Quick Gravy

Verdict: Win

I've never made gravy before. This was the fastest and easiest recipe I could find, plus it didn't call for any milk or heavy cream (good for lactose-aphobe DY). Rule of thumb: 2 tbsp each of flour and butter for every cup of chicken stock. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Served with the buttermilk biscuits and chicken :)

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

Verdict: Win

I don't typically like biscuits, but these were perfectly fluffy and had a nice sweet and salty balance. Wes dipped his in honey too, which was tasty, but I liked them plain.

Neely's Jerk Chicken

Verdict: Win

This was the first recipe that really began my cooking education. DY and I made this several times last semester, and now that it's warm out it was time to take out the grill. I love the spiciness paired with the sweet and salty jerk flavors. One day I might try the original recipe that calls for a habanero pepper.

Pumpkin Cookies

Verdict: Win

Since I still had a lot of pumpkin puree left in the can after making the pumpkin scones, I had to make more pumpkin baked goods, right? These were quite simple and delicious. The spices could have come out a bit more, but that may have been my fault since I winged my own "pumpkin pie spice." I did not use her recipe's glaze and instead used the glaze from Annie's pumpkin scones. I've listed her exact recipe with the original glaze below though.

Pumpkin Scones

Verdict: Win

The butterscotch + pumpkin flavors are phenomenal. Also, these are more like cookies. LOVE.

I omitted the glaze that she calls for in the recipe as I thought it was plenty sweet, but I've listed it below just in case.

Grilled Chicken Fajitas, part 2

(Sorry, not the best picture. Guess who took it?)
Verdict: Win!

I've tried this recipe before, but had mediocre results due to some poor decisions on my behalf. I marinated the chicken overnight and had DY grill it for reals this time and it was absolutely Perfect (yes, with a capital P). Follow her recipe to the tee (and splurge on red and orange bell peppers!) because it really makes a difference. The surprising star of the recipe was the red onion: the grilled red onion slices were slightly sweet and tasted amazing. DY and I topped these off with a scoop of pickled jalapeños, a smear of avocado, and a dollop of sour cream. I was planning on only eating one, but I ended up eating three :)

Chocolate Chip Scones

Verdict: Win

Sarah made these scones earlier in the week and they are to die for. They are soft and flaky and have just the right amount of chocolate chips in every bite. I had leftover heavy cream, so I whipped these up tonight. God knows I need them to get through biochemistry!

Sichuan Peppercorn Roast Chicken

Verdict: Win

I love how quickly this dish came together with so few ingredients too. The chicken slightly sweet with a refreshing numbing from the Sichuan peppercorns. I roasted 3 chicken leg quarters at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes on a rack near the top of the oven and it came out juicy and perfect. I accidentally added too much honey, but it turned out for the better. Next time I'll add more salt and grind and sift the Sichuan peppercorns. The bigger pieces of the Sichuan peppercorns became burnt and bitter from being cooked too long. I'll also place the chicken on the rack closest to the top and switch the the broil on low for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the chicken skin even more. Make sure to foil the bottom of the pan because the burnt honey will never come off otherwise.

***note to self: use triple the amount of honey. Changes are adjusted below.

Korean Spicy Braised Chicken

Verdict: Win

Even though I forgot to marinate the chicken overnight, the dish still turned out well. It was slightly spicy and slightly sweet. I substituted the red rose potatoes with yukon gold potatoes (what I had in the pantry), as well as the Korean red chili powder with 1 tbsp cayenne. I added 1 extra tbsp of gochujang to thicken the sauce and increase the flavor (since I forgot the overnight marinade). After the 5-minute fry, the recipe didn't say what to lower the temperature to. I found that 45 minutes on medium heat (or possibly even lower) was sufficient.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Verdict: Win

Easiest and fastest chocolate cake ever. In a mug!

The cake doesn't have a cake like texture, though. It's more like a sponge cake. 1 minutes in the microwave on high is sufficient time for this cake to cook. I may add more sugar or add a richer chocolate to it next time. For now, I'm satisfied with the mug cake drizzled with chocolate sauce and accompanied by a cup of cold milk.

Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Verdict: Win

These were great. I personally found them a little too sweet for me with the frosting and ganache, but that chocolate and Guinness cake batter was divine.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Verdict: Win

Need I even say anything about these cupcakes? They were great! Even Keith said that they were the best cupcakes he ever had. I made sure to use clear vanilla extract so it wouldn't interfere with the red dye. I messed up the frosting, but I'm not a big fan of too much frosting anyway.

Cold Sesame Noodles

Verdict: Win

I wanted to serve noodles at David's birthday because in the Chinese culture noodles are eaten during birthdays to symbolize longevity. I used the sauce from the recipe and winged everything else. I had thin egg noodles with several choices for toppings: shredded boiled chicken breasts, eggs, grated carrots, julienned bell peppers, matchstick cucumbers, and blanched bean sprouts. All of the ingredients were unadulterated and needed that sauce to bring it all together. I loved how the "lao gan ma" chili sauce (that Dan bought me!) completed the sesame sauce. I enjoyed it, but others who aren't fond of peanut butter didn't use the sauce which I think then made the noodles kind of bland. Alternatively, you can just add a dash of soy sauce, lao gan ma, and sesame oil to flavor the noodles.

Crispy Hash Browns

Verdict: Win

DY isn't too fond of breakfast, but he does love hash browns. I used Yukon gold potatoes instead of Russet potatoes and they were great. Just don't leave the grated potatoes out too long because eventually they turned purple. I squeezed the moisture out using a lemon squeezer. They turned out perfect! I made a second batch that Sarah and I gobbled up as an afternoon snack :)

Simple Homemade Pancakes

Verdict: Win

Cami made these pancakes last semester and they were hands down the best pancakes I had ever eaten. They were big, light, and fluffy. I asked her for the recipe right away and she pulled this up on the Food Network website as well as told me her secret: adding a dash of vanilla extract and cinnamon. I tried to make this myself the following weekend, and they didn't turn out nearly as good as hers. I finally tried to tackle them again after doing a bit of research and they turned out great. The key to what I did was separate the egg and whisked the egg whites until they formed a soft peak. I then mixed the dry ingredients, added the wet ingredients (mixed separately from the dry ingredients), and folded in the egg whites. The batter seemed dense, so I added a tad bit more buttermilk. I made about 16 pancakes after doubling (don't go beyond doubling) the recipe. The texture was perfect and they tasted great with syrup, but next time I may add more sugar because I don't like to add much syrup. The recipe below is not doubled.