and red kale mix is readily available, less expensive and more visually appealing than Tuscan kale.
• Serve immediately - leafy green side dishes wilt and compact quickly as they cool down. 
• Replace golden raisins with dried cranberries for a new twist on this side dish.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part II of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part III: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers!   To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: @Real_Simple
Link:http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/double-chocolate-chip-cookies-10000001046904/index.html

The best way to describe these Double Chocolate Chip Cookies is to say that they are "the cookies".  These are "the cookies" for when you finally realize that "he's just not that into you".  These are "the cookies" for when your lifelong rival gets married/promoted/pregnant before you. These are "the cookies" for a hot Friday night of Lifetime television movies and sweatpants.  Oh yeah, and I guess boyfriends, best friends and co-workers would like these cookies too (if there were any left to share).

I randomly ended up testing this recipe late on a rainy Friday night when friends and I had finally admitted to ourselves that we were not venturing out in the storm to seek Boston nightlife. Instead, I pulled out my mixing bowl and whipped up these treats as we snarkly discussed former classmates and planned a friend's imaginary wedding - good times.  This Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is simple (nice work @Real_Simple), but delicious.  The cookies were quickly and neatly in the oven in mere minutes and engulfed my cozy apartment with warm melting chocolate aromas. I'd say the worst part of this recipe was waiting for the cookies to completely cool... but who would ever do something insane like that?

*** Apologies for the blurry photo - these cookies were disappearing too quickly to get good photo quality.  Think of it as live action shot of deliciousness flying off the plate and into my friends' mouths.

Findings:

This Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is sensational. The real question regarding this recipe is... why would anyone ever stop at "double chocolate chips" when there are so many other scrumptious chips available to the modern baker? This recipe calls only for semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips.  Two very fine options in baking chips, but certainly not the far limits of the baking chip galaxy. Toss in some white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or even novelty chips like rainbow chips to take these cookies to another level of decadence.

Fortunately, I had lots of willing taste testers or I would have eaten the full batch of cookies myself.  Taste testers described these cookies as "orgasmic", "the best thing that happened to me this winter" and a other few unmentionable raves and noises as they inhaled the full batch of "Triple" Chocolate Chip cookies containing semisweet/milk/white chocolate chips in under 30 minutes.

Tips:

• Go wild! Add lots of different chocolates! Experiment with various mixes of semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or even novelty chips like rainbow chips.
• Make a double batch - your friends will thank you and describe you to everyone they meet on the streets of Boston as the best baker ever! Seriously, your friends will purchase MBTA ads to share their appreciation of your baking skills with their fellow passengers on the Red Line. (For my readers outside of Beantown, this is a good thing... well except for the riding the subway part... just kidding... mostly). 

Rating: 5 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part III: Homemade Donuts

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the second entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Homemade Donuts
Source: @SeriousEats
Link: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1epWL1/www.seriouseats.com/2011/01/how-to-make-the-easiest-doughnuts-donuts-from-pillsbury-biscuits-homemade.html

Girl walks into Grocery Store with five dollars.  Girl walks out of Grocery Store... with five dollars. Girl walks into Grocery Store #2... with five dollars.  Girl walks out of Grocery Store #2... with five dollars.  Girl walks into Grocery Store #3 with five dollars... Girl... well I think you see where this is going...

In the end, I tried four major grocery stores and four convenience stores/local markets and never found pre-made biscuit dough.  Amazed? So am I! Where has all the pre-made biscuit dough gone? I found tubes of cookie dough in chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, sugar, butter, oatmeal chip and more.  I found pre-made brownie dough, pre-made cookie pie dough, pre-made croissant dough and pre-made cinnamon roll dough.  I never found pre-made biscuit dough.  Throughout the week, my quest for pre-made biscuit dough began to grow as an urban kitchen legend.  Co-workers and friends inquired and joked about my epic quest.  Some even tried to help me find the elusive biscuit dough, but by Three Free Thursday, there was still no pre-made biscuit dough.

