Are you a fan of Tres Leches Cake? Oh my. This version will rock your boat. It sure rocked mine.

A post from Carolyn. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you already know I’m a fan of tres leches cake. A big fan. There’s something about the luscious almost drippy cake with the gobs of whipped cream on top that sends me into reverie. One might think that’s bacon adorning the cake – no, just overly-toasted coconut. Daughter Sara and I laughed  – we thought we were going to have to start over, but Sara tasted the mighty-toasted coconut and pronounced it delicious. So we went with it. Even the totally blackened coconut tasted just fine!

This cake was our finale for Easter dinner. Taylor and I drove to Sara’s house and 12 of us enjoyed a delicious Mexican feast (birria tacos, beans, rice, salad, fruit, appetizers too, some Champagne of various types) then this cake was brought out. I think I can safely say we got raves from the recipe. It’s the coconut and the rum that made it so good. Not only is there coconut extract in it (you might have to hunt for that), but also coconut cream, plus rum in the cake, the tres leches and a little jot in the whipped cream too.

The cake was baked the day before in a 9×13 pan, and the three milks mixture was poured over the top of the cake (that’s the tres leches part). The whipped cream topping was made at the last minute. Some of the well drained canned pineapple was added to the cream, but most of it was spread over the top of the wet cake itself. And the overly toasted coconut sprinkled all over at the end. This recipe is an absolute winner. I’d started off with a recipe from The Pioneer Woman (hers was called a Pina Colada tres leches cake), but I changed it quite a bit, so I’ll call it mine at this point. Whatever its provenance, do make this.

What’s GOOD: every single little morsel of this extravagant cake was fabulous. I’ll be making it again soon. As soon as I have a good reason for baking a cake for 12 people!

What’s NOT: only that you need to start the day before (to bake the cake). It’s not difficult to make unless you consider having to separate the eggs and whip the whites and yolks separately. Yes, it did make a few dirty dishes too.

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Can I just say . . . baking crispy tacos is genius! You get to be judicious in how much oil you use, making them so much more healthy.

A post from Carolyn. My friend Linda used this method of making tacos recently and raved about them to me. They were so good she made them two or three times in a week or two. With that kind of praise, I decided I needed to try them. Rarely do I make Mexican food because we have so many excellent Mexican restaurants within 1-3 miles of my house. It was the method of making them – the oven frying – I was the most interested in here.

Linda made chicken tacos, but I decided to make carnitas tacos – actually I thought I had some carnitas in the freezer. Yes, I did, but they’d suffered from freezer burn, so granddaughter Taylor bought some ready-made carnitas (just the meat) at a local restaurant and we were ready to make tacos.

You need to heat the tortillas (corn) a little bit, to make them pliable. Then you brush one side of each tortilla with vegetable oil. Be generous with the oil, because it’s what crisps up the outside of the tacos. Then you lay in the meat and cheese and fold the tortilla over. Be careful as  you do it, so the tortilla doesn’t crack. Hopefully the tortilla will stick in the closed position – sometimes that takes a bit of doing. Gently, though.

Into a very hot oven they go for 6-7 minutes, then you remove them, turn them over and they go back into the oven for another 4-5 minutes to crisp the other side. Meanwhile, make the toppings you want to use: more shredded cheese if you want it (we didn’t), chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and for sure some guacamole, or in this case it was avocado cream (crema). It doesn’t have any dairy in it – it’s just a creamy texture. That part is whizzed up in the blender with lots of lime juice (I used lemon because I didn’t have any limes) and cilantro, plus salt and pepper. Oh, and some pickled jalapeno peppers. They add a wonderful piquant flavor to the avocado.

Chow down. Crispy deliciousness. Now that I have this technique down pat, there may be more oven-fried, oven-baked crispy tacos in my future.

What’s GOOD: everything about this was delicious. It was easy, nice enough for a company meal, even. Definitely I’ll be having more of these, maybe using different meat – chicken, beef? Who knows.

What’s NOT: only that you need to have carnitas on hand and fresh tortillas.

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I do love my Instant Pot. This meal came together in a flash.

