Let's cook. And eat.

This V day Mr. S was missing in action. But to keep things upbeat, Master S and I tried to make things special. We made these chocolate dipped strawberries and stuffed peppers.  There wasn’t much to the peppers - Ms Julie shared the recipe. Her recipe called for cream cheese, but we used some hung curd mixed with honey goat cheese. Mix, stuff and top with “everything but the bagel sesame” spice.  Crunchy and oh so good. 

This recipe is a keeper. Master S was happy I made it and repeatedly thankful- it made my day. Unfortunately we devoured it so quickly that there is no picture to share.  https://www.recipetineats.com/garlic-chicken-thighs-recipe/

A few years back when we were visiting NYC, Mr. S’s cousin insisted we visit the Levain bakery. A hole in a wall kind of place, with a long line outside, I waited patiently to get my hands on the delicious gooey amazingness called their chocolate chip walnut cookies. It was worth the wait for sure.  Many years later, back at home, I went looking for a copy cat recipe online. And I found this. It works and what comes out at the end is plain deliciousness.  https://www.modernhoney.com/levain-bakery-chocolate-chip-crush-cookies/

Had been wanting to try this one for a long long time. Finally came together for Xmas. Sticky toffee pudding is a traditional English dessert - a steamed date cake.  Mr. S did all the chopping of dates. Which really was the hardest part. Other than that, these are super easy to make.  Followed this particular recipe.  https://homemadeandyummy.com/sticky-toffee-pudding-pressure-cooker/ Added some cinnamon and clove powders to add some warm flavors.  Can also be steamed in Instant Pot on Steam setting for 20 minutes. 

On a whim, we picked up some fish from Wholefoods (read expensive). And were on the lookout for a good recipe to do justice to the fish.  Called up lady A. And sure enough she had something up her sleeve just for the occasion.  Pat dry the fish nicely. Sprinkle with salt and pepper nicely. Then add it to a hot cast iron pan with some butter and olive oil. Let it sear undisturbed for a few minutes. Flip over 3-4 times at intervals of 3-4 minutes each till the fish is done - it’s flaky and tender. Remove to a plate.  In the same pan, add some butter , garlic and Italian herbs. Sauté for a few. Then in goes some lemon juice and salt and black pepper. Let the sauce reduce. A spoonful of capers rounds it off. Pour the sauce over the fish. Ta da. It’s done. And you can thank me later for penning down this recipe from lady A. 

Mr. K. A dear friend and our resident Dr Sahib. This recipe came from him, on the spur, as I was talking to his wife about another fish recipe.  https://youtu.be/cvaibAcAFvE The mushrooms came out lovely. I substituted dry herbs because I did not have fresh ones and also used some Parmesan cheese on the top. 

So remember Mr. M. He and his boys made a meat lasagna for Thanksgiving. And that inspired me to make a spinach and mushroom lasagna.  Went looking for a recipe on the web, and found this one that pretty much worked for the most part.  https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/vegetarian_spinach_and_mushroom_lasagna/ I did end up making just a couple of changes.  First I used fresh rolled pasta sheets. And so I did not have to boil the pasta. Just used it as is.  I used Rao's marinara instead of the tomato paste and can of tomatoes. And I did add 2 eggs to my ricotta mixture along with some black pepper and salt.  The coolest part was dry sauteing the mushrooms. I did not even know that was a thing till I saw the recipe above. New skill learned.  But the funnest part was definitely cooking with my little man. Master S has been really handy in the kitchen this year ever since we went into quarantine. Small silver linings.