The Cookbook Challenge

I finally found a loophole for posting about cooking on my blog- cookbooks. I get a little jealous reading everyone's food and fitness blogs- I've worked in running, and now I figured out a way to bring in some food. Since I was off this week and had the time to put in effort every night, I decided that each of the five meals I made would be from a book. The results:

Sunday



Book: Spike Mendelsohn's The Good Stuff Cookbook
Meal: Sunny Side Up Burger- turkey burger, lettuce, tomatoes, "special sauce" and a fried egg; Sweet Potato Oven Fries- sea salt, brown sugar and olive oil
Improvising: Used turkey burgers instead of sirloin, gave my husband the bacon and two patties (his is pictured, mine was much more boring)
Verdict: This was the first time I'd ever taken the plunge and put an egg on my burger- not so bad! I really like the "fries"- oven baked is so much healthier.

Monday

















Book:Witchcraft by Tom Colicchio
Meal: Turkey Avocado Bacon Caramelized Onions Sandwich and hummus deviled eggs (my own recipe that needs to be tweaked a little)
Improvising: Used 1/2 chicken breast for each sandwich instead of turkey and ended up adding a tiny bit of mayo to the deviled eggs for texture purposes. No bacon on my sandwich, of course.
Verdict: I go back and forth on ciabatta bread; sometimes it's just a little too much for me; this was one of those times. The caramelized onions in the balsamic vinegar were excellent.

Tuesday

















Book: Food Network Favorites
Meal: Southwestern Salad and leftover ciabatta bread with oil and balsamic vinegar
Improvising: The recipe called for steak, which I omitted completely.
Verdict: The salad dressing sauce was a little spicy for my wimpy white-girl standards- next time I would probably halve the amount of chipotle sauce that went into it.


Wednesday

















The books: Michael Mina: The Cookbook, Eat This Not That, and The Athlete's Pallet
The meal: Creme Fraiche Potatoes, Bruschetta, Barley Risotto
Improvising: I didn't buy tarragon for the potatoes, so I left that out. I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to the bruschetta in order to give it some additional acidity.
Verdict: I really, really loved the potatoes (I always feel so fancy making creme fraiche), while my husband was a fan of the risotto. I have made bruschetta a million times before, but it's been awhile so I used this book for proportions. I really like making a few appetizers for dinner once in awhile.

Thursday
















Book: The Athlete's Palate and The Pasta Cookbook (for the pasta dough)
Meal: Fettuccine Paolo (homemade noodles) and garlic bread (cheated with store bought)
Improvising: I didn't use red peppers because I hate them and was too cheap to buy sun-dried tomatoes so I used fresh ones instead.
Verdict: Making noodles from scratch, even with a pasta maker, is a humbling experience for even those that think they know their way around a kitchen. I've finally gotten better, but my attempts at raviolis when I first got it were mortifying. But, no matter, what they taste so much better than the store bought ones (better texture too).

A few notes about cooking, cookbooks, and meal planning (if you care):
- I have an extremely flexible husband; he'll eat anything but quiche. He's even willing to try things he thought he hated, like spaghetti.
- I refuse to cook something two weeks in a row, and I try to only make the same thing once or twice a month. I get bored eating the same things and cooking them! Variety is the spice of life.
- I don't eat pork and have almost eliminated red meat from my diet (my husband is fine with this, but does like bacon). I generally cook chicken once or twice a week (this week I used it three times) and have been working on incorporating other protein sources into my meals, mainly through eggs and beans. This week eggs snuck in a few times more than normal, but it's the only time we eat them.
- I generally cook five nights a week; on Fridays we grab something quick (or he does if I'm happy houring) and on Saturdays we go out with friends or together. While I'm working, one or two meals are semi-labor intensive, one is usually super-quick (yoga nights) and the other two somewhere in between. I try to stay away from pre-made entrees, frozen meals, or packaged ("just add water") kind of food.
- We spend between $60 to $90 on food a week, which includes what's needed for other meals and snacks (not including the two nights we eat out). I sit down and plan out meals Sunday and then go shopping with my list.
- I try to balance out the healthy meals with the more savory, calorie heavy ones. Macaroni and cheese one night means salad another.
- I try really hard to halve recipes since there are just two of us and to use ingredients in more than one recipe (example- I needed ciabatta bread for one thing, so I used it as a side the next night). Wasted food means wasted money.
- I improvise like a mo-fo. This week pasta called for a few teaspoons of sun-dried tomatoes, which are about $5 a jar. Instead I used much cheaper fresh ones. There are some weeks I'd splurge on it, but this week I had to buy olive oil and a few pricey dairy items (buttermilk, feta, etc...). I also improvise when it comes to measuring; cookbooks are guidelines (unless you're baking then precision is crucial).
- I try to make one new recipe a week, whether it's from a book or online

I'd love to say next up is a dessert a day cookbook challenge, but bathing suit season is looming (even thought it feel like beach weather in Socal right now).