cooking summary - december

This is a good place to leave this project.

I've been keeping track of basically everything I've cooked since March 2020. I'd dabbled in recording some interesting things before that, but I got a lot more disciplined about it as the pandemic started.

There were some good ideas, like having something to focus on in a pretty stressful situation. I didn't want to make the same recipes over and over, but I also wanted to keep track of the real hits so I wouldn't forget them.

But, I think it's spiraled out a bit, and it's lost some (all) of the fun. I don't know how to split out spots where thinking about what I've doing has helped - my scrambled eggs, cauliflower have benefited from some repetition and thoughtfulness - and where it it really hasn't - bagels? or fruit and cheese plate?

So, time for a break from this. And time to think about what I'm really going for here.

Am I trying to get and develop a list of recipes that I like? If so, some sort of a dynamic cookbook might be better, maybe backed with versio control so that I can iterate on the recipes while still seeing the history? Or, maybe a record of the high points of the month? Why am I interested in recording how often I make things; maybe thinking about what I haven't made in a while, or what my favorite recipes are?

There are things to keep doing - finding new recipes that I like, trying new techniques. It's also nice to look back on what I've done and he pictures I've taken, and this has been a nice format for that.

Playground with contrast Contrail behind lamposts

Overall I made 45 things in December.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Side	Other
1			1 Dinner: Shrimp Tacos		1 Roasted Cauliflower
2
3			1 Dinner: Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon		1 Roasted Squash
4					1 Brussels Sprouts
5	1 Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs	1 Lunch: Quesadillas			1 Asparagus
6			1 Dinner: Nachos		1 Bread	1 The Best Basic Guacamole
7
8			1 Dinner: Panko Fried Chicken with Lemon		1 Roasted Cauliflower
9	1 Breakfast: Oatmeal	1 Breakfast: Fried Eggs
10					1 Christmas sugar cookies, roll-out dough with simple glaze icing
11	1 Breakfast: Fried Eggs		1 Dinner: Super-Simple Friday Night Meatballs		1 Asparagus
12		1 Lunch: Quesadillas
13
14					1 Roasted Cauliflower	1 Bread
15
16			1 Dinner: Hot Dogs		1 Sauteed Mushrooms
17	1 Breakfast: Oatmeal		1 Dinner: Chicken and Rice		1 Quesadillas	1 Brussels Sprouts	1 Date Shake
18
19
20					1 Roasted Vegetables
21					1 Zucchini
22			1 Dinner: Sausages		1 Brussels Sprouts
23			1 Dinner: Baked Chicken Legs	1 Dinner: Steak
24	1 Breakfast: Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes
25					1 Waffles	1 Scrambled Eggs	1 Bacon
26
27
28
29
30	1 Breakfast: Bacon	1 Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs		1 Dinner: Panko Fried Chicken with Lemon		1 Roasted Vegetables
31					1 Reverse Seared Steak	1 Green Beans

December 1

Shrimp Tacos (Dinner)

I got the pan hot hot hot before I started, so hot the oil started smoking as soon as I added it. This seemed key - the onions got a little fried, the shrimp started to brown, everything turned out better. Do this again. It makes a huge mess though.

I've cooked this 9 times before

Roasted Cauliflower

I've cooked this 9 times before

December 3

Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon (Dinner)

I've cooked this 2 times before

Roasted Squash

This was mystery squash - maybe kabocha? - but I roasted it sliced into moons at 350 with convection until it started to brown. It was pretty good!

I've cooked this 13 times before

December 4

Brussels Sprouts

I've cooked this 5 times before

December 5

Asparagus

Turned out well. Convection (at 400) makes everything better!

I've cooked this 12 times before

Scrambled Eggs (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 50 times before

Quesadillas (Lunch)

I've cooked this 16 times before

December 6

Bread

time	activity
2315	mix leaven
1230	mix dough (water 120°, 750g)
1240	rest
1315	bulk rise
1815-1900	bench rest
1900-	final rise
2230	1st loaf in
2320	2nd loaf in

I've cooked this 21 times before

Two loaves of bread

One round of bread sliced

The Best Basic Guacamole

I've cooked this 14 times before

Nachos (Dinner)

I've cooked this 6 times before

December 8

Panko Fried Chicken with Lemon (Dinner)

WIth Rice

I've cooked this 14 times before

Roasted Cauliflower

Orange!!

