For the past few weeks, I have been dividing my time between revising, writing, and cooking. When I wasn’t perched in front of my keyboard, I was pouring through cookbooks searching for the perfect holiday recipes or any other treats that my house guests would enjoy. At times, I combined my two favorite activities by editing pages while preparing a homemade sauce for lasagna night.
For my lasagna night, I made two versions. The first was a vegan roasted vegetable lasagna using a recipe from The Candle Cafe Cookbook. Candle Cafe is one of the leading vegan restaurants in NYC, and one of my favorite places to dine. For the second, I used a recipe from Lidia’s Family Table for lasagna with homemade spinach noodles and layers of béchamel and Bolognese sauce. Lidia Matticchio Bastianich’s recipes are often labor intensive, but my meat-eating guests loved the final product.
I also experimented with my father’s chocolate soufflé recipe, using notes I scrawled while watching him prepare this treat in the past. I’ve learned a number of recipes by watching my father cook over the years. However, my notes are usually challenging to follow after the fact seeing as my dad rarely measures anything. He simply knows just by looking at the empty pot how much butter or milk to add. Thus, my careful notes often list a dash of this, or a pinch of that. And I must admit that I often call him for help when preparing his recipes, as does the rest of my family. During the Christmas holiday this year, we joked that my father was running a 1-800-clam sauce phone line. My cousin decided to prepare my dad’s traditional linguine con vongole, and he called a number of times to ask questions.
With my father’s help, my soufflé came out of the oven looking great (see picture!), and my dinner guests claimed that it tasted great too. Of course, I did not taste the soufflé as it featured eggs and butter. I am still searching for a great vegan soufflé recipe, keeping careful watch on my favorite cooking blogs, Fat Free Vegan and Vegan Yum Yum.
This week, I am back at my computer. However, my husband is on vacation next week, so I’m also actively looking for new recipes in my spare time. Do you have a favorite cookbook? A favorite recipe? How about a favorite food blog?
I love my grandmothers’ old recipes. One of my absolute favs, my dad’s mom called “Texas Junk.” It’s a sort of goulash (not for vegans, unfortunately) and it feeds about 10 from one pot.
I am so thankful that my mom took the time to write them down, as neither of my grandmothers ever did. Much like you describe your father, my dad’s mom could never tell you exactly what the measurements were. (What exactly does “salt to taste” mean anyway? lol.) I’m not much of a cook (the dh is our chef), but I treasure the memories these recipes bring when I do have the chance to make them.
The souffle looks so good! I need to get that recipe and learn to make them!