tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55013152718950736812024-03-08T15:30:33.802-08:00Stellar RecipesThe Astronomer in the kitchenThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-52357249225862466852013-12-21T17:27:00.004-08:002013-12-21T17:35:12.883-08:00Palmiers
It's becoming something of a Christmas tradition that I make palmiers, French butterfly cookies, for The Gastronomer's family. The recipe is from Ina Garten of the Food Network, and even though it is of the semi-homemade variety, with the primary ingredient being store-bought puff pastry, the cookies tend to be a hot commodity. It's an extremely simple recipe, but the execution isThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-54485547190692896392013-06-09T14:38:00.002-07:002013-06-09T14:59:12.262-07:00Heart-Shaped Chocolate Caramel Layer Cake
Three years after I first attempted a recipe using our heart-shaped cake ring, I decided it was time to bust it out again for The Gastronomer's anniversary present this year. I wasn't sure what kind of cake to make, but I figured that pretty much any 8-9 inch layer cake recipe could probably be adapted for the heart-shaped pan. Fortunately, a few days before showtime, the perfect The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-42792558492347890102013-04-02T21:32:00.000-07:002013-04-02T21:32:43.426-07:00Spicy Baked Pasta with Bacon
Several years ago, The Gastronomer went through a baked pasta phase, during which she came up with a number of fantastic variations on the winning formula of a sturdy pasta baked with a white, cheesy sauce and vegetables. I've recently renewed the tradition with the version presented below, which is currently far and away The Gastronomer's favorite thing to eat for lunch at work. The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-45842915170711277452012-07-29T01:41:00.001-07:002012-07-29T01:41:51.656-07:00Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding
The Gastronomer emailed me this Mark Bittman recipe a full three years ago; when she requested a special dessert this weekend, I remembered it and decided it was pudding time! It's pretty cool: you start out with a block of soft tofu and some melted chocolate, add a few spices, blend it all up, and after chilling in the refrigerator for a bit, the result is a silky smooth pudding that I The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-10849266138089280402012-05-21T23:56:00.002-07:002012-06-08T11:23:26.725-07:00Thai Basil Pesto
I'm stoked to report that The Gastronomer and I have added Thai basil to our potted herb garden this year, and the two small plants I purchased in March are thriving. In fact, they've been growing so fast that even with a big pot of Ba Ngoai's pho in the house last week, our demand for the fragrant leaves hasn't been able to keep up. I've grown tired of wasting perfectly good Thai The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-32758739927147234322012-03-25T23:15:00.000-07:002012-03-25T23:15:58.060-07:00Tuna with Angel Hair Pasta
The Gastronomer and I have been living a mere 10 minute drive from a Mitsuwa Marketplace for more than three years now, but we didn't start paying it regular visits until last month. I guess we thought the only worthwhile Mitsuwa was the Torrance location, with its dynamite food court. Well, it turns out the appeal of Mitsuwas extends beyond ramen and curry. We've recently The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-30364485013777679332012-03-09T22:27:00.001-08:002012-03-09T22:27:20.331-08:00Mustard Batons
As a prequel to the Savannah banana pie that I served for dessert on The Gastronomer's recent birthday, I prepared a four-course meal from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. Greenspan's cookbooks are an internet sensation, but I chose her book of French-inspired recipes for this important cooking project mostly because of how much I enjoyed beggar's linguine, the first recipe thatThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-34648282907360017712012-03-04T22:49:00.003-08:002012-03-04T22:49:57.408-08:00Savannah Banana Pie
I'm an experienced baker of cookies, cakes, and the like, but the thought of making a pie has always been a bit intimidating to me. It took a very special occasion, The Gastonomer's 30th birthday, to inspire me to finally attempt my first pie without my mother's assistance. I flipped through Maida Heatter's book of Pies and Tarts, pondering my options: peach or berry pie (awesome The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-89752855414989869162012-02-27T23:21:00.000-08:002012-02-27T23:21:27.526-08:00Orange-Fennel Salad