I've cooked this 10 times before

December 9

Oatmeal (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 18 times before

Fried Eggs (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 13 times before

Egg frying in a pan

December 10

Christmas sugar cookies, roll-out dough with simple glaze icing

With decorating

I've cooked this 4 times before

Decorated Christmas cookies

December 11

Fried Eggs (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 14 times before

Asparagus

I've cooked this 13 times before

Super-Simple Friday Night Meatballs (Dinner)

Actually made the sauce from the recipe.

Found tomatoes without citric acid like Ethan Chlebowski recommended.

Pretty good food for days!

I've cooked this 5 times before

Meatballs and asparagus on a plate, with parmesan in the background

December 12

Quesadillas (Lunch)

I've cooked this 17 times before

December 14

Roasted Cauliflower

Perhaps my best ever. Convection at 400 for about 20 minutes, but that was going too fast so I turned the fan off for another 20 or so.

I've cooked this 11 times before

Bread

I've cooked this 22 times before

Two loaves of bread out of the oven

A round of bread, cut in half

December 16

Sauteed Mushrooms

I've cooked this 6 times before

Hot Dogs (Dinner)

I've cooked this 9 times before

December 17

Oatmeal (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 19 times before

Quesadillas

Late night snack

I've cooked this 18 times before

Brussels Sprouts

Roasted at 400º with convection for a bit under 20 minutes. Turned out well, although it could have used a bit more salt.

I've cooked this 6 times before

Date Shake

Loosely based on https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/date-shake/

Chicken and Rice (Dinner)

I've cooked this 5 times before

December 20

Roasted Vegetables

Brocollini 2 ways- roasted (some with cheese, 10 minutes then added cheese to some for 5 more) and steamed (for 5 minutes). Both turned out well.

I've cooked this 24 times before

December 21

Zucchini

Sauteed. What a fun pan shape, made flipping really easy.

I've cooked this 2 times before

Zucchini in a pan

December 22

Sausages (Dinner)

Three kinds from Eataly - sweet italian, a parsley & cheese pinwheel, and a mystery pinwheel.

Sausages on the grill

Brussels Sprouts

I've cooked this 7 times before

December 23

Baked Chicken Legs (Dinner)

Roughly based on https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023115-crispy-baked-chicken, but I tossed them with olive oil and salt, then half with Beef Palace.

Served along with roasted carrots (that I didn't make). Also I made wings, those roasted for 30-40 at 425. I did the legs (split into thigh and drumstick) at 350 for 1hr15.

Steak (Dinner)

Grilled ribeye

December 24

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes (Breakfast)

For a bunch of hungry kids.

I've cooked this 10 times before

December 25

Waffles

I've cooked this 2 times before

Scrambled Eggs

A full dozen - the pan wasn't big enough to really get them moving, but they still turned out OK.

I've cooked this 51 times before

Bacon

I've cooked this 6 times before

December 30

Panko Fried Chicken with Lemon (Dinner)

For a big group - we went up to Tahoe with some friends.

I've cooked this 15 times before

Roasted Vegetables

Broccoli and cauliflower.

I also meant to include rice, but the cabin didn't have measuring cups so I skipped it. Plenty of food with 3lbs of chicken, a big head of cauliflower and 4-5 broccoli crowns for 5 adults and 4 kids.

I've cooked this 25 times before

Bacon (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 7 times before

Scrambled Eggs (Breakfast)

I've cooked this 52 times before

December 31

Reverse Seared Steak

For New Year's dinner. 4 ribeyes for 5 adults, 4 kids - worked out fine.

It was a great time.

I've cooked this 14 times before

Steak in the pan

Green Beans

Boiled for ~5 minutes, then drained. Sauteed shallots in a pretty gross amount of butter, then tossed the drained beans in there.

Green beans in a pan