Willing to fail

Failures of 2015

 For my first blog post of 2016 I have decided to reflect on my failures. Not in a negative way, though technically failures are negative. At times you have to fail in order to succeed. Do I sound like a fortune cookie? As you read my failures you should reflect on your own and come to the same realization that I came to, which is for all my failures I have had SO many more successes.

Let's jump into these:

1. Bagels: I tried my hand at making my own bagels. Now to be fair they tasted like a bagel, they DID NOT look like a bagel. As you can see they look like a rolly polly. You know what I mean those little bugs that curl into a ball when scared. Just don't picture that when you eat them. Okay, back to the food so these bagels may not look the part but with a little more work I think they would look like a bagel. My failure was that I did not connect the ends correctly. I tried rolling the dough into a rope and then smooshing the ends together. I think it might be easier if I got a donut cookie cutter and used that instead.

2. Apple Pie Bites: Now these little guys have an expanding problem. I just realized I might have the same problem. The crust seemed to take over the pie. I am all for thick crust in a pie. I am sad when I eat pie and every bite doesn't have crust in it. This may be a little too much crust. On top of the crust invading the apple filling like it was an act of war, it has no form. If you borrow your grandmothers magnifying glass you can see that some of the crust is pinched. When the dough was raw I pinched all the edges. But crust will be crust and sometimes it just wants to be a hula hoop, smooth and round no pinching involved.

3. Turkey wrap: The name alone summons feelings of failure. I tried my hand at hummus. Tried being the word of the day. As first I was trying (theirs that try word again) to make a chick pea salad but it was, ehh. I cooked chick peas added raw red onion and then whipped in Greek yogurt with some other seasonings I can't remember. Well as you can tell just reading it makes me think of something they would serve at a hospital, healthy and void of flavor. So when you first don't succeed try making hummus. That is what I did. I took all of the "salad" and threw it in the blender. I added olive oil until it was creamier that before. Not creamy like hummus but not solid, which was the second problem. So now with a blender full of semi hummus I didn't know what to do with it. I did what any one would do and turned it into some sort of sandwich. I did a wrap since I had large tortillas on hand which brought me to the third issue. Everything is the same color. After one bite I tossed it. Giving up is sometimes the best option. It means getting to start over.

4. Lemon Raspberry bars: These little guys were bought and paid for. Which means I had to get them to work. Having never enjoyed lemon bars in my life its hard to know when its good. Lemon and raspberry have been paired together for ages and so I figure it should work. Which to be fair after a little finagling they did come together. The flavor was on point, it was the crust that failed. With lemon bars you are supposed to bake the crust first, which is like baking a square sugar cookie. Then when its almost cooked through add the liquid lemon raspberry topping. Then cook it all again till both are stiff. My problem occurred when I didn't cook my crust all the way through so when I added the liquid it just turned to mush. My husband advised me to throw it int the freezer to stiffen it up which worked (he is so smart). Once I was plating these little bite size lemon bars I noticed certain areas of the crust was not cooked still. What did I do, you ask? (I had made these for someone, to serve at a party the next morning). I did what any of you would do I took a butter knife and scraped all the raw crust off the bottom of the bar and prayed no one turned them over to realize some had no crust.

This brings me to my final failure of 2015.

5. Me: Don't shake your head and tell me I'm not a failure. Let me explain why I am putting myself in my failure pile. At the start of 2015 I was so gung ho about starting a business and catering my food to people in my area. At the end of 2015 I have ONE invoice to show for it. I, like a lot of people don't know how to sell a product. I can eat food and tell you how amazing it is but trying to convince you to eat my food is a lot harder than I thought it would be. So as the year ended I had convinced one person that my food was better than something they could grab at the local Costco. On the bright side I am still convinced my food is good its me that failed.

Looking back failures can come many different ways, it can be the ingredients or even the recipe and sometimes it can be you.

That smells great

Before I get into this week's topic I want to point out I changed my name. I am guessing you are all smart and realized that but I want to tell you why. I wasn't just bored and decided to change my name.  Like people do with hair styles, I didn't want to reinvent myself. I have been trying to start my own business for a while selling my food to family's or for parties. With that since my blog is the main source for people to see my work I figure I should make the name match what I call my little business. So Kortni's Kitchen is up and running. Okay know onto the main stuff.

Step 1

Step 2

Vanilla extract! I love vanilla I add it to everything. From waffle mix to every baked good I make. I love the smell when you open the bottle. I'm not sure if any of you have thought, this is so good I just want to drink it straight, I know I have. The real question is have any of you drank this amazing liquid straight? I know I haven't for one very good reason it taste Horrible (I've heard, please feel free to try a teaspoon and let me know). The thing about vanilla extract is you can't have it on its own for how good it smells it's not meant to be drunk. That might be why you tend to only need a dash of it in most recipes.

