Parmesan Fennel Gratin

I'm slowly accepting that fall is here so I'm getting into all the root vegetables and squashes available right now.  I wanted to do something with fennel, and with a quick search, I picked out Ina Garten's Parmesan fennel gratin on Food Network's site.

Ina Garten's Parmesan Fennel Gratin

I like that the fennel is oven-braised in chicken stock and white wine to soften the vegetable.  The anise or licorice flavor of raw fennel becomes very mild as the fennel cooks.  So if you're not a fan of raw fennel, I suggest trying this preparation at least once before swearing off fennel entirely.

Using panko crumbs for this is key to get a nice, crunchy topping.  Each time I make this, I may bake the dish for more or less time than the recipe suggests to make sure the topping gets golden brown and toasty and the fennel is tender they way I like.  To get maximum topping coverage and crunch, I prefer to lay the fennel down on one of the cut sides rather than with the pointy end facing up.  This way there's more surface to hold the topping.  All the wedges don't end up fitting in one baking dish but I don't mind baking in two dishes at the same time.

I noticed a difference between the Food Network video and the written recipe on how much salt to use.  In the video, Ina uses 1 tsp of salt and makes a larger batch than the written recipe.  So I used 1 tsp of salt for 3 fennel bulbs instead of 2 tsp stated in the written recipe.  I thought 1 tsp was fine since the chicken stock and Parmesan cheese also add salt to the dish.

Even though there's Italian parsley in the topping, I also chop some of the green fennel fronds and sprinkle over the top before serving to add some fresh color.  Great dish for an everyday meal or even Thanksgiving.

This is from the first time I made this recipe.  My kitchen lighting is terrible so color tone isn't captured they way I'd like.

My Rating (out of 5): 4

Roasted Edamame

If you put a bowl of boiled or steamed edamame pods sprinkled with salt in front of me, I'd be a happy girl.  I love these beans just with salt.  But when I saw this PureWow recipe for roasted edamame, I wish I had thought of it sooner.

Roasting the edamame helps dry out water, making the pods not as soggy or mushy as they become when boiled.  What I really liked about this PureWow recipe is the lemon zest.  Roasting with the lemon zest really added a nice zing to the flavor.  I didn't have pimenton (smoked paprika) so I just sprinkled regular paprika which still gave this dish a slightly smoky flavor.  I can only imagine how good it would be with smoked paprika.

I will definitely make this again.  Next time, I'll lay the thawed edamame on a towel to drain more water before roasting, or roast for longer than the recipe suggests to get more char and color on the edamame.

My Rating (out of 5): 4

No. 15: Sweet Pete’s Salted Caramel

Finally!  More Crumbs locations have re-opened.  This is my first cupcake under new ownership of Marcus Lemonis and Fischer Enterprises.  The variety of cupcakes offered seemed smaller than I remember at the Union Square location.  Some of my favorites were not available so I decided to try one of the new flavors named after the owners's other businesses such as Dippin' Dots and Sweet Pete's candy.

The Sweet Pete's Salted Caramel cupcake looks different than the Salted Caramel cupcake I've had in the past.  (See previous Salted Caramel post here.)  I only heard of Sweet Pete's through news updates on Crumbs, so I am not familiar with their products.  I presume that Sweet Pete's makes some kind of salted caramel candy and those candies are used in the Crumbs cupcake?

Over the last few years, the change to mass manufactured cupcakes at Crumbs was noticeable, but I still liked the cupcakes.  However, today I really noticed the mass production in the look and taste.  The Sweet Pete's Salted Caramel cupcake tasted a bit stale.  The frosting had started to dry to where the mini chocolate chips fell off easily.

Unfortunately, the salt and caramel flavors were missing in this version.  There was a slight caramel flavor in the frosting, but not enough to taste like I was eating salted caramel.  No salt came through at all.  There was a skimpy drizzle of caramel on the top.  Because of the chocolate chips and chocolate cake, the overall flavor was just chocolate.  Instead of chocolate chips, more caramel sauce or even crushed or chopped Sweet Pete's caramel candy would have been better (assuming that's a product).  The texture of the cake was okay, but nothing noteworthy.  It wasn't dry or noticeably moist either.  Just ok.

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 2

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

I was drawn to this PureWow recipe because of the beautiful color and flavors the spices would bring to cauliflower.  I've had this recipe on my "to try" list for several months and finally tried it last week.

PureWow's Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower

I followed the recipe exactly and man, was I disappointed.  I roasted for 40 minutes at 400°, and the crust did not achieve the same dark orange color as pictured on the PureWow site.  I don't think I would have gotten the same color even if I roasted it for longer...a lot longer.  Instead, mine came out an unappealing dark tan color.  Maybe I used too much of the marinade (about a third), but the recipe says to "dunk" and "smear" it on which does not imply a light coating.

Besides the unappealing color, I did not enjoy the flavors and texture of the crust.  I use chili powder, cumin, and curry powder regularly.  But I think the amount of these spices was too much.  The moisture of the Greek yogurt cooks out leaving a crumbly, dry texture that I didn't find pleasant.

