Daniel J Isom

What a month to start off the year. I was still fighting off the flu or some sort of respiratory virus that kicked my ass during the first week. Through that I had two new employees start and I had a lot of grant related work to do. Thankfully I was back to 100% before we took the kids on their first trip to Disney World over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. I could probably write an entire post covering all the details but to sum it up:  We flew direct using Avelo Airlines out of Wilmington, which was the least painful airport experience ever. It also saved us a bunch of money both in airfare and parking. With the amazing help of my sister-in-law, we visited all four parks in 3 days. Ben and I did miss half of the day at Magic Kingdom because he was sick, but he bounced back for our last day at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Rode a bunch of rides thanks to lighting lane passes. Grace and Ben are thrill ride seekers with Tron , Tower of Terror ,  Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic...

One of my earliest and certainly the most nostalgic food memories is the breakfast dish eggs in frame. It's know by many names: bullseye eggs, eggs in a frame, egg in a hole, eggs in a nest, hole in one, one-eyed Jack, and many others. I've always called it eggs in a frame since I was a kid. I remember seeing it in the children's cookbook  Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual  and must have asked my mom to make it. It was a favorite back then and it has remained that way as I near my fortieth year. If you know me you know my love for bread, so it should be no surprise that my favorite breakfast dish contains it. Bagels are right up there but eggs in a frame just has more flavors and textures that can't be beat. If you're not familiar with eggs in a frame, it's a very simple dish that only requires three ingredients: eggs, bread, and butter. Any type of bread will work, as long as it's sliced like a standard supermarket loaf of sandwich brea...

The theme for for 2024 is focusing on the things that I really enjoy doing. My hope is that it will help me find more contentment in my life. Instead of focusing on one year-long goal that I don't really want to do, like I did last year, I've picked three things that get me excited. I've recently started to accept that life is too short to be chasing so many dreams and, that at nearly 40 years of age, I know what I like. Coupling that with my goal of wanting a simple life, I want to spend more time on my interests. So in 2024, I will: 1) Cook More Italian Food On the final episode of the year of the Sporkful podcast, host Dan Pashman vows to eat more of a type of food and also grades himself on how well he did on the previous year's goal. In keeping with the spirit of doing things that I love, cooking (Italian food especially) is definitely one of my favorites. This year I want to cook more Italian food, with a focus on non-pasta dishes. Don't get me wrong, I will ...

  I was very ambitious with my goals for 2021 . There were some great successes, some decent accomplishments, and only one real failure. It's clear that with just how awful this year end up being, that this amount of stuff was just too much. My attention had to be in too many places, which is why I'm only setting a couple of goals for next year. Here's how things ended up:   Make 12 Pies I did a great job with this goal and successfully made at least one pie a month, ending with a total of 13. Here are the remaining 6 pies that I made. To the see the first 7, please check out my first update . From left to right: Cocoa Crispy Rice Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Pie, Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust, Pumpkin Pie , Mississippi Mud Pie, Tomato Pie, and Fresh Blueberry Pie . Read 12 Books I was confident during my last update that I'd get back on track and grind my way to get this goal done. Well that didn't go according to plan, but I am happy that I at least got halfway throug...

  The final recipe from the cookbook that I made for the year were the Molasses Cookies. I ended up making five different cookie types for Christmas this year and these were a perfect addition. They contain the warm flavors you'll find in gingerbread cookies and they come out just as soft and chewy as a good gingerbread should. The big difference is that they come together incredibly quickly. From start to finish, you could be enjoying one within 30 minutes. I was a little concerned with how much they spread because they ended up being quite a bit larger than the other cookies I had made. If I were make to them again, I would use a smaller scoop to get around 1.5x-2x the yield of 24 that the recipe says you should get. This will be one of the recipes that I make again in the future, maybe with some added orange zest or something to give them just a little bit more.