Step 3

Step 4

Well, this holiday season I decided I was going to try my hand at making it. I love it and with everything else I love, I always say its even better home made. So I looked up recipes and compared what people said. I ordered my vanilla beans and went to my local liquor store. Then I mixed the two ingredients together and hid them away in a dark cupboard. Every week I pulled it out and gave it a little shake to get the vanilla pods to release the loose middle. I did this for about six weeks and then I sealed the bottle to make it look fancy and wahla, vanilla extract. If you didn't catch the fact that you can make vanilla extract from vodka with a high alcohol percentage and vanilla beans then there it is. Which makes my previous statement of, don't drink it understandable. Now most stores sell artificial extract which is not alcohol but things that can do what alcohol does. But if you ever want to try your hand at something simple and don't mind shaking a bottle once a week I would say this is a good place to start.

Unless your under twenty-one and in that case stick to cookies.

Christmas Thyme

The Christmas season is upon us. Its time for the ovens to be dusted off. The cookie cutters to be found and way to much sugar to be consumed. I have great memories of this holiday. Though with every gathering there is always downfalls. One, holiday music I just don't get the hype about Christmas songs. But I diverse since this is about food and not music. Which side note I know nothing about music so that should make you glad this is about food. The last post I mentioned making cookies every Christmas with my family and what great memories I have of doing that. Now that I'm older I don't get the Great Cookie Swap. 

This is how it goes down. I spend one Saturday baking at least three types of cookies. Usually chocolate chip. Sometimes it is done with family or friends other times it's done alone. My co workers and friends do the same. Then I give away the cookies I baked and get cookies everyone else makes. Down side to this little cookie swap, you may not like the cookies the other person makes, you can't eat the cookies you worked so hard on, the other person may not know how to cook, and always you eat way too many cookies. Don't get me wrong I love cookies but why and when did cookie exchanging become such a huge part of this season. Also why don't people exchange things they enjoy cooking? If I like to make jam or biscuits why can't I give those to my neighbor? The whole cookie aspect is just odd to me. 

I'm going to answer my own question. "The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century. Due to a wide range of cheap imported products from Germany between 1871 and 1906 following a change to importation laws, cookie cutters became available in American markets. These imported cookies cutters often depicted highly stylized images with subjects designed to hang on Christmas trees. Due to the availability of these utensils, recipes began to appear in cookbooks designed to use them. In the early 20th century, U.S, merchants were also importing decorated lebkuchen cookies from Germany to be used as presents." This little glimpse into our past comes to you by Wikipedia. Which may not always be the best source of accurate information but I'm going to go with no one lied about where Christmas 

Cookies came from so that Europe could look good. So thanks Europe for our Christmas tradition. No matter how I feel about swapping cookies at least they are better than fruit cake. No one can make that stuff taste good. 

Well, I hope you all have a merry Christmas and you enjoy those cookies. 

Party for 1

Have you ever had to use the dreaded words, party of one when you go out to eat? I know I haven't because of one reason. I refuse to eat out alone. This may sound ridiculous but is true, I have never even been to a drive through alone. I think the closest thing I have done is grabbed a smoothie. It was horrible. I don't know what it is I just feel like people are judging me. I want to scream at them, I'm married I just wanted to grab a drink after work before I head home. Even though if I had heard someone else say that statement, I would judge them even more than before. Maybe it's just me that my mind goes a million miles and can make up a story on the spot but due to that and probably my fear of being alone I have never eaten alone.

Due to this personal fact I eat at home a lot. Have you ever wanted something fancier than buttered pasta but feel silly making it because your eating by yourself? You may be thinking what does she know she just admitted she was married, well that is true but my husband also works nights so I do dinner for one a lot. The thing is even if I want something fancy it's hard to find a recipe that only makes for one.

The other night I was in just this predicament. Last month was my birthday and my mom got me individual serving dishes. Which means I can make small versions of anything that cooks in a casserole dish. I looked in my cupboards and found left over lasagna noodles, marinara and some cheese. So I made an individual lasagna. It only took two lasagna noodles which was nice and simple. Just like any lasagna it was noodle, marinara, and some ricotta. Then fold the second half of the noodle on top and do it all over again. End with the cheese on top then bake so it gets nice and browned. It is a perfect size for just one or if you have multiple dishes to bake in I think it would look nice for a party as well. Everyone gets their own dish. So no matter if it's just you or multiple people fancy food can be possible.

Bread is better

Last week I decided to take a break since it was thanksgiving. And with the holiday season upon us cooking is essential. So to start off my holiday cooking I made a few types of bread. Cheddar biscuits, honey oat rolls, artisan loaf and a simple butter roll. The thing I am finding about breads is there are so many types. Growing up it was either white or wheat. But with cooking you get to see how many hundred types of bread there is. With the different types of bread they are all made differently. Biscuits don't use yeast so you don't have to wait for the dough to rise. Rolls on the other hand usually use yeast. With that it can take anywhere from an hour to overnight before you can cook it. Plus you can add amazing add ins; cheese, herbs, oats, even cranberries. Artisan bread you let rise but unlike rolls that you have to separate into individual pieces artisan bread just gets dumped in the pot and cooks whole.