Feeling like a blogging failure, I struggled to figure out how to make these "simple" donuts without pre-made biscuit dough.  Ultimately, the RecipEngineer got back in her car and drove back to Grocery Store #8... and bought the pre-made cinnamon roll dough.  Below are my findings:

Findings:

Well obviously, as carnivals world-wide know, you can fry any dough. Using pre-made cinnamon roll dough has its' pros and cons. 

Pros: No buttermilk taste - although I was never able to test the pre-made biscuit dough, I had serious reservations about donuts made with buttermilk dough. The cinnamon roll dough is nicely speckled with pockets of cinnamon. Cinnamon roll dough also comes with pre-made icing, which is a perfect glaze (if applied while donuts are hot) or frosting (if applied after donuts cool).

Cons: The cinnamon topping on each pre-made cinnamon roll immediately falls off in the hot oil and causes the oil and thus the donuts to darken significantly.  Donuts resembled cider donuts more than golden-colored old-fashioned donuts.  If you want golden-colored donuts, be sure to chip off cinnamon topping prior to adding donuts to the hot oil.

Overall, these donuts were tasty and ridiculously quick to prepare.  I tried out the recipes for plain and chocolate glaze, which were a little misleading.  You'll want to add the confectioner's sugar slowly to control thickness of the glaze - if you prepare the glaze per the recipe instructions, it is too intensely thick and overly sweet. The best topping for these donuts - a simple mix of granulated sugar and cinnamon.  I'd consider making these donuts for a quick, sweet breakfast treat for myself or a casual group of friends. However, if you were throwing a more organized brunch, I'd skip these recipe and just pick up donuts from your favorite bakery.  No one wants their kitchen smelling of leftover vegetable oil during an elegant brunch.

Tips:

• Don't agonize over finding the perfect 1" cookie cutter to cut donut holes. A sharp paring knife works just fine to cut donut holes.  Fix any irregularly-shaped holes by hand.
• Be careful not to leave donuts in the hot oil for more than 2 minutes (or 1 minute for donut holes). They tend to overcook very quickly.

Rating: 3 out of 5  

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part II: Pineapple-Ginger Rice with Edamame

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the second entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pineapple-Ginger Rice with Edamame
Source: @WholeFoods

Link: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2679

Let me start by saying, "miso" disappointed.  Sorry - I really couldn't help myself.  Honestly, this recipe truly let me down.  I love pineapple and ginger and edamame, so it seemed impossible that combining these tasty ingredients wouldn't create a perfect side dish (or meal by adding chicken or tofu). Things began well enough as I chopped and measured ingredients and the warm aroma of ginger engulfed my kitchen.  As I added the miso to the simmering vegetable broth and ginger, I immediately realized that there was scarcely enough liquid in my pan. For the 4 cups of brown rice listed in the recipe, less than a cup off liquid was not going to be enough to coat the rice in miso/ginger taste.   Proportions were a significant issue throughout this recipe.

Pineapple also turned out to be a dilemma for this cook.  My local grocery store (not be named, but it  "might" be listed somewhere in this blog entry) tried to charge me $5.99 for a single, scrawny pineapple.  While I am all for free trade, a five dollar mark-up from other vendors this week seems outrageous.  Since pineapple costs can be an issue throughout the year, I tried the rice with both canned and (a less expensive)fresh pineapple to determine if canned pineapple was a suitable alternative.  Surprisingly, the canned pineapple performed significantly better than the fresh fruit.  The consistency of the texture and sweetness of the canned pineapple works well in this recipe.

Attack of the killer edamame!

 Findings:

This recipe is better in concept than in execution.  The combination of flavors seems perfect, but the outcome of the dish was seriously lacking.  Within minutes of serving, the pineapple juice leached into nearby rice creating a soggy contrast between sweet and savory.  The flavor of the ginger and miso was barely present in the rest of the pre-cooked rice. Edamame overwhelmed the dish as the recipe called for two cups of edamame to pair with the four cups of brown rice. Without added salt, edamame tends to have a bland taste, so they added very little to the flavor of the dish. This dish also re-heated poorly with the rice clumping together and the edamame shriveling up during reheating.

