Cooking Show--Trying Out New Recipes!!

Warning!  Long, rambling post right here!  But if you work your way through to the end, there will be recipes for Lemon Drop Martinis, Caesar Salad Dressing, Lobster Macaroni & Cheese, and Churros Poppers!

I promise that all of these recipes will eventually be posted with the usual step-by-step photos!  However, I have been receiving a lot of emails from viewers of the cooking show who would like to have the recipes that I prepared on the last show.  Please be warned that I'm still developing some of these recipes, and my notes will reflect some tweaks that I'm planning for the next time I prepare them!

We filmed another cooking show a couple of weeks ago.

The best way I can describe the theme would be "Attempting to prepare or develop recipes that I've never made before."

We happened upon this theme in a roundabout way.  I went out to dinner with my friend, Trish.  She ordered the house donuts for dessert, and our conversation went something like this:

Trish: Can you cook donuts?

Me: I never have, but I guess I could.  I don't deep-fry anything...it's one thing to eat them when you go somewhere and they're already prepared, but to pour all that oil into a deep-fryer...yikes.  I may as well just get a syringe and inject it directly into my thighs.

Trish: Do you have a deep fryer?

Me: Yes, I've never used it, it's sitting in my basement, unopened.

Trish: You should do a deep-frying cooking show!

Me: Only if you'll cook with me!

During the past year, I've asked her a couple of times if she would cook with me on the show, and she always said no.  I'm guessing that on this particular night, her defenses were lowered by the lemon-drop martinis that we had with dinner.  Lower defenses + joy at the thought of more deep-fried donuts in her future = YES!  If only I had figured out sooner that plying her with donuts was the key to getting her on camera.

Rather than a show with a deep-frying theme (I just couldn't bring myself to do a whole show of deep-frying!  Baby steps...), the theme morphed into "Attempting to prepare or develop recipes that I've never made before."

Let's begin with the method to my madness: developing the recipe.  

Basically I google what I want to make, compare a bunch of recipes and decide on the ingredients I want to use.

Here are my notes for the Lemon Drop Martinis and the Caesar Salad Dressing.  The page on the left is for the martinis.  I wrote down the ingredients for three recipes (on the left side of the page).  The second recipe has three check marks because there were three websites that had that exact recipe.

The right side of the page has my notes (in ink).  Most importantly, Lemon Drop!!

None of the recipes I found had a lemon drop in the drink!  How can you call it a Lemon Drop Martini if there's no lemon drop?  Wouldn't it just be a Lemon Martini?

And the recipe that you see (in pencil) on the right side of the paper is the one I came up with in a dream that night.  That's right, I solve all my problems in my dreams.  And the Lemon Drop Martini of my dreams not only has a lemon drop candy in it, it also has Limoncello.

Lemon Drop Martini

(click to be taken to printable recipe)

NOTES:  This drink is very strong, but then again, a Martini IS strong!  Shake (or stir) with plenty of ice, use simple syrup to dilute.

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We also made Caesar Dressing.  I have never made Caesar dressing from scratch before.  I've always been too intimidated by the raw eggs and anchovies needed for this recipe.  I didn't totally conquer those fears--I coddled my eggs, and wimped out and used anchovy paste instead of anchovies.

Click HERE to be taken to the printable recipe for Caesar Dressing.

Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

Oh. Wow.  This was good!  I had heard Trish mention many times that she likes lobster macaroni & cheese.  Since she was cooking with me, I decided to try to make it for her.  Luckily, I knew that my brother had a recipe for this dish and I know that he's a really good cook so I felt pretty confident that it would be good!  

NOTE 1:  I used raw, frozen lobster tails (which I thawed), and the lobster cooked as the macaroni baked.  If you use lobster that is already cooked, I would suggest shortening the baking time so that the lobster does not overcook.

NOTE 2:  The next time I prepare this recipe, I'm planning on thinning the cheese sauce with a bit more milk.

Churros Poppers

Instead of donuts, Trish & I decided to deep-fry churros poppers.  

A friend of mine had brought these to a bbq at my house this summer and I promptly asked her for the recipe.  And then I just as promptly filed it away, because of my aversion to deep-frying...until now!  

Coated in cinnamon and sugar, these churros disappeared before they even had a chance to cool down!