A post from Carolyn. As it turned out, we were invited out for St. Patrick’s Day dinner. But I’d already bought a corned beef – might I just say, a small corned beef at Trader Joe’s was close to $25. And that great big piece of meat becomes a small little bit of meat when it’s done cooking. That’s always the case with brisket, however.

Beef has become a treat anytime with prices like that. Even ground beef is pricey. But anyway, I needed to cook the corned beef. I waited a couple of weeks. Researched a few recipes online and decided on this one. I had Savoy cabbage, carrots and onions. I don’t eat potatoes hardly at all, and can’t say that we missed them. However, I’d have eaten them if I’d added them to the pot!

I made a bed of onions and garlic in the Instant Pot, then added in the rinsed corned beef on top. You can use beef broth or water, then seal and cook under pressure for 70 minutes. Some recipes say 90 minutes, but others said 70. Mine was a smaller brisket so I went with 70. The very tender corned beef was removed and set aside, covered with foil. The carrots and cabbage were added back into the Instant Pot (with all the cooking water) and pressure cooked for 2 minutes. Yes, two minutes. So easy and quick. Onto the platter everything went and I put out grainy mustard and horseradish to augment the corned beef. Altogether delicious.

What’s GOOD: how quick and easy this meal was to make from beginning to end. A 70-minute cooking time in the Instant Pot might make it hard to do for a weeknight if you’re a working family, but it was sure easy in every other way. Veggies were perfect after two minutes under pressure.

What’s NOT: really nothing – not very big servings, but then, we didn’t need a lot.

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Just good vegetable soup – tons of broccoli, a little bit of wild rice and some cheese.

A post from Carolyn. There’s a local restaurant near where I live that always has broccoli cheese soup on the menu. And I’ve had it many times, but the last couple of times it was so thick and gluey (with cheese) I was concerned about choking on it. Not a fun feeling. But when I read something about broccoli cheese soup a couple of weeks ago I just decided I needed to make some at home. And I wanted a little bit of fiber of some kind. Since I had some wild rice on my pantry shelf, that’s what it became. Not broccoli cheese soup; not thickened. Not gluey with cheese!

I rounded up a few recipes and chose the best from them. I made this soup very high in broccoli and relatively low in cheese, and also not a whole lot of broth or milk in it. You definitely know you’re having broccoli with some cheese. And the wild rice gives it a really nice chewy consistency. You can make this in the Instant Pot if you’d like (and one or two of the recipes I consulted had you do that). I had time, so I made it in my big round Le Creuset pot. Low and slow.

It’s the usual kind of start to a soup – onion, carrots, celery, and I had leeks, so they went in there too (good flavor). After sweating them a bit, I added chicken broth, dry marjoram, salt and pepper, some wild rice and let it cook about 10 minutes. Then I added the broccoli (all chopped up into little florets) and basmati rice and let that cook for another 15-20 minutes until both rice ingredients were just barely tender. It came off heat, I added heavy cream, some half and half, some sharp cheddar and reheated it briefly to let the cheese melt. Then served it with some grated cheddar on top, some pine nuts (toasted) and a flicker or Italian parsley.

Is this soup going to blow your socks off? Probably not, but it was delicious (not low in calorie, I’ll add, with all that dairy in it), but a cup of it was plenty for a serving.

What’s GOOD: all the veggies – liked the texture both of the veggies and the rice (wild and white). Very filling, even though it doesn’t have any meat protein in it. I liked it a lot. Yes, I’d make it again. I made enough to freeze several cups for another time. One cup is a sufficient serving.

What’s NOT: really nothing – liked this soup a lot. If you don’t have leeks leave them out. It uses a lot of broccoli.

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Elegant dinner but super easy. You’d think it’s complicated and time consuming, but it’s really not. 

A post from Carolyn.  Someone asked me recently what chefs I follow . .. . my answer? I don’t really follow many chefs. Probably my two favorite food TV shows are Ina Garten and Rachael Ray. Neither of them are professionally trained. They’re both excellent cooks who make very approachable food. Do I have cookbooks from famous chefs? Yes, I do, but I can’t say I turn to them all that often for inspiration. I love reading cookbooks, however.

