grated – Page 10 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

6-11: Chinese Duck

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses May 31, 2016June 17, 2020Asian, black pepper, bone-in, brown sugar, cast-iron, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, Chinese, Chinese/dark soy sauce, dairy-free, deglazed, dinner, duck, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, garlic, ginger, granulated sugar, grated, herbs and spices, honey, lemons, minced, pan-fried, parsley, simmered, soy sauce, untested

Here’s a first for me: I’ve never attempted to break down a duck before this recipe, 6-11: Chinese Duck. I’ve cooked with duck a handful of times, but this is definitely the most involved with it that I’ve ever gotten. There’s one more duck recipe in this book, so expect a return sometime in the future.

I found myself with a duck after my husband took a trip past a local butcher a few weeks ago, so I decided to take a stab at one of the two recipes in the book. I assumed this would be similar to the Chinese dish Peking duck, and in true Simply Delicious style, it doesn’t quite come as close as recipes today can get you.

5-6: Cheese Soufflé

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 28, 2016April 29, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, Béchamel sauce, black pepper, breakfast, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cornstarch, creamy, dinner, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, French, Gouda, grated, Gruyère, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, melted, milk, Monterey Jack, party food, salt, shredded, side dish, soufflés, stand mixer, untested, vegetarian, whipped

Soufflés are one of the stereotypical fancy foods–a harried chef attempting to keep one from falling due to its delicate, temperamental nature used to be a common comedy trope.

The two most common variations are the dessert version (like a chocolate one) and the savory version (like this recipe, 5-6: Cheese Soufflé). I’ve covered one savory soufflé dish already from this book: 4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions.

This would be a good recipe to add some green onions or chives to–I think it would add some nice color to the soufflé without weighing it down. Simply Delicious shows this recipe in individual ramekins, but I’m going to make it all in one big soufflé dish–I have to justify its existence in my cabinet.

3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 26, 2016March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, bacon, black pepper, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, crab, creamy, croutons, dinner, easy, egg yolks, eggs, grated, green onions, half-and-half, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, parsley, roux, salt, sautéed, shredded, shrimp, side dish, soups, Swiss, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream

Here’s a question for you: is cheese soup really soup? To me, it’s essentially the sauce from macaroni and cheese, thinned down and maybe dressed up with some onions or bacon. Often potato or broccoli gets added as well, in an attempt to “healthify” it. No matter what, it just seems…indulgent. I was on my own to make and eat 3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup, so I kept this one simple.

Don’t get me wrong–I do enjoy broccoli cheese soup (and make one every few months or so for work), but leek & cheese (which this one is) doesn’t excite me as much. This one was a bit leek-y for me, but maybe I just lack appreciation for the leek.

17-55: Scottish Shortbread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 17, 2016November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, almond extract, anise, baked goods, butter, coconut, cookie cutters, cookie press, cookies, creamed, dough, easy, egg-free, flavorings, food coloring, gift ideas, grated, inexpensive, lemons, Mother's Day, oranges, party food, powdered sugar, rum, Scottish, shortbread, snacks, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, walnuts, zested

Here’s another good cookie press recipe. It’s a long way away from the holiday season, and cookie cutters/presses tend to get a bit dusty during the spring & summer months. I had a bunch of shapes for the press that weren’t holiday-related, so I decided to get creative with some colors & flavor extracts and use 17-55: Scottish Shortbread to play with the press.

Theirs look really thick–mine came out thinner since I used the press. These would probably work well with differently-shaped cookie cutters too, not just rounds. As I learned, they also work well with food coloring and flavor extracts.

I ended up using these for Mother’s Day gifts, and made a mix of three colors/shapes to bag up and mail/hand out. 💐

16-18: Lemon Basil Tart

Jamie Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 2, 2016November 5, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking powder, basil, boiled, butter, chilled, cornstarch, creamed, cut in, dessert, dusted, egg yolks, eggs, fairly hard, fairly inexpensive, fruit, granulated sugar, grated, herbs and spices, lemon juice, lemons, milk, party food, pastry, pie crust, powdered sugar, salt, shortbread, steeped, strawberries, tart, tart pan, untested, vegetarian, zested

Here’s one I’ve wanted to make for a LONG time, but never got to. I had even intended to do a version of 16-18: Lemon Basil Tart when I worked at the restaurant and was doing tarts every week moonlighting as the pastry chef, but the day I intended to make it, we were short on lemons and basil. Now I finally have a chance, and I even have the big tart pan in which to properly make it.

