Winter gelatos

I'd like a nice gelato right now. I think this may be a good week to put the kitchen aid ice cream attachment to good use. Something seasonal. Mascarpone gelato with cranberry sauce, liquified sauce not that dread-full canned sauce. A nice blood orange gelato would be great too. Wow that just reminded me that it is blood orange season. I need to get some while the getting is good for the year. YUMM! I'll have to work on that this week, plus gelato is on the cook's 100 list.

Another another cooking note, I made sloppy joes today using this recipe from Simply recipes. Absolutely amazing flavor. Joe mix from an envelope does not even compare. Nice sweet and tangy flavor. However I would add additional cayenne powder for more heat next time.

The Cook's 100: #28 Infused Olive Oil

So all these big fancy gourmet grocery stores sell this nicely packaged infused olive oil, for a lot of money. I don't have extra cash to be spending $15 on a small bottle of garlic rosemary olive oil. I do have a rosemary plant though. Make your own instead. It's quick and more exciting when you make what you like. This recipe is about winging it and using what you have.

• Olive oil, a bit less than will fit in your jar
• Jar with a lid, or one of those fancy oil bottles with the pouring spout
• Funnel or measuring cup with a spout
• Saucepan, or small frying pan
• Infusions, garlic minced, rosemary, thyme, dill, marjoram, dried chili peppers, anything you like.

1. In a frying pan or small sauce pan, over medium heat pour in your olive oil, and add in your infusions.
2. Bring to a high simmer, and simmer for about 5 min
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes
4. Using funnel or measuring cup with a spout, pour into jar or oil bottle
5. Taste it, with a nice crusty bread
6. Make more!

I would make this oil in small batches that you can use within a week or so and keep in the fridge. By heating the oil with the infusions in it, you are also killing off any bacteria, and preventing botulism.

This can also be a nice little quick gift to make too. It took me about 10 minutes start to finish to make this batch.

The Cook's 100

I was thinking about the Omnivores Hundred today, and realized of all the foods I've eaten on the list, I've cooked about five of them. This is something that I am okay with though. I feel that if I am doing the list in order to experience these dishes, they should be cooked by someone who is a pro at making them.

There are so many dishes I have come across while reading cookbooks and blogs, which I would love to try my hand at, but so many of them require extensive preparation, and not practical to be cooking on a Wednesday night after work.

I thought why not make a list of different dishes to try cooking or baking at least once. A nice opportunity to expand my cooking skills further, and step outside my cooking comfort zone, and also to get me to write about food more often.

So I am proposing a challenge: Cook the 100 things on this list, and blog about it. Document it, take pictures, write about the recipe you used, did you like making it, was it the best thing you ever made, or the worst. It will give us food lovers a full on challenge. It's not a race, take your time. Just cook it again if you cooked it once before, and cook it from scratch!

I have tried to include a mix dishes that can be made by any level, and some that require more experience, some that may be about experimenting with different kitchen tools, and a broad range of different cooking techniques.

Many things on this list of foods are usually purchased and cooked. Everything on this list should be made from scratch, start to finish. Stuff your sausage, don't just grill it!

Enjoy!

The rules:

• Copy and paste this list on your blog.
• Mark off the items you won't cook.
• Blog about it!
• Post a link to your list in the comments section of this post, and link back to this post, so others can join in!
• Cross off items as you cook them.

The List:

1. Crown roast
2. Baked clams
3. Croissants
4. Stir fry
5. Curry
6. Hand cut french fries
7. Pasties
8. Something in a tagine
9. Beer/Mead/Wine
10. Double crust pie
11. Jam/Canning
12. Rack of lamb
13. Pickles
14. Beef wellington
15. Ricotta cheese
16. Baked Alaska
17. Jello Mold Salad
18. Homemade Pasta
19. Cream Puffs
20. Gnocchi
21. Multi Tiered cake
22. Something flambéed
23. Corned Beef, that you pickled
24. Fish cooked on wood planks
25. Bagels
26. Baklava
27. Sausage
28. Infused olive oil
29. Ice cream
30. Fried chicken
31. Lemon Meringue Pie
32. Pizza dough/Pizza
33. Sushi rolls
34. Turducken
35. Lasagna
36. A whole fish
37. Pudding
38. Cannoli, shells and filling
39. Infused vodka
40. Hummus
41. Fried Calamari
42. Fresh squeezed lemonade
43. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
44. Biscuits and gravy
45. Cornish hen
46. Something in a crock pot/ slow cooker
47. Stuffed peppers
48. Risotto
49. Roasted vegetable/potatoes with white truffle oil
50. Clam Bake
51. Osso Buco
52. A Vegetarian dish
53. Guacamole & Salsa
54. Mayonnaise
55. Vegan cake
56. Chili
57. Ganache
58. Poached pears
59. Baked Brie/ Brie en croute
60. Flan
61. Pineapple upside down cake
62. Pita bread
63. Deviled eggs
64. Chocolate truffles
65. Pulled pork
66. Hot sauce
67. Filet mignon
68. Terrine
69. Sorbet
70. Turkey stuffed with something other than traditional stuffing
71. Miso Salmon
72. Dosa
73. Mousse
74. Quiche
75. Strawberry Shortcake
76. Baked macaroni and cheese
77. Eggs Benedict
78. Loaf of bread
79. Cheese ball
80. Smoked ribs
81. Flourless cake
82. Soup stock (chicken, beef, vegetable, ect)
83. Deep fried turkey
84. Dry rubbed meat
85. Chicken Kiev
86. Kombucha Tea
87. Stuffed Tenderloin
88. Crepes
89. Souffle
90. Fish en Papillot
91. Baked Ham
92. Waffles
93. Corned beef hash
94. Pot-stickers
95. Cheesecake
96. Whole roasted garlic
97. Ceviche
98. Artichokes
99. Fondue
100. A copy cat recipe (Something that is made commercial or in a restaurant, find the copy cat recipe on line, is it just as good?)