Real-Deal Rice Pilaf #2, Best Baked Tomatoes, My First Watermelon Granita (part 2),

Today I retried Real-Deal Rice Pilaf(page 162), made Best Baked Tomatoes(page 170), and finished My First Watermelon Granita. Knowing my position on raw tomatoes, you can only imagine the expression on my face as a squeezed their insides out. Instead of bread I used gluten free breadsticks. I tried using the stovetop instead of baking the rice. Again, it was burnt. But it was much better than last time and my parents both consider it a success. I used leftover onions from the enchiladas so no tears! The tomatoes were really good. The only major problem was I burned myself. I'm okay though.

63 recipes to go

38 days left

13 successes

1 failure

My First Watermelon Granita (part one)

Today I started My First Watermelon Granita(page 202). The reason that I say started is that you have to freeze it for four hours so it won't be ready until tomorrow. That's about it.

Beans Galore Salad, Scoop-It-Up Spinach Dip,

Today I made Beans Galore Salad (page 68) and Scoop-It-Up Spinach Dip. I made the bean salad with pretty much no problems. I didn't blanch the wax and green beans, and if you make it, do. Instead of chilling it in the fridge for two hours I put the beans and the vinagar mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes. The spinach dip was pretty hard. I burned the butter, onions, and the garlic. The spinach took forever to reduce and de-stem. Next time I'm using frozen spinach. They both tasted delicious. By the way, I'm going to talk a bit more about my life when school starts. Right now I don't have much to do other than cook.

66 recipes to go

40 days left

10 successes

1 failure

Power-Packed Spinach Salad, Say "Cheese" Enchiladas,

Today I made Power-Packed Spinach Salad(page 66) and Say "Cheese" Enchiladas(page 120). I made twice the amount of sauce than I needed but I don't really mind because it was delicious by itself. I hate raw tomatoes. They're slimy and disgusting and taste that way too. So you can imagine the look on my face as I pored a can of whole tomatoes in the blender. They looked like oversized meatballs that had been soaking in tomato sauce for the past five years. Yuck!

I'm sure that the like, two people who read this blog remember the onion incident in the shepherd's pie. Well, I am happy to say I have found a cure for onion tears; goggles. I really didn't have any hardships with these recipes other than my wrist killing me. We all loved the dishes.

68 recipes to go

41 days left

8 successes

1 failure

Lemon Icebox Pie

Today I made Lemon Icebox Pie(page 188). The only substitution I needed to make for this desert was the graham crackers. Instead of them I used gluten free shortbread cookies. You can find gluten free cookies at almost any grocery store. Some that carry many gluten free products include Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

I prepared it for a party so I had to have the actual pie ready for chilling by 4:00. I ended up starting around 3:15 and soon realized I only had one of the two needed cans of condensed milk. I eventually got the can but it was a huge time delay. Then I got a small amount of egg yolk in my whites. I thought it wouldn't matter but the smallest drop of yolk can prevent the whites from peaking. And it did. I eventually just spread the meringue over the pie without peaking it. The pie finished at around 4:30 and I just refrigerated it until we had to go.

The pie was a huge success at the party despite the setbacks. I gave the small amount remaining to my neighbor who is also a celiac and my sister.

70 recipes to go

42 days left

6 successes

1 failure

Doubly Delicious Hot Chocolate w/ Real Whipped Cream, Shepherd's Pie,

Today I made Doubly Delicious Hot Chocolate w/ Real Whipped Cream(page 44) and Shepherd's Pie(page 132). The shepherd's pie was really difficult. I put in two of the potatoes and forgot to cut the other one. Luckily, I realized my mistake pretty soon. Then I mixed up the 4th cup and the 3rd cup and ended up adding too much milk. But the potatoes were the easy part.

After they were done I started on the stew part, which begins with one of my least favorite steps in the cooking world; chopping onions. I never really liked onions in the first place, but chopping them, thats a thousand times worse. I hate it mostly because it makes you cry. Not only does it sting, but it makes it really tiring and hard to concentrate. By the end of the chore I was sobbing with watery snot pouring out of my nostrils. Every few seconds I would blindly make my way to the living room and submerge my eyes into an old kitchen rag, so rough that it felt not like it was absorbing my tears, but more as though it was trying helplessly to push them back into my eyes.

I next attempted chopping a pound of mushrooms which I used as a substitute for the beef or lamb. Let's just say that if you ever try this, USE A FOOD PROCESSOR!!!!!!! Believe my, come my finish I was pretty much gasping for breath. My arm was exhausted and felt like it was going to fall off. Sweat soon replace the tears I had shed for the onions. My last setback for the shepherd's pie was that I could not find any italian seasoning so I used parisian seasoning and hoped for the best. I just cut the flour out of the recipe altogether. But despite all the complications, the shepherd's pie turned out absolutely delicious.

The hot chocolate was pretty easy, even though in the beginning I spilled a ton of cocoa powder all over the carpet in the den. But after that it went really well and tasted wonderful.

71 recipes to go

43 days left

5 successes

1 failures

Ooey Gooey Blueberry "French Toast", Real-Deal Rice Pilaf, Minty Green Peas,

Today I made "Ooey Gooey Blueberry 'French Toast'"(page 42), "Real-Deal Rice Pilaf"(page 162), and "Minty Green Peas"(page 172). I found I had no cream cheese, so I went out to get some. I was in the checkout when I found my money had sprouted feet and left my pocket somewhere along the way. After that, the "French Toast" went really well. It tasted delicious, even with the gluten free bread.

The Rice Pilaf was the hard part. When they said the onions, I thought they meant the scallions, when I realized my mistake, not wanting to waste the butter, I added the onions and ended up seriously burning the scallions. Then I mistook opaque for done and ended up overcooking my rice. It tasted fine, just crunchy. Even though it was okay, it wasn't what Emeril intended, so it has to be considered our first failure.

I haven't had peas since I was about four, and I have to say, I missed out. I couldn't find fresh mint so I used dried. I used three times as much dry mint than the fresh mint amount the recipe calls for. The first time I melted the butter I burnt it, so I added more and used that. The peas were absolutely delicious!

73 recipes to go

44 days left

3 successes

1 failures