White Chocolate Baba Ghannouj

Ingredients:

• 8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 4 medium eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup tahini
• 4 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 
• 1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tbs paprika
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat oven broiler on high
• Place garlic and eggplants, skin side up, on a foil-lined bakng sheet
• Broil until tender and charred all over (about 40 minutes) 
• Peel garlic and peel and seed eggplants and scoop out flesh from eggplant and transfer to a food processor 
• Add lemon juice, tahini, chocolate, parsley, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper
• Puree until smooth

Results: 

This was honestly my least favorite dish, and I ended up not eating any of it (after tasting).  I'm not a fan of any of the ingredients, so it makes sense that I didn't enjoy the recipe. 

Green Beans with Bacon

Introduction:
Not all green beans are alike. The longer the bean was on the vine, the tougher it can be. Fresh, young beans should be able to cook up perfectly well in less than 6 minutes. Tough old beans, you'll have to cook a lot longer to get them tender. Look for beans that easily snap in half when you bend them.
Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends snipped off and discarded
• Salt
• 2-3 slices of bacon 
• Black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice or cider or red wine vinegar

Steps:

• Heat a pot of salted water to a rolling boil (1 Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water). Add the green beans and boil them for 4-5 minutes, until just tender enough to eat (you may have to cook longer depending on the particular green beans you have). Drain and set aside.
• While the water is heating up to boil the beans, slowly cook the bacon until crispy in a large sauté pan set over medium-low heat. Use a slotted spoon or a fork to remove the bacon from the pan. Set the bacon on paper towels to sop up the excess fat. You should have about one tablespoon of fat left in the pan. Pour off any fat beyond 1 tablespoon. (Do not pour the fat down the drain or you'll stop up your drain.) If you have much less fat than a tablespoon left in the pan, add a little olive oil or butter to the pan.
• Once the green beans are cooked, sauté them over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes in the bacon fat. Dice the bacon and add to the pan and sauté another minute. Put the beans and bacon into a large serving bowl and sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper. Toss with lemon juice or vinegar and serve at once. 

Results: 

I could have done without the bacon, to be honest.  They were a little too fatty for my liking.  

Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/green_beans_with_bacon/

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Introduction:
Olive oil and vinegar don't mix because they are opposite substances.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions: 

• Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the sugar, garlic, pepper, and salt until the sugar dissolves 

Results: 

This recipe was probably too easy, but was really good.  The sugar made it a little guilty though as I felt weird putting sugar on a salad.  Either way, the dressing was really good. 

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/simple-balsamic-vinaigrette-recipe.html

Garlic Butter Broccoli

Introduction:
The science of cooking broccoli is all in the heat and color.  The heat will still drive out the air bubbles to give the bright green color, and overcooking will still break down the chlorophyl to give the dull green color.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch broccoli, cut into small pieces, stalked peeled and thinly slices
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper 

Steps: 

• Cook broccoli in lightly salted boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes 
• Add the butter and garlic to the saucepan and cook until the garlic is soften, 1 to 2 minutes
• Toss wit the salt and a few grinds of pepper

Results: 

This was so yummy!!  The heads of the broccoli got so soaked in butter, which made this dish really, really good. The broccoli was pretty easy to over cook, especially since it cooks itself a little when it's sitting there waiting to be eaten.  

Source: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/garlic-butter-broccoli-10000001044810/

Simple Bolognese Recipe

Introduction:
Because the main part of this recipe is meat, it should be noted that there is science behind how meat is cooked. Cooking time is affected by the meat’s starting temperature, the true temperatures of frying pans and ovens, and the number of times the meat is flipped or the oven door opened. The meat’s fat content matters, because fat is less conductive than the muscle fibers: fatty cuts cook more slowly than lean ones. Bones make a difference too.  Because the meat is ground, and broken up, the cooking time very short.


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound ground chuck beef
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces) 
• 1/4 cup flat leaf italian parsley, chopped
• 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Steps: 

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil
• Once the oil is almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion softens (about 8 minutes) 
• Add the celery and cook for another 5 minutes
• Raise the heat to high and add the ground beef
• Stir frequently and break up the large lumps and cook until the meat is no longer pink (about 10 minutes) 
• Add the tomatoes, parsley, and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens (about 30 minutes, but the longer, the better)
• Season with salt and pepper
• Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano. 

Results: 

This was by far one of my favorite recipes.  I absolutely loved it, and it was really easy.  I didn't drain the meat, so it was a little oily.  Maybe next time I'll use a lower fat content.  For this recipe I used 85/15.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/simple-bolognese-recipe2.html

Buttery Cooked Carrots

Introduction:
Did you know that a carrot is actually a type of root?

Pre-peeled “baby” carrots (like the ones that this recipe calls for) actually cut from mature ones, often have a harmless white fuzz on their surface due to damaged outer cell layers that dehydrate within hours of processing.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound carrots (baby or regular sized) 
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Steps:

• Cooks carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender
• Drain out most of the liquid, but make sure to leave the bottom of the pan covered with water
• Set the carrots aside
• Stir in the butter and brown sugar into the water
• Simmer and stir until the butter melts
• Return the carrots to the pot, and toss to coat
• Cover and let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle

Results: 

I absolutely hated this recipe.  Never again will I add sugar to my vegetables!!! Too sweet. 

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buttery-cooked-carrots/

Breakfast Burritos

Introduction:
This is another egg recipe.  We want to make sure that we do not over cook the eggs to avoid the rubbery texture that comes with overcooked eggs.  The rubbery texture comes from the proteins bonding too exclusively with each other, which squeezes out the water from the protein network (remember: eggs are made of 'basically' water and protein, but more water THAN protein).   The best temperature too cook eggs at is the temperature well below that of when their proteins coagulate, which is well below the boiling point (212 degrees Fahrenheit).

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive or canola oil 
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1 cup rinsed black beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup cheese
• 4 tortillas (corn)
• 1 small avocado 

Steps: 

• Head canola oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat
• Cook the onions until they are softened (about 8 minutes) 
• Add black beans and cook until warmed through (another 3 minutes) 
• Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a dish 
• Whisk together the eggs and then stir in the cheese
• Spray the pan or add butter to the bottom of the pan prior to putting in the eggs
• On low heat, add the eggs, scrambling until cooked through (about 3 minutes) 
• Spread each tortilla on a baking sheet and put in oven on 475 until crispy
• Add the eggs, beans, and onions to the tortillas, and top with avocado

Results: 

These breakfast burritos were really easy to cook and gave me lot of energy throughout the day since they are so high in protein.  I'd definitely cook again.