One of the things I've been trying to do in 2010 is execute new recipes. As with many things in my life: sometimes I follow through and mix it up...sometimes it's the same old, tried and true.
Last week yielded 3 new recipes - all compliments of Christopher Kimball and his gang at Cooks Illustrated.
Thursday night was Stir-fry Night. I chose Spicy Stir-fried Sesame Chicken with Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms out of The New Best Recipe; my version substituted Sugar Snaps and Creminis.
A critical step in a successful stir-fry is mis en place: "get your stuff ready"!
Loved some of the tips the recipe offered; the finished dish proved to be too sweet and too oily. And not terribly spicy. Not as advertised. But I'll go back another time and do it "MY WAY".
Saturday night was a much more successful venture!
America's Test Kitchen Best Recipes and Reviews 2010 offered up a lovely dinner.
I did their Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Classic Roast Beef and Gravy. Oh my.
Followed both recipes very closely this time. The only change I made was the Roast: Trader Joe's didn't have a top sirloin roast (and I wasn't going to make another stop) so I chose a 2.5# TriTip.
I'm not a huge fan of the TriTip - it's a little chewy in my opinion. This Roast was cooked perfectly. The gravy was absolutely delicious and the Mashies were perfect. This was a truly wonderful dinner. Finished off the dish with TJ's Blue Lake Green Beans and a bottle of Cana's Feast 2007 Two Rivers. Dee-lish.
Sunday Lunch: finely sliced roast beast, a bit of gravy, sauteed creminis...all stuffed in a still-warm-freshly-baked-pita from Barbur World Foods with a bit of mayo and a slice of Jarlsberg. I don't have a pic. There wasn't time.
I'm going to see Christopher Kimball on Wednesday night at Powells Books in Cedar Hills - I'm rather geeked.