The recipe wastes 1-1/2 cups of good Greek yogurt (and spices).  I don't understand why the recipe wasn't written with smaller proportions.  I used about a third of the marinade, which was probably too much, and a cup was still leftover.  The recipe suggests using the leftover marinade on meat, fish or other veggies, but it is so over-spiced that I wouldn't want to eat it on anything else.

Here's how my dish came out.  See the PureWow link above for comparison.

My Rating (out of 5): 1

Shepherd's Pie

As the weather gets colder, I start to crave comforting foods like shepherd's pie.  A few years ago, I found this Anne Burrell recipe on Food Network's site when I was in the mood for shepherd's pie.  I had never made shepherd's pie before and haven't had it often in restaurants, so I thought I'd try to make it at home.

Shepherd's Pie from Anne Burrell

The leeks in this dish really add flavor and I wouldn't want to substitute for onions here.  The red wine and slow cooking develop rich flavors and a nice thick stew/filling for the pie.  And using Yukon gold potatoes helps make the mashed potatoes creamy.  This is a really great recipe and I've stuck with it to make shepherd's pie.

The recipe calls for lamb shoulder or leg, and I've made it with each on different occasions.  Both were great for the dish, but if I had to choose, I prefer shoulder a little more because I found it more tender.  I also made this with beef shoulder for friends who didn't like lamb and it turned out just as good.  So beef is a great way to keep this dish lower cost.

It does take a few hours to make so it's not for a quick dinner.

My Rating (out of 5): 5

No. 14: Strawberry Lemonade

I was in the vicinity of a Crumbs shop and had to keep on my Crumbs cupcake eating quest.  I picked this one purely because I thought the decoration looked cute with the straw.

The strawberry frosting was not very strong in strawberry flavor.  The lemon flavored cake was not too strong and I'd guess lemon extract was used and possibly yellow food coloring to give the bright color.  This cupcake didn't stand out for me and I probably wouldn't get again.

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 2

No. 13: Girl Scout Cookie™ Caramel & Coconut

Crumbs introduced their Girl Scout Cupcake Collection last month that feature four flavors honoring the famous Girl Scout Cookies.  Samoas­­® are my favorite Girl Scout Cookie, so of course I had to try the Girl Scout Caramel & Coconut cupcake.  It looks great with a Samoa cookie on top.

Crumbs plays homage to the cookie with a vanilla cake and chocolate frosting, topped with with toasted and untoasted coconut and a caramel drizzle.  While vanilla cake is not my preferred cake flavor, it makes sense to match the cookie base.  The chocolate frosting drizzled with caramel is a flip of the original cookie that has a caramel coconut topping drizzled with chocolate.  While I would love a caramel coconut frosting for the cupcake, the chocolate frosting goes well with all the vanilla cake.  I saved the Samoa cookie for last!

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Did You Know?  I just learned that my beloved Samoas are also called Caramel deLites®...huh?  According to the Girl Scouts site, the two have slightly different nutritional facts and the difference is because because a different baker makes each one.  The same goes for some of the other cookies like Tagalongs®.  Not sure why both bakers aren't able to use the same name or recipe, or why only some cookies have two names.  But I have only know this cookie as Samoas and I think it's the better name!

No. 12: Chocolate Pecan Pie

Crumbs offered two cupcakes to celebrate National Pecan Month this month.  I chose the Chocolate Pecan Pie because of all the pecans and caramel drizzle on top...two things I love.

The chocolate cake, chocolate ganache filling, and chocolate cream cheese frosting will make any choc-o-holic happy.  But I particularly like how the pecans and caramel add additional flavors and texture to complement all the chocolate.

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 4

No. 11: Nestlé Crunch

Crumbs is competing in a Nestlé® Crunch contest with this entry and they definitely loaded this cupcake up.  Layered with a Blondie bar at the bottom, Crunch pieces, & chocolate cake.  Then frosted with chocolate buttercream and topped with a mini Crunch candy bar AND a mini blondie chocolate chip cookie.  It's four different desserts in one.  This is the first time I've had a cupcake made with a dessert bar and the Blondie definitely was more dense in texture than cake.  I like the idea but prefer an all-cake cupcake.  Loved the Crunch candy topper!

This is a decadent dessert for sure and go ahead and try it while it's available.

(Bottom: Nestle Crunch mini has miraculously disappeared.)

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 4

No. 10: The Celtic

I celebrated this St. Patrick's Day with The Celtic cupcake.  I wish the flavors gave this one more of an Irish flare, but it was only the shamrock decoration and green-tinted filling.  The flavors were chocolate cake with a vanilla filling.

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: Union Square

My Rating (out of 5): 3

No. 9: Girl Scouts Thin Mints®

Yes!  Crumbs has partnered with the Girl Scouts to offer a Thin Mints cupcake for a limited time.  A Devil's food cake filled with fudge and topped with mint cream cheese frosting edged in chocolate cake crumbs with a Girl Scout Thin Mints® cookie in the center.  The flavors mirror the beloved cookie perfectly and the fudge filling adds a little extra decadence.  Yum!!

Any kind of Girl Scouts cookie concoction always brings some nostalgia from your childhood and is hard for me to resist.  Get one while it lasts!!

Size: Signature

Picked Up At: The Village

My Rating (out of 5): 5