 I'm a big fan of BBQ ribs but because these didn't have the smoky and sweet spices that I normal go for, I didn't jump at making them right away. I knew Christine wouldn't really go for them either since she isn't much of a BBQ or pork fan, so I'd have to eat the whole rack myself. The original recipe calls for 8 pounds or approximately 4 racks of ribs. Since I was the only one likely to eat them, I picked up a single rack. I had most of the ingredients except for the main flavor, balsamic vinegar. It may be a staple in many people's households, but I rarely use it but maybe once or twice a year. So I grabbed a decent bottle along with the rack of ribs and headed home. Unlike BBQ dry rub ribs, this used a mixture a fewer spices with sugar, rosemary, and lots of garlic along with the balsamic vinegar. Following the style of many of the recipes, it's got few ingredients and a couple of techniques to create the finished project. Something I found incredibl...

I was saving this for Thanksgiving time but then remembered we'll be up in NY and I was running out of time to make a pie for September. This is my 11th pie of the year as I move even closer to my goal of 12 pies made in 2021. It has less ingredients, as far as spices go, than most of the pumpkin pies I've made before, but it did have change that I really liked. Before mixing the filling ingredients, the pumpkin gets cooked over direct heat for 10 minutes to slightly dry it out and caramelize it. I've never seen this in a recipe before and I think it just enhances the flavor of the pumpkin a bit more. I opted to use a premade crust for this because I didn't really have the time during the week to make one. I was disappointed that the bottom crust didn't cook very much at all by the time the filling was near set. The recipe specifically said to not blind bake unless it was being cooked in glass, this was cooked in a metal pan so it should have been an issue. The side...

  I've been holding on to this recipe for a while because I planned to make it for Christmas when we have guests. Then I thought maybe I should try making a small batch to see if we liked it. Using half a can of mixed nuts, I quartered the recipe to see if this would be something people would enjoy. It's an incredibly easy recipe that only requires the nuts to be toasted in the over for 10 minutes and then tossed in a mixture of spices and melted butter. They're served warm and tasted like they would go really well with drinks, hence the name. I don't drink but I think even a dark cola would taste even better while snacking on these. The recipe calls for 1/4 pound of 7 different kinds of nuts or 1 3/4 pounds of unsalted assorted nuts. After those come out of the oven, they get tossed with rosemary, cayenne pepper, dark brown sugar, salt, and butter. I think the rosemary was a little strong and would have liked a little more cayenne personally. The nice thing is that you...

Getting down to the last couple of breakfast recipes got us to English Porridge, something that I've been reluctant to make because it uses steel-cut oats. I've only had them in these overnight oat things that Quaker Oats makes or used to make. I wasn't impressed with their texture and never tried them again. This recipe uses a mixture of steel-cut oats and rolled oats that gets combined with a 1:1 amount of milk and water. A sprinkle of salt goes in before simmering it all in a pot for about 20 minutes. You frequently stir the mixture until it thickens up. The rolled oats will get mushy but the steel-cut oats will be tender and pop a bit still. At this point, the recipe calls for a large pinch of sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup. You could really add fruit or any other topping, but I went with a combo of dark sugar and pure maple syrup. This is another incredibly easy recipe to make. If you like instant oatmeal, this would be right up your alley. I enjoyed the difference ...

  As the weather gets cooler we're starting to settle into soup season. On a particularly rainy day I decided to make the Chickpea Stew recipe as part of our "bowls" dinner of the week. I was dubious that this was going to taste great but tried to keep an open mind. That being said, we had leftover homemade pizza in the fridge that I got ready just in case this was a miss. It's a fairly simple soup that doesn't require a lot of ingredients but does take a little more cooking technique than just chopping and dumping like many soups require. The creaminess of this soup comes from tempering eggs that have been whisked together with yogurt. To do this, you have to slowly pour in hot broth into the mixture while continually whisking. If done improperly you can end up with scrambled eggs. It might sound scary but the yogurt helps aid in keeping that from happening. After making the initial broth with sautéed onions, chickpeas, vegetable broth, and garlic, the tempered e...