Tips:

• Feel free to use canned pineapple instead of fresh pineapple if necessary.

• Cook brown rice in the boiling ginger-miso vegetable broth liquid to infuse rice with flavor.

• Don't mix ingredients ahead of time - assemble quickly and serve immediately to avoid pineapple juice from oversweetening rice.

• To serve as a main dish, add a healthy serving of grilled tofu or shredded chicken.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part II of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part I: 30-Minute Meatloaf

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the second entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  To recap the process, on the first Thursday, I select three free recipes from sources on Twitter.  On the following Thursday, I report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home. Enjoy!

Recipe: 30-Minute Meatloaf
Source: @TestKitchen
Link: http://www.cookscountry.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=3658&bdc=43896

I hate meatloaf. Wow - it feels really good to get that off my chest after decades of suppressing my disgust towards these dry bricks of ground meat masquerading themselves as comfort food.   A meatloaf is either a perfect Stepford-like square loaf that cuts in solid, tasteless slices or an uneven humped hot mess with bits of aluminum foil clinging to its burnt bottom bits. And a meatloaf doesn't last just one meal.  Meatloaf lives on for days as hot, dry leftovers and disgustingly solid cold sandwiches.  Meatloaf may be the worst thing that ever happened to sliced bread. I hate meatloaf.

So why make meatloaf for Three Free Thursday?  First, I aspire for Three Free Thursday blog entries to shake all of us (myself included) out of our usual cooking and eating ruts. Also, I trust @TestKitchen and appreciate their thorough means and methods of recipe testing and recipe writing.  Mainly, it was the challenge of "30-Minute Meatloaf".  I have a love/hate relationship with simplified recipes.  Simplified recipes tend to over-simplify by severely limiting ingredients and minimizing important cooking steps. I personally love dicing and peeling vegetables, using fresh herbs and slowly roasting meats. 

Armed with a hatred of meatloaf and wariness of simplified recipes, I put this recipe to the test.  After a full day of work, followed by an hour of GroupPower gym lifting class, I arrived at my kitchen counter with tired, achy muscles and a cranky attitude. The perfect remedy for my maladies - crushing Saltines.  While others might efficiently pulse the crackers in a food processor, I prefer to crush the Saltines by hand.  The best therapy is watching weak crackers cower in a little, clear sandwich bag while I repeatedly pound them into crumbs.

Findings:

The 30-Minute Meatloaf was the perfect weeknight comfort food.  Every step of the recipe looks and smells delicious.  The meatloaf mix included the usual suspects - fragrant fresh parsley and savory Worcestershire sauce - but utilize garlic and onion powders to speed up the prep work. You honestly won't notice the lack of onions or minced garlic at all.  The recipe produces four hearty meal servings, which is perfect so that you aren't saddled with tons of leftovers.  Great "prep ahead" instructions in the recipe suggest completing the recipe up to forming the loaves and then wrapping up the loaves tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight and then thaw for 20 minutes before adding to the skillet.

Added bonus, I completed the recipe in just over 30 minutes (and that includes a "few" wine and Tweet breaks).  Serve with mashed sweet potatoes & steamed green vegetable for a  tasty, nutrient-rich meal. Turns out, I'm a "30-Minute Meatloaf" believer! Thanks @TestKitchen.

Tips:

• Take the time to form the loaves well.  You want consistent cooking and good cohesion when handling the loaves.
• Transfer loaves for skillet to broiler plate VERY carefully to avoid breaking up loaves.
• Save the extra glaze for leftovers.  It is delicious - a sweet alternative to boring ketchup.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part I of this week's Three Free Thursday! Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com

Three Free Thursday Part III: Spicy Meatballs w/ Fragrant Tomato Sauce

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the first entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  On the first Thursday, I will be selecting three free recipes from sources like @RealSimpleFood, @TestKitchen, @WholeFoods, @SeriousEats, @FineCooking and many more recipe outlets on Twitter. Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com . On the following Thursday, I'll report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home.  Also I'll try to add helpful suggestions of ways to improve the recipes and/or tips to avoid my pitfalls re-creating these recipes.  Here is Part III of the first ever "Three Free Thursday Results" blog entry.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Spicy Meatballs w/ Fragrant Tomato Sauce

Source: @FineCooking

Link: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/spicy-meatballs-tomato-sauce.aspx

The final Three Free Thursday recipe was predictably made as a last-minute cooking assignment for this blog on a weeknight after a long day of work.  Fortunately, it turned out to be relatively easy recipe for meatballs made in a single skillet for quick cleanup.

