Photography · Useful

10 „Scary” recipes I managed to do

Gabriela Lupu

We all have our limits in the kitchen and we try every day to go beyond them. My first recipes, really scary recipes, are now done and the list is new.  Maybe for some of you were easy, but for me, were a fight which I manage to win after a test or two.

  1. Meringue / Pavlova

After reading about it on the internet, I got so scared that I postponed for a few months making this recipe, even I was dying to eat some meringues. The first time I did, I manage to make them perfect. Even with my old rusty oven, I found that if you leave the oven door cracked for the entire time, you will get your job done.

Meringues meringues

Next step was to make Pavlova. The first one I wanted without sugar or just a tablespoon of sugar and it was a big mistake. Great taste, but no shape. Lesson learned: meringue/ Pavlova need sugar to have the beautiful crust.

Chocolate Pavlova chocolate pavlova

  1.  Crème Brule

Keep in mind that I started cooking, really cooking, just a few years ago, and I was so scared to try complicated recipes. So crème Brule, a French dessert, which I managed to do it after one try.

Crème Brule with raspberries  GAB_0494_res

  1. Bread

Making homemade bread is an art. My mom used to make it without the bread machine. I am a modern cook and a scared one so I bought a bread machine. It helps me a lot, but the bread my mom used to make tasted so good.

Bread with chia and flax seeds   GAB21_m_res

  1. Plum crumble

The first time I did a crumple I wanted to have the texture I really like in a crumble, the combination between the soft plums and the crispy crumble.

Plum crumble  plum crumble

  1. Cooking pumpkin

When I decided to bake a pumpkin, I choose a recipe which felt so good just looking at the photos. I remember reading the ingredients and seeing in my mind the pumpkin in my oven.

This recipe is one of my best recipes and the one that I make when I want to eat pumpkin.

Baked pumpkin with porcini mushrooms and bacon  pumpkin

  1. Goulash

When you love goulash and you don’t have a place to eat a great goulash next to your home, you have only one option: make it yourself. Yummy!

Goulash  goulash

  1. Lobster

That was a great recipe. I poured my soul in that recipe and it went great. The second time, changed the recipe, and it got the same taste but a little to liquid. Lesson learned: If a recipe is great don’t change anything.

Lobster bisque  lobster soup

  1. Sweet cream soups

I discovered that I don’t like sweet meals. I love desserts, but not sweet soups or stews. So I add ginger or garlic or chili.

Sweet hot and spicy soup  soup

  1. Vegetarian chili

After you have a real traditional chili con carne is difficult to find a recipe for a vegetarian chili which will taste as great as the one with meat.

Vegetarian chili  vegetarian chili

  1. Cake with whole pears and whole pears in pastry

After I saw this recipe, I couldn’t stop thinking how beautiful it looked and how much I wanted to take photos of this cake. The only fear was that the pear will not be whole after baking.

Cake with pears and Pears baked in pastry  cake with pears

pear baked in pastry

I already made my next “scary” list:

  1. Macaroons
  2. Beef bourguignon
  3. Lamb
  4. Coq au vin (Chicken in wine sauce )
  5. Sushi
  6. Croquembouche (Caramel-glazed cream puffs)
  7. Tacos
  8. Enchiladas
  9. Escargots a la Bourguignonne (Snails in garlic-herb butter)
  10. Ratatouille

Any advice? I need a lot of courage to start any of them. I don’t feel that I am ready, yet.

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Published by Gabriela Lupu

Hi. My name is Gabi and I am a professional photographer, a new mom and a wife. I wanna learn to cook healthy food for my little one, so I made this blog to share my cooking experiments with everyone. It's gone be a long and a bumpy ride but a funny one, so stay tune for news and enjoy my ride.

198 thoughts on “10 „Scary” recipes I managed to do”

  2. My favorite way to do lamb is to roast a leg of lamb slathered in a paste of olive oil, kosher salt, garlic and rosemary, with roasted lemons. My second favorite way is a Jamie Oliver tagine of lamb called “Mad Moroccan Lamb.” I make it for Easter every year, and I’m buying ever larger legs of lamb just so I can do both. The leg of lamb is easier than I thought it would be.

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  3. What an excellent Idea! I really want to make some lovely dim sum dumplings, but don’t know where to start. I think i will start looking at a list for myself. Only advice i would say for the Beef and chicken is invest in a slow cooker, if you haven’t already got one. One of my best purchase, really allows the flavours to infuse and develop. Good Luck!!!

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  4. Meringue and homemade bread was definitely also on my “scary” list 🙂
    I still have artichokes, lamb and macarons on there.
    So interesting to read through someone else’s list! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. From the looks of it, you don’t need to have a “scary” list anymore. Clearly, you are an excellent cook and have conquered recipes which would be daunting for anyone else. I look forward to your posts every week!

