boiled – Page 3 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-27: Classic Beef Stew

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses April 28, 2020July 2, 2020all-purpose flour, allspice, bay leaves, beef, beef stew, boiled, bone-in, boneless, butter, carrots, chuck roast, dinner, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, Italian parsley, lunch, parsley, peeled, roux, salt, sautéed, seared, sliced, slow cooker, stew meat, stews, untested, yellow onions

I came clean in 11-9: Fried Jumbo Shrimp that we’ve been eating plant-based for about 2 years now–most entries that I’ve published since mid-2018 feature me essentially attempting to convert these old recipes into meatless/vegan options. 8-27: Classic Beef Stew will be no different.

I realize that not everyone chooses to eschew meat/dairy, and I’m not here to proselytize or debate it with you. I didn’t write these recipes–the goal of this project has always been to take these existing recipes and attempt to cook them ALL, somehow. The recipes are still here, in their original form–it’s up to you (and me) how to interpret them.

11-9: Fried Jumbo Shrimp

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses April 20, 2020July 7, 2020all-purpose flour, Asian, batter, beer, boiled, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chilled, Chinese, Chinese/dark soy sauce, cornstarch, crispy, dairy-free, deep fryer, deep-fried, dinner, egg-free, expensive, fairly hard, fish, fried, leeks, lunch, mushrooms, party food, peeled, sautéed, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sweet-and-sour sauce, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth

As I mentioned in my last post, this project just passed the 6-year mark, and a lot has changed since I first started it–careers, cities, kitchens, vehicles, family, presidents, even dietary preferences.

For the last two years, we’ve been sticking to a plant-based diet, with the very occasional seafood or dairy indulgence (however, traditional meat itself is totally gone). We’ll still go out for a real sushi dinner here and there (although, not lately due to coronavirus), and every so often, I’ll make a recipe like 11-9: Fried Jumbo Shrimp with real shrimp as a treat.

“Fruit from the sea” as a description for shrimp seems strange to me, even though I know Simply Delicious didn’t coin the term. “Fried Jumbo Shrimp” is what they use to lure you into mediocre chain restaurants–it’s not quite haute cuisine.

I’m not doing a good job of selling you on this dish, am I? Well, since fried food doesn’t travel well as takeout, maybe you’d like to take this “opportunity” to learn how to fry your own?

2-18: Luncheon Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 19, 2020October 28, 20211980s, blue cheese, boiled, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, croutons, dressing, easy, emulsion, Feta, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grapes, healthy, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lettuce, lunch, melted, nuts, olive oil, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, sautéed, tarragon, untested, vegetarian, Waldorf, walnuts, white wine vinegar

Reporting LIVE (to print), from an undisclosed location in Northern California, USA, currently sheltering-in-place and teleworking due to COVID-19/coronavirus/the apocalypse. It’s getting crazy out there, y’all–stay safe and healthy. And wash your hands.

Since we’re all stuck inside for a while, and I’ve got a big backlog of these to get through (over 50), here’s one more thing to pass the time. 2-18: Luncheon Salad is pure 1980s–turn up the vaporwave (for A E S T H E T I C), find your best matching sweatsuit, and crack open a Tab.

I don’t remember feeling like this salad was a treat–more like a punishment. If you can find some cottage cheese in the store right now, go for it–just don’t invite your friends. #socialdistancing

12-24: Cannelloni with Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses March 14, 2020March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, black pepper, boiled, breasts, butter, cannelloni, cheese, cheese sauce, chicken, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, cottage cheese, creamy, cubed, dinner, dried herbs, dry vermouth, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, filling, food processor, frozen, grated, lunch, marinated, meal prep, melted, milk, nutmeg, Parmesan, pasta shells, pasta/noodles, salt, spinach, strained, strainers, stuffed, thyme, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

Meal-prepping is trendy now, but it’s always been a good idea if you want to save money and calories. 12-24: Cannelloni with Chicken works well if you want to make it on a Sunday, split it up into a few containers, and reheat it throughout the week. At least, that’s how we ate it.

Even Simply Delicious advises you can make this meal ahead of time, although their suggestion is for entertaining guests. This recipe/concept is pretty versatile–it’s good fresh or as leftovers.

12-28: Tri-Color Risotto

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses February 26, 2020February 26, 2020beef bouillon, beef broth, blanched, boiled, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, easy, fairly inexpensive, green bell peppers, grind, long-grain, olive oil, peeled, pine nuts, red bell peppers, rice, risotto, saffron, salt, sautéed, shallots, shredded, untested, whipping cream, white wine, yellow bell peppers, yellow onions

If you haven’t figured it out by now, there’s a bit of a lag between when I make these recipes and when I actually post about them. It helps me to reread the recipe to figure out what I’m doing in a lot of these photos. While rereading the recipe for 12-28: Tri-Color Risotto, I realized I didn’t even make it right.

That’s my first explanation for what happened here. My second is that I don’t like cooking rice in a pan–I’m spoiled by rice cookers.

