Red potatoes with parsley

It looks like activity has been low on the blog this week. I know Steph's traveling and Lindsay is injured, plus I'm pretty sure they both did the potatoes last week. This was the easiest recipe yet. The potatoes were quick and easy and turned out great. The green beans came out of a can so that took no time. The fish was a little tricky. We actually caught this fish at Strawberry Lake several weeks ago and it's been in the freezer since. This was my first time fishing with a pole, and definitely my first time seeing the whole process from the fish swimming in the water to putting it into my mouth. So the trickiest part was probably filleting the fish, but Caleb did that (here he is trying to get instructions from his brother over the phone) . He did a great job. We experimented and left one fish whole (gutted of course :) ) and fileted the other. The filet portions burned (I should've put the broil on low because high cooked them way too fast) so it was a little crispy but still good. I like the butter/parsley/lemon juice idea (I got the recipe for the fish out of the Lionhouse cookbook -- yummy and simply!) but both the potatoes and the fish could've had a much stronger taste. Maybe I'll try some garlic next time? I will definitely do the potatoes again and will just experiment with different seasonings. Way to go Martha, another successful week.

Roasted Chicken and Boiled Potatoes--Linds

I will make this short cuz I have to type with just my left hand. This meal produced quite a disaster. Not cuz the meal was bad but I am so stupid.
Stuffed chicken with lemons, dried rosemary and fresh thyme. trussed with wire, need to get twine. cooked almost to perfection.

I grabbed the handle of the skillet after it had been in the 450 oven for an hour and burned my RIGHT hand really badly. cooking ended there obviously so no pan sauce. Luckily I had finished potatoes already. i used dried parsley but they lacked flavor. chicken was delicious. went to ER after we ate and it was a long night. going to be a really rough week with one hand and two kids. sometimes i use teeth to change their clothes and diapers. i am such an idiot. i told kenny he is my right hand man haha.

my hand all wrapped up from doc. it still burns. 2nd degree. hurt real bad. tyler sang to me the song, "If you chance to meet a frown..." that made me laugh. at least the chicken was yummy. will do again for sure.

Roast Chicken and Boiled Parseleyed Potatoes, by Steph

I was really excited for this week. Since I'm going out of town and won't be available to cook next week's recipe, I combined them into one dinner and one post. I had a bag of potatoes from a while ago...apparently too long of a while ago: when I opened the bag, most of them had gone all mushy and gross. So I grabbed my gardening gloves and ran to my backyard to harvest some of my own potatoes. I have been scared to try my own, because I knew I had to dig in the dirt for them. They don't just sprout up like normal plants. But desperation propelled me into digging. And I found a true rainbow of potatotes. Since I failed to label the potato plants when we bought them (I'm a terrible gardener), I had no idea what kinds of potatoes we had. All I remembered was French fingerling. Not sure what those look like. But we had some red ones with a red middle, some purple ones with a purple middle, and then some plain yellow ones. And a few normal reds left from the grocery store. They looked really pretty in the pot and I was so happy with them.
















Unfortunately, they didn't turn out so great. Some of them held up well to the boiling and some didn't, so we had a bit of mush going on with the finished product. And the ones from the store were okay (flavorless, but okay), but the ones I picked tasted like dirt. Dang it.
















The chicken...that's a whole other story. I stuffed it with kosher salt, fresh-ground pepper, rosemary (from my garden), lemon slices, and garlic cloves. I trussed the legs with twine from my scrapbook stash. It smelled divine while it roasted.This was my 4th attempt at cooking a whole chicken, and I felt confident I would do it right this time, after having bought a meat thermometer. After almost an hour had passed, I stuck the thermometer in - 165 degrees on the dot. Perfect. I let the chicken rest (although I wish I could have rested while the chicken finished up dinner) while I made the pan sauce. It was a bit of an extravagant feast for one mother and two babies, but that's how it is around here.










As I carved the chicken (the non-Martha way - dug might be a more appropriate word), the delectable smell of lemons and rosemary wafted out. My excitement grew. And then my heart sank - I reached a spot that was still bloody and pink.
















