Katie Nell's Profile
2 new restaurants opened this summer in Prairie Village shops
I've been back for the $15 prix fixe lunch since then, and it was excellent- both food and value! Service was so-so, but I think the waiter also had a friend that was eating at the same time as us, so I think they were being a little chatty. Luckily, it was my day off so not a big deal! Delicious, delicious beef cheek ravioli with oyster mushrooms! Very generous portions, which isn't uber important to me, but still appreciated considering the reasonable cost.
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
Ugh, I've done that before too! Baking at midnight, knowing full well what happens when you had heavy cream to melted chocolate... don't know what I was thinking either! I always use a (makeshift) double boiler for the chocolate... I'm too slow! :-) I hope the results you got with the ones you did finish worth worth the pains! I'm making them tomorrow, along with the chocolate peanut butter brittle, and sugar cookies, much to my chagrin... I do not like doing frosted sugar cookies, but my husband's boss keeps requesting them!
Also, I've frozen the dough balls before and have made the truffles a couple of weeks later... worked like a charm!
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
I just chop up either semi-sweet or bittersweet (depending on the giftee) chocolate and melt that in a double boiler. I've used chocolate chips before too.
P.S. I made some peanut butter cookie dough pretzel truffles the other day too, and those went over really well!
http://crustabakes.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/cookie-dough-truffles/ I made them smaller (maybe 3/4") because they were so rich.
El Pollo Rey KC KS
Yes, absolutely, the best chicken EVER!! This was on our second annual family taco crawl, and was definitely the favorite. The sides are so-so, but it doesn't matter! Go for the chicken!
El Pollo Guasave in KC, KS is very good as well... same concept except no seating at all... not quite as good of chicken, but better sides and salsa.
P.S. I have a picture of my husband sniffing his fingers afterwards... that's how good the smell and the memory is! :-)
November Cookbook of the Month 2011: Gourmet II: The Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl, et al.
Holy crap, that is a HUGE undertaking! I have daydreams of doing something like this, not necessarily to blog about it, but just to do it, but when I think of doing that they are always much smaller books! 1,293 (right?) recipes... that's insane!
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
This just in from the husband: "This is the best jelly or jam or butter I've ever had!" Not that he's biased or anything! ;-)
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
I will need to try a pumpkin butter too... my hubby loves anything pumpkin! Good idea! And excellent substitution idea too!
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
I recently made a Salted Caramel Pear Butter, and it was absolutely delicious! My co-worker gave me a 5-gallon bucket of pears which were the best pears I've ever had, and I made pear cinnamon basil sorbet and then the pear butter with them. Thank goodness for my mom, or I would have never got all of those suckers peeled! Anyway, here is the recipe, I highly recommend it: http://knitandnosh.typepad.com/knit_nosh/2010/11/can-jam-november-2010-pommes.html I did double it and I added a teaspoon of cinnamon. I can't wait to make some biscuits! :-)
Winner of the November Cookbook of the Month is The Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl, et al.
Here's her adapted recipe, though I think it's pretty right on: http://www.leciawphinney.com/2011/02/creme-brulee-french-toast.html No corn syrup. I would probably use challah or a pain de mie loaf. I've been on a french toast kick lately... the favorite so far has been pumpkin pie french toast, and Melissa Clark's was next on my list.
Winner of the November Cookbook of the Month is The Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl, et al.
Is the Creme Brulee French Toast also one of Melissa Clark's recipes, or is it a different one? There's a Creme Brulee French Toast in In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite that I've been itching to try! It has orange blossom water and grand marnier in it.
November 2011 Cookbook of the Month Nominations
I really liked when we did Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook in conjunction with Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook in December. I, myself, find myself making lots of appetizers and baking during the month of December, and I think these books fell right in line with that. Maybe we could do another appetizer and baking conjunction again? I don't have any recommendations at the moment, but I like the general idea.
Oh, also meant to point out that I think a lot of appetizer dishes could be tweaked to be an every day main dish. Myself, I love to graze my way through a meal and it would not be an unusual thing for us to have a 3-appetizer dinner or something like that.
2 new restaurants opened this summer in Prairie Village shops
We've been to both,,, once to Story, a few times to Tavern, I wish we could afford to eat at Story more often, because it was delicious, and it's been a while since a restaurant has impressed me as much as it did. I need to try to make it there for lunch, especially on a Friday since they have $15 prix-fixe 3-courses. They also have $10 select entrees on Sunday evenings, I believe. Anyway, my favorite thing we had was an appetizer of very, very, very finely diced beef carpaccio wrapped in thinly sliced potatoes... I think I've dreamt about that carpaccio! The cocktails were also very inspiring as well... I had a pineapple basil mojito that was fantastic and really vibrant. Tavern is just okay... it's decent food and it's better than Blue Moose and nice to have another option in the Village, but nothing to write home about. Some things are better than others. The one thing that we really liked was a Butterfinger cheesecake.
