Thursday 13: Thirteen recipes I'm looking to make as soon as possible!

must admit the food posts have been a little light lately... need to remedy that. But having a cold is one excuse. Trying to eat a little more simply/healthful might be the other, but probably there's no real good excuse other than that I've been enamored of the crafty/arty/calligraphy blogs lately, so my browsing has been bent a bit that way.

However, I do have a file of food thoughts/recipes stashed away that I add to as I see exciting (to me!) pieces online, and I recently went through my file looking to prioritize and plan.

Here are the top 13 things on my must-cook list, in somewhat preferential order:

1. Valentine sugar cookies (I'm taste-testing from 4 different sugar cookie recipes sent from friends. This is going to be fun experiment! I will post, of course!) I have a real hankering for some cookie decorating, too!

2. Rainforest crisps. These are the best crackers ever! Made by a Canadian company, I have found them south of the border too (I think Whole Foods carries them), and have long vowed to figure the recipe out. And then, doh!, I googled it, and someone else has done the hard work for me. I can't wait to try this one.

3. Homemade salad dressings. Here are two I'm looking to make this weekend. They look easy and yummy.

Balsamic shallot vinaigrette
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup olive oil
Put the shallot and basil into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the shallot is finely chopped. Add the balsamic, sugar, salt and pepper and pulse again. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube. Pour the vinaigrette into a small bowl and serve.

Citrus Vinaigrette

Zest and juice from one orange 

Juice from one grapefruit 

2 tablespoons sugar 

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

Juice from two lemons 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

6 tablespoons peanut oil 

Zest from one lemon 

1 tablespoon minced parsley

Put the orange zest, orange and grapefruit juices and sugar in a small saucepan and reduce by two thirds over low heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the mustard and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the oil into the mustard and lemon in a steady stream. Whisk in the reduced orange juice mixture. Just before serving, stir in the lemon zest and parsley.

4. Homemade manicotti. This craving is inspired by a food blog/site I check in on regularly: food52. Lots of great inspiration here.

5. Black bean pupusas. There's a local restaurant, a lunch favorite of mine (Someone's In The Kitchen, it's called), and they make a dish I have enjoyed a number of times. Of course, I want to figure out how to make these for myself! (A recipe doesn't hurt, either.) SITK serves their pupusas with poached eggs and a salsa verde, and it's lovely.

6. Blackberry kuchen. This one was on the Christmas list, but I didn't get a chance to make it myself. I did, however, share the recipe with my Aunt Bobbi, and got to watch her make it before her Christmas guests arrived (that's her kuchen pictured above). But I still want to make it myself. According to Bobbi, it will be worth all the anticipation!

7. Nanaimo bars. I am making a Canadian lunch at work to celebrate the Olympics--closing ceremonies, of course!--so have worked up a semi-BC menu, eh? And what more truly Canadian dessert could there be, than Nanaimo bars. Check out their origins. And marvel at their sweetness. These are powerful bars!

8. Neiman Marcus cookies. You've undoubtedly heard about this story (click the link for story and recipe), it's the stuff of urban legends. Now let's see if the cookies measure up, as well.

9. Red Velvet whoopie cookies. I just love recipes that call for a lot of red dye! Well, not really. But I love the idea of these, and maybe I'll add these to the Valentine's menu...

10. Rosemary flatbread. In my quest for homemade breads and crackers, these stood out as a yummy option!

11. Thousand layer apple cake. This recipe is so unique--all apples and not much else, slow cooked and it sounds so delicious.

12. Trashy Nutella fudge. The name says it all, don't you think? Yum.

13. Ebelskiver pan omelettes. I love my little ebelskiver pan. Why not make little omelettes? Sounds like a fun breakfast option.

Nothing like getting things down on paper to get the priorities in order! Let the cooking begin!

For other Thursday 13 participants, click here.