CCC February

What can I say?  I'm almost two days late posting.  I apologize.  It's been a crazy few weeks around here.  Big changes at work, a sick kid, etc., etc...Anyway, the good news is that I really enjoyed all of the recipes this month.  I would happily make any of them again.  They were hard to rank, but I gave it a shot just for fun.

#1) Magic Bread dough 

I've made the magic bread dough as a base for pizza many times, but this was my first time making flatbreads.  Brilliant!  In the past I've made flatbreads in the oven.  Between the placing and the re-arranging and the multiple batches and the screaming hot oven I always manage to burn myself--usually multiple times.  The stove top was a revelation.  These were so much easier.  And Charlotte was excited because she thought we were having pancakes.

#2) Cheesey peasy puff turnover

I feel like a broken record, but I think that puff pastry is the answer to most cooking questions.  This was quick, easy, and delicious.  I loved the peas and cheddar combination, but I imagine spinach and feta, sundried tomato and goat cheese, and a host of other things would also be delicious.  The only problem?  I think the three of us could have eaten twice as much.

#3) Potato Rösti 

I am no stranger to potato pancakes, making potato latkes at least once a year, but I've never par-cooked the potatoes before.  Another brilliant idea.  It's generally to get crispy outsides but soft insides with potato pancakes.  These were perfect!

#4) Refried beans foldover

When we were first together Paul thought he hated refried beans. I think that's because he had never had homemade ones before.  Now he loves them.  I used some home cooked beans that I happened to have in the freezer, and these came together quiet quickly.  I loved the idea of halving and grating a tomato directly into the pan.  So much easier than peeling!

#5) Winter stir-fry with Chinese five-spice  

With the help of my food processor to shred everything, this was a relatively quick weeknight dinner.  While I made this, Paul made the grapefruit and avocado salad.  To give her something to do, we put some broken bits of dried pasta in a pot and asked Charlotte to "cook" pasta.  She loves to "cook,"  She had lots of fun stirring, and then adding "salt" to the pasta.  (I should probably be more concerned about how much she loves to add salt to everything!)  This kept her entertained for at least a few minutes while we managed to get the dinner on the table.  I definitely liked this pasta, but I bumped it in my rankings because Paul absolutely loved it, and he's not generally a fan of Chinese food.  It's nice to have a quick, Chinese-like option that he actually enjoys.

#6) Baba ganoush 

I think I would have rated this even higher if I had served it with some of the delicious homemade flatbread.  Unfortunately I didn't plan very well, and we just ate this with spoons.  The flavor was still great.  I loved the idea of broiling the eggplants.  It was easy, and gave the whole dish such a great smokey flavor.

#7) Avocado and ruby grapefruit with chilli 

This was delicious, but dropped in my rankings just because I've had very similar salads so many times before.  Citrus and avocado are a great combination.  Definitely to be repeated often.

#8) Roasted squash and shallots with merguez chickpeas 

This really was a great month.  This dish fell in my ranking, but it was definitely one that I enjoyed and would make again.  I soaked and cooked the chickpeas ahead of time, and chopped the squash before I went to work in the morning.  After I got home I threw the squash in the oven, and set to finishing the chickpeas and making a side dish.  This wasn't quite quick enough for a typical weeknight, but it was good.

#9)Celeriac with apple, raisins and parsley 

I'm going to attribute this one to user error.  I was too lazy to get out my mandoline and tried to cut the celery root by hand, and it really needed to be finer.  The big pieces were kind of awkward to chew, and didn't soften very much in the dressing.

#10) Roasted beetroot soup with horseradish cream

I forgot to take a picture!  I liked the soup, but the horseradish cream was definitely the take-away here for me.  It could spice up a lot of dishes.