Kitchen Trials

My First Time Spatchcocking

Submitted by Katrina on Mon, 05/11/2012 - 8:15
Tags:chicken, Cooking, easy roast chicken, how to spatchcock, how to spatchcock a chicken, quick roast chicken, recipe, roast chicken, rosemany lemon chicken, spatchcock, spatchcock chicken

I had wanted to try spatchcocking a chicken for years, but I was too scared too. It seemed like it was everywhere though, on every cooking show I turned on, in ever magazine I bought. It was going to be so juicy, it was going to cook so much faster, it was going to be so easy to make.

Every other experience I have had in life with that many promising promises has led me to learn one thing though: too good to be true.

Although… this nagging thought kept poking though the back of my mind. There’s always an exception to every rule… Read more...
Southern Style Corn from the freezer

Submitted by Katrina on Mon, 01/10/2012 - 2:58
Tags:bacon, Cooking, corn, corn kernels, corn side, corn with bacon, frozen corn, recipe, sides, vegetables

Now, I don’t actually know if this is southern style corn. In fact, I would guess that it’s not. I just didn’t know what else to call this and southern sounded good (truth be told I was ok with bacon corn, but thought others might find it a little plain sounding…). Please don’t hate me southerners, I love you, I love your food, there are many days a month where I wish I could screw everything, pack up the family, and move to South Carolina. Hugs.

That’s exactly what it is though. Bacon quickly fried crisp, some frozen corn tossed in, then everything seasoned with some salt, pepper, and paprika. Read more...
The hunt for the perfect pizza

Submitted by Katrina on Thu, 13/09/2012 - 8:48
Tags:bacon crumble, best pizza sauce, Cooking, pizza, pizza dough, pizza hut copy cat, pizza hut sauce recipe, pizza sauce, pizzeria style bacon, recipe, ultimate pizza sauce

I’ve been trying for a few years now to figure out a way to make the perfect, pizzeria style pizza at home. I’m slowly getting closer. My first few dough’s were almost more focaccia like (not what I was looking for), and while this one is the closest yet to what I’m aiming for, it was a little sweeter than I wanted.

What I have perfected though: the sauce. Man oh man did I find the sauce (and it tastes almost exactly like Pizza Huts sauce). And that part is sooo easy. Read more...
Sweet Dinner Rolls or Burger Buns

Submitted by Katrina on Fri, 07/09/2012 - 8:27
Tags:bread, buns, burger buns, Cooking, honey buns, honey butter rolls, honey rolls, recipe, sandwhich buns, sandwich rolls, sweet rolls

I wasn’t really sure what to call these. I’m just starting to try to make different kinds of bread, and the ones that Bo really wanted me to figure out are the kind you get at Logan’s Roadhouse in the US. These did not turn out like those buns. What I have stumbled upon though is a fantastic burger and sandwich bun! Like, really fantastic. I’ve made them a few times now too, just to make sure that my screw up wasn’t a one off (it wasn’t, these are definitely dense like a burger bun and not light as air like those sweet rolls, a problem for another day). Read more...
Blueberry Cheesecake Tart with a Shortbread Crust

Submitted by Katrina on Tue, 28/08/2012 - 11:53
Tags:blueberries, blueberry cheesecake tart, blueberry tart, cheesecake tart, Cooking, fruit, fruit tart, recipe, shortbread, shortbread tart crust, tart

Blueberries are delicious. Even more so when they’re in season and fresh from the fields. The berries I used were not. They were on sale at the grocery store and that’s enough of a reason for me to try and do something fabulous with them. Farm ones just would have been even better.

This started because I felt like cheesecake, and shortbread cookies. I didn’t feel like making a cheesecake though, and I had blueberries. I also love making tarts, mainly because I love how pretty a tart shell looks (I have a lot of idiosyncrasies). Read more...
Steak au Poivre (steak in a cognac cream sauce) & Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Submitted by Katrina on Mon, 20/08/2012 - 10:28
Tags:cognac cream sauce, cognac sauce, Cooking, cream sauce for steak, cream steak, garlic mash, garlic mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, recipe, roasted garlic, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, steak, steak au provire, steak sauce

I got an email a few months ago telling me about the Courvoisier Collective Challange. Courvoisier Cognac was looking for people to create recipes using their cognac, and then post them up on their site. It’s open to culinary students, and home chefs, in Ontario.

This is why I’m going to beg and plead for your help at the beginning of this post, before the recipe (but only for the next 3 days). Pretty pretty please, with a cherry on top, can you go to this website and vote. If you liked my steak, by all means, click away for me. If you didn’t, that’s ok too, because there are tons of fabulous recipes there that I’m sure will wet your appetite. You don’t need to make an account or anything, just enter your birthday (they need to make sure you’re older than 19), and click on your favorite recipe. That’s it. Read more...
Apple Pie Inspired Muffins

Submitted by Katrina on Wed, 15/08/2012 - 8:42
Tags:apple muffins, apple pie muffins, breakfast, breakfast muffins, Cooking, healthy muffins, muffins, recipe

I find breakfast to be the hardest meal of the day to figure out. It can be tough to switch things up enough that the kids don’t get board, without just filling a bowl with sugary cereal (though I do that quite frequently as a snack before breakfast, so don’t think I’m preaching here). Muffins, I’ve decided, are going to become a go-to for me. Both kids love them, they last for a couple of days so I usually get two days of breakfast out of them without any complaints, and they’re really not that hard to make. Read more...
Goat Cheese Crisp and Potato Salad

Submitted by Katrina on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 1:09
Tags:Cooking, crispy goat cheese salad, goat cheese, lunch salad, recipes, salad, salad with cheese, salad with goat cheese

Now, I’m not often one to opt for salads. I’m trying to get healthier, but my big plan is really just to cut out pop, and start running on the elliptical (which is what I’m supposed to be doing now, but the kids went down for a nap really easily today, and I’m thinking I can knock out this post and join them for an hour, so maybe the salad post is on point today). You know what can make a salad a whole lot better though?

Cheese.

And not just any cheese. Goat Cheese, the soft loggy kind that I just can’t get enough of (it’s my favorite burger topping too). Read more...
Fillets of Sole Muenière

Submitted by Katrina on Tue, 24/07/2012 - 8:08
Tags:Cooking, fillets muniere, fish, JC100, julia child, quick and easy, recipe, sole, sole fillets, sole muniere

You wouldn’t really know it, but I’ve been taking part in the JC100. It’s a celebration of Julia Child where bloggers from all over the world have been cooking her classic and memorable dishes, in honor of what would have been her 100th Birthday. We all get one recipe delivered to us each week, to cook and share. Unfortunately, life has had a funny way of slowing me down lately, so while the JC100 is on week 12, I’m sharing the recipe from week 7.

But I just had to start here. Read more...
Grace’s Italian Chocolate Tart

Submitted by Katrina on Thu, 19/07/2012 - 9:01
Tags:chocolate, chocolate tart, Cooking, dessert, grace's chocolate tart, grace's cookbook, grace's sweet life, mascarpone cream, recipe, tart, tripple chocolate tart

I received a book in the mail a little while ago that I was really looking forward to. It was described to me as full of classic Italian recipes (already sounding like a no-brainer right?). There was another little catch though, these weren’t just Italian recipes, these were Italian dessert recipes.

Needless to say, I ran out as soon as I knew it was coming to buy some cannoli molds. I haven’t been brave enough to make those yet, but I keep the molds in my top kitchen drawer, so that they’ll taunt me every day until I actually do. Read more...