Vicky Learns to Cook

Project Time!  ---------------- It's December, the day after Christmas, when I start looking forward to the end of the year and starting fresh next year.  I've decided that my "new years resolution" this year will be to do and to blog new projects. I'm thinking to blog on Sundays since I don't have too much going on on Sundays. And I like to make things on the weekends.  On a side note, I actually completed a goal today. I haven't counted the recipes but I created 30+ categories in word documents, such as "Pastries" loaded with all the Pastry recipes,  and put into a Cookbook Library. I now have a copy online and one on my hard drive so I can find all my recipes. Yay! I've been working on this for EVER. Now I feel like I can find what I need.  But I like to always have a goal. I'm unable to just sit still, knowing I accomplished something. I always strive for something else, something new. I like to think of it as part of my sparkling per...

 Ok so having tried to make baguettes at home I learned two things.  1. you need to cut down the size of the dough or your artisan mixer will fling the bowl across the room. fun for entertainment value but not so good when making bread, causing me to hold the bowl for all 10 mins of mixing.  2. you need to bake them in the top rack only.  Because I did neither, I had baguettes that were burned on the bottom but okay on the top. So I cut them into croutons and then promptly forgot about them.  Today I realized I 'd better do something with them so I mixed them into three different recipes.  Butter + Caraway for fondue (cue all that extra gruyere cheese I bought) Garlic + Thyme  for soups or salads. Or maybe I will just eat them. I might put parmesan on them.  Rosemary for probably eating too. :) Or soup. I should make some soup.  The first one is happily baking now. It even prompted a visit from 14 year old boy asking if he can have some bread...

 In our house we have chicken and rice a roni often. When I was a kid, we had it at my Grandma Andrews house, with pine nuts,  and again at my Moms house without. Green beans were generally a side. ***Mom, look away now. *** I always liked the sides better than the chicken part, because chicken breasts always tasted dry to me. No matter what recipe we used, it was always dry inside.  Even in my house and I've been to culinary school. Until I used my thermometer. This lady, Ali, at https://www.gimmesomeoven.com  has come up with a great recipe for chicken that truly does come out really well.  She gives you a lot of options but this is how I did it tonight:  Here's the plan, she says.  Brine, Brush, Rub/sprinkle, Roast, Rest.  Following her plan/formula/recipe:  1. Fill a big bowl with water and add a claw of salt  (my word not hers. Make a claw with your hand like the game that grabs toys, and instead grab the salt. I use kosher sal...