(Blue Cheese Stuffed) Bratwurst Stuffed Cornish Game Hen

Abandoned Edibles
tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, french baguette
(additional ingredients: blue cheese stuffed bratwurst (a birthday present from Al and Al, mahalo!), prosciutto, cornish game hen, carrots, mozzarella cheese, butter, olive oil, peppercorns, onion flakes, flour, candied ginger, sugar, thyme, chicken broth, spices, etc.)

What I did: this meal was INSANE! Okay, so first I brined the hens for about two hours in a simple brine mixture of salt, peppercorns, candied ginger, and sugar. Then I cut up the baguette into smaller pieces, so I could stuff the hen with it. I crumbled and cooked the blue cheese stuffed bratwurst. When the hens were done soaking, I patted them dry, rubbed them down with a butter/olive oil/spice mixture, stuffed them with the bratwurst and baguette, and wrapped them with prosciutto--into the oven they went! For the potatoes, I roasted them with carrot curls, olive oil, thyme, and spices. I also made tomato and mozzarella stacks, broiled them in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. And lastly, I made a gravy using chicken broth, butter, flour, and onion flakes.



The Verdict
I'm usually not one to toot my own horn, but god DAMN this was amazing! Somewhat labor intensive, sure--but it was worth it. The hen was absolutely delicious, so moist, and the flavors were complex, thanks to the bratwurst and prosciutto. I literally licked my plate clean. Also, as an aside, can I just say--I loved the carrot curls! Kind of like carrot 'noodles' I suppose, but I think they really added to the presentation. Overall, an excellent meal.

Taste: 10
Creativity: 9
Appearance: 10

Improvements for next time: honestly, I can't think of any! This may be the best meal I have EVER cooked, no joke. Hurrah for me!

Salmon Sausage Alfredo

Abandoned Edibles
onion, salmon sausage, parmesan cheese
(additional ingredients: fettuccine, garlic, cream, lemon juice, butter, milk, dill, lemon pepper, spices, etc.)

What I did: I had been sitting on this package of salmon sausage for a few weeks, but when I found a container of parmesan cheese in the cull bin, I knew that the time had come: it was time to make a weird, freaky dish. I had heard from some of my co-workers that this particular product had some serious structural flaws--bizarre texture, crumbling of the sausage formation, etc.--so I thought it would be best to cut up the 'sausage' into smaller pieces and use it in a pasta dish. I sauteed onions and garlic, added the salmon sausage, lemon pepper and lemon juice, and made a simple alfredo sauce using butter, cream, and the entire container of parmesan. I combined the two together, tossed it with fettuccine, and garnished with a bit of dill. Voila: salmon sausage alfredo!



The Verdict
Naaaaasty. Nasty! Salmon sausage? Nasty, nasty, NASTY! My co-workers were right: the texture of this product is BIZARRE, and totally ruined the dish. The taste was okay, but the salmon sausage was grainy, gritty, and yet somehow mushy at the same time. Sure, the finished product looked great (and the alfredo sauce was excellent, if I do say so myself) but I will never use this product again in any of my cooking. Bah humbug!

Taste: 4
Creativity: 7
Appearance: 9

Improvements for next time: leave the salmon sausage in the cull bin, cousin! That shit ain't cool.

Tortellini with Veggie Marinara

Abandoned Edibles
red cherry tomatoes, portabella mushroom, zucchini, broccoli, onion, sweet peppers, green pepper, parmesan cheese
(additional ingredients: tortellini, marinara sauce, beef stock, butter, olive oil, minced garlic, spices, etc.)

What I did: since I had such a plethora of wonderful veggies at my fingertips, AND since tortellini was on sale at the co-op, I decided to make a veggie marinara. I sauteed the veggies in olive oil and butter, de-glazed the pan with a bit of beef broth, added some marinara sauce, and simmered for a bit. I added the cherry tomatoes at the last minute, threw the tortellini in some boiling water, and voila: veggie marinara with tortellini! I topped everything off with a generous helping of parmesan cheese (you can never have too much, in my opinion)--it was simple, easy, and fast.



The Verdict
Great! Somewhat uninspired, I must admit (especially after last month's posting of beef stick stew) but overall tasty and satisfying.

Taste: 7.5
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: protein! Some type of meat?

Beef Stick Stew

Abandoned Edibles
Bob's Black Bean Soup Mix, leeks, yellow onion, parsnips, beef sticks
(additional ingredients: beef stock, garlic, carrots, potatoes, butter, olive oil, etc.)

What I did: okay, before ya'll get super weirded out, let me just say that this dish is not as nasty as it seems! Okay, so what I did was essentially make a black bean soup...with beef sticks. First, I roasted the root veggies in olive oil, butter, and spices. I boiled the bean soup mix in beef broth until they were nearly done, and then combined the two pots. I chopped up the onions and leeks, sauteed them, and added them to the mix. Lastly: the beef sticks. This poor lil' pack-o-beef was in the cull bin because they had been accidentally frozen, so the texture wasn't great as a 'snack'--but it was PERFECT for a stew! I removed the casing from each stick and cut them into smaller pieces, threw them in the pot, and let everything simmer until the beans were fully cooked.