The centerpiece of this easy winter salad from Cooking Light's series of recipes with five ingredients or less just might be one of my top five favorite vegetables. Interestingly, fennel is also an herb and a spice, which perhaps gives it an unfair advantage over its veggie competitors, but I won't count that against it--it's right up there behind corn, carrots, and artichokes and neck The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-8862634675049708022012-01-26T23:46:00.000-08:002012-02-21T21:30:29.988-08:00Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Honey, Lemon, and Thyme Dressing
Growing up, I viewed brussels sprouts in an extremely negative light. They stank up the house when my mom boiled them, and if I was ever brave enough to actually put one in my mouth, I definitely didn't give it a fair chance to impress. However, in the past couple of years I've come around and realized that they can be one of the most delicious vegetables out there. Maybe it was the brusselsThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-71642876686464158812011-12-22T22:30:00.000-08:002011-12-22T22:35:57.701-08:00Shrimp Piri Piri with Quick-Preserved Meyer LemonsI saved the most traumatic cooking experience of the year for December. It had come time to use the fruits from the young dwarf Meyer lemon tree that the Gastronomer and I have been lovingly caring for since March, and I wanted to make something special. I picked out this recipe from among the La Times' "100 things to do with a Meyer lemon". It sounded right up our alley, and yet different The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-7024749506472246492011-12-08T23:55:00.000-08:002011-12-09T00:11:39.254-08:00Eat My Blog Charity Bake Sale 2011For those of you in the Los Angeles area, this Saturday is the fourth iteration of the Eat My Blog bake sale benefiting the LA Regional Food Bank. Over 50 talented bakers and restaurants will be contributing an incredible collection of creative, irresistible desserts; you can check out the menu at http://eatmyblogla.wordpress.com/. If you're in the mood for something a bit less avant-garde, butThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-69152014556841347072011-12-04T23:08:00.000-08:002011-12-04T23:09:06.617-08:00Herbed Carrot SaladWhen I was looking for a recipe to try from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, the obvious choice would have been to attempt a flatbread. However, for some reason I settled on this selection from the "flavors" portion of the book instead. I think it was the mint--I'm obsessed with herbs. I planned to make this salad as part of a four-course birthday meal for The The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-87299475463607209062011-11-06T17:56:00.000-08:002011-11-19T19:06:43.943-08:00Sweet Potato, Chipotle, and Apple SoupAs noted previously on the blog, for the Gastronomer's 28th birthday present I promised her a set of five extravagant home-cooked meals. A year before I had given her a similar gift and followed through with all five meals; however, this time after meal #2 she decided that she no longer wanted to spend her Saturdays alone while I slaved away in the kitchen on three- and four-course feasts. SheThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-87038285869364386282011-06-28T21:36:00.000-07:002011-06-28T21:40:18.544-07:00Pear and Raspberry CrumbleAs I mentioned previously, The Gastronomer tends to acquire cookbooks at a faster rate than she can try out the recipes. Last year, I decided to help her out by attempting at least one dish from each of the neglected books. At the time, this task appeared quite feasible, but since then our collection has swelled by a factor or two or three, and it seems that our cooking progress may never catchThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-13674856103798092192011-06-18T21:10:00.000-07:002011-06-18T21:11:45.361-07:00Filipino Pork AdoboWhen I was drawing up the menus for The Gastronomer's 28th birthday meals back in February 2010, this recipe seemed like an ideal introduction to the "complete world of pork." It seemed straightforward and not too intimidating, and it was hard to imagine how it could fail to be delicious. Then last summer I was introduced to the wonderful pork adobo from Los Angeles's first Filipino food truck,The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-48164641834650027862011-04-06T23:04:00.000-07:002011-04-06T23:04:59.978-07:00Smoked Mackerel Pate with Apple and LimeA new cookbook for The Gastronomer to review arrives at our doorstep at least once a month; thus over the past couple of years we have acquired a rather impressive recipe library. With such bounty in our bookshelves, it was pretty tough deciding on 15-20 dishes to make for her 2010 birthday present. With the exception of