The recipe for Savory Meatballs with Fragrant Tomato Sauce reads like a typical chili recipe with cumin, cayenne pepper and cilantro all in the mix. The cilantro, in particular, is a nice deviation from the usual parsley element in traditional meatballs. These meatballs also require no egg to bind them together.  Instead, the recipe uses a paste of bread crumbs and milk to adhere the small meatballs.  Therefore, it is vital to handle these meatballs carefully. A few crumbled meatballs early on cemented the need to avoid jostling them when adding meatballs into the skillet for me.  The meatballs cooked up perfectly as they absorbed the sauce and maintained their moisture.  Many homemade meatballs are over-cooked due to extended bake time in the oven followed by additional stove top re-heating time, but the leftover meatballs re-heated well and the leftover sauce thickened nicely.

Normally, I am a traditionalist when it comes to meatballs.  In my opinion, they belong "on top of spaghetti ... all covered with cheese".  However, I decided to give the recipe's suggestion to serve the meatballs over rice or couscous a fair shot.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the meatballs and sauce were perfect over a long-grained brown rice.  The rice soaked up the spicy sauce well and invoked the same comfort food-level of a stuffed pepper dish.

In future iterations of this recipe, I would certainly also experiment with ground turkey, ground chicken and/or the typical meatball mix of ground pork, ground veal and ground beef. I was also struck by the idea of making mini meatloaves from this meatball recipe.  Alas, my procrastination left me with inadequate time to also test a meatloaf recipe for this blog.  Expect future blog updates on this recipe's meatloaf possibilities. 

Findings:

Spicy Meatballs w/ Fragrant Tomato Sauce

The Spicy Meatballs and Fragrant Tomato Sauce was the ideal winter comfort food - perfectly hearty and savory.  Using cumin and cayenne pepper in the meatball recipes gives the dish just enough spice without offending mild taste buds. The Fragrant Tomato Sauce was delicious and truly fragrant, but there wasn't enough sauce to adequate serve with all of the meatballs. Double the sauce recipe and consider adding more chopped onions and/or bell peppers to give the sauce more dimension.


Tips:

• If you do not use fresh bread crumbs to make these meatballs, add an extra tablespoon of milk to soften packaged bread crumbs into the desired paste consistency.
• Double the recipe for the tomato sauce. Remove half of tomato sauce to a saucepan over low heat prior to adding meatballs to the skillet.
• Serve meatballs over rice, couscous or wide egg noodles.
• Freeze meatballs in tomato sauce in air-tight containers for up to three months.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part III of this week's Three Free Thursday! Send your recipe suggestions for the next Three Free Thursday by Wednesday, February 2nd.

Follow me on Twitter @RecipEngineer

Three Free Thursday Part II: Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the first entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  On the first Thursday, I will be selecting three free recipes from sources like @RealSimpleFood, @TestKitchen, @WholeFoods, @SeriousEats, @FineCooking and many more recipe outlets on Twitter. Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com . On the following Thursday, I'll report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home.  Also I'll try to add helpful suggestions of ways to improve the recipes and/or tips to avoid my pitfalls re-creating these recipes.  Here is Part II of the first ever "Three Free Thursday Results" blog entry.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Source: @SeriousEats (requested by @eatingtheweek)

Link: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/01/chocolate-garbanzo-bean-cake-recipe.html

When @eatingtheweek suggested testing the recipe for Chocolate Chickpea Cake, I was both intrigued and terrified.  What kind of person puts chickpeas in a chocolate cake? Would it have a gritty texture? Would a rogue chickpea escape the blender and reveal itself whole when the cake was cut?  Should I have agreed to such a challenge for my first Three Free Thursday blog entry? Will any of my readers trust me again if I actually endorse a chocolate cake made with chickpeas? What have I gotten myself into...