The Verdict
You would be surprised how delicious and tasty this was. The beef sticks worked wonderfully with the black bean soup mix, and as a bonus, I had these perfectly round little cylindrical discs of beef suspended in my stew--how cute! (seriously, though, it WAS adorable). The only negative to this whole dish was the appearance, namely the color--the purplish/black hue from the beans and beef broth was somewhat....oh, what's the word?....yes...NASTY. Other that that: delicious!

Taste: 7.5
Creativity: 9
Appearance: 5

Improvements for next time: less beans, more beef! And somehow fix that purplish hue...how does one do that, by the way?

Seitan Stir Fry

Abandoned Edibles
broccoli, chicken-style seitan, white mushrooms, zucchini, onions
(additional ingredients: better than bouillon chicken soup base, olive oil, butter, white rice, soy sauce, spices, etc.)

What I did: I made stir fry. Veggies + high heat + butter and oil + bouillon and spices + white rice = dinner! I am not in the mood to write tonight, can you tell?


The Verdict
Easy, simple, good. Yum.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: more veggies, of course!

Seafood Chowder

Abandoned Edibles
heavy cream, canned salmon (dent in can), baby carrots, onions
(additional ingredients: whitefish fillets, shrimp, clams, saffron, mushrooms, seafood stock, chicken stock, lemon juice, dill, butter, olive oil, potatoes, spices, etc.)

What I did: sauteed potatoes, onions, and carrots in butter and olive oil. Added seafood & chicken stock and clams, simmered for about 20 minutes until potatoes were almost soft. Removed tail from shrimp, cleaned canned salmon, added both to mix along with heavy cream. Seasoned broth with dill, salt and pepper, a tiny pinch of saffron (that shit is EXPENSIVE!), and lemon juice. Added whitefish last--thickened chowder with a roux, simmered until done.



The Verdict
Very rich and very delicious! Borderline orgasmic, actually. I could only eat a cup at a time, but my dinner date ate two bowls. So: SUCCESS! God DAMN, I love seafood.

Taste: 10
Creativity: 7
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: celery, maybe? Just a bit.

Zucchini 'Noodles' with Bison Marinara & Sauteed Mushrooms

Abandoned Edibles
zucchini, red pepper, white mushrooms, bellavitano cheese
*BONUS* leftover AEs: marinara sauce (additional ingredients: onion, garlic, butter, ground bison, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, spices. etc.)

What I did: first of all, I must confess--I have discovered a new favorite cheese. Bellavitano is DELICIOUS, and I got the leftovers from the sample we put out at the Co-op the day prior. It's parmesean-esque in flavor, but not as hard--yet still deliciously crunchy at times: perfect to pair with marinara. I had an abundance of zucchini, so I decided to cut them into thin strips along with the red pepper and sauté them in a little bit of vinegar, olive oil, butter, and spices as a sort of 'pasta' base for the sauce. I crumbled the bison in a pan, cooked it, threw in some marinara (also added a pinch of sugar to offset the acid of the tomato base) and sauteed some onions and mushrooms on the side. I built the dish with the zucchini as the base, bison marinara on top, and added the mushrooms/onions with crumbled bellavitano cheese as a garnish.



The Verdict
GOOD. This was really quite delicious. I probably should have made even MORE zucchini 'pasta', but I was hungry and in a rush. The vinegar was an important addition--I used just a tad--but I suspect it contributed to both the flavor and pasta-like 'texture' of the zucchini and peppers.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 8
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: there was a texture variation with the peppers and zucchini, and I think I could have sauteed the peppers a little longer. Also: more Bellavitano! This cheese is seriously DELICIOUS, I could have definitely used more.

No Chicken Noodle Soup

Abandoned Edibles
chicken-style seitan, onion, celery, chives, white mushrooms, Mrs. Leeper's 'creamy tuna' boxed dinner
(additional ingredients: carrots, chicken base, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, shallots, butter, olive oil, spices, etc.)

What I did: well, it was time to make some (no) chicken noodle soup, as I had been sitting on a package of chicken-style seitan for a few weeks. In addition, I picked up this box of outdated organic 'tuna helper' from the cull bin (as an aside, how creepy is the brand name "Mrs. Leeper's"?!) that I needed to use the egg noodles out of pronto. So I sauteeed some veggies, added chicken base and the seitan, slid in the noodles, simmered and seasoned. Pretty simple.



The Verdict
Warm, comforting, delicious--just as (no) chicken noodle soup should be. I must admit, I actually enjoy the seitan: the flavor AND the texture. And good ol' Mrs. Leeper came through with her egg noodles--perhaps I will use the 'creamy tuna' seasoning packet in a future AE dish! As an aside, I must tell you all that a little lemon juice in chicken soup goes a LONG way: it has always been my secret weapon to bring a tiny touch of acid to balance out the flavor of the chicken stock and inevitable salt that comes along with it.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: parsnips! Oh baby.