Foodie Friday

Chef of the Month Recipes:

I must say while I loved most of the Barefoot Contessa's food it is a bit of a relief to start with some simpler fare.  This month I'm using 5 cookbooks - Come Home to Dinner and Southern Plate by blogger and local Christy Jordan and The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier and The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl all by blogger Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman.  Both of them are a bit more on the basic side which after a month of

endless ingredient lists is pretty nice.

This week I made:

Buttermilk Biscuits from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl:  I was really impressed with how these turned out.  I missed the how to make proper biscuits cooking lesson and tend to rely on Cook's Illustrated Baking Powder Style Biscuits otherwise I get hockey pucks.  These however, turned out beautifully layered and delicious.  Definitely a new go to recipe for me.

Chocolate Gravy from Southern Plate: This was okay but I think I would've liked it better if it was a little less sweet and maybe a little more buttery.

Cocoa Cola Pork Chops from Come Home to Dinner - It was so lovely to have a simple recipe for dinner that required 3 ingredients and took maybe 20 minutes.  It's not fine quality dining but it was good and quick and the sauce tasted great over mashed potatoes.  This may not be something I crave but it's definitely a possibility for the nights I don't feel like cooking.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl: I can't say enough good things about these mashed potatoes.  They're delicious.  They can be made ahead of time and heated up with no problems with the texture.  The baking method also smooths out any lumps you may leave in if you (by this I mean me) get impatient with mashing potatoes.  I have made these for holidays and just plain old Tuesdays and they're always a success.  I have started leaving out the cream and only using one stick of butter and can't really taste much difference.

"Bama" Steak and Cheese Sandwiches from Come Home to Dinner - So I didn't expect much from these.  The ingredient list was so simple and I kind of expected it ending up just salty roast beef.  I was pleasantly surprised when this turned into a really tasty and super easy sandwich filling.  The onion and bell pepper added flavor but even the picky teenagers liked it.  These will definitely be made again.   Though I do recommend splurging a little on nice hoagie rolls and toasting them just a little.  I think next time I might try provolone instead of mozzarella.

Pinterest Recipes:

Som'Bitch Cookies from Two.Thirty.Ate - I love How I Met Your Mother.  I've watched most of the episodes multiple times and was thrilled  when I saw these cookies inspired by the cookies the mother gave Lily on the train.  This is an excellent peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and the caramel inside makes it even better.  The one problem I had was the cookies turned out enormous when I followed directions.  The ratio of dough to caramel wasn't quite what I wanted it to be.  I think when I make them again I form less dough around the cookie instead of making a little sandwich.  Overall these are excellent and I definitely plan on making this again with just a little tweak.

S'More Pudding Cookies from Chef in Training - like most things I've made from this blog these were excellent.  They're chewy, chocolate-y and marshmallow-y with just a really nice balance of flavors.

Pin I'm Most Excited About this Week:

This Crescent Cherry Cheese Cobbler from The Country Cook looks like a cherry cheese danish in 9x13 form.  Plus as much as I hate to admit it I have a weakness for crescent rolls.  Even though I might be the only person to eat this in my house I might weaken and make this soon.