Was it Worth it: Is Julia’s banana bread really the best?

The Background: My love for cooking magazines is well-known so it’s no surprise that this recipe is straight from Bon Appetit (March 2013). What might actually surprise you is that my fellow-blogger Liz from Food For Fun/deLizious food communications beat me to making it! Her post/recipe review, found here, is what inspired me to make this banana bread immediately instead of letting the recipe get buried in my pile of things to make “someday.”

Was it Worth it: Are mini corn muffins bite-sized bliss?

Mini Buttermilk Corn Muffins

The Source: Bon Appetit July 2010
The Menu: Mini Buttermilk Corn Muffins (to accompany a lovely beef stew)
Ingredient Swap: I detest dill so I used minced green onions in its place. I also used frozen corn instead of fresh.
The Background: These muffins happened about a week ago, mainly because I happened to have a ton of buttermilk in my fridge. This recipe hardly made a dent in it, but at least it helped a little. It was also a recipe that has been kicking around in my binder for a few years so it seemed like a good time to *finally* make them! Continue reading →

Was It Worth It? Trying out magazine recipes so you don’t have to!

The Source: Bon Appetit September 2012
The Cook: Just me…with the “help” of one fluffy kitty
The Menu: Old-fashioned blueberry coffee cake
The Background: I’ve been on a bit of a baking kick lately. Since we’d had a break from scorching hot weather, it seemed like a great time to turn on the old oven. High off my success with blueberry baked oatmeal, I decided to try out another blueberry recipe and this one sounded too good to pass up.
The Beginning:

This should also be called: where I messed it all up.

The Source: Food & Wine June 2012
The Cook: Just me…all alone…
The Menu: Turkey Fried Rice with Potato Chips *only adaptation was adding blanched green beans and asparagus, some spicy mustard greens and a bit of Thai basil. I just can’t help but add in extra vegetables, especially when my dinner involves copious amounts of carbs with the addition of potato chips!
The Background: It was 85 degrees outside, I was exhausted from work and my long hot bike ride home, and I was so hungry I contemplated just eating the chips for dinner.
How it began:

Which one of these things is not like the others?