So, a few weeks ago I was watching a Rachael Ray show and she made these delicious little  morsels and I couldn’t wait to try it. Since I always have chicken thighs in my freezer, and I always keep shallots on hand, it was an easy “yes” that I’d make them. She explained that this recipe is Canadian and on a trip she saw a recipe in a magazine and tore it out and probably made it her own somehow. She thought these tournedos were worthy of even a wedding dinner. And I would agree. They’re really fabulous.

I changed just two things in her recipe: (1) I spread a bit of mustard on the insides of the chicken thighs; and (2) I added a little splash of cream to the sauce. You can certainly eliminate both of those if you want to be true to Rachael’s recipe. Usually tournedos refer to beef, but the word refers to the shape, I think (normally it’s beef tenderloin). So someone, ingeniously, decided to try the techniques with chicken.

So first you spread the inside of the chicken thighs with grainy mustard. The first thigh you mold (as best you can) in a roll, a log shape. Then drape the other thigh over the first one. Then wrap the bacon slice (use thick sliced if you can) around the outside edge and loop kitchen twine to tie it. It’s a little awkward getting the bacon in the right place and the twine just in the middle and then tied properly. Just takes a little bit of fussing. The chicken is sprayed with oil or some kind of spray and baked for a mere 30 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure you don’t overcook them.

Meanwhile, make the sauce – butter shallots, sherry, mustard, maple syrup, Worcestershire and cream. Some is poured over the chicken, and the rest you can serve on the table. Poppy seeds are sprinkled on the top (kind of an unusual garnish for chicken, I thought) but it looks good.

What’s GOOD: everything about this is good – the moist chicken, the lovely bacon flavor and the sauce. Altogether wonderful. Easy too.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

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Creamy pasta with luscious lemon flavor and arugula. And cheese. Yummy Parmigiano-Reggiano. A post from Carolyn, but it’s really from my friend Linda.

Linda says: I spent the weekend with my friends Carolyn & Dave many years ago in Palm Desert, California. I picked up a book called “Cooking for Mr. Latte” by Amanda Hesser, a writer [and later editor] for the New York Times food section. I made this recipe finally and it was outstanding. The pasta I used was imported lemon linguine. I added extra lemon zest, Parmesan & arugula. My suggestion is to taste and adjust to your preference. I thought it needed more of everything, except lemon juice. The pepper is important!

From Carolyn: the book from Amanda Hesser is just so cute – it’s about her meeting her (now) husband, and their courtship. He wasn’t much into food, and of course, she was/is. Yet he managed to pull recipes from his back pocket (you’d have to read the book to learn about his cooking), so each chapter tells a little story of their courtship, then bookended with a recipe. Some are his, and most are hers.

When Linda visited me last fall  at the desert house, we went shopping at Home Goods, and she picked up a package of lemon linguine. Now . . . this recipe doesn’t call for “lemon linguine,” just linguine, but hey, if you can find lemon linguine (it might be available at World Market), use it. I bought a package of that lemon linguine too, the same time she did, and I need to try it. As you know, I don’t eat much pasta, but this would be a special occasion.

What’s GOOD: Linda says it was outstanding. That’s enough said! Easy too.

What’s NOT: only that you need arugula and crème fraiche on hand.

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Every so tasty quiche and no guilt because it didn’t have the crust.

A post from Carolyn. In the last week, since I’m no longer president of my P.E.O. chapter, I’ve done a whole lot more cooking. I’ve had time to do a whole lot of things I’ve not had time for in the last four years. There are several projects I have on my to-do list (read through a huge pile of magazines I’ve not had time to read – some of them pre-pandemic, even; clean up my desk in the study, get back to some painting/art/drawings; go out to lunch more often; and COOK!).