Leighton knew just how I felt.

Same problem as the last 3 times - the chicken was undercooked. Of course, it wasn't the recipe's fault this time. The taste of the chicken that did fully cook was amazing. I will definitely be cooking this roast chicken again - it may even become a Sunday dinner staple. The kids both loved it and Eva had about 4 helpings. The pan sauce was a little too buttery, but utterly delicious. As soon as I get rid of the feeling that salmonella is overtaking my kitchen, I'll try this again. But I would say this was the first Martha recipe triumph.

"Perfect" Roasted Chicken

This is try two... I just accidentally posted to the family website...

I'm back! My apologies for not posting last week. But I really liked doing this week's recipe. It was fairly simple and is definitely something I'll do again. It was fun dealing with a whole chicken again. It's as if the chicken's alive, and sometimes I talk to it while I'm maneuvering it/stuffing things into its bum. I couldn't find real rosemary at Wal-Mart and I didn't have time to look somewhere else, so I just used the canned rosemary spice. I covered the lemon slices in rosemary and stuffed them into the chicken along with the mashed garlic cloves and of course salt and pepper. We had to go to Caleb's nephew's birthday party and we knew we'd be gone for an hour so I put the oven on 350 degrees for about an hour, then when we got back home I turned it up to 450 for about 10 more minutes. It wasn't crispy, but it was still very good. I'm curious to see if those who did their's at 450 for 50 minutes got a more crispy result. I roasted carrots and parsnips along with the chicken and then used chicken granules, the chicken drippings, and corn starch/water for the gravy. This was my favorite recipe so far, but my only dislike was that it was TOO BUTTERY. It might've been fine without the extra teaspoon of butter in the gravy, but even the 2 tablespoons on the chicken I think was too much. Caleb said chicken was the first ingredient and butter must've been the second! After cutting and ripping apart a whole uncooked chicken I was not afraid at all when it came to "carving" this cooked chicken. I barely even used scissors, mostly just my hands. I felt like I was in Samoa (and apparently Caleb did too!), where they each get a whole chicken for dinner and just go at it. I'll be prepared when we go visit Caleb's mission.

It wasn't "perfect" but it was good. I moved it into this pan while I did the cravy in the original sauce pan. If you can't tell I used mint flavored floss to tie the legs together.
'Til next week!

Steamed Artichoke, Singular, by Steph

Although I frequently use canned artichoke hearts (in pasta sauce, etc.), I had never purchased a whole artichoke. Seeing as how I am a single mom now, and knowing my kids wouldn't eat an artichoke, I only bought one. So I only wasted $2.

I followed the directions as closely as I could but was unsure of how to cute the bottom stems off. My artichoke didn't end up looking like a flower; it just looked like an artichoke with half of the leaves cut off.

My kids were a great help, as you can see. I had fed them lunch (Ramen noodles, which smelled much better than my steaming artichoke) so they were free to climb on the counters and walk under my feet.












The finished product. My poached egg was overcooked, my hollandaise sauce was too runny, and I had no idea how to go about eating an artichoke. I alter found out from my husband that you pick the leaves off and scrape the "meat" off with your teeth. After biting down unsuccessfully on the top of the leaf, I decided it was better off as a serving dish than as part of the meal. I ate the egg and pretty much threw the rest of it in the trash. Sad, I know - but it's all in the name of experience.











I guess I should have eaten some Ramen after all.

Poached Eggs and other stuff by Linds

The full title of this week's challenge is: STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH SMOKED SALMON, POACHED EGGS, AND HOLLANDAISE. This week also held a lot of firsts for me. My first time buying, steaming and eating an artichoke; first time poaching eggs, first time making hollandaise sauce, and second time trying salmon.

I have not figured out a good way to blog on here so that it makes sense and is somewhat orderly. So bear with me as I try to figure out how to get it all down. I also need to forewarn you all that I am a horrible food photographer, so hopefully that will improve over time as well.

