The mushroom rice dish has a very straightforward cooking method, and I appreciate recipes like that. However, there weren’t any seasonings included beyond a bit of S&P, and this is purely my bias but I didn’t like the inclusion of the wine to the dish. (I also don’t like coq au vin if that makes you feel better.) This is recipe I wanted to like a lot, but didn’t. Even with fresh grated parm cheese on top. (!!!) I will have to take another kick at it very soon with some seasonings. I can easily imagine this side being a staple in our home with our winter meat dishes. I’m not giving up on it. I think it’s 75% good, but I want it to be 100% great, so I’m going to retool it to my liking. I will post the final version soon.<\/p>\n
5. I had high hopes for the sour cream and bacon potato salad, but it fell flat for me. I’m not really sure why. I haven’t had time to deconstruct the recipe and cooking method to figure it out since I was busy making a Beef Wellington at the same time. I can tell you my MIL and SIL loved this salad which I found odd because I thought for sure my MIL was going to turn her nose up at it after I tasted my first mouthful. She’s not one to eat salads that don’t measure up to hers, but she went back for seconds. Huh. And I thought at one point perhaps it was just me, but the husband thought it was lackluster as well, so who knows. {shrugs}<\/p>\n 6. Today I’m finally getting around to making the fig jam after securing some lovely figs. Finally!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So, yeah… the Weekend 5 recap. I totally forgot about this till today. OOPS. My bad. Also, I just realised all of the photos I took are on my iFone, and I left that in the car, which the husband … Continue reading ![\"GnocchiSkillet-3\"](\"http:\/\/auntiestacey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/GnocchiSkillet-3.jpg\")
<\/a>The gnocchi and zucchini ribbon dish was nice to make and eat, but it would have been a bit better if I had pan fried the gnocchi first instead of boiling it. I’m not a fan of soft, mushy gnocchi, and after boiling it to perfection then adding it to the pan to cook longer, it does tend to go mushy. Overall, this is a great little dish that’s got heart and legs. I was full for almost four hours after eating a small bowlful. And the husband was into it. It could use a bit of pow, though; I’m thinking perhaps the inclusion of some red pepper flakes or something similar, or maybe a splash of vinegar in the pan with the vegetables? In any case, this is as a lovely comfort dish that can be changed up as the seasons bleed into each other by switching seasonal produce to suit the weather and mood. Keeper.<\/p>\n