OMC - Oh My Chickpeas!



This recipe requires a blender, a food processor or an immersion blender to puree the chickpeas into the batter.  Using my immersion blender, I agonized over the proper amount of pureeing required to avoid any recognizable chickpea chunks.   Fortunately, the recipe clearly indicates the timing required for each step and I easily prepared the batter without under- or over-blending. The recipe instructs the baker to grease and flour a loaf pan, but surprisingly adds a third step to the traditional process.  After flouring the pan with all-purpose flour, "flour" the pan again with cocoa.  This brillant suggestion prevents the final cake product from having messy white flour streaks and instead leaves the cake with an appealing cocoa dusting.

The entire preparation of this cake batter took less than 15 minutes. It baked for slightly less than hour in a 350* oven and filled my tiny apartment with the delicious aroma of a traditional chocolate cake. The final product was a dense, intensely chocolatey cake with no trace of chickpea flavor or texture. For some taste testers, the chocolate flavor was too intense, but for a chocoholic like myself, it just required an extra-large glass of milk. The inclusion of high fiber, nutrient-filled chickpeas in the batter also gave me the allusion of eating a healthy snack and I admittedly ate it for breakfast the following day.

The recipe suggests sprinkling the cake with confectioners sugar when the cake has cooled completely.  I also experimented with dusting the cake in both cinnamon and cocoa. The perfect combination - an equal mix of confectioners sugar and cinnamon - adds nice contrast to the dense chocolate flavor of the cake.  Fresh whipped cream or a scoop of coffee or vanilla ice cream also pairs nice with this tasty cake.  A final suggestion from the recipe is to refrigerate the cake and re-serve toasted and slathered with butter.  Despite the intense guilt associated with buttering a piece of chocolate cake, it was absolutely delicious and soon I was embracing my inner-Paula Deen. I even confess to spreading raspberry preserves on a slice... or two.

Findings:

This cake is a delightful surprise. I recommend this recipe to everyone to try at least once for its sheer novelty and for the wonderfully baffled looks of family and friends when you attempt to feed them Chocolate Chickpea Cake.  How often do you get such entertainment from a standard cake recipe? You will be hard-pressed to find a taste tester that can blindly identify chickpeas as an ingredient in this cake.  The chickpeas keep the cake moist despite its density and it stores well in the refrigerator. However, it has a short shelf life (maximum three days refrigerated) before the cake's moisture overwhelms it leaving the cake overly dense and gritty. Best to share this cake with lots of friends and family as soon as it cools and save only a piece or two for breakfast the following day.

Tips:

• 

  Chocolate Chickpea Cake!

  Check baking cake with knife or cake tester after approximately 45 minutes baking or when you see cracks in cake start to deepen and widen. 
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.
• Toast lightly to warm cake and serve with a little bit of butter and/or raspberry preserves. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part II of this week's Three Free Thursday! Send your recipe suggestions for the next Three Free Thursday by Wednesday, February 2nd.

Follow me on Twitter @RecipEngineer

Three Free Thursday Part I: Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup

Happy Three Free Thursday, Blog Readers! This is the first entry of my new biweekly "Three Free Thursday" blog entries.  On the first Thursday, I will be selecting three free recipes from sources like @RealSimpleFood, @TestKitchen, @WholeFoods, @SeriousEats, @FineCooking and many more recipe outlets on Twitter. Feel free to send in recipe suggestions for Three Free Thursday on Twitter to @RecipEngineer or by e-mail RecipEngineer@gmail.com . On the following Thursday, I'll report back via blog entry the full results of my adventures in the kitchen and let you know if you should try these recipes at home.  Also I'll try to add helpful suggestions of ways to improve the recipes and/or tips to avoid my pitfalls re-creating these recipes.  Here is Part I of the first ever "Three Free Thursday Results" blog entry.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup

Source: @RealSimpleFood

Link: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-carrot-parsnip-soup-10000001664946/index.html



Carrots and parsnips and onions! Oh my!

