3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup

3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup

Here’s a question for you: is cheese soup really soup? To me, it’s essentially the sauce from macaroni and cheese, thinned down and maybe dressed up with some onions or bacon. Often potato or broccoli gets added as well, in an attempt to “healthify” it. No matter what, it just seems…indulgent. I was on my own to make and eat 3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup, so I kept this one simple.

Don’t get me wrong–I do enjoy broccoli cheese soup (and make one every few months or so for work), but leek & cheese (which this one is) doesn’t excite me as much. This one was a bit leek-y for me, but maybe I just lack appreciation for the leek.


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16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

Here’s one I’ve wanted to make for a LONG time, but never got to. I had even intended to do a version of 16-18: Lemon Basil Tart when I worked at the restaurant and was doing tarts every week moonlighting as the pastry chef, but the day I intended to make it, we were short on lemons and basil. Now I finally have a chance, and I even have the big tart pan in which to properly make it.

16-18 Lemon Basil Tart

I didn’t even see until now that they mention that basil is related to mint–it makes sense. In this tart, the basil functions a lot like mint, and gives the tart a “fresh” flavor that just lemon wouldn’t provide. It took me a while to get to it, but it was worth it. ??


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7-1: Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms

7-1: Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms

Oh boy, another pork tenderloin recipe. This is the last of my Costco pack, but I’m going tomorrow, so who knows what I’ll come home with. 7-1: Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms is the first card in Group 07: Pork, and a pretty straightforward recipe. Other pork tenderloin recipes I’ve covered so far include 7-27: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Sauce, 7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic, and 7-36: Pork Tenderloin with Curry Sauce.

This recipe includes parsnips, a root vegetable related to carrots and parsley. Parsnips are usually winter vegetables, but I think you could probably still get away with it in mid-April.


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4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

Late March/early April is right around the time asparagus begins its short season, so if you happen to find yourself with some in the near future, here’s a recipe for you: 4-9: Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce. I served this as a side dish along with 8-20: Juicy Steak with Garlic Topping.

4-9 Asparagus with Italian Butter Sauce

There’s such a short window of time when asparagus is in season–you start seeing it around March-April, and it’s done around early summer, in June-July. We’ve recently signed back up for our CSA box after a break, and asparagus was waiting for us in the first one.


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16-37: Double Decadent Brownie Torte

16-37: Double Decadent Brownie Torte

I had mentioned in 1-8: Delicious Cocktail Snacks that I had attended a birthday party recently–I used 16-37: Double Decadent Brownie Torte as part of the birthday cake that I made for it. This is one I’ve made before, and this time I kept some of the changes I made the first time.

16-37 Double Decadent Brownie Torte

I noted that I made this with Kahlúa whipped cream the first time. I did that this time too, along with a Kahlúa pastry cream to layer between 2 layers of torte.


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14-12: Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

14-12: Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Happy New Year! For 2016, I decided to start the year off making something happen that I’ve been intending to do for a while: migrate this blog to its own site and off of Tumblr. I’m still going to crosspost to Tumblr, but all new entries will be natively posted here on simplydeliciouscookbook.com.

My first entry of 2016 and on my new site will also introduce a new category: Hot Desserts. This recipe is 14-12: Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce, and these pictures are actually from Thanksgiving 2015. It took me a while to get back to this one after the holiday baking extravaganza in December.

I made this as my Thanksgiving dessert contribution–both my dad and husband LOVE bread pudding. This one came out a bit strange, but that’s mostly due to poor pan choice.


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4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes

4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes

This one…was challenging. And it seemed so simple! 4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes are essentially mozzarella sticks with a mashed potato/panko coating. These turned from a quick snack into a multi-day attempt.

4-30 Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes

Now, before I scare you off this recipe: it was 100% my fault it went south. I tried to improvise in several places, and it proved to be my downfall each time. Sometimes you can take liberties, and sometimes you can’t.

Here’s how you learn those lessons.


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9-31: Savory Turkey Patties

9-31: Savory Turkey Patties

I mentioned in 4-17: Crispy Potato Pancakes that our travels had taken us elsewhere. I’m cooking in a different kitchen these days–one that is not my own–which presents its own set of challenges.

However, the beauty of this project is that as long as I have my laptop and internet access, I can just keep going. And so I will. 🙂

Our current hosts have been participating in some of my entry recipes, including this one: 9-31: Savory Turkey Patties. This was prepared and cooked in tandem with the recipe I posted after this one, 9-25: Juicy Grilled Meat Patties.


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4-19: Twice-Baked Potatoes

4-19: Twice-Baked Potatoes

Here’s another potato recipe for you. I had a LOT of potatoes to cook. This was the complement to 11-16: Indian Fried Fish, which I posted a few days ago.

4-19 Twice-Baked Potatoes

This one got stuck to the page before it in the book–hence the destroyed-looking card. You can still see the important parts though–these are mighty tasty. My notes indicate I made it in a chipotle-style a few Christmases ago–we’ll do it legit for this one. For science. ?


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4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions

4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions

I’ve been making a lot of potato recipes lately. There’s a 10 lb. bag in my pantry I’ve been working my way through, so expect a few more potato recipes over the next few weeks. We’ll start here with one I’ve made before–4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions.

4-11 Potato Souffle with Onions

More of my handwriting. I’ve made this one before, and this time I remember the circumstances and my adaptations–see what good notes will do for you?


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