Food Blog Finds Made at Home

There are countless dishes all over the food blogging world that I wish I could find time to make. Sadly, since there are only a few hours in a day to squeeze in everything I would want to do, this is not quite possible.

However, I have made time to try some of the recipes I thought would be good and all of them were even better than my expectations! Here are some of the things I have made at home and the links to the original recipe. Please note that the pictures are all mine (which explains why they are not as gorgeous as the recipe creators’). Do not let my not-so-great-pictures deceive you though, because these recipes are highly recommended!  

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes – Eat, Live, Run
This is one of my favorite pancake recipes. I have made it twice already and absolutely love the mashed roasted sweet potato and chocolate chips in it! The reason why I like Jenna Weber so much… she knows what girls love!  

Shrimp Scampi with Linguini – The Food Network

Our Valentine’s dinner this year… which reminds me that I want to make this again soon. Even though I cut back on the oil and butter that the original recipe required, it was still very good. Tyler Florence, I will never look at another shrimp scampi recipe again.

Crème Brûlée – The Food Network

DFJ made this for Valentine’s dessert and it lasted us until the weekend. We don’t have a torch, but he made the crunchy top happen in the oven and burned his finger in the process. It was worth the burn though because it tasted like creamy vanilla heaven (Sorry, D!). Thank you Alton Brown!

Homemade Paneer – Kiran Tarun
Easier than I thought it would be and very good! Used this paneer for my Paneer Tikka Masala and it was super tasty. Please try this at home and send Kiran Tarun a thank you note. She is awesome!

Arroz Con Pollo – Eat, Live, Run
DFJ has told me a dozen times how he loved eating arroz con pollo when he went on a trip to Costa Rica with his friend Andrew. When Jenna Weber posted her version of this recipe on Eat, Live, Run, I just had to make it. Do not let the long production and work daunt you because this recipe is well worth it. It will make you fill your plate with seconds and thirds.   

Spelt Everything Crackers – Smitten Kitchen
Following Deb’s blog gives me the courage to try the amazing recipes she has come up with. These crackers are made of such simple ingredients but taste so wholesome and pure. You can eat it with any dip, cheese, or fruit you fancy.   

spelt everything crackers are the darker colored ones, right 

Sea Salt and Poppy Seed Crackers – Joy the Baker
These are, hands down, the best crackers I have ever had. Try making them and you’ll know what I mean. Everything Joy makes are the best!

sea salt and poppy seed crackers are the lighter colored ones, left

Homemade Asiago Cheese Bagels – How Sweet It Is
This sandwich was amazing: the egg scramble with crab cakes in it (check out DFJ’s recipe here), the veggies, and the homemade bagel. I have never attempted making bagels before, so I recruited DFJ to be my bagel buddy. He was a good sport and we had a lot of fun making these bagels and devouring them. For good measure, we decided to coat some of the bagels with poppy seeds. I love store bought bagels but these ones from Jessica really impressed me. Try it!

Chocolate Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake – Joy the Baker
Another Joy recipe… I substituted some ingredients and posted an adapted version here. Made this twice already and would definitely make it again and again in the near future.

Easy Little Bread – 101 Cookbooks
I can’t believe how fast and easy and pretty this little loaf turned out. It is perfect for just about anything, toast, lunch sandwiches, dinner bread, or just eat it plain with a pat of butter. Lovely!

Cardamom Pistachio Coffee Cake – Hungry Ghost
As soon as I stumbled upon this cake, I knew I had to have it. I asked DFJ to make it for me and being a sweet man, he did. He had already started mixing the batter when I got home and caught a serious mistake. He used fenugreek instead of cardamom… I tried to be calm because he freaked out more than I did and insisted that we throw out the batter. Refusing to let anything go to waste, we trudged along… I just added the required amount of cardamom and squeezed agave nectar and honey into the batter. The result was a Fenugreek-Cardamom Pistachio Coffee Cake, which was wonderful! It is my favorite coffee cake as of the moment… it has a gentle sweetness and real textures from the nutty grains used. Fortunately, there is just a hint of the fenugreek’s bitterness which did not affect the taste much, but we have to make sure not to accidentally add it in the next time we make this.

Have a great Friday everyone!