Recipe #50 - Red Pepper Relish

I had to do something with 4 roasted red peppers, so Red Pepper Relish it was.  After roasting the peppers, it took about 5 minutes to convert it into the relish.

I chopped up the roasted peppers, then added some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.  Next, some salt and pepper to taste.  That was about it.

The recipe didn't call for it, but I did heat it up before serving.  It was kind of an uncomfortable lukewarm temperature before that I didn't really like.  But it was solid on top of chicken once I heated it up.  I wouldn't really like it at room temperature, but I guess it could serve as sort of an antipasto.

Modifications: Heating up, maybe some more garlic.

Make again?: Yeah, but probably not a high priority.

Recipe #49 - Cranberry Relish with Orange and Ginger

The notes for the recipe called it "quite tart, the equal of traditional cranberry sauce."  It wasn't exactly as I expected, and serving it on chicken was probably not the best way to test this one out.

The recipe called for a large navel orange, and I might've overdone it by getting one approximately the size of Saturn.  I zested it, cut the orange into segments, and mixed with 4 cups of cranberries and some sugar.  I pulsed it in the food processor, then added some ginger and more sugar.  

The orange taste was a little too dominating, in my opinion.  It could've gotten by with a lot less zest.  In general, this is a really promising recipe and I think it can be improved by adjusting the quantities of the ingredient.

Modifications: Significantly less orange and orange zest

Make again?: Yes, with modifications.  Would be better with turkey than chicken.

Recipe #48 - Roasted Red Peppers

I've had roasted red peppers before, but I've never made them in the oven.  The few times I've done it involved a grill.  This time I did it in the broiler, to avoid those bitterly cold Florida winters.  

There's no rocket science to it, just turning on the broiler, waiting for it to get blackened, then turning.  It took about 20 minutes in total.  I then wrapped them in foil and let them cool off to make peeling easier.

It came out very good, no difference from the grilled version, and much easier to handle.  Putting them into a bag or piece of foil definitely helps peel them, and it's an important step.  I mainly used them as a component in another recipe, but I did try them out and they were solid.  They would've been great on salad as well.

Modifications: None

Make again?: Yep

Recipe #47 - Salsa Cruda

When I first read the title of the recipe, I assumed it was a mexican style salsa, but this was almost like a bruschetta.  The only real difference was that this didn't have red onion.  Otherwise, it had tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, just like bruschetta.

I served it on top of chicken, but it would be good in a bunch of ways.  It was extremely good.  The name kind of sucks, but other than that, it's definitely a keepr.

Modifications: None at all

Make again?: Yes

Recipe #46 - Cumin Spiced 5 Minute Drizzle Sauce

There are a bunch of variations on the drizzle sauce recipe, so I thought I'd try one.  This one was a very simple modification, simply a pinch of cumin along with the ingredients from the previous recipe.  I did a better job of preparing it this time, specifically not burning the vegetables beyond recognition.

As before, it was a nice way to mix up chicken and vegetables.  But like before I'm not sure it's worth the calories.  It was good, but if you're counting calories, you can get the same sort of flavor without all the oil.  I don't want to make it seem like it wasn't good, because it was, but there are definite alternatives.

Modifications: I could've probably used a little more cumin.  I was afraid of overdoing it.

Make again?: I would consider it.

Recipe #45 - Garlicky Tomato Sauce

Let's bring the lights down.  This one goes out to all the garlic lovers out there.

If you're making your wife dinner on valentine's, maybe it's not the best idea to start with a recipe that includes 10 (10!) cloves of garlic.  But that's not how Gwen and I roll.  We both love garlic, so the effects cancelled out.

This is a modification to the easy tomato sauce recipe I posted a while back.  It was ridiculously easy, again.  By far, most of my time was spent on crushing the garlic.  The rest is to put in a pot and heat for a while and that's it.  We used it as dipping sauce for the breadsticks, but it would've been just as good or better on top of a plate of pasta.

This was seriously awesome.  One of my favorite tomato sauces ever for sure.

Modifications: Do I dare add even more garlic?

Make again?: Yes, hopefully soon

Recipe #44 - Baked Macaroni and Cheese

It's a very little known fact, but apparently Baked Macaroni and Cheese is impossible to photograph.  At least it's impossible for me because I took 6 pictures and they were all trash.  Sorry about that.

Luckily, the food was a bit better.  I cooked some macaroni about 90% of the way done, then set aside and cooled off with some water.  Next, I mixed milk, cheddar and parmesan cheeses, and some spices together.  I combined those, set them in a baking dish then topped with breadcrumbs and more cheese.  The end result was pretty good, but not as crazy decadent as you might think.  I think if that's what you're going for, you would want whole milk or maybe even heavy cream and quite a bit more cheese.

That said, I liked it, Gwen liked it, and even my niece and nephew liked it.  And if you can please 3 and 4 year olds with macaroni and cheese, obviously you're on the right track.

Modifications: Different cheeses, more cheese, whole milk

Make again?: Yes, but maybe a bit more splurging on the ingredients next time.