Confetti Corn

For my last blog I decided to make something I had never tried making before, confetti corn. I found a page in my recipe book that was titled confetti corn, and I had never heard of anything like it so I decided to try it out. There’s different corn recipes that I’ve tried before but none of them had similar ingredients to this one.

The ingredients include

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• ½ cup chopped red onions
• 1 small orange bell pepper, ½ inch diced
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 cups corn kernels
• 1½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. julienned fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives

The first step is to heat the oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat.

Add the onions into the pan and sauté them for 5 minutes so that the onions become soft. Then stir in the bell peppers and sauté them for 2 more minutes (Garten, 160). First I added the onions and sautéed them for roughly 5 minutes on medium heat until the onions became slightly brown and soft. Then I added in the diced bell pepper to the pan and sautéed them for about 2 minutes.

Then add the butter to the pan and allow for it to melt.

“Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn just loses its starchiness” (Garten, 160). I first cooked the corn for 5 minutes then I checked if they were still starchy by pulling a few of them out and checking if they were still sticky, some of the corn kernels were still a little bit sticky. So I cooked them for about 2 more minutes and checked them again and they weren’t sticky anymore so I knew they were done cooking.

For seasoning add in the chives and basil, then serve confetti corn while its hot and enjoy.

The confetti corn turned out pretty good especially for my first time making it. I definitely will we be making it again. And I recommend you try.

Do you often modify your recipes and experiment with them, or do you like to stick to the original recipe?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print

Baked Potatoes

For my fourth blog I decided to venture out and try to make one of my favorite side dishes, a baked potato. My recipe book had a great recipe for baked potatoes paired with a yogurt and sour cream mixture.

The ingredients include:

• 4 large potatoes
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper

The first step is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

The second step is to “Wash the potatoes and place them directly on the oven baking rack. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until very tender when pierced with a skewer” (Garten, 166).  I did exactly what Garten had said to do, I baked the potatoes first for 45 minutes then checked them to see if they were cooked, they weren’t fully baked so I baked them for 10 minutes more then checked them again by piercing the potatoes, they were finally fully baked and tender so I pulled them out.

Then combine the yogurt, sour cream, chives, salt, and pepper to make the chives dressing (Garten, 166). In the recipe it didn’t specify exactly how they wanted you to combine all the ingredients, so what I did was I put all the ingredients into a bowl and mixed everything with a spoon until all of it was thoroughly combined.

When the potatoes are done, cut them down the middle, and squeeze the ends. Then sprinkle them with some salt and pepper and then serve the hot potatoes with the cold chive and sour cream mixture.

The baked potatoes turned out great, and the chives dressing was really good as well, it tasted delicious with the baked potatoes.

What’s your favorite potato dish; mashed potatoes, French fires, hash browns, potato salad, etc.?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print.             

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

For my third blog post I decided to make another baked good. The baked good that I decided to make was a honey vanilla pound cake.

The ingredients include:

• ½ pound unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking powder

The first step is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then grease the bottom of a loaf pan and set it aside.

“In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light” (Garten, 208). I did exactly what Garten had said and I had achieved the light creamy texture of the butter and sugar combination.

 

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time also add in the honey and vanilla extract. Then sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients. Once the batter is completely mixed together then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the pound cake for 50-60 minutes. You know the pound cake is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and it comes out clean (Garten, 208). I baked the pound cake for 50 minutes and then tried the toothpick method, the toothpick came out with a tiny bit of batter on it so I baked the cake for 10 more minutes, then I tried the toothpick method again and it came out clean so I knew the cake was done baking.

 

After the pound cake is done baking then let the cake cool for about 15 minutes, then cut into slices and enjoy.

The pound cake was delicious it had just the right amount of sweetness and a perfect texture with a soft center and a stiffer outside. I highly recommend this recipe especially to those who don’t like too much sweet in there baked goods, this is a perfect simple delightful desert.

Do you use the toothpick method when baking? And do you prefer your baked goods to have a lot of sweetness or only a little bit?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print.              

Fruit Smoothies

For my second blog I’ve decided to make one of my favorite types of drinks, smoothies. In my cookbook I found a recipe for a great smoothie with some of my favorite fruits in it, so I tried the recipe out to see how the smoothie would turn out.

The ingredients include:

• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1 cup chopped watermelon
• 1 cup chopped peaches
• 1 cup raspberry sorbet
• ¼ cup orange juice

“Place the strawberries, watermelon, peach, sorbet, and orange juice in a blender and purée until smooth and creamy” (Garten, 224). I did exactly what Garten had said to do, but I also added some ice in with all the other ingredients so that my smoothie would turn out to be nice and cold.

You can also add some extra orange juice if you prefer your smoothies to be runnier and less thick (Garten, 224). I added about a fourth cup more of orange juice because the ice I had added before had made the smoothie a little too thick for my liking.

The smoothie turned out great in the end. This is a simple but yet a great tasty drink to make, and I recommend that you try it out sometime.

 

What’s your favorite drink? And is it difficult or fairly easy to make?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print.             

Brownies

To start off my blog I will be making one of my favorite baked goods, brownies. The cook book I got had a very easy and simple recipe for brownies, so I decided to try it out.

The ingredients include:

• ½ pound unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

The first steps are to preheat the oven to 325 degrees, then butter a pan and set it aside, and melt the sticks of butter for later.

“Beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5-10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow” (Garten, 218). When I made my recipe I did the same thing but when I was done the color I had was a darker yellow not a light yellow like the Garten said, I think this was because I used organic sugar which has a brown color to it instead of pure white regular sugar.

 



When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, lower the speed to low and add the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix until everything is combined (Garten, 218). I did just as the instruction said and added the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and flour and mixed on low speed. I mixed until everything was properly combined and I couldn’t see the flour or cocoa powder anymore.

Then add the melted butter to the mixture and combine on low speed. When I usually bake brownies I add chocolate chips for extra flavor, since this recipe didn’t say to add them I thought that I would add them to this recipe to make the brownies more delicious. Lastly pour the batter into the pan and put it into the oven.

The brownies turned out great once they were done baking, I was right about the chocolate chips because they really did add a wonderful chocolate boost to the brownies. If you try this great simple brownie recipe I suggest you add the chocolate chips for they add a delicious chocolate flavor that really enhances the taste.

What’s your favorite baked good? And do you have any special ingredients you like to add to it?

Garten, Ina. Barefoot Contessa Back to the Basics. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2008. Print.