August 2016 – Page 3 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 8, 2016July 27, 2020al dente, all-purpose flour, basil, boiled, butter, chicken, chicken broth, chives, chopped, cooked chicken, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, grated, herbs and spices, Italian parsley, lemons, lunch, melted, pasta/noodles, roux, salt, sour cream, untested, yellow mustard, zested

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken sounds like a recipe my mom or I would have attempted back in the days we were cooking out of this book–it’s possible we did and never marked the card. Both of us were suckers for dishes just like this. ?

I probably would have made this recipe earlier if curly pasta was easier to come by–I wanted to find just the right shape for this dish. I have a fascination with different pasta shapes. ?

4/13/19 EDIT: Speaking of pasta shapes, take a look at the cover photo for the very similar 12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken and the one above. Notice anything strange?

11-7: Grilled Red Snapper

Adam Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses August 7, 2016October 27, 2020Asian, barbecue, broiled, cast-iron, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, fish, fish bouillon, fish filets, fish stock, granulated sugar, green onions, grill pan, grilled, herbs and spices, Indonesian, leeks, lemon juice, lunch, marinated, olive oil, red snapper, red wine, rockfish, sambal paste, seafood, soy sauce, thyme, untested

Although I thoroughly enjoy eating fish, I don’t have a ton of experience in cooking fish. My father used to grill large-mouth bass that we caught on our summer fishing trips. This recipe, 11-7: Grilled Red Snapper definitely took me back to those times. ?

The recipe calls for Red Snapper, but I used the same technique with some Pacific Rockfish that we had on hand.

13-6: Mushroom Stroganoff

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses August 6, 2016July 29, 2020black pepper, boiled, butter, creamy, cubed, Dijon mustard, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, mushrooms, parsley, potatoes, rice, Russian, salt, sautéed, simmered, sliced, sour cream, stroganoff, thyme, tomato paste, tomato sauce, untested, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

When you think “stroganoff”, you usually conjure up images of a dish with beef (or ground turkey, if you grew up in my house). Simply Delicious does have a beef version (8-12: Beef Stroganoff), but they also have a vegetarian version–13-6: Mushroom Stroganoff.

My picture and their picture look very different–I think mine looks more like stroganoff than theirs does, though. Maybe they didn’t think it photographed well?

4-7: Mixed Vegetable Bake

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 5, 2016October 4, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, baked goods, black pepper, breakfast, butter, carrots, cheese, chopped, cottage cheese, cream cheese, creamy, diced, dill, dinner, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, frittata, garlic, grated, herbs and spices, lemon juice, lunch, minced, Parmesan, parsley, salt, sautéed, side dish, springform pan, tart pan, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, zucchini

4-7: Mixed Vegetable Bake is yet another boring vegetable dish. ? ? ? There wasn’t an emoji for the vegetables used in this dish, but it was such a bland dish that even the text needs a little excitement with some added emojis! ?

This onion is about the most flavorful part of this combination behind the cheese. The vegetables add a lot of color, but not a lot of flavor.

8-12: Beef Stroganoff

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses August 4, 2016July 2, 2020beef, black pepper, butter, chopped, creamy, Dijon mustard, dinner, fairly easy, fairly expensive, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, ground turkey, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, mushrooms, paprika, parsley, rice, Russian, salt, sautéed, simmered, sirloin, sliced, sour cream, stroganoff, tomato paste, tomato sauce, untested, vegetables, vodka, whipping cream, yellow onions

Stroganoff was a VERY common dish in my house when I was growing up. Since this was the 90s (low-fat everything), it was usually made with plain ground turkey, powdered mix from a packet, and some light sour cream (which is essentially tasteless mush–real sour cream was a revelation when I got older). It got to the point where I couldn’t even stand the smell of stroganoff because my mom made this dish so often.

Time has passed, and stroganoff & I have had a reconciliation. I make it about once every other month now for work, but from scratch and not with packet mix (but still using ground turkey since it’s leaner). Simply Delicious has two stroganoff recipes: 13-6: Mushroom Stroganoff (a vegetarian version) and this one, 8-12: Beef Stroganoff. I made both at the same time, as part of a stroganoff-off.

Beef stroganoff is a pretty well known dish, and it’s not surprising that it’d be included in a book like this with so many other “classic” dishes. Let’s see how far Simply Delicious strays from the norm–who knows…they might surprise us.

15-31: Pavlova Meringue Tart

Adam Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods August 3, 2016October 29, 2020baked goods, cold desserts, cornstarch, cream of tartar, dessert, egg whites, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fruit, gluten-free, granulated sugar, kiwis, low heat, meringue, parchment paper, party food, raspberries, Russian, salt, snacks, tart, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream

This recipe, 15-31: Pavlova Meringue Tart had a couple of firsts. It was my first attempt at making a meringue, but it was also my first failure at making a meringue. However, my first successful meringue came out of this experience too, so in the end, it was all good! ?

Due to lactose intolerance, I substituted the whipped cream for a coconut whipped topping. Half of my berries were bad so this tart had a lot more kiwi than raspberries. ?

7-7: Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Rolls

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses August 2, 2016June 19, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, beef broth, black olives, black pepper, boiled, braised, butter, chicken broth, chopped, creamy, deglazed, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, half-and-half, ham, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, mushrooms, parsley, party food, pork, pork shoulder, rolls, sage, salt, sautéed, shiitake, sliced, soy sauce, stuffed, tenderized, toothpicks, umami, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Simply Delicious uses mushrooms pretty heavily throughout their recipes–about 20% of the recipes I’ve covered so far have involved them. I wasn’t a big mushroom eater when I was a kid, but I’ve (slowly) begun warming up to them. 7-7: Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Rolls aren’t especially fancy, but they’re not a bad option for lunch, dinner, or even making in a large batch for a party.

This is the first recipe (of 160+ at this point) that uses sage, described as being “savory & slightly peppery.” I like using sage with mushrooms (along with parsley, rosemary, & thyme–the “essential herbs,” according to Simon & Garfunkel), as the earthy flavors of both complement each other well.?