Artichokes: I do not have a steamer, but being so creative I decided to use my very large canning stock pot that was already out from my apple canning this week. It worked just fine and we steamed the artichokes. Martha told us to discard the rest of the artichoke leaves, but we didn't. We dipped them in the hollandaise sauce and ate them. Kenny showed me the proper way to eat. You just bite down and kind of scrape your teeth along it and the soft parts come off. I didn't really dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. It was just an artichoke ya know?

This was halfway through the digging out the interior of the artichokes. one was done, the other, obviously not.

Smoked Salmon: We didn't actually do smoked salmon strips like martha orders. We just bought a half-pound of norwegian salmon and put some of the hollandaise sauce and extra lemon juice on it, and baked it in the oven. I don't know what it is with me and fish but I have a severe aversion to it. The smell makes me sick and I'm not even pregnant. I tried another bite hoping that this time around I would like it but I nearly gagged. I really just can't stand the taste I don't know why. It made me really sad actually, because I wish I liked it.

Poached eggs: Oh boy this was an interesting experience. I have never even eaten a poached egg, let alone made it myself. 2 out of the 4 I made were great. One of them, the yolk was cooked too much, and the 4th one didn't have egg white around the whole thing, just like half of it for some reason. Anyway, I thought I did pretty good for a first timer.

I know it looks like a total failure, but they actually were ok. I didn't trim the edges afterwards because I just didn't feel like it, it wasn't a big deal to me.

Hollandaise sauce: I didn't actually follow Martha's recipe. thanks to steph giving me the head's up and an easier recipe, I think it was yummy and ended up being something I will make again I'm sure. Steph showed me The Pioneer Woman's way of making it. Although we've had a few blender mishaps so I had to use an electric hand mixer instead of the blender, and I think it worked ok. I guess I don't know what it was supposed to taste or look like because it was a first for me but it was fine for us.

Here's a picture of the final plating. C'est tres belle, non? Obviously this was Kenny's plate because he ate the salmon. I just sat there watching Kenny eat and I felt so envious of him because he absolutely LOVED this meal. He was just raving about it and I felt so sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as he did. I loved making it, and I'm glad I had all these new experiences, but I really just didn't enjoy the taste of any of it that much. I wish I had a more refined palate...maybe with time. the bad news is Tyler seems to have gotten my genes in the eating dept. He wouldn't have any of it, but he sure did enjoy two whole corn dogs.

I realized after we ate that I forgot to take a picture of myself with it, like we are supposed to do. But rest assured that I look pretty much the same as last week. I feel skinnier, because I ran 5 miles today but I don't look any different unfortunately haha. I was surprised that this didn't take me very long. I think I anticipated it being a lot of work and taking a long time, but it really didn't and I'm glad. It was a fun meal to do, and cool to try all these new things!! It's a good thing Kenny knows more about food and stuff than I do. I have no idea where he learned it all, but I'm just glad he did :). Overall, week 2 was a sucess.

No soup-- Sorry!

I did not make the soup, but thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of your experiences. Sounds like I would have made Tyler do most of it anyway-- I can't even touch raw chicken breasts, let alone snap a whole chicken's thigh. Ughh.

My status in this MSU: Auditor. Is that what you call someone who audits this class? Because of budget and time crunches, I won't be able to do a lot of the recipes. Maybe I'll just try things after everyone else has done them! :) Just kidding, that would be called cheating. I will do all of them that I can. Until then, keep up the good work, ladies! You have my full support!

Chicken Soup for Sisters

I accidentally pressed enter before I'd even finished the title -- sorry for the double posting. I learned a lot with MSU recipe #1. It's fun to be back in school again. :) I had no idea what parsnips were, nor where I could get a whole chicken. Wal-Mart really came through. I found everything I needed there except the fresh thyme. Which, by the way, I pronounced with the "th" sound to my husband and he got a good laugh out of that and finally explained to me that the word is pronounced "time." Since I couldn't find any fresh at the store I borrowered my sister Cami's bottled thyme and we kept making punn jokes about it -- only 24 hours in a day and she's willing to lend me some of her "thyme," what a good sister.

