We just recently were asked how we determine what makes it into a post and what doesn’t. Well, generally two things can get in my way of writing about a newly tried dishes:

A) First, the obvious, the dish doesn’t turn out as planned and it tastes less convincing as the recipe had promised. Could be either the fault of the cookbook/recipe or – more likely – it could be my fault, simply screwing things up.
B) On a second note, I feel the need to be creative. Meaning, I mix different recipes, start from scratch, making changes to cooking procedures on-the-fly, so to speak. The results then hopefully turn out delicious, but as it would inevitably slow down the process of being creative, I rarely take down notes. Which leaves me with a yummy dish, but an incomplete recipe and pretty much clueless of how to recreate it. I guess, I could need a little more discipline on this aspect?!

Anyhow, below you will find a little collection of dishes qualifying for either A or B!

Black Pasta Nests
I remembered a dish I have seen being prepared by Alexander Herrmann in his cooking show and with the black pasta I found in my pantry, I gave it a try. Our version tasted great and worked perfectly well as a stunningly looking appetizer. Definitely category B.

Tortilla with Roasted Peppers
I thought differently colored roasted peppers would enhance a regular potato tortilla flavor-wise – and was proven right. I wish somebody could just tell me, which amounts of eggs, cream, milk and grated Manchego I used? Another type B candidate.

Scrambled Eggs with Chanterelles
Especially when in season, I use those mushrooms for almost every dish I can think of. Probably quite easy to “rebuild”. Still a B though.

Variation of Pasta Nests
Another version of pasta nests. Here with an egg-cream-milk-mix, enriched with chopped Coppa. Another B friend.

Beef with Potato Carpaccio and Pesto
Looked great, but the beef turned out rather tough. I actually had bought organically raised beef, so I’m pretty certain it was my fault. An A for this one!

Blini with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon
Taste-wise a real treat, even though the texture of the blini was somewhat odd, not very firm. Somewhere between A and B.

Sandwich Variation
Who would care to write down a recipe for a sandwich? In this very special case, I would. This was a perfect creation, if I only could remember, how I marinated the beef and which cheese I used, aargh… – a type B.

Risotto with roasted vegetables
The basics are simple, but what totally slipped my mind is whether or not I used broth or white wine or even both in this specific risotto. What I do recall on the other hand is: spicy roasted walnuts do pair wonderfully with it. Another B.