the Susanna Foo trifecta that I prepared for Meal #1, I resolved to go forThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-55102574512059759442011-03-13T22:20:00.000-07:002011-03-13T22:21:04.806-07:00Homemade Noodles with Pork from ShanxiIn my first post about The Gastronomer's 2010 birthday meals, I mentioned that I was trying to seek out recipes that would that would push my limits as a cook. Making knife-cut Chinese noodles from scratch certainly qualifies. This recipe definitely has the potential to achieve the ideal Chinese noodle texture, although mine were a bit too square and thick. Next time I'll roll the dough out The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-14302871971955997292011-02-14T22:28:00.000-08:002011-02-14T22:32:00.308-08:00Cold Marinated ScallopsSusanna Foo Chinese Cuisine is well on its way to becoming the second unofficial cookbook of Stellar Recipes, joining the ever-reliable America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Before serving poached pears for dessert during the first of The Gastronomer's 2010 birthday dinners, I made these scallops as a starter. Despite not being a tomato lover, I found them to be quite delicious, but The The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-26153682296730068512011-02-06T21:19:00.000-08:002011-02-06T21:20:15.748-08:00Arugula and Edamame CrostiniOne more from the CSA box--The Gastronomer did most of the work preparing this one, but the honor of blogging about it has fallen to me. We don't like arugula enough to use up a whole bunch in salads, so this recipe was a great alternative. The bitterness/bite of the green is actually quite nice in a spread, and I thought the mint garnish was an excellent touch. The recipe doesn't actually useThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-1557825052431478462011-01-21T00:15:00.000-08:002011-02-06T21:12:18.487-08:00Stuffing with Red Mustard GreensAfter valiantly cooking our way through our leafy CSA box for a solid week, we had used up the bok choy, tatsoi, Siberian kale, broccolini, romaine, arugula, turnip, radishes, and cilantro, but one stubborn vegetable remained. With their shockingly intense horseradish-like flavor, red mustard greens are a fascinating item, but not one that I would want to put in my mouth on a regular basis. TheThe Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-67034945591685342252011-01-17T21:45:00.000-08:002011-01-17T21:48:49.992-08:00Soba with Cilantro Pesto, Tofu, and Pickled RadishesOne night last week, I was all set to make mixed herb pesto with the bunch of parsley from our CSA box and the basil I had purchased at Trader Joe's the day before. Suddenly, as I was washing the parsley, something didn't smell right. I brought the bunch a bit closer to my nose. Sure enough, it wasn't parsley after all--it was cilantro! I didn't think basil and cilantro would go together too The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-84809194758259640802011-01-10T23:28:00.000-08:002012-03-04T22:01:00.773-08:00Braised Turnip Greens with Turnips and Apples
Although we appreciate fresh local produce and support small family farms in theory, The Gastronomer and I have a notoriously poor track record when it comes to finding our way to farmer's markets on the weekends. Thus I recently decided it was time for us to try a Community Supported Agriculture delivery program. When Christmas came around, along with the hilarious new Stuff White People The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-27342551438678212242010-12-18T23:34:00.000-08:002010-12-18T23:36:36.237-08:00Poached Pears with GingerThe five 3-course meals I prepared for The Gastronomer for her 2008 Christmas present were a hit, so I decided to repeat the gift for her birthday in 2010. This time, however, I vowed to be more adventurous in my recipe selection--venturing away from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook in search of dishes that would challenge me and open up new frontiers in our kitchen. For the first The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501315271895073681.post-28537202609679320312010-12-03T00:03:00.000-08:002010-12-03T00:19:04.112-08:00Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble SquaresIt's time to get excited for the third edition of the Eat My Blog charity bake sale, hosted by The Gastronomer and friends at Tender Greens in West Hollywood (Los Angeles) this Saturday. For the last bake sale in June, I contributed an old family favorite--applesauce spice cake. This time, I wanted to try something new and settled on these pumpkin cheesecake bars. Any recipe with "cheesecake" The Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09094248944338052325noreply@blogger.com0