The first step of course was cutting the chicken. Here it is flashing the camera. Poor chicken. Luckily my sisters gave me an awesome set of knives for my wedding and I was able to cut it up pretty easily. Until I got to the breast. Martha suggests using the end of your knive but mine was way too thick. I looked for something close by and found a cheese grater. I was seriously pounding this breast bone with the edge of a cheese grater. I grabbed a wooden spatula but when I saw the blood squirt out I decided to stop hacking at the thing. I used the sharp end of the knife and then just used my hands to break it. Ugh. The eight pieces looked pretty good when I was done though and I was proud. I may look like a murderer in this picture -- well that's exactly how I felt!

That was Saturday night. Sunday I did the rest. Luckily I ended up with plenty of broth. I let it simmer even longer than the suggested hour and I was generous with the spices so it tasted great. I also cooked my vegetables for longer than the suggested 8 minutes b/c they were still crunchy when 8 minutes were up. Even Martha's recipes sometimes need some tweeking I suppose. Overall it turned out good but it wasn't my favorite. I don't think I'd do it again. I don't have fancy taste buds so I didn't appreciate the pure/fresh taste of this soup as much as some might. Caleb really liked it and I was glad about that.

I've cut up a whole chicken, I know what parsnips are, and I know how to pronounce thyme. I'm excited for next week's adventure!

Chicken Soup for

Chicken Soup by Linds

Well this soup was sure a good way to dive right in! I made mine on Saturday, and it was perfect because I had a lot of time, Kenny was home, and it was very rainy and cloudy all day which is perfect for soup days.

This picture should have had the whole chicken in one hand, and a parsnip in the other, because those were the two "new" things for me. I have never bought and cut a whole chicken, nor have I ever bought and eaten a parsnip. But after going to 2 grocery stores and one farmer's market just to look for the parsnip, we just don't have any here yet. They all told me to look later in the fall. I also love my new apron.

A word about the chicken: MESSY! It was so gross to me. I do not enjoy snapping bones with my bare hands, sawing away at lifeless birds with my dull knives, pulling out their innerds (ok so I actually made Kenny pull them out for me), and I really didn't like when I saw multiple white sticks protruding from the tail. They were feathers!! I have since learned that you can buy whole chickens with all the stuff already bagged, like I've seen in turkeys. I will have to get that next time. If there is a next time; really I don't know if it's worth all the work. they are much cheaper then buying pre-packaged boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, but it takes about half the time. It was a good experience, really it was. I'm glad I was able to do it, even if only once. I ended up adding noodles to mine because we like noodles in chicken soup. And I didn't let the vegetables cook long enough, so they were a little crunchy. But Kenny told me that he prefers it that way because he likes to have a little crunch to his soup, so I was glad. Mine turned out a little bland. But that might have been because I added another cup and a half of water at the end, because I was worried I wouldn't have enough broth when I put the noodles in. But we just put in some salt (and cheese and crackers) and it was really yummy. It sure made our noses run a lot...in case you wanted to know.

There's the final product, minus the parsnips and plus the noodles. we thought it tasted really good, but not like overly good that I think it was worth all the work. Will I ever do this again? Really, I don't know. I'm not like totally against it, but I tend to do things the fastest way. I'm excited for the next challenge!!

Chicken Soup by Steph

Our first recipe. I had been waiting for this day with excitement and anticipation. I had gathered my ingredients and felt mentally prepared for a chicken soup day. It turned out to be a perfect day for chicken soup, too. Eva was sick, so we stayed home from church. It was rainy and cold and gray - just like a chicken soup day should be. And they say chicken soup has healing powers - no better day to try that theory than a sick day.