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
karykat... this mixed nut spiced toffee is delicious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mixed-Nut-Spiced-Toffee-107519
September 2011 Cookbook of the Month Nominations
I checked this out from the library and am REALLY loving it! At first, I was a bit put off by all of her past boyfriend/ husband stories (I mean, how many can one girl have?!), but I've gotten over it. I find her family stories charming, and her family reminds me a lot of my family (ordering all different dishes at a restaurant and switching plates after they've eaten a 1/4). I think I dreamed about the spaetzle last night! :-)
And P.S. received my 150 Best Recipes on Friday, so I'm ready to go!!
New Fall Cookbooks, eek.
I won the soda book (assuming you're talking about Homemade Sodas, by Andrew Schloss) from Zester Daily, but haven't received it yet! Let me know if you try anything from it. The descriptions on Amazon of some of the recipes sound delicious!
September 2011 Cookbook of the Month Nominations
Enablers!!! :-) I just purchased it! I can't resist when the used ones are under $5!
Topeka rec - tapas/small plates?
I talked to my dad and he has never been to the Kansan. Unfortunately, Topeka downtown has never really been able to get it together, so he didn't really have any recommendations. Chez Yasu is very good, but is not within walking distance. I guess you will have an adventure! :-)
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Chez Yasu
2701 SW 17th St Ste B, Topeka, KS 66604
Topeka rec - tapas/small plates?
The best place would definitely be Row House... might not be quite the format you're looking for, but you would be hard-pressed to find anything like that in Topeka. The Row House is excellent food, and it's fun that you can try small versions of all the dishes on the menu. Super close to TPAC too.
http://rowhouserestaurant.net/
where to buy really interesting/cute cupcake liners?
If you buy the ones labeled as "greaseproof", the design shouldn't disappear. That's all I buy now... even if I'm just buying white ones.
*August 2011 Cookbook of the Month Companion Book, PALETAS by Fany Gerson
Reallllllly stretching the paletas topic, but LLM, saw this recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies and thought of you: http://hotpolkadot.com/2011/08/18/its-12am-do-you-know-where-your-cookies-are/
where to buy really interesting/cute cupcake liners?
That's what I was going to suggest too. Cupcake Social has some of my favorites: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CupcakeSocial?section_id=6022523
September 2011 Cookbook of the Month Voting
Interestingly enough, Fried Chicken and Champagne is the newest giveaway on Leite's Culinaria! I think it's catching on! :-)
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
Sure, but don't judge... the brittle was in Rachael Ray's magazine! ;-) It really is good though; my friend at work moans and calls it orgasmic!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles-2/
Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Brittle: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dessert-recipes/Salty-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Brittle
What homemade edible thing do you most commonly gift?
The most recent favorites have been Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles and Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Brittle.
I've only done this once so far, but last Christmas I made my in-laws their own personalized ice cream flavors and made personalized labels for them too, and it's been one of my favorite gift ideas so far. I'm going to do that this year for my brother-in-law, because he doesn't seem to like anything else we give him, and who doesn't like ice cream?! ;-)
And a little more involved, but I've done the Cookie of the Month Club in the past for people, and most everyone loves that! And then last year, I gave my brother dinners around the world, and a sweet treat from each country: four countries, four meals throughout the year, and four sweet treats.
September 2011 Cookbook of the Month Voting
Seriously! I would be thrilled with myself if I made 5 or 6 recipes from a COTM! I don't know where the months go sometimes! That's usually why I abstain from voting, because my intentions are always good, but my follow-through sucks!
September 2011 Cookbook of the Month Voting
Ditto to all, well said dkennedy... I just put in an ILL (first time!) for Fried Chicken and Champagne... if I weren't on a budget, I would have bought it! :-)
*August 2011 Cookbook of the Month Companion Book, PALETAS by Fany Gerson
Oh, awesome! Thank you, The Search Queen! ;-)
*August 2011 Cookbook of the Month Companion Book, PALETAS by Fany Gerson
Would anyone mind paraphrasing this one? I tried searching online, but couldn't find the recipe. It sounds amazing!
The August Cookbook of the Month will be WORLD VEGETARIAN by Madhur Jaffrey.
I don't know, I'm pretty ultra-sensitive, and I wasn't offended by anything. That being said, I am not a fan of cooking along with the chef. I mean, there's a part of me that gets a little excited (starstruck), but overall, it makes me uncomfortable. In fact, I was just thinking the other day about how a lot of people in my town like to schmooze with the local chefs and about how much I don't enjoy that. It makes me cringe when chefs respond to my postings on Chowhound or via e-mail!