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  7. i love this post!
    tacos are super easy! homemade guac + cooked chicken/meat/turkey/? + cut up veggies. i prefer soft tacos and i warm them up in a pan/on griddle.

    sushi is interesting. you need to get sushi rice and i think its equal parts water to dry rice. also whenever i’m making mine, i always feel like i don’t have enough rice laid out and when i try to roll it i always end up having too much hahaha. if i’m making sushi i always make miso soup to go with it! its so quick and easy!

    macaroons/macarons are on my list of things to try too! but i hear people say they are tricky, i did find a post somewhere t that looked like it would be superful helpful but i can’t find right now 😦 a lady i know made chocolate chili ones that were diivvviinnee.

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    2. Hi Bianca, I was looking through the comments and saw you lost a helpful looking macaron post. I’ve recently posted one on what I’ve found helps me on baking macarons, in case you wanted to make them yourself. I hope it will be useful for you in case you decide to look at it 🙂

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      2. thanks so much! i think i found it “macaron appreciation post”- i’ll be attempting them very soon 🙂

  8. Nice, love the pics and I’m sure the recipes tasted amazing! I’m pretty scared to try beef bourguignon myself! Macaroons are easy once you get the hang of them. My first batch collapsed but after that they’ve been easy to make 🙂 happy cooking!!

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  9. That’s a really impressive list of accomplishments. I find that the first time you try a recipe it’s daunting to the extreme, yet the second time it doesn’t seem nearly as bad and by the third you wonder how you ever thought it was in any way scary. I think it’s inspiring that you’re challenging yourself. I look forward to seeing what you’ll tackle next.

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  11. Good luck with the next list! ^^

    A few words of advice:

    Croquembouche is sheer heaven. The cream puffs themselves are not that difficult to make; it’s the filling and assembly bit that’s the kicker. Invest in a pair of heat-resistant gloves, or you may end up with a tiny scar (one single drop got away from my spoon and landed on my index finger, so I’ll never forget my croquembouche haha). The end result was delicious, though, so I wear my scar with pride! 😉

    Perfect macaroons are not an easy feat indeed, but even if they’re slightly off, they’ll always taste good, so don’t worry too much! The one thing that makes macaroons so difficult in my opinion is timing. Patience is a must if you’re looking for that perfect little crust!

    Good sushi is all about using the right type of rice (readily available, fortunately), the right blend of mirin and rice vinegar, a good filling (I’d recommend smoked mackerel, sesame seeds and wasabi. Don’t overdo it on the wasabi, though. Whatever filling you choose, I feel most people prefer a mix of different textures, soft and crunchy for example.) Those wasabi rolling mats are a life-saver!

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  12. Hey ! This is an amazing post ! I loved it 😊 but being a rookie I can’t give any advice whatsoever 🙈 but best wishes ! Go and conquer the kitchen

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  14. I love the concept of this post, and that there are recipes that scare you but you are doing them anyway. Good for you! We made ratatouille a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious and less challenging than we anticipated. Essentially, you are cooking all of the vegetables separately and then roasting them together. Good luck!

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  15. Oh, you’ve done great to start conquering your cooking/baking fears, and from the pics, it looks as if you did a great job! I had my first (and only) Pavlova at a restaurant in Gulf Shores, Al., called the Gift Horse. It is so incredibly good! They make it only with strawberries and cream. I live far away from this town, but often, I will find myself craving this sweet, delicate and delicious dessert! 😉

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  17. What a great list! The bread looks so earthy and delicious. I’m really looking forward to your macaroons…. and I can only imagine how beautiful the photos will be.

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  18. They all look so good! When you have tote macarons piped out on the tray, lift it and slap it down on the worktop to push out any air, then leave them out in the air for half an hour or so until they develop a skin before you put them in the oven. And make/use a really tasty filling!

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  19. I agree with mymirabelle — your bread looks fantastic! I also think you will be fine on your next list – you have a lot of skills under your belt, and the worst thing that could happen is you’ll end up with some pretty tasty mistakes!

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  20. Great post! Don’t worry about bourguignon, the secret is in slow cooking and loads of wine 🙂 it’s a very easy recipe!

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  23. Congrats on the first 10. I haven’t done 5, 9 and 10 yet though a whole poached pear is pretty close to 10. 🙂

    As to the 2nd 10 … do you mean coconut macaroons or the French egg white and ground almond macaron? I’ve done them both and most of the rest. Don’t like veggies enough for 10 and I’ve eaten 9 but have no desire to make it at home. Have to work on the caramel to glue them together for 6. I make cream puffs regularly. A quick and delicious dessert.

    Fun challenging yourself like that isn’t it? I have a food bucket list. I really need to update it and make a couple more.

    http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/134513.html

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  24. RYour photos and food are just amazing. I think you are doing very well and the idea of a list is great. I never thought about that. I believe some people are just more confident cookers than others and they are not afraid to take risks. I surely will make some of the recipes you posted here. The pumpkin looks just phenomenal. My husband is a good bread maker and he does not use a bread machine. I think you should add to your list to re make your bread without the machine. We find the bread that is made by hand far tastier. I am useless with breads but I tried both so I think you will be surprised with the result. Well done. I am looking forward to the next list.

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  32. I love this post, such a great idea. After looking at all the results of the recipes you were scared of i’m impressed. You did such a an amazing job with each and every one of them. I’m looking forward to your Croquembouche recipe next.. Great job…

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  35. I also have a