The first task, obviously, was to tackle the chicken with a knife and slice its bones apart. I was nervous - rightfully so. In the middle of it, when I was cracking the back bone with my bare hands and dark red blood was spurting out of the chest cavity, I fought the urge to throw up in my mouth and kept telling myself how good the soup would taste. I also had to laugh at how irreverent the chicken looked with her legs spread apart. She couldn't help it - I had ripped her thigh bones out of socket - but it was still giggle-worthy. I opted out of taking a picture though, because I didn't want to get salmonella on my camera. In the end, I didn't do such a hot job of taking the chicken apart. Now I know where the phrase "I butchered it" comes from, because that's exactly what I did. But at least I got it into eight pieces, just like Martha ordered.

After the chicken was cooked and the broth was done simmering, I took a break. I resumed the soup tonight for dinner, leaving the parts of the soup in the fridge. By the time I took the broth out, there was a nice layer of solid fat on the top. I skimmed it off and thanked the heavens that wasn't sitting in my thighs. After measuring out the broth, I realized I only had 4 cups instead of the required 6. Too late to add water - I would just have a chunkier soup. I added the vegetables, simmered for 8 minutes, and then put in the chicken. Ahh...my work was finished. Time to eat.
Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. My vegetables weren't soft enough, so there was a disconcerting crunch in each bite. Eventually I gave up and tried to just eat the broth with the chicken. After I was finished eating, there was a pile of too-crunchy vegetables in the bottom of my bowl.
The amount of work this recipe called for was entirely disproportionate to the end result. I definitely will not be making this again. All in the name of experience, I guess.
I learned a few things today:

Parsnips aren't so scary after all. They are just like white carrots. I feel so culinarily well-rounded after having used one.

When it comes to soup, I am just more of a chowder girl. If there isn't cheese melting on the top or a thick chunkiness in the bowl, it's just not true soup.

Homemade stock is not worth the effort. Nor is butchering my own chicken. I am totally fine with my jar of organic chicken base from Costco and pre-cut chicken. Now that I've tried both ways, I can say that with confidence. Convenience is next to godliness.

Martha says, "It has been said that the measure of a good cook is how well he or she makes soup." If today's dinner was any indication of how good of a cook I am, let it be stricken from the record.

But it was fun anyway. Steamed Artichokes with Smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs, and Hollandaise Sauce, here I come. Possibly minus the smoked salmon.

P.S. Eva wouldn't touch the soup. The healing powers which might have been had no opportunity to take effect. I wonder if the microwave would zap the healing powers upon reheating it...maybe I'll try it tomorrow.

Syllabus

Martha Stewart University Syllabus
9/6 - Chicken Soup, 43
9/13 - Steamed Artichokes with Smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs, and Hollandaise Sauce, 82
9/20 - Perfect Roast Chicken, 127
9/27 - Boiled Parsleyed Potatoes, 304
10/4 - Perfect Beans, 398
10/11 - Basic Drop Cookies, 425
10/18 - Tortilla Soup, 47
10/25 - Boiled Eggs, 81; Stir-Fried Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce, 265
11/1 - Pan-Roasted Chicken, 131
11/8 - Pork Shoulder Braised in Cider, 183
11/15 - Steamed Fish en Papillote, 215; Tomato Petals, 317
11/22 - Chicken Piccata, 248; Sicilian-Style Sautéed Greens, 321
11/29 - Leeks Vinaigrette, 305; Wiener Schnitzel, 267
12/6 - Gnocchi with Basil Pesto, 376
12/13 - Warm Lentils with Mushrooms, 399
12/20 - Double-Crust Apple Pie, 442
12/27 - Potato-Turnip Gratin, 320