I didn’t even see until now that they mention that basil is related to mint–it makes sense. In this tart, the basil functions a lot like mint, and gives the tart a “fresh” flavor that just lemon wouldn’t provide. It took me a while to get to it, but it was worth it. 🍋🌿

6-32: Savory Buffet Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses April 30, 2016June 18, 2020apples, Asian, blender, breasts, chicken, coconut, coconut milk, creamy, crushed tomatoes, curry powder, dairy-free, dinner, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, garlic, gluten-free, grated, herbs and spices, Indian, lunch, minced, olive oil, Oriental, salt, sautéed, sesame seeds, tahini, thighs, untested, whipping cream, yellow onions

Indian never goes well for Simply Delicious. 11-16: Indian Fried Fish was a bust, and 12-22: Nasi Goreng was less than exciting. This recipe, 6-32: Savory Buffet Chicken doesn’t openly identify itself as Indian-inspired, but it’s pretty similar to another clandestinely-influenced recipe, 6-8: Curried Chicken.

“Oriental” is a term you don’t really hear any more (as I mentioned in 7-11: Oriental Pork Stir-Fry), and the language seems a bit flowery for the 1980s. However, this project is not about that stuff–it’s about the food. Let’s press on.

9-33: Teriyaki Meat Loaf

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses April 27, 2016July 6, 2020Asian, beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, blender, bread crumbs, canola oil, celery, dairy-free, diced, dinner, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, food processor, garlic, ginger, grated, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, loaf pan, lunch, meat thermometer, meatloaf, panko, party food, picnic, red bell peppers, sautéed, sesame oil, sesame seeds, sherry, soy sauce, tamari, tender-crisp, teriyaki sauce, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

It’s taken me a while to think of something original to say about 9-33: Teriyaki Meat Loaf. Neither component is revolutionary at this point–there’s not too many people left in 2016 that are unaware of either concept, and Asian fusion is nowhere near a new culinary trend. There’s a million versions out there–here’s just a few. I’ve even already covered meatloaf on here before–9-28: Stuffed Meat Loaf.

Simply Delicious’ version of teriyaki is pretty close–usually it’s composed of soy sauce, mirin, and ginger. It was probably more difficult to source mirin in the 1980s, so they used sherry instead. Anyway, after the jump you can read about yet another way to do meat loaf.

7-1: Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses April 20, 2016June 18, 2020black pepper, blanched, bread crumbs, butter, cheese, chopped, coated, creamy, dinner, dredged, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, garlic, garlic powder, grated, herb salt, herbs and spices, lunch, mushrooms, pan-fried, panko, Parmesan, parsley, parsnips, pork, pork tenderloin, sautéed, side dish, steamed, stews, tenderized, untested, vegetables, whipping cream, white wine

Oh boy, another pork tenderloin recipe. This is the last of my Costco pack, but I’m going tomorrow, so who knows what I’ll come home with. 7-1: Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms is the first card in Group 07: Pork, and a pretty straightforward recipe. Other pork tenderloin recipes I’ve covered so far include 7-27: Pork Tenderloin in Creamy Sauce, 7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic, and 7-36: Pork Tenderloin with Curry Sauce.

This recipe includes parsnips, a root vegetable related to carrots and parsley. Parsnips are usually winter vegetables, but I think you could probably still get away with it in mid-April.

9-30: South American Meatballs

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses April 9, 2016July 6, 2020appetizers, beef, black pepper, bread crumbs, canola oil, chili powder, coated, coconut, diced, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fried, grated, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, herbs and spices, lemons, limes, lunch, meatballs, milk, pan-fried, panade, panko, paprika, parsley, party food, pork, purée, salt, Silpat, South American, tomato paste, untested, vegetables, yellow onions, zested

There are LOTS of different ways to prepare meatballs–at least 20 according to this Serious Eats piece. So far, the only meatball recipe I’ve covered on here is 9-4: Swedish Meatballs, although 9-44: Wok-Fried Beef Patties are pretty close. A quick Google search brings up albondigas for “South American meatballs”. Prior to 9-30: South American Meatballs, my only experience with either of these concepts is something similar to this recipe that you get at Mexican restaurants. And none of it involves coconut. 🌴

Coconut is the main thing here–it’s meatballs with coconut all up in there. It’s not a bad taste, just an an acquired one. Paprika is usually associated with Hungarian (European) cuisine, but its origins are in the Americas, brought over during all of that New World/Old World business in the 16th century.

7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses March 30, 2016June 18, 2020barbecue, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, blanched, boneless, broiled, canola oil, deglazed, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, gluten-free, grated, grilled, lemons, lunch, melted, olive oil, party food, pork, pork loin, salt, sautéed, untested, vegetable oil, zested

Since the last entry was a garlic & beef entry (8-20: Juicy Steak with Garlic Topping), here’s another garlic recipe for you, this time with pork: 7-34: Grilled Pork Slices with Garlic. I used a cast-iron grill pan for this, but you could use a BBQ or even just do a pan-sear if that’s what you’ve got.

This is some serious garlic game–whole cloves, in fact. But they’re right–blanching them does make them pretty mild and yummy. If you’re willing to risk some garlic breath, this recipe is a pretty decent one to check out.