The Curious Cook

The first time I had tamales was about 6 months ago and ever since then I have wanted them again, so I thought I would try to make them myself. That may have been a quixotic idea, but I did it anyway. The process was long and there are a lot of moving parts, from making the masa to the filling, but in the end I enjoyed being able to explore Mexican cuisine. To go with the Tamales, even though I think they're technically supposed to be served alone, I made a simple avocado salad. It was a nice, fresh addition to the heavier corn and meat of the Tamales. * May I suggest that if you want to make tamales that you start the process very early and also to make them for a large group because they are naturally conducive to larger crowds Recipe: Masa (to be used in the Tamales recipe) 2 cups masa harina 1 1/3 cups warm water 1.) Mix masa harina and water to form a soft dough. you may need to add more masa harina if the dough is too sticky. Tamales Moreno For filling: 8 oz...

For this dessert I really wanted to try something that I had seen on The Great British Baking Show, in both an ironic but also very serious way. Choux pastry, and more specifically Cream Puffs, had always piqued my interest because I was really curious as to how they worked scientifically. Turns out that making them didn't really answer that, but it did satisfy my curious mind and resulted in severe deliciousness. The pastry itself was actually worryingly easy to make (which may result in their reappearance at holidays and other family occasions), but the pastry creme I made to fill the puffs made up for that ease in spades. It was so user unfriendly that I actually had to make my first batch twice before getting it right so, a word for the wise, practice making your pastry creme before the day of because you are guaranteed to mess it up the first time. The upside, though, is that once you get the hang of it it becomes much easier and allows for some fun to be had with flavors. S...

Burgers are a classic American food and I don't think my food education would be complete without making them. They were easy to make and the pay off was pretty good, so I can understand why they are such a staple. Also, unlike with the ribs I made, I decided not to reinvent the wheel and to just stick with a classic burger, which also meant that the toppings would be traditional (cheddar, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, etc). To go with the burgers I bought sweet potato fries, which would have been a hassle to make had I tried to do them from scratch. Recipe: Classic Burger 2 lbs ground beef 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp onion powder Salt and Pepper 1.) Using your hands, mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Separate the mix into 6 balls and form into patties, placing them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Let the burgers sit while you prepare the grill. 2.) When the grill gets hot, place the burgers on the rack and let cook for 5 minutes, then flip, a...

One of the more different weeknight meals I've made, these Cornflake-Crusted Pork Nuggets were a delicious and easy weeknight meal. Usually, I'm not a huge fan of pork unless it's barbecue, but these nuggets were able to change my mind. I find that big hunks of pork (i.e. pork chops, pork loin, etc) can sometimes be a hassle to cut and can also be dry, but with these bite-sized pieces it was easier to not over cook them and there was no cutting necessary, which places them higher in the ranks of pork that I like. This was another meal taken from a Cuisine magazine, which is seemingly the best place to look for quick and fun weeknight meals. The other bonus of Cuisine is that they provide a side to go with pretty much every entree. They paired the nuggets with a mashed sweet potato with pieces of Anaheim chile strewn throughout as well as with a marmalade glaze to put over the pork. This whole combination doesn't feel like it would naturally go together, but it was act...

I was inspired by my lovely school, Oberlin College, to make Falafel. Beans and other legumes make a regular appearance in our dining hall and this meal takes me back. I was also admittedly tired of making meat-centric meals, so I turned to the noble chickpea as an alternative. To accompany the simple Falafel I made Tabbouleh, a classic Mediterranean bulgur and herb salad. This really was quite a simple meal, as none of the parts had very many ingredients. The only step that proved to be vexing was the frying, because not only is this the first thing I have ever fried, but I also have a healthy fear of hot oil. Regardless, this turned out to be very delicious and I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants an easy vegetarian meal. Recipe: Falafel 2 cans chickpeas, drained 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tbsp ground cumin Dash of cayenne pepper 1 cup chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp b...

(The quality of this picture isn't the best, but believe me when I  say that it tasted better than it looks) For this Wednesday's post-work meal I decided to make a return to eggs, this time in the form of Omelets (which are way easier to make than Quiche, thankfully). There isn't much to say about why I wanted to make them other than the fact that it sounded good to me for this week, which is the untold perk of being the one in charge of making dinner. Recipe: Spinach and Mushroom Omelet                                                                               3 eggs Salt and pepper 2 tbsp oil or butter 2 cups fresh spinach 1 pint sliced button mushrooms Goat cheese 1.) Before making the omelet (as is takes less than 5 minutes) prepare the veggies. In a medium pan over...

Ribs! They are probably one of my favorite cuts of meat and I was very excited to make them, though I couldn't do it alone. The fact that I was planning to smoke them meant that I needed my dad's help because that is his wheel house. While it was a little intimidating, I am very proud of overcoming this culinary hurdle and am better for it (thanks Dad!). Because ribs are such a common place thing, I wanted to mix it up and to see if I could come up with a new(ish) flavor profile without a recipe. A part of cooking is knowing spices and pairings that go well together so I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to practice with and learn about spices. This was more or less a success, the final product being somewhere between here and curry. To go with these delicious, but admittedly confused, ribs I wanted to make the cauliflower "potato" salad my family eats (which retroactively makes sense because curry and cauliflower go well together). Recipe: Curry(?...