Daughter Sara, granddaughter Sabrina, her friend Liv, my other granddaughter Taylor (the one who is living with me) and I shared a brunch last Sunday morning. Sara, Sabrina and Liv ran either a 5K or 10K that morning and came here afterwards to have food as they were all very hungry. Sara made scones and brought them (recipe coming up soon) and I made this quiche.  It was pretty darned easy, especially since it doesn’t have a crust. I’m perfectly fine with a crustless quiche, but as much as I love pastry, don’t we know it’s not all that good for us. Not that this quiche is all that low calorie – it is not. It has bacon in it and cheese, so it still has a generous amount of fat. I started with a recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen and made some modifications along the way. Same 9 or 10-inch pie dish (good old Pyrex), but I added more eggs, more dairy, also parsley, my own mixture of herbs and cheese that I had in my refrigerator (Gruyere and Mozzarella).

First off, fry up the bacon until crisp, then drain on paper towels. My bacon was thick-sliced and very meaty, so it had very little fat to pour off. Once cooled down it was added to a bowl and the other ingredients added in: the grated cheeses, pepper, green onions (white parts), herbs (I used an herb mix I had amongst my little spice and herb bottles) and cayenne. That was mixed up a little bit (don’t do this when the bacon is hot or it’ll begin melting the cheese) and added to the pie dish. Make sure it’s evenly distributed. Then you mix up the eggs, half and half and a little bit of cream, along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. That’s poured into the pie dish, and use a fork to ease the egg mixture into the bacon/cheese stuff so there aren’t any clumps or air pockets. The bacon kind of sank to the bottom (see photo) but it didn’t make any difference to the flavors.

Into the oven it goes for about 45 minutes. I checked it a couple of times and it was really nice and puffy, but once out of the oven it did dip a bit in the middle (normal). I let it cool for about 5 minutes while I plated up the chicken sausages I had done and fruit of all kinds. Sara had brought the scones, so they went onto the table with butter. Taylor had bought me a bottle of a mango sparkling wine awhile back (she said she got it at World Market) which was just lovely with the brunch. And we all had at least one or two coffee lattes, one before brunch, and again after brunch.

What’s GOOD: really easy as long as you’ve got all the ingredients on hand. Taste was just perfect – tasty all around. The green onions add a lot of flavor – and then there’s the bacon, of course. The whole house smelled like bacon! Yes, I’d definitely make this again.

What’s NOT: gee, nothing that I can think of. It took about 30 minutes to prepare it, 45 minutes to bake it and in no time at all and it was gone.

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Another recipe from my friend Linda

A post from Carolyn. My dear friend Linda is an avid cook. There are any number of recipes of hers on my blog and she so nicely asked if I wanted a couple more recipes to post, favorites of hers. I said of course! This soup, made popular by Ina Garten, actually has different beginnings. It’s from Bobbi Brown, the originator of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. The recipe is in one of Ina’s cookbooks, but at Food & Wine they introduced the recipe (from Ina) but said that it was from Bobbi Brown. Who knew . . . I went online to read a bit more about Brown – she’s married with three sons – lives in New Jersey and she and her husband recently renovated an old hotel there and it re-opened as one a couple or three years ago. Click on the link above, to Wikipedia, if you’re interested in knowing more.

The one important note here – it’s necessary that you find and  use French Le Puy lentils. Sometimes they’re a bit harder to find. They hold their shape after cooking. You know that orange lentils dissolve once cooked. Here you want the distinct shape and texture of the lentil. Online it says Walmart and Target both carry French/Le Puy. So does amazon.

Anyway, the soup is quite straight forward – soak the lentils, cook onions, garlic and leeks until tender, then add celery and carrots. Broth, tomato paste and lentils are added and cooked for about an hour, then you add some red wine. Always a flavorful addition to hearty soups. Season it well – sometimes lentils need more salt than you might think. This soup has garlic, thyme and cumin in it. You can drizzle the top of the soup with olive oil and grate some Parm on top too. As with all soups (IMHO) they’re better if made a day ahead. The recipe indicates this keeps for two days. Huh? Just two days? Surely lentil and vegetable soup would keep more than two days; not sure why that would be the case. Thank you, Linda, for the recipe and the soup photo.

