Lindz

Currently I work as a baker after finishing a patisserie/baking culinary program in 2009, but I love cooking all types of foods.
I heard it said best on "The Next Food Network Star." I'm a high energy, somewhat neurotic perfectionist, and the way I love best to calm down and show my friends and family how much I care is to pour myself into my food. I adore cooking for people! It's one of my favorite things to do - though my budget sometimes suffers for it, because I try to only use the freshest, cleanest ingredients, and sometimes go a little overboard!
Broccoli Shrimp Pasta Toss
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

I make one very similar to this, but I don't use onion, and I steam the broccoli with the pasta instead - I think the flavor of broccoli comes out better, and it stays green and crisp. I also found out you can even use frozen shrimp to make it even faster! Toss it into the butter, give it a shake, and then cover it for a couple of minutes. I keep a bag of peeled shrimp and a bag of broccoli in the freezer for just this recipe - super easy after a long day.

Vince's Marinated Strawberries and Ice Cream
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

I think this could be really good, but with changes. The strawberry/wine/orange combination is excellent, but the marinated strawberries are far too acidic and strong. I'd also like it if the marinade was thicker and more like a sauce. I might try something like this again, but definately not this exactly. It tastes like sangria mixed with ice cream.

Asiago Toasted Cheese Puffs
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

Excellent! SO good and easy!

Summer Pasta with Basil, Tomatoes and Cheese
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

I really liked this a lot, but I also played with some ideas that turned our really well. I don't like fontina cheese, so I used all asiago, which was great. Also, tomatoes in our area aren't very good, so I used plum tomatoes instead: they worked really well and were so sweet! I also added broiled shrimp at the end. I took another person's tip and substituted balsalmic vinegar instead of sherry. The mint was a great, unexpected addition, though!

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Crispy Fish Fillets
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

This was so yummy! I'm a girl raised on southern fried catfish who got an English stepdad late in life who introduced me to fish n chips, and this is a great mix of the two! Pan fried, but crispy without being super greasy.

Quinoa and Black Beans
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

This was excellent, and very easy! I used fresh cooked black beans instead of canned ones, and had to substitute a short grain rice (Calrose) for the Quinoa because I unfortunately couldn't find it at our local grocery store. But it worked very well! This was so good! I also used a frozen corn that had been fire-roasted (from Trader Joe's), and that added a nice smokey flavor as well. Thanks for the great dish!

Wine Fondue
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

On taste, this was five stars! On quantity, it wasn't enough. Maybe we just have a big fondue pot, but we poured it in, and it wouldn't even cover a piece of food! So we just added another half bottle of wine, and it was fine. I'll definately be doubling this next time.

French Crêpes
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

excellent flavor, and easy to use! Thank you!

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Mizithra Browned Butter Pasta
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

This is my favorite indulgent dish! I find the straight mizithra a little salty for me, so I usually do half mizithra and half parmesan (it also helps make the mizithra last longer, since it can be expensive and hard to find). It tastes just as good, in my opinion.

Bearnaise Sauce
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

This was really good, and very straight-forward and easy to prepare. Had it over beef wellingtons and it was perfect. Thank you!

Individual Beef Wellingtons
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

These were excellent! The only thing I changed was I used red wine instead. Everything else was perfect.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Rating: Unrated
Lindz's rating

This is a really good "base" recipe, but like everyone else I changed it so much it can barely be called the same recipe. Two cans of soup, half a can of milk, an extra cup of cheese, and a big scoop of sour cream. No layering, no cooking the broccoli ahead of time, and I added some mushrooms to mine. No stuffing, just used garlic bagel chips ground up in the food processor. But this was really easy when friends were coming over unexpectedly, and they ate it up!

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