Untested - Almond Shortbread

http://www.elle.fr/Elle-a-Table/Recettes-de-cuisine/Biscuits-sables-amandes-ou-noisettes-2035924

Biscuits sablés amandes

200 g de farine
90 g de sucre
60 g d'amandes ou de noisettes en poudre
1 pincée de sel
130 g de beurre
1 jaune d'oeuf
1 cuillère à soupe d'eau

1. Mélangez 200 g de farine avec 90 g de sucre, 60 g d’amandes ou de noisettes en poudre et 1 pincée de sel.
2. Ajoutez 130 g de beurre (à température ambiante) en petits morceaux. Mélangez pour obtenir une masse sableuse sans trop travailler.
3. Ajoutez 1 jaune d’oeuf et pétrissez rapidement.
4. Formez une boule et réservez au frais 3 h minimum.
5. Abaissez la pâte sur l’épaisseur voulue sur le plan de travail fariné et découpez des formes à l’emporte-pièces.
6. Dorez au jaune d’oeuf délayé dans 1 c. à soupe d’eau.
7. Faites cuire sur une tôle recouverte de papier sulfurisé dans le four préchauffé à th. 6/180°.
8. Laissez refroidir sur une grille, puis conservez dans des boîtes ou bocaux hermétiques.

MY VERSION

1 1/2 cups arrowroot flour

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup of almond flour

a pinch of salt

Generous 1/2 cup butter (can substitute with coconut oil but it must be solid and the consistency of butter to work)

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp water

1. Combine flours, sugar and salt together.
2. Cube the butter and quickly mix into the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarsely granular.
3. Add the egg yolk and quickly knead.
4. Form into a thick disc and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight.
5. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes - traditional shortbread triangles, rectangles, or use cookie cutters.
6. Whisk the egg yolk with the water and use this to brush the cookies.
7. Bake on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet in 350F oven for ??? minutes.
8. Allow to cool completely before storing.

Test 1 - Simplified Cornmeal Muffin

This is in response to another recipe I tried: Cornmeal Muffins . I thought I'd completely screwed up because I hadn't read the recipe, but the muffins turned out great. The only thing is that they weren't perfectly domed; the tops tilt to one side. Otherwise, the coarse cornmeal was very nicely textured etc.

1 - Good again, but not pretty. One reason may be because my local grocery store only had blue cornmeal which made the muffins look blah. But the tops weren't nicely rounded, although the texture was still quite lovely. I will try to add a 1/2 cup of cornmeal to see what that would do.

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 to 5 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 milk
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs

1. Melt the butter and allow to cool a bit. The time it takes to do the next steps should be plenty.
2. Heat oven to 425°F.
3. Grease a standard muffin tin.
4. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
5. In the pot with the hot butter, whisk in the milk and buttermilk, putting the pot back on the heat if the butter starts to coagulate, but only long enough to get the butter to liquefy. Then whisk in the eggs.
6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix just until combined.
7. Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups; it will completely fill the cups.
8. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove them from the tin and let cool 5 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Testing - Garlic Scape Pesto

How many of these recipes are there, and they're all pretty much the same. I've essentially rewritten it to make it clearer for myself.

10 garlic scapes
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lime

1. Put the scapes, pine nuts, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and process into a paste. 
2. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil first, and then the lime juice. Done!
3. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

Italian Sausage and duPuy Lentils - Published

1 - Ok, this first try didn't work for me. However, I did use the leftover lentils and had them with eggs the next day! :) The big stumbling point is the sausage. It was fine, but not WoW!
Part of the problem is that Italian sausages shouldn't be boiled, they should be grilled. Hmmm. Ok, I'll try this again, but will grill instead. Before gilling I'll parboil the sausage in the lentils to capture any flavour that otherwise might be lost.
The other problem is the quantity of liquid for cooking the lentils - I simmered the lentils, but it didn't absorb all the liquid, or it didn't evaporate enough. There was a good 2 cups left over! I think the pot I used was too small, not providing enough surface area for a good rate of evaporation, with the caveat that I'll have to keep on eye on the liquid level to make sure it doesn't go dry, either!
2 - Success! Stepping away from this recipe helped get it in perspective, I think.
3 - I'm putting back in the oregano as an option, and I'm trying fresh parsley. Ben likes it just fine, but I felt it was too heavy, so a little green will lighten it up. I could also add some leafy greens, but I'll start with parsley.
4 - Added parsley to very good effect. I wonder if it can stand up to kale?
5 - OK, I think this is it. I've changed this again, keeping the sausage whole and only cutting it after it's cooked makes sense because the juices stay inside. And a few other changes in sequencing and timing. Haven't tried the kale, but enjoyed a bit more parsley.
6 - This is a lovely, comforting dish. I can try kale at some point if I want to, but just with the parsley it's quite nice. Very hearty.

1 lb 1 cup Puy lentils
6 4 3 cups chicken stock
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half (use the part of the onion with the root basal plate and leave it intact to make it easier to take out the onion afterwards)
1 bunch 2-3 sprigs fresh oregano (or a generous pinch dry marjoram)
1 bay leaf
3 6 spicy mild Italian sausages
1/3 1⁄2 cup white wine
2 Tbsps butter olive oil
2 1 shallot, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup a few Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper

1. Put the lentils in a saucepan in a large saucepan (to allow for rapid liquid reduction) with the stock, onion, and oregano or marjoram and bay leaf. Bring to a boil before lowering the temperature to get a simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Continue to simmer the lentils, uncovered, until cooked al dente, 25-35 40-50 another 20 minutes. If there is still a lot of liquid once the lentils are tender, drain it off. Pluck out and discard the aromatics and set aside.
2.  Melt the butter Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet and prick the skins of the sausages. Brown the sausage on all sides in the oil. Remove from the pan and slice into 1⁄2 inch pieces  set aside. 
3. Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until translucent. Add the wine and bring it the wine to a simmer scraping up any fond. Continue simmering until the wine and reduces to a 1⁄4 cup has mostly evaporayed add the olive oil. Add the sliced sausages, the parsley and the lentils, simmering until the desired sauciness is achieved, the lentils are tender, and the sausage has cooked through.
4. Stir in the salt and pepper and serve. with crusty country bread.

Baked Italian Sausage and Potatoes - PUBLISHED

http://www.carriesexperimentalkitchen.com/roasted-italian-sausage-potato-bake/

2 - This continues to be delicious.
3 - One more time and it's good for the books!
4 - Hang on little tomato! I switched things up a bit to increase the remaining liquid, which worked. It's still not very saucy but it has more moisture.
5 - Tried it sans garlic and rosemary. It would be fine in a pinch but not nearly as good.

3 14 Italian sausages (sweet or hot), squeezed out of their casings and divided into quarters
3 10 medium old potatoes, quartered (peel if you feel like it)
1 2 garlic clove, minced
2 tsps 2 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 3 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
2 3 Tbsps olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste as desired
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Whisk together in a large bowl the vinegar, oil, rosemary and garlic.
3. Throw in the potato and sausage and stir until well covered in the marinade.
4. Place mixture into a 13x9 inch glass baking pan to a baking sheet (line with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup) and bake for 30 minutes, then turning and bake another 15, until sausage and potatoes are cooked through.