With my food in hand we braved LA traffic to be with family. Even though by the end of thanksgiving there was no bread left over I left happy. It's one of those bitter sweet moments. Bitter because I wanted more and sweet to know everyone enjoyed them. With this happy feeling in me I go on to face my next holiday. Christmas, I hope by the end of December I can bring you some great holiday treats that don't in tale sugar cookies decorated with frosting. Not to rag on sugar cookies one of my favorite memories as a child is going to my grandmas with all my cousins and aunts and my grandma has sugar cookies for us to decorate. She would make frosting and have every type of candy ready for us to use. It was so much fun. As an adult the end product would be way to much of a sugar high. This season lets try to get some new treats on our table.

Picture this

Have you ever seen a picture of something and think to yourself 'wow that looks amazing'? Well I have a lot, usually with food. Flipping through a cookbook or online and I just think I want that. Sometimes I just stop and have to make it. So the other night around midnight I started the process of making the dough for croissants. I let it sit over night in the fridge so this morning I could make prosciutto, Gouda croissants. I know right, if you saw the picture you would want it also. After I rolled out the croissants I added the toppings then rolled them up. Longer edge to smallest edge. Then I egg washed it and let it sit another hour and a half. Which is so hard when your like me and patience is not your thing. So after the longest hour and a half of my life I got to put the croissants in the oven. After only thirty minutes they were done. And can I just say, I ate two. Which isn't bad since my husband ate three. I am so glad that sometimes a picture turns out to be just as good as the real thing.

I'm going to be candid with you. I am struggling to write this week. Do you ever have those days where something so normal can be a struggle. Well, this is one of those weeks for me. Because of that reason I am cutting this week short. 

Before I  sign off I have to say have an amazing holiday no matter what you do. And remember foods amazing so do ruin all of it by over eating.

Tips and Technics

This post is going to be a few tips or technics that you may or may not know. These are a few things I have learned over the years in the kitchen.

Last week I talked about a pear pop over. If you remember I used a puff pastry. When I make the pop over I cut out what I needed and had some left over. Instead of throwing away the excess, what you can do with the left over is combine it all and roll it out again. You can make it into a smaller pop over or do something different you might not think of doing in a large quantity. I am always looking for new things to try but sometimes I don't want to make a whole item especially if I don't know how it will turn out. This is a perfect opportunity to have fun and just try new things.

What I did with my left over puff pastry is rolled it out and then cut it into squares. I then filled them with some apple slices that I cooked in some brown sugar earlier. I then connected the ends and baked the pastry off. I call it an apple pocket.

I love bacon. Which is a little odd to me since I am not a pork fan. Bacon though is a whole different meat I feel like, I would put it in its own category. What I love even more about bacon is the fat. When you put it in the pan and all the grease it makes is not something you should throw away. After I eat the bacon I collect the bacon fat in a mason jar. What is great about it is that bacon grease is high in fat. This has the great bacon flavor with a similar fat as butter. This means you can substitute bacon fat for butter. That is exactly what I did when I made warm Carmel. Instead of butter I used bacon fat, then a little brown sugar and heavy cream. I whisked that on the stove until the sugar disintegrated. Then put it in a jar to cool. What's great about this is dipping sliced apples in it while it cools. Since I had Carmel I decided to make a play on apple pie. I sliced up some apple and rolled out some fresh pie crust. I then spread the bottom of the pie with Carmel and added the apples then of course more Carmel's. While that cools you make your dinner.



Since you were able to save your butter for your dinner what I like to do is brown it. In a skillet I just melt the butter till it gets a nice brown color. This does not mean it's burnt. (Know you can burn butter that would be the next step so make sure it's browned not burnt.) Browned butter gives off a nice nutty scent, it also gets little granulates in it. Brown butter is perfect for those meals that you have had a hundred times. I added it to pasta and broccoli. This nutty flavor just changes the taste enough to make something you think was plain to something with great flavor.

A few tips on this simple meal to know is that whenever you make pasta no matter what type you always want your pasta to be al dente. This means the pasta is still a little hard. You don't want your pasta to be crunchy but not too soft either. An old trick I was always told was to take a piece of pasta and throw it on the wall. If it sticks then you know its ready. I don't like throwing my food so I just pull out a piece and eat it. I also steam my broccoli.  When you steam broccoli you don't want it to be under done or it will still taste raw. You also don't want it to soft or it just looses its integrity. To test to see if you cooked it to long you can always take a piece between your palms. If it turns to baby food when you apply pressure its over cooked. If it bounces back then you got the perfect cook time.

With these few tips and tricks even a simple dish turns perfection. Always remember scraps are the perfect way to test those items you have wanted to try out.