2010
1/3 - French Onion Soup, 53
1/10 - Huevos Rancheros, 85
1/17 - Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin, 132
1/24 - Pot Roast, 186; Marinated Roasted Red Peppers, 315
1/31 - Poached Chicken Breast, 225; Sautéed Kale and Fresh Shell Beans, 327
2/7 - Sautéed Pork Medallions, 256
2/14 - Pan-Seared Strip Steaks with Mustard Cream Sauce, 257; Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Buttercream, 428
2/21 - Marinated Artichoke Hearts, 305
2/28 - Fresh Tomato Sauce, 381
3/7 - Duck Breast with Orange Gastrique, 262; Perfect White Rice, 407
3/14 - Minestrone, 57; Cream Puffs, 478
3/21 - Roasted Pork Loin, 134; Garlic and Rosemary Potato Puree, 309
3/28 - Orange Braised Rabbit, 190; Perfect Soft Polenta, 419
4/4 - Roast Leg of Lamb, 136
4/11 - Poached Chicken Breast and Spring Vegetable Salad, 226
4/18 - Pan-Seared Scallops with Fennel Puree, 260
4/25 - Buttermilk Fried Chicken, 269
5/2 - Steamed Asparagus and Bok Choy with Soy-Ginger Vinaigrette, 294
5/9 - French Fries, 333; Fried Fish, 274
5/16 - Green Salad with Vinaigrette, 351-357; Flan, 473
5/23 - Marinara Sauce, 381
5/30 - Braised Spring Vegetables, 340; Crème Brulée , 472
6/6 - Grilled Steak with Compound Butter, 164 & 166; Vanilla Ice Cream, 468
6/13 - Spicy Stir-Fried Vegetables, 337
6/20 - Herb-Filled Omelet, 87; Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, 316
6/27 - Sautéed Snap Peas and Baby Turnips, 323; Buttermilk Shortcakes with Rhubarb and Berries, 433
7/4 - Barbecued Baby Back Ribs, 176; Fruit Sorbet, 483
7/11 - Grilled Vegetables, 348; Shrimp Boil with Cocktail Sauce, 243
7/18 - Grilled Spatchcooked Chicken, 167
7/25 - Sautéed Zucchini and Corn, 352; Pavlova, 452
8/1 - Fruit Galette, 440
8/8 - Squash and Goat Cheese Frittata, 93; Roasted Pineapple, 487
8/15 - Mixed Bean Crudité, 303; Angel Food Cake, 451
8/22 - Bolognese Sauce, 383; Herbed Rosti with Wild Mushrooms, 329
8/29 - Creamed Spinach, 297
9/5 - Roasted Autumn Harvest Salad, 312
9/12 - Oven-Poached Garlic with Thyme, 306
9/19 - Broccoli Cream Soup, 62
9/26 - Vegetable Tian, 319
10/3 - Rice Pilaf, 414; Caramelized Figs, 491
10/10 - Lasagne, 386; White Cake with Lemon Curd and Italian Meringue, 457
10/17 - Tempura Vegetables, 335; Pate Brisée, 436
10/24 - Pureed Mixed Vegetable Soup, 67
10/31 - Boiled Lobsters, 239
11/7 - Prime Rib Roast, 138; Jelly Roll, 464
11/14 - Winter Squash Puree, 311; Chocolate Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, 453
11/21 - Perfect Roast Turkey, 149; Perfect Gravy, 154
11/28 - Macaroni and Cheese, 389
12/5 - Risotto, Panna Cotta Tart

Welcome to MSU

Dear students,

Thank you for embarking on this journey. During the course of 2010 (and the rest of this year), we will be working our way through Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook. We will be doing all the recipes - except the ones that seem gross or that we wouldn't want to eat. Obviously our tastes in food are not terribly refined, but we hope to change that during our little experiment.
We were inspired by the movie Julie and Julia, which we saw all together in August 2009, and decided to recreate our own food-loving, life-changing experience.

We are all at different points in our food lives, and we hope that this cooking school will bring us closer together, even as we are spread across the United States. We will each be cooking according to the syllabus (as outlined below) - unless a personal need necessitates a change. If you rearrange the syllabus, there are no consequences and you will not fail school. You just start up again wherever and whenever you can.

We are excited to come together, united by a love for food and bravery to try (almost) anything.

Good luck, class of 2010. Don't forget your spatulas.

Sincerely,

University Founders
Stephanie, Kimberly, and Lindsay