What’s GOOD: Linda says this soup is just wonderful. Not hard to make. Good, deep flavor. Freezes well too.

What’s NOT: only that you need to find Le Puy lentils. Buy two so you have some when you want to make this again.

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Don’t you just want to dive into that bread? Slice off a piece and spread it with butter?

A quick post from Carolyn. You’ve seen this bread here before – – I posted it years 12 years ago, and I haven’t tampered with the recipe one iota. It stands the test of time. I’ve made it many, many St. Patrick’s Days to go along with a delicious corned beef dinner. And this time it was no different, other than I didn’t remind you to MAKE THIS prior to March 17th. It makes the most lovely bread the morning after, toasted lightly and again, spread with softened butter. This year my friend Cherrie and her husband Bud invited my granddaughter Taylor and me to dinner that night, even though Cherrie is recovering from shoulder replacement surgery. Bud has become a wonder in the kitchen, but I know Cherrie did plenty of small tasks getting ready for us too. It was a scrumptious dinner and this bread was perfect to go with it. If you haven’t saved this recipe before, you should click through and read how easy it is to make. And then make it.

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So very easy to make in the Instant Pot. 

A post from Carolyn. For quite awhile I’m been reading a blog called Ministry of Curry. And I’ve made several of Archana’s recipes, since I’m a lover of all things Indian food. This recipe isn’t Indian – that’s not to say they don’t eat barley in India – – – I have no idea, actually. But there are no Indian spices here, as this is very much a simple, lightly seasoned mushroom and vegetable soup with some added barley. I started out with her recipe, although I altered it. You can find thousands of mushroom barley soup recipes on the web and there may be nothing all that unusual about this one. But I’ll just tell you it’s a good stick-to-the-ribs kind of cold-weather soup for these cool/cold evenings. The easy part is that it’s made in the Instant Pot. Love that pot.

A few weeks ago I was out in the desert at the 2nd home (condo) my daughter Sara, her husband John and I purchased in 2020. We’re in the process of renovating it now, and that will likely take a long time to finish. As I write this, the guest bath (mine) is getting a total makeover – new shower and tile, new cabinet, fixtures, lighting. Except for a vessel sink and granite countertop the bathroom was circa 1985. Old. Tired. Eventually we’re going to vinyl (wood-like) plank the floors in the whole house, but for now it’s tile. Anyway, I got sidetracked there – – I wanted to make a batch of butter chicken and the recipe I’ve posted here (that I just love-love-love) is made in the Instant Pot. Well, shoot  – we didn’t have an Instant Pot at that house. So, I went to Costco and bought one. I don’t think I could function anymore without an Instant Pot in my kitchen. My most common use for it is making hard boiled eggs (the 2-10-2 method – 2 minutes manual pressure – 10 resting – release pressure – then 2 minutes in ice water). I eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast seven days a week with a little yogurt and fruit on the side.

So back to this recipe . . . am I giving all of you TMI? . . . I went to a local market and got some bulk barley (I can’t tell you the last time I bought or ate barley), a big honkin’ leek, onions, mushrooms, celery, carrots, etc. This soup doesn’t inherently have any protein in it – although barley has some – but when I reheated bowls of it I added in some chopped up rotisserie chicken so I would have some protein. But many of the heated bowls I ate as is, no protein. It’s very filling, let me say. I really liked the addition of sour cream on top that gets mixed in as you eat it. There’s a little bit of tomato paste in the recipe (good umami flavor), and I also used mushroom soup base (try amazon) that is a regular fixture in my frig. And over a pound of mushrooms. And I added some sherry wine to it also. Every time I heat a bowl of it the sherry aroma wafts from the steam.

As with all soups, this one tasted so much better the next day and I’ve been eating away at it for a week with enough to put some in the freezer too. It’s very filling – a scant cup is plenty for me for lunch.

What’s GOOD: just the wholesomeness of it – healthy, hearty, filling. So very easy in the Instant Pot (15 minutes, that’s it). The chopping up of all the veggies took a lot more time than that! Good for freezing. Good umami flavors throughout.

What’s NOT: nary a thing.

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