Faculty Top 5 features a Communication Studies faculty member’s “Top 5” list of something they find meaningful. This week, Professor Jason Stahl offers his Top 5 Online Recipes.
Professor Stahl teaches Communication Tools, Argumentation & Debate, and has served as Belmont’s Speech & Debate Team coach for many years. He’s currently on sabbatical finishing his doctoral degree.
I love to cook. I have people over for meals as often as I can. While I’ve developed several favorites, here are some of my favs specifically from online recipes. I’ve listed them in order of easiest to most complicated. Enjoy!
Top Snack: Granola. Granola is pretty on-trend right now. This is a base recipe that you can turn into about anything you want. Pick the nuts, fruit, flavors, etc. that you enjoy. My favorite is peanut butter fig where I add PB powder to the recipe and add diced dried figs at the end. Seriously delicious. You can add dried strawberries instead of figs for a PB&J granola. Dried cherries with cashews – delicious. Want extra protein? Add powder. It also makes a great gift you can put in an airtight container (even a ziplock bag) and is easy to double the recipe. And since this recipe is all natural (no sugar) it’s healthy too. NOTE: I recommend you use maple syrup and not honey… even if you like honey, maple syrup is more versatile for a variety of additions (I’ve I’ve always preferred the taste each time).
Link: https://cookieandkate.com/healthy-granola-recipe/
Top Breakfast Dish: Yeast Waffles. You need a waffle iron and your favorite toppings (peanut butter, banana, syrup, strawberries – whatever you prefer). My favorite thing about this recipe is that the prep work is super easy and you do it the night before. That way, you can wake up, throw the batter in the waffle iron, and pretend as if you woke-up really early to make homemade waffles. The waffles don’t, themselves, have a strong flavor (that’s what your toppings are for), but they’re super fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Link: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016179-simple-yeasted-waffles
Top Side-Dish: Ratatouille. I frequently cook for vegetarians and vegans and sometimes have a hard time finding a recipe that’s filling and impressive (more than just another roasted vegetable). This looks like it was much more work than it is. Rich flavors, easy to make, fits a variety of diets, simple – it’s a favorite! NOTE: in a perfect world, try to get vegetables all the same size/width. Avoid giant eggplants if possible to make the layering even. Also, slicing is much easier & faster with a mandolin slicer, but a knife works just as well.
Link: https://tasty.co/recipe/ratatouille
Top Main Course: Pork Loin Roast with Maple Glaze. Backstory – I was looking for an over-the-top holiday main course to serve at a party. I was expecting to spend hours cooking, buy an expensive cut of meat, and only be mildly impressed. This recipe is stunning, is really easy, and uses one of the cheapest cuts of pork to feed a crowd. This has moved from being a holiday meal to something I’ll use any time I need to feed a crowd (and want it to be amazing). NOTE: it calls for fresh cranberries. Yeah… I just use dried cranberries, still fantastic. The ingredients can look intimidating. Remember that this makes not only the main course but also a side (the apples and cranberries). Also, if you want to serve more people just get a larger size of pork (if your dish will fit the extra space). It’s definitely something you’ll want more often than just Thanksgiving/Christmas.
Link: https://entertainingwithbeth.com/pork-loin-roast-with-maple-glaze-apples-and-cranberries/
Top Dessert: Inside Out German Chocolate Cake. Okay… this was a hard one to pick. I enjoy baking and have lots of favorites. This one is ridiculous. Real talk: this recipe takes time, it’s messy, and can take some trial and error. I get why it’s not a 5 star dessert online – it takes finesse. All that being said, it’s worth it. I’ve used this dessert for friends’ birthdays, special occasions, and even one’s engagement dinner. It’s absolutely gorgeous and unique. As for the taste, it’s one of those desserts that you take a bite of, take a break from to let the richness of the chocolate breathe on your taste buds for a while, and go back for your next bite 5-10 minutes later. Trust me… you’ll remember this dessert. The batter will look wrong (too thin). The filling you’ll want to eat by itself. Consider making extra glaze/ganache (you’ll lose some pouring it over top). I only make this about once or twice a year (because it is a pain), but you’ll think about it the rest of the year.
Link: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/inside-out-german-chocolate-cake-103202