  I've been very hesitant to try these pancakes since I got the cookbook. I'm not a currant fan and the thought of cottage cheese and sour cream as the base sounded very strange. Instead of currants the recipe says you can substitute raisins, so I figured Craisins would work just as well. I did decide to make a few pancakes plain just in case. The rest of the recipe has the standard ingredients of eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and salt. Some lemon zest and nutmeg are added for some extra flavor. The batter looks similar to any other once all of that gets mixed into the cottage cheese and sour cream. Thinking about it now it should be surprising because those two types of dairy just replace milk in a standard recipe. There isn't a whole lot to say about these other than they came out like pancakes. They were definitely much lighter and not nearly as dense as a recipe that has a lot more flour. The sour cream did give them an interesting tang that made them a litt...

  I think this is the last of the many cauliflower based recipes in the cookbook. I never realized just how versatile this vegetable was. This was one of the highlight recipes that really stuck out for me because it felt like it would have a really nice presentation, being served whole like you'd normally serve a chicken or turkey. There are only a few steps in this recipe and I think one of them can be eliminated entirely. The reason I think that is because I don't believe the whipped goat cheese is necessary at all. It tastes good and compliments the cauliflower well, but it makes way more than is really needed. I think the dip/spread would be better to be served with crackers or pita chips. I'll be making that again for sure, just not when I make the whole roasted cauliflower. The whipped goat cheese is also kind of pricey for what it is, so save that money and buy 4 or 5 more heads of cauliflower instead. To make the cauliflower, wine, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, butt...

  There are a bunch of salads in the cookbook, so I've been peppering them in here and there throughout the year. This is one of the easiest recipes because there are so few ingredients and no cooking involved. You do need an hour for the vinaigrette to come together, but most of that can even be done ahead of time. The biggest problem I had was finding radicchio in my area. It took visits to 4 different grocery stores before I found it. Even when I did, this stuff isn't cheap. Since it was just Christine and I eating it, I only bought one head of radicchio instead of the 2 to 3 as called for in the recipe. After coring the radicchio and chopping it into 1-inch pieces, place into ice code water for 15 minutes. This removes some of the bitterness. Meanwhile, the vinaigrette can be started by combining balsamic and sherry vinegars. Red onion gets chopped and then added to the vinegar mixture to infuse it with the flavor instead of adding the strong kick of raw red onion to the sa...

  This is one of the simplest recipes in the cookbook by far. All you need are four russet potatoes, a stick of butter, and some salt. The most effort it turning the butter into clarified butter, which is just melting it and removing the fat solids before letting it harden in the fridge. While the butter becomes solid again, simply cut the ends and sides off of the potatoes until they form even bricks. Using a mandolin or knife, slice the potatoes to 1/8 inch thickness. What you're left with are rectangular slices that you then fan over one another like a stack of fallen dominoes. After adding a tablespoon of the clarified butter and a sprinkle of salt to each stack, the parchment lined pan goes into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. When the edges start to brown, you know they're done. The recipe is another technique more than a recipe, but it's another way to prepare potatoes which is always a good thing. While these aren't my favorite preparation, I did like a ...

  Having pie recipes in the cookbook allows me to meet two resolutions every time I make one. This pie is the 9th of the year, which draws me incredibly close to my goal of 12 for the year. It is probably one of the easiest pies I've ever made. Normally you bake filling in the crust, but the naturally high levels of pectin in blueberries combined with cornstarch allow it to thicken without needing time in the oven. The crust gets baked until completely cooked and then you allow it to cool before pouring in the filling. After a couple hours you can cut picturesque slices that hold together incredibly well.  The recipe for the pie crust has a crap ton of steps and I just wasn't feeling doing all of them. In the notes it said you can use whatever crust recipe you want, so I decided to use the listed ingredients and just make it the way I normally make crusts. The only substitution I made was using vodka instead of cider vinegar. Both of them will curb gluten development and make ...

