Cooking Has Become Quite The Hobby…

~Cheese Enchiladas ~Lemon Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Beer Bread

I started cooking on Nevis, but have really gotten into it since moving to Oklahoma City.  I really enjoy it and it gives me something once a day that I can do that needs to be done and still gets me away from studying without the guilt of being away from studying.  I think for the most part Jen has really enjoyed the cooking and she has taken some photos for me to show you all the stuff that I have been cooking.  The cookbooks from all our friends and family have come in wonderfully handy and I really enjoy looking through them.  Some things are very complicated and I will have to work up to them, but others have come out very well.  Believe it or not as men we can follow directions sometimes, in fact without them I wouldn’t be able to cook to save my life.

~Polynesian Pork                              ~ Pilgrim’s Feast

I currently have 7 cookbooks that I take recipes from and try my best to copy.  I thought I would share with all of you what I have made so far from the wonderful cookbooks that I have.  Also, please feel free to comment and make suggestions on other cookbooks that I should get or other places to find excellent recipes.

A Man, A Can, A Microwave by Men’s Health from Jen:

So far I have made:  Beefy Bell Peppers, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Fiesta Fowl, Coconut Curried Chicken, Chicken Parm Sandwich, Rib Tickler, Tuna Sopranos, Pilgrim’s Feast, Maui Beany-Weenies, Hot Slam Dunk, and Sam-I-Yam Casserole.  The best part about this book is that all that was made in the microwave only.  It is a pretty awesome book especially if you are just starting out as a cook like me.  Out of all of those my favorite so far is the Beefy Bell Peppers.

~ Poached Eggs                                 ~ Cheesy Meatloaf

How To Boil Water by Food Network Kitchens from Jen:

So far we have had:  Poached Eggs, Bacon-Cheddar Sandwiches for a Crowd, Buffalo Chicken Sub Sandwiches, Lasagna, Tacos Picadillo, Cheesy Meatloaf, Pan Seared T-Bone Steak with Red Wine Sauce, Shrimp with Tomatoes, Basil, and Garlic, and Eggplant Parmesan.  The best out of this grouping so far had to be the Pan Seared T-Bone Steak with the Red Wine sauce.  I have had a lot of T-bone steaks living in Nebraska, but the red wine sauce was what put it over the top.

~Fiesta Taco Casserole                   ~Pad Thai

Cooking Basics by Betty Crocker from Markus and Brigette:

The recipes that have been made from this book so far are:  Lemon-Basil Chicken-Pasta Salad, Beef Pesto Panini, Pasta Primavera, Pad Thai, Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese, Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Parmesan-Dijon Chicken, Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry, Fiesta Taco Casserole, Thai Beef Stir-Fry, Cheese Enchiladas, Curried Peppers and Edamame, Lemon Pepper Pork Tenderloin, Sage Potato Packet, Baked Potato Wedges, and Cheese Quesadillas.  My favorite out of all of those was the Parmesan-Dijon Chicken although the Thai Beef Stir-Fry was pretty amazing as well.

Nebraska Cook Book from Jen:

The recipes out of this book are very difficult to make unless you are an avid hunter for upland game.  Therefore, we haven’t made as many out of this one.  The one’s we have tried are:  Taco Salad, Mom’s Barbecue, Corn Casserole, and Brown Pudding.  The Brown Pudding was my first ever attempt at baking.  It wasn’t so bad though and I think it can only get better.  The best thing out of this cookbook right now would have to be the Taco Salad.  It kept for a week in the fridge and was great for dinner and left-overs for lunch.

Ottolenghi The Cookbook from Tiffany:

The recipes in this book will be quite the challenge, but what do you expect from such an amazing restaurant.  Everything is also in metric system and all my measurement devices are in imperial American units.  Therefore, it will take some tinkering but everything in it looks amazing.  I have all the ingredients for the White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Brownies.  I just haven’t had the time to bake them yet.  More from this book to come very soon…

~Brown Pudding (It is way better than it looks)

Pantry Patterns by the Block Family and Friends from Grandma and Grandpa Block:

Jennifer picked out a recipe out of this one yesterday.  Today when we head to the store we are going to pick it up and make it as one of the meals come this week or next.  The recipe that she picked:  Sugar Glazed Ham.  I really cannot wait to make it because I am not sure if Jennifer knows this yet, but every holiday at my house in Nebraska my parents ask what I would like to have and I pick ham.  Should be excellent.

Last but not least…

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman from Derek and Jodi:

This book is simply awesome.  It literally has everything and anything that you could possibly dream up to make.  Thus far out of this cookbook we have had:  Ginger-Scallion Sauce (from scratch) with pot stickers, Calzones (with the dough made from scratch), Rice with Arborio cheese, Ziti with creamy Gorgonzola Sauce, Chicken Braised in Soy Sauce and Lemon, Stir-Fried Spicy Beef with Basil, and Crepes (dough made from scratch).  My favorite thing out of this book thus far has been the Crepes.  Peanut Butter and Jelly in a Crepe is almost unbeatable.

~Crepes                                         ~Tuna Sopranos