Cooking Inspired Part 3

9. Sides- (my favorite part of this book!!!)
Estee uses a lot of "weird" vegetables and using simple ingredients/techniques makes them taste awesome! I know whenever I pick up a new veggie at the grocery to check Estee's books since she usually has a recipe using it.
Grilled vegetable skewers- you marinate skewered veggies with a balsamic vinegar and spice mixture and grill. Great for summer time.
Honey balsamic rice- saute onion, celery and mushrooms and toss with cooked rice and a honey/balsamic dressing
Roasted radishes- I HATE radishes but this recipe made me tolerate them even though I didn't go over to the liking radish side with this recipe.
Cassava cubes- I discovered a new vegetable in the grocery store (I'm one of those weirdos that enjoys grocery shopping- my favorite section of the store is the produce section, I like finding new veggies.) called a yucca/cassova. Of course, Estee was the only one who had a recipe using it. I prepared the yucca/cassova a bunch of time with this recipe and it's yummy. The yucca/cassova looks like a long, brown bumpy log. Preparing it is a bit time consuming. You need to peel it, boil it, remove the center stem and then recook. I buy it occasionally.
Stuffed mushrooms- This is really a Pesach recipes. The mushrooms are stuffed with passover/bread crumbds and nuts and drizzled with wine/oil/spices.
Inspired sides- 2 pretty similar roasted carrot and parsnip recipes.
The first recipe is more simple calling for carrots/parsnips/anise seeds (fennel seeds)/salt and pepper/fresh parsley. I made it without the fresh parsley (I use dried thyme or rosemary instead) and it was awesome and so so easy!!!
The 2nd version also uses fresh fennel (which I didn't have so I used anise seeds), garlic, balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) and maple syrup. I made this version also but liked the first, simpler version better.

10. Counter cakes (or how many different bundt cakes can you make?)
Vanilla bean apple bundt cake- This cake is pretty simple, different but not too different and is on my "I want to try list".
Pecan crunch cake- a pretty typical bundt cake (it calls for rum extract which is the only thing not typical) and is topped with a spiced/brown sugar/ pecan/coconut crunch

11. The grand finale (or dessert)
I also love that Estee has no problem dressing up fruit for dessert, which she does a lot here.
Jazzed-up bread pudding (great idea for leftover challah!!)- soak wet challah in a sugar/egg/oil mixture add apples spices and raisins and then bake.
Sweet squash muffins- very similar to the pumpkin spelt muffins I posted from a different site. They're mostly whole wheat.
Decadent Halva Ice cream cake- I want someone to make this for me!!! It looks SO good but it also looks like a huge patchke. This dessert recipe also appeared in the Mishpacha cookbook that just cake out (Estee's picture in this cookbook was nicer IMO)
Parve chocolate pudding- No raw eggs. This recipe uses tofu. It also uses coffee which I am not a fan of. That's probably why the pack of tofu I purchase to try to make pudding from is still sitting in my cabinet...
Rosemarie Mousse- A more typical chocolate mousse with eggs and hazelnuts(!!) and other such yummy things. I have pasteurized eggs, maybe I should try it.
(She has a recipe for creative cupcakes that is basically a buttercream frosting recipe- I am disappointed with that one!)
Pecan-Coconut Toffee bar- graham crackers topped with homemade toffee and pecans/coconut/marshmallows. Looks easy and kid-freindly (The Baker's Daughter)
Incredible (Passover) Nutty Bar- an easy and yummy Pesach dessert. Basically mix together fruit/nuts/egg/sugar/oil and bake.
Almond Toffee Squares- similar to the Pecan-coconut toffee bar- almonds/toffee mixture/chocolate on a graham cracker
Ellen's brownies- Estee claims these are the **best** brownies ever. And the junkie frosting recipe that goes along with it makes it even better (I'm sure it does...but I'll probably be skipping it if I ever try the recipe). I don't like that this recipe calls for melting chocolate- it's hard to find good quality parve chocolate.
Inspired Brownies- basic brownie recipe with suggested add ins (this was also in the Mishpacha cookbook)
They'll never know brownies (or the gluten free brownie recipe)
The base to this recipe is canned chickpeas. I don't have anyone GF in my life so I probably won't try them. They look good though.