I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I read the word Ragout in this cookbook but I can tell you, this was not what I what I imagined. Still, this dish ended up being really great. I never liked mushrooms growing up and avoided them at all cost but first year of college I started eating salads and mushrooms were suddenly really not that bad. By second year I went through a mushroom kick and cooked them in pretty much everything. Third year when I made this, it was perfect! This guy had probably 5 different kinds of mushrooms in it and it tasted great! However, by the time I got the to the end of the batch a week later, it wasn't as amazing anymore. This was when I figured I should probably pay more attention to the serving size unless I want to spend weeks eating 4-6 servings of the same ragout before it completely goes bad...
Heavenly Onion and Dill Bread
Like the French Bread this little guy was a little dense. Mot as much but still not perfect. What was different was that this was a little dryer so it was much more fun to munch on. Similar to the biscuits, this also made a pretty awesome breakfast. Pre-sliced and put into a ziplock and it was perfect to go! Maybe one day I'll get bread right...
Puffy Buttermilk Biscuits
Apparently Biscuits I can do. Biscuits I love. Unlike the french bread, these biscuits were not too dense and were instead very flakey and light. They were perfect on the go breakfasts for me which I can't help but love! I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and what not but I'm not really a breakfast person. Growing up my dad always set us down for breakfast before school but by the time I got to middle school and had to catch the bus, breakfast really wasn't in my daily plan. Sometimes I would much on a handful of cereal in the hallways but I didn't really factor breakfast time in so I went without it. Now that I'm in college I go back and forth. The little voice in my head is telling me breakfast is good for me, it jumpstarts my metabolism and gets me geared up for the day but I am honestly a night person and waking up is not fun. Anything that I can grab and eat on my way to school or work is perfect so these guys made me pretty darn happy for the week. I'm also not a sweet tooth kinda person either so a more savory salty breakfast is the way to go when I can make it happen!
I am Peeta Mellark
I cannot describe how excited I was to make my first loaf of bread. I remember it being 11:30 at night when this sucker came out of the oven and I happily told myself that I WAS Peeta Mellark. Obviously I was exaggerating quite a bit but that didn't matter. By the glow of the stove light I happily cut into my bread. Now this was a pretty awesome loaf of bread. It tasted great, had an awesome hard crust, and was only a little bit dense.. okay maybe a lot a bit... Totally edible though!! To this day I have a hard time with the density of bread and cakes. I've been told that It's likely that I'm over mixing the dough. I need more practice. Keep adding these things to the to-do list. Practice Practice Practice.
Apocalyptic Eggs Benedict
This was my first run with Eggs Benedict. Now first off, I know I didn't use english muffins but I'm honestly not a huge fan.. sorry.
But still! For my first run of eggs benedict I think I did a great job! I definitely felt kind of awesome for even attempting an eggs benedict and the fact that I didn't make myself sick is just a pat on the back for me. This introduced the world of poached eggs to me which you'll see quite a bit later. I got into a poached egg thing for a while but this was my only eggs benedict. I've have a real eggs benedict at a diner and I don't think I was too far off though I could probably use some more practice on that. Note to self: put this recipe on the to-do list again.
