Recipe Recount

I came across a list of “food resolutions” while flipping through a notebook during a meeting (don’t judge – I was mostly paying attention). I had a look at the list and, amazingly, I’ve actually checked off a lot of them!

I wanted to learn to make mussels – I made two kinds! There was definitely some trepidation on my part as it had been ingrained inot me that it is not hard to poison someone accidentally by serving them bad shellfish. So I made sure that I tossed any mussels I thought might, maybe, potentially be open. I scrubbed them til they shone, then inspected every cooked mussel to ensure they had opened fully after cooking. I had been reassured by a friend who’d made them many times that making mussels was easy and inexpensive (not to mention the delicious results) and she was 100% right.

So, mussels: check. Next up: a new fish dish each month. I haven’t been keeping close track of this, but I did learn a cod dish and several new tilapia and salmon dishes.  Of all of these, I think the salmon baked in foil with a tomato and shallot dressing was my favourite. It had a slew of bright flavours that complimented the rich salmon – and it was absurdly easy to make.  Great for a dinner party and would be especially good for impressing the in-laws.

Getting off the seafood track, I wanted to learn to make quinoa. I had tried before and it came out….crunchy and kind off-tasting. Then along came a girlfriend who made this  fabulous quinoa dish. One bite and I was hooked, knowing I’d have to make it myself. And I did. Two days later. I’m still tooling around with other recipes as this grain needs more spicing and flavouring than something like rice. If you use a teaspoon of salt for rice, you’d probably want about twice that for quinoa.

Last on this resolution list is barbeque sauce. I made one that I loved about a month ago and will undoubtedly take another few runs at it to perfect it. I saw one posted yesterday, however, that looks so good it’s been bumped to the top of my list. Peach jalapeno barbeque sauce? Ummm, yes please.

I’m also baking more than I have before, as evidenced by the cookie and whoopie pie recipes that have shown up here lately…and by the tightening of my pants.  I’ve still got to tackle lamb (figuratively, of course…) and am always looking for great vegetarian recipes. I spent a lovely afternoon with an even lovelier friend drinking wine and ransacking her vegetarian cookbook collection. I found all sorts of goodies that the hubby and I will test out on our Meatless Mondays.

So what remains on this list? For one, brisket. I love using my slow cooker and brisket would cook beautifully in it. Anyone out there have a great brisket recipe that I need to try?

I’m also interested in family recipes. I’ve got my mom’s famous dessert in my little blue book ready to make (though I’m sure I’ll never be able to make it exactly like she does)  and my mother-in-law’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.  What I’m most excited about, though, is a good friend’s offer to show me how to make his Serbian mother and grandmother’s recipes for chicken paprikash and perogies. Drool.

If you’ve got anything you think I should make, please let me know! I’ll add it to the ever-expanding list!

Tags: recipes, slow cooker, vegetarian food