Easter Brunch

This year for Easter two classmates of mine and myself organized an Easter brunch! I brought my all-time favorite Easter tradition: deviled eggs. This was my first time making deviled eggs on my own but also more importantly, the first time I was hoping to successfully hard boil eggs. Each time I have tried, I boil the eggs, cool them and peel them only to open them up and realize they weren't cooked enough.  There was a lot riding on this food choice, I needed to perfect hard boiling eggs.

I used the ever so helpful google and tried a random website's instructions and they turned out well!

Next it was time to devil me some eggs.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
12 eggs hardboiled and peeled
6 Tbs. plain greek yogurt (I used Okios)
1 Tbs white vinegar
1 Tbs honey
1 1/2 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
paprika for garnish

Directions: In a small bowl combine the yogurt, vinegar, mustard, honey and pepper.  Cut the eggs the long way and take the yolks out and place in a large bowl.  Mash the yolks with a fork.  Add the yogurt mixture to the yolks and mix well. Fill each egg-half with even amounts of the yolk mixture and garnish with paprika.

A much healthier option than mayonnaise based deviled eggs!

Tuna Curried Salad

I will always remember this recipe not because it was a commonality in my house growing up but because of it's connection to one of my best friends.  Every time I make this recipe I think of one dance performance in middle school.  My friends and I were in the company program so when it came time for the spring shows, we were in every show and spent the week prior at every dress rehearsal. I usually brought breakfast, lunch and tons of snacks to get me through each day.  I will always remember this recipe because I sat down one day for lunch next to one of my best friends and we had the exact same thing.  We didn't have a turkey and cheese sandwich but this unique recipe both of our mom's loved.  She had chicken curried salad and I had tuna.  I have never made it with chicken but I'm sure it's just as good.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain yogurt 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs curry powder

1/4 cup cashews toasted (I usually am too lazy to toast)

3 5oz. cans of tuna

1 cup finely chopped unpeeled red apple

1/4 cup pickle relish

1/2 cup raisins (the recipe calls for them to be plumped in hot water for 15 minutes- I again, am usually too lazy to do that)

2 tbs. minced green onion

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayo, lemon juice and curry powder. Blend well and set aside.

Toast the nuts, chop coarsely and set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine the tuna, apple, relish, drained raisins, onion and toasted nuts.  Stir in the yogurt mixture to taste (I usually throw it all in).

The great thing about this is you can use it as a salad or put it on sandwiches.  We used to do sandwiches on toasted wheat bread or lettuce wraps.  I bought some whole wheat wraps this week so I made wraps throughout the week for lunch.

If you like tuna fish you have to try this recipe!

Need Muffins

When I have some serious studying to do, I usually find myself baking. This happened last week in preparation for a big pharmacology test I had. I couldn't get myself to leave the apartment so, I ended up finding a muffin recipe that I could handle with just the things I had. I spent a little bit on Pinterest deciding between cinnamon or chocolate muffins. The only problem was, I didn't have chocolate chips.  I did however find some semi-sweet chocolate pieces from a chocolate cake I made. I decided to make Bakery Style Double Chocolate Muffins.

I'm pretty sure mine weren't as good as "Crunchy, Creamy, Sweet"s because I only had one little bar of chocolate instead of the called for 1 cup of semi-sweet chips and 1/2 cup milk chocolate.  They weren't the sweetest muffins I've made but since I gave up sweets for lent, the more breakfast/bakery feel to them made up for the fact that I was in fact sort of cheating on my lent.

Ingredients
3 c all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 c yogurt (I use Stonyfield Greek)
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used what I had)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. And zest and stir.
In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. [I don't own a mixer so I do everything by hand]
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Add dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with yogurt.
Add chocolate and stir it in with a wooden spoon.
Scoop the batter out to lined muffin tin, filling all the way to the top. 
Bake for 5 minutes in 400 degree oven, Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake 15 more minutes, or until browned on top and toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean.

These muffins are perfect if you're craving a good treat but don't want to feel like you've ruined the hard work you put in today--not too sweet so you can't feel guilty!