My third is that this isn’t risotto–it’s pilaf.

7-21: Jambalaya

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses January 13, 2020August 30, 2021American, American South, andouille, basil, black pepper, blanched, boiled, brown rice, Cajun, canola oil, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, Creole, cubed, dinner, fairly easy, fairly expensive, French, garlic, green bell peppers, long-grain, lunch, minced, New Orleans, peeled, pepperoni, pork, Provençale, rice, salt, sausage, sautéed, shrimp, smoked ham, Spanish, spicy, Tabasco sauce, thyme, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, West African, wild rice, yellow onions

Cajun and Creole cooking are not something I’ve had a ton of experience with, so 7-21: Jambalaya is somewhat unfamiliar territory. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of New Orleans cuisine, other than my mother’s ill-fated attempt at making gumbo once.

It’s not a difficult recipe (quite the opposite, actually), but I don’t feel like I have a solid understanding of the difference between what makes it good and what makes it great. That’s something that comes with experience, both as a taster and as a creator.

I couldn’t have even told you that there are two types of jambalaya, Creole and Cajun. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, the difference between the two is the absence or presence of tomatoes. Simply Delicious identifies this version as Creole, which is correct–that’s the version that has the tomatoes in it, which this one does. 🎺🍅

6-58: Chicken Pie with Puff Pastry

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses October 15, 2019October 15, 2020all-purpose flour, American, basil, bay leaves, black pepper, boiled, boneless, breasts, butter, carrots, celery, chicken, chopped, deboned, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, filling, frozen, herbs and spices, individual, lunch, melted, pearl onions, pie crust, pies, pot pie, puff pastry, roux, salt, sautéed, simmered, skinless, slit, strained, sweet peas, tender-crisp, thighs, untested, vegetables

Yo. As I’ve said previously, I take breaks from this project when life gets in the way. This summer was BANANAS, and fall seems to be quickly passing me by as well. I haven’t given up on cooking and photographing recipes, but I seem to have dropped the ball on actually writing them up and posting them.

I made the first attempt to rectify this earlier today when I uploaded about 600 pictures from two memory cards that I’ve filled up since May of this year. I made the second when I set up all the folders to start organizing the pictures (we’re talking over 50 recipes here).

Here’s the third: a recipe I cooked back sometime in early 2019, 6-58: Chicken Pie with Puff Pastry. This has been in various draft stages since April, and I’m finally finishing it NOW. This isn’t even part of the memory card dump from today–that’s how far behind I am.

This is essentially chicken pot pie. I mean, how is it not? The major difference between this and Marie Callender’s is that this one only has pastry on top.

15-36: Pear-Orange Sorbet

Adam Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods March 3, 2019October 29, 2020boiled, brandy, cold desserts, cored, dessert, easy, fairly inexpensive, food processor, frozen, fruit, Grand Marnier, granulated sugar, grated, Greenback apt, ice cream maker, liqueur, orange juice, orange peel, oranges, pears, purée, revisited, sorbet, summer, vegan, vegetarian

The photo of this delectable dish is enhanced by the superior dishware chosen to accentuate the fluffiness of the iced desert within. I made 15-36: Pear-Orange Sorbet before a few years ago when we first started this project, but I forgot to take photos. I finally got back to it in January 2019.

The recipe card describes this dish about as well as I could. The ripe pears did have an intense fruity flavor that was intriguing. Can’t beat that.

4-14: Stuffed Artichokes

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 1, 2019October 4, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, artichoke hearts, artichokes, black pepper, boiled, broiled, butter, butter sauce, chopped, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, Greek yogurt, half-and-half, Hollandaise sauce, lunch, milk, mushrooms, party food, port wine, salt, sautéed, stews, stuffed, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Hot Take: Artichokes are the lobster of the vegetable world. 4-14: Stuffed Artichokes represents this well: too much work for too little satisfaction. Peeling the little leaves off the artichoke and harvesting the heart feels a lot like picking apart the carapace of an undersea crustacean.

Stuffing an artichoke with a mushroom stew is a unique way to serve this giant edible thistle flower. These plants don’t grow naturally where I’m from, so my experience with artichokes only came after moving to California. My favorite way to enjoy them is marinated artichoke hearts.

7-33: Country Dinner

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses February 16, 2019October 28, 2020apples, bacon, black pepper, boiled, butter, chopped, country-style, dinner, easy, fried, gluten-free, grated, herbs and spices, inexpensive, mashed, mashed potatoes, milk, nutmeg, pan-fried, peeled, pork, potatoes, salt, sautéed, untested, yellow onions

We’re getting to the some of the last recipes I have for some of these chapters, and 7-33: Country Dinner is one of the few remaining entries from the Pork chapter of Simply Delicious. Honestly, this recipe as it exists is not much more than mashed potatoes with bacon and onions. That doesn’t sound bad per se, but I don’t know if it constitutes “dinner”.

Google only gave me a few results for similar recipes, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t too far off from the mashed potato bowls you can get at like KFC. If anything, the KFC ones come with more stuff in them.