Category Archives: Challenge Recipes

[29] Ginger-Lime Chicken Thighs

Cover of Cook Once, Eat Twice

I want to say this is going to be a relatively short entry, but every time I say something I write is going to be short, it balloons into one of my longest pieces yet.

Every dang time! I really do think this SHOULD be short, though, so we’ll see. It’s a fairly basic recipe, and tasty, but nothing to write home about.

The lime really does stand out. The ginger doesn’t.

h2. Ingredients

0.33 c vegetable oil
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger (We used ground.)
0.25 – 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

h2. Instructions

Combine oil, lime juice, honey, ginger and pepper flakes in a bowl. Place chicken in a tupperware or resealable bag, and add 0.5 c marinade, and goosh around to make sure the chicken is well coated.… Continue reading →

[28] Toasted Grain Pilaf

Cover of The Healthy Kitchen, by Andrew Weil and Rosie Daley

I am considering giving this book the ol’ heave-ho. That seems a little unfair, because we’ve only made two recipes out of it for this challenge, and I think that brings my lifetime total to four. However, this recipe was also a bit of a loser, both in taste and in instructions, and I don’t want to waste our time on bad recipes.

We have, after all, more than 2,500 recipes to cook before we can ever buy a cookbook again. Even if we ditch this cookbook, we’re just under 2,500 recipes. Every recipe counts! At least from a book.

And given that MY amazon “kitchen things” wish list is ever-growing (“see here”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fregistry%2Fwishlist%2F323M65QOHI8VJ%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dcm_wl_rlist_go&tag=metaco-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957), mostly with cookbooks I can’t buy, I will ditch a bad cookbook in no time flat.… Continue reading →

[27] Chocolate Pinwheels

Cover of The Complete Book of Cookies, edited by Deborah Gray

I baked these for two reasons. One, we’re pretty far behind on our ratio of “recipes cooked” to “days into the challenge” to “number of recipes needed before I can buy another cookbook”. At the time of writing (not of baking), for those who are interested, the ratio is 32:79:2531.

I’m never buying another cookbook, am I?

Well, futile though this quest may feel at this time, I might as well keep working at it. Also, if I keep working at it, I get a lot of new and delicious recipes to try. Well, and some flops. Such is the nature of the beast.

This recipe was neither delicious nor a flop, at least with regards to taste. Overall, however, I would call it a flop.… Continue reading →

[26] Rum Raisin Cookies

Cover of The Complete Book of Cookies, edited by Deborah Gray

I made these cookies for a friend who had been having a rough time recently. I figured it’d be fun to joke about having some rum without actually having some rum (so she could have a cookie and then still do other things, like teach). Though, I have to admit, I mailed them to her, so I don’t know that she joked about rum before class. I hope she did.

It was also nice because I had almost all the ingredients on-hand. I had to run out and get some raisins, but that was quick and painless.

I don’t know how the recipient felt the cookies tasted. I thought they needed the rum flavor to come out more. Bill felt they were super tasty, and has already requested a second batch.… Continue reading →

[25] Beef Stew Variation 1

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

Beef stew isn’t really considered your average summer dish. I wouldn’t typically make it in the summer any more than you would. I think of beef stew as a deep winter dish, full of warmth and flavor, and no small amount of fat. It’s most certainly not “summery”, “light” or “refreshing”.

However, guess when none of that matters? When it’s the middle of summer, you have most of the ingredients on hand, and you accidentally thawed stew meat instead of beef chunks for stir-fry. At that point, you make stew and be thankful you can get a blog post out of it!

Actually, it turned out quite nicely, and I’m looking forward to making it again when the weather cools off. And given we live in Chicago, Bill and I should have plenty of cold weather in which to repeatedly make this dish.… Continue reading →