  There are a few recipes in the book that I will make just for myself because I know Christine won't like it for one reason or another. This is one of those recipes and frankly, I wasn't that interested in trying it. I mean I like almost all of the ingredients, but I've never been much of a quinoa fan. Thankfully, there is only a 1/2 tablespoon used for a portion of this. It's added for a nutty flavor, achieved by toasting it, and for a crunchy texture. I don't think it was necessary because there are two types of nuts that get added on top as well. Almonds and pistachios join quinoa, medjool dates, lemon zest, and some olive oil on top of Greek yogurt. I opted to go with a flavored Greek yogurt (honey vanilla) over plain because it made me more interested in making this. The sweetness of the yogurt and dates really made this feel like a typical American breakfast. I did appreciate all of the different textures with each spoonful. The nuts and quinoa give you crunc...

Pizza is definitely one of my favorite foods and probably one of the things I've made the most. I went from cooking it on a pan to cooking it directly on a stone. I make my own dough and often make my own sauce as well. I've written about pizza a few different times on this site because it's one of the few perfect foods. This recipe was one of the ones that encouraged me to buy the book. I followed the recipe exactly the first time around and it was pretty good, but I didn't love my pictures and wanted to try the actual grilling process again. It certainly takes some practice when using dough on grill grates. For my second attempt, I was making pizza only for myself because Christine didn't love the crust the first time around.  Unlike traditional pizza cooking, the sauce and toppings get added after the crust gets cooked on one side before being flipped over off of the direct heat. Working with an oiled dough, you stretch it out to a circle or oval, carefully drop...

I've been very excited to make this recipe since my initial read through of the book. Broccoli is definitely my go to vegetable used to round out a meal. Normally I'll mostly steam some and then roast it the rest of the way with olive oil, salt, pepper, and whatever spices or spice blend sounds good in the moment, depending on the dish. Cooking two bunches of it in oil for two hours with some garlic, peppers, and anchovies sounded like an absolute winner. Over cooked broccoli doesn't taste great, but pushing it past that in fat makes a magical substance that I want to put on everything. It's pretty easy to make and only takes a few ingredients, it just takes some planning if you want to eat it that day. It's probably not something you'll want to make for a weeknight dinner, unless you eat rather late. Florets from two bunches of broccoli get removed from the stems and then the stems are peeled and cut into thick slices. All of that gets blanched in boiling water...

I haven't busted out my ice cream maker Kitchen Aid attachment in years and this recipe calls for the use of an ice cream machine. I was honestly surprised to see this cookbook include the use of one of the rarer and more expensive pieces of home cooking equipment. You'll also need a food processor or high speed blender for this very simple and quickly prepped dessert. There are only three ingredients needed: lemons, sugar, and strawberries. Making this reminded me just how easy ice cream and other frozen treats are to make when you have the necessary tools. One roughly chopped and seeded lemon gets ground up in the food processor with two cups of sugar. I was dubious of grinding up a whole lemon because their rind is rather tough. Once the lemon and sugar are thoroughly combined, that mixture goes into a bowl and then two cups of hulled strawberries get pureed in the food processor. That gets added to the lemon mixture along with the juice of one to two lemons, depending on ho...

After our recent weeklong trip back to Syracuse, I returned to find a couple rather large zucchini in the garden. Once they reach a certain size, they tend to get rather bitter so my usual preparation of grilling them wasn't going to work. I remembered I needed two pounds of zucchini for this recipe and had all of the ingredients needed to make it, even though I hadn't been to the store yet. Normally a gratin is full of cream, butter, and a lot of cheese. This one opts to go a healthier route with a little oil, milk, and less than a cup of parmesan cheese. There are two really interesting techniques in this recipe, the first being the multiple uses of the zucchini. The zucchini gets shredded using a box greater over a colander that's sitting in a bowl. As the zucchini shreds, it starts to shed its water weight and drip through the colander into the bowl below. You add salt to the shredded zucchini to hasten the process before squeezing handfuls of it to get as much moisture...