 When I selected this Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup recipe to test, I was excited by the inclusion of parsnips, a root vegetable that I don't cook with regularly. Parsnips are trendy this year with chefs incorporating parsnips in mashed potatoes, roasting parsnips along with the usual winter root vegetables and being fried up as the alternative to french fries. With the spotlight on parsnips, I expected to find gorgeous plump parsnips in every grocery store.  In reality, I went to three grocery stores and finally settled on under-sized mediocre organic parsnips from my local Whole Foods. It was not a promising start to this cooking adventure.

I returned to my kitchen, unimpressive parsnips and a fresh whole-wheat baguette in hand, gathered my other ingredients from the refrigerator and reviewed the recipe. My immediate reaction was to double the recipe.  It goes against everything my stockpot and I believe in to make soup for only four servings.  This soup freezes well, so it's worth making the double batch and freezing any leftovers.  Prepping the vegetables for a double batch took me approximately 15 minutes and while they were roasting in the oven, I set up the olive oil toasts that the recipe recommends for serving with the soup.

Once the vegetables have roasted for approximately 45 minutes, the recipe requires either a blender, food processor or an immersion blender to puree the roasted carrots, parsnips & onions.  I would recommend purchasing an immersion blender to anyone who makes pureed soups (or whipped cream, mixed drinks or smoothies) on a regular basis.  Immersion blenders are relatively affordable and are perfect for pureeing soups because you can simply take the hot soup off the stove top and puree in your stockpot.  No need to cool soup to room temperature or work in messy batches in a blender or food processor.  Also, I find that my immersion blender allows me to better control the consistency of the final product. When blending this soup, you can adjust the amount of water (or cream/milk) that you add to control the thickness of the soup.  I preferred the soup a little thicker, so that you could eat it off the olive oil toasts.

Surprisingly, the recipe doesn't call for cream or milk. In most pureed soups, cream or whole milk is used to keep the soup from separating and add nice creaminess to the final product. Within ten minutes of cooling, the soup made per the recipe separated and carrot-colored liquid began pooling atop my soup. I re-heated the soup over low heat and stirred in 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1 Tbsp of butter to bring the soup together.  My taste tester and I agreed that adding dairy fats to the soup made a HUGE difference in the final product. While obviously less healthy, the soup did not separate during cooling and was significantly tastier and more visually appealing. Adding cream (or milk) also combated the sweetness of the dish and made it more filling.

Garnish with parsley and a healthy sprinkle of nutmeg.  Quick sidebar -grating whole nutmeg fresh is absolutely worth the effort. It's affordable, available and significantly better tasting and nicer looking than any sprinkle from a standard jar of nutmeg.  Look for whole nutmeg at spice stores, such as Penzey's Spice (my personal favorite spice store - a local store in Arlington, MA and a catalog, containing tasty recipes, which can be requested at http://www.penzeys.com/).

Findings:



Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup



This soup has rich color and would be a beautiful starter for any winter meal. However, its natural sweetness can be a little overwhelming.  Adding a bit of cream or butter helps to temper the sweetness of the dish and keep it from separating as it cools. Garnish with nutmeg and olive oil toasts or croutons for a lovely presentation.  The soup stores well in the refrigerator or freezer, so you can easily prep this soup in advance and simply re-heat for dinner guests while baking the olive oil toasts fresh. 

Tips:

• Add cream and/or butter to the recipe to keep soup from separating and add creaminess.
• Freeze leftover soup for up to three months in air-tight container or in quart-sized freezer bags for individual portions.
• Re-heat over low heat and add a small amount of cream or milk and/or a tablespoon of butter to keep soup from separating. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Thanks for reading Part I of this week's Three Free Thursday! Send your recipe suggestions for the next Three Free Thursday by Wednesday, February 2nd.

Follow me on Twitter @RecipEngineer