2013 52 Recipe Challenge

Recipes 36, 38, 39, and 40

The 52 recipe challenge is a way of bringing together our friends far and wide who love to cook and share their successes and failures in the kitchen. The challenge; to make 52 new recipes in a single year. We had so much fun chatting online about food, recipes, kitchen catastrophes, and culinary creativity that we decided to take on the challenge again in 2013.

1. Shellfish and Tomato Stew on Soft Polenta **
2. Cappesante al Forno (Baked Scallops with Parmesan) -
3. Baltimore-Style Crabcakes *
4. Remoulade Sauce
5. 40 Garlic Clove Chicken ***
• Served w/ Mashed Garlic Cauliflower *
6. Crab and Butternut Squash Gratin *
7. Cozze Al Forno (roasted Breaded Mussels)
8. Bobby Flay Sausage Jambalaya
9. Buttery Crab Bread Pudding
10. Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
11. Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
12. Sweet Cream Cake
• Condensed Milk Chocolate Frosting
• Cinnamon Ice Cream
13. Asparagus with Pancetta
14. Buffalo Pot Roast 
15. Hershey's Chocolate Cake 
• Hershey's Chocolate Frosting 
16. Dry Brined Roasted Turkey  *
17. Crab Lasagna
18. Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Red Pepper *
19. Sesame Grilled Asparagus *
20. Roast Provençal Chicken *** 
21. Greek Chopped Salad *
22. Steak Fajitas *
23. Adobo Chicken
• Strawberry Ice Cream
24. Butter Braised Onions -
25. Grilled Maple-Chile Chicken *
26. Homemade Almond Butter
27. Red Lettuce Salad with Balsamic Onions *
• Basil Gelato
28. Spiced Grilled Chicken with Duck Sauce *
29. Summer Panzanella *
30. Pesto Genovese -
31. Rolled Flank Steak with Prosciutto and Basil *
32. "Sun"-Dried Oven-Dried Tomatoes *
33. Sautéed Swiss Chard with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta *
34. Grilled Carrots *
35. Tomato, Watermelon, and Cucumber Salad
36. Guinness BBQ Sauce *
37. Cucumber Fennel Salad with Yogurt Dressing -
38. Alton Brown's Smoked Pulled Pork *
39. Steven Raichlen's Texas-Style Smoked Brisket *
40. Jalapeno Corn Bread *
41. Brown Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies *
42. Coq au Vin *
43. Spiral Baked Potatoes -
44. Damn Fine Paleo Chicken *
45. Lamb Osso Buco *
46. Cucumber Salad
47. Zinfandel Braised Beef Brisket -
48. Basic Breakfast Potatoes *
49. Pasta in Creamy Crab and Wine Sauce -
50. Risotto with Butternut Squash and Sausage *
51. Chardonnay Braised Chicken Thighs with Parsnips *
52. Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars *
53. Baked Oatmeal *
54. Winter Squash Overload
• Delicata Squash Oven Fries *
• Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash *
• Butternut Squash and Leek Soup
55. Braised Veal *
56. Crock Pot Apple Butter *

Bonus
• Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Biscuits *
* denotes a dish I'll make again
- denotes a dish we didn't like


Top 5 of 2013:
1. Shellfish and Tomato Stew on Polenta
5. 40 Garlic Clove Chicken
20. Roast Provençal Chicken (Picnic Chicken)
33. Sautéed Swiss Chard with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta
54. Delicata Squash Oven Fries

Summer Severance Sabbatical

Getting laid off has become a rite of passage. Gone are the days where loyalty and knowledge outweigh Wall Street's love of a good layoff and its short-term impact on the bottom line. Somehow, despite a sluggish economy, I made it over 16 years in Corporate America without receiving a pink-slip, but all good things must come to an end. My position was recently eliminated, and I have another month to transfer my many job responsibilities to others before my final day on the payroll. My reaction to the news surprised me. I wasn't devastated, upset, sad, angry, or scared; emotions I would have felt if I loved my job. After getting over the initial shock, I was enveloped by a feeling I didn't expect; excitement.

Why am I excited? First, I knew I needed a change and getting laid off was the kick in the pants I needed to push me out of the cocoon. Now I have the opportunity to take my skills to a new company, a new industry, or a new career altogether. With the layoff came placement assistance; someone else paying the tab for career counseling and resume improvements. However, the biggest opportunity comes in the form of a 4 month severance package. After number crunching, marital discussions, and soul-searching I decided to forgo finding a transfer opportunity and instead take the summer off to focus on time with family and friends, tackle a host of home improvement projects, extend an already planned trip to Germany, write more, recharge my batteries before the next chapter in my career journey, and embrace new adventures. 

First Adventure: Roadtrip. After receiving news of my job elimination, we decided to drive to New York for my 20th reunion rather than fly. Normally, I wouldn't want to waste precious vacation days in transit, but I had time built up that I would not get paid out for upon leaving; use it or lose it. The road adventure to New York was shared with my husband, but today he flies back to Minnesota and I begin the drive home with my canine co-pilots. We are taking the slow road, visiting friends who had life-changes thrown at them that make my getting laid off seem like a walk in the park. I plan on using this time to reconnect with old friends, gain a deeper perspective on life, and spend those countless hours on the road getting into my own head to begin figuring out the answer to the age old question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Buffalo Pot Roast Recipe

Recipe 16: Buffalo Pot Roast
We looked up a bunch online, but didn't like any of them, so per usual created our own.
5 lbs. Buffalo Chuck Roast
4 Shallots - minced
1 Head of Garlic - pressed
16 oz. Beer
2 Tbls. Worcestershire
1 Tbl. Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper your roast(s) liberally. Sear on all sides. Saute shallots and garlic until they just start to take a little color.

Add everything to crock pot and set to low. Cook 8 hours. Remove and cool roast(s) until you can shred it. I chose to reduce the liquid/shallots/garlic in a pan, but this isn't necessary. After shredding recombine all ingredients and heat up for serving. 

It was good... but not great. It was missing something. Perhaps some mustard. Or hot sauce. Either way I will try again, but tweak the recipe. Consider this a good base to build off of.