[hey ali]

Catfish Tuesday

My friend and I make dinner together every Tuesday. We started this in January and found it hilarious to watch the MTV show Catfish as a guilty pleasure while we ate our dinner. We switch off which apartment we cook at each week and tonight was my night. She gave up meat for lent so I ended up reheating the salmon I made on Sunday. I added a little bit of honey on top before I warmed it to sweeten it up a bit! She is also gluten free so I paired it with some white rice (flavored with salt and pepper). Along with it, I made an easy classic of my Mom's: cucumber and tomato with dressing.

Cucumber & Tomatoes

Ingredients:
-1 cucumber
-1 pint of cherry tomatoes
-balsamic dressing at your liesure
- half an onion
-Mozzarella

Directions:
Peel and slice the cucumber.  I usually use sliced whole tomatoes but I ended up buying cherry tomatoes at the store so I sliced these the long way.  I cut the onion in rings.  Place cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and cheese into a container and flavor with salt and pepper.  Cover in as much dressing as you would like and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.

Seafood Kick

Along with my salmon purchase at Whole Foods, I also picked up 1/2 lb of fresh shrimp. Shrimp with cocktail sauce and some sort of vegetable was a common meal in my house growing up. After having my first Maryland crab experience this summer, I definitely love the taste of Old Bay. I adapted my recipe from the back of the Old Bay container.  It usually calls for 1 lb of shrimp but with half of the shrimp, I decided I didn't want to cut the ingredients in half because I wanted lots of seasoning. I served it with left over japanese noodle salad from last night.

Old Bay Shrimp

Ingredients

- 1/3 cup vinegar

-1/3 cup water

-2 heaping Tbs Old Bay seasoning 

Boil the sauce.  Add the shrimp and mix well. Cover and steam for 3-5 minutes. Peel shrimp and eat!

I'm Backkkk

I had this blog for a bit when I was in college but with a busy senior spring and the fear of being ridiculed I got rid of it. With the stressors of graduate school and a dwindling personal life, I have recently realized that cooking keeps me afloat.  I typically find that I succeed more in my baking adventures but I recently gave up sweets for lent. I decided that the countless instagramed photos of my food aren't enough. Friends usually see my food and ask for the recipes. So, I've decided to bring back The Book's Cook! Hopefully this will be a stress reliever and something I can dedicate my time (as little as it is) to when I'm not in classes.

Mom's Japanese Noodle Salad:
A huge favorite in my house and I think only the second time I've made it on my own. This is the first time I cooked it with whole wheat pasta- it tasted a bit different but hey, gave it a little healthier swap.

Ingredients
-8 oz. vermicelli (I used whole wheat)
-1/3 cup sesame seeds
-1/4 cup chopped green onions
-1 bunch of broccoli
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-1/4 cup hot water (if you want a stronger taste, cut the water in half)
-2 T white wine
-2 tsp sugar

Cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water, then drain thoroughly and transfer to large sized bowl.
Toast sesame seeds (I bought already toasted ones) in a small skillet over high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add to noodles and toss lightly.
Cut broccoli florets into bite size pieces, then steam for 3 minutes or until tender and crisp; rinse in cold water and drain well. Add the cooked broccoli and green onions to the noodles and mix lightly

Honey Baked Salmon
I've become a fan of pinterest recipe searches.  I went to Whole Foods this weekend and spent way too much money.  In my canvas bag was some salmon and I was left searching for a baked Salmon recipe.  I usually don't think to cook fish because I consider myself to be a seafood snob being from Boston. On this rare trip to Whole Foods, I thought that if anyone in Nashville were going to have decent fish it would be my hipster friends at Whole Foods. I found this recipe when I searched "Japanese style Baked Salmon" on pinterest. Here is a recipe adapted from Fancy Frugal Life previously adapted by All Recipes.

Ingredients
-2 cloves of freshly minced garlic
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-1/3 cup orange juice
-1/4 honey (I eyeballed it)
-1 green onion chopped
-1 1/2 pounds of salmon

Combine garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, honey and green onion in a large plastic bag.  Add the salmon and coat well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake salmon for 15-18 minutes per inch of thickness. I baked it for 25 minutes because although the salmon wasn't much more than an inch thick, I am wary of uncooked fish.
*Next time I make it, I think I'll add a bit more honey. The original recipe called for fresh ginger but Whole Foods got overwhelming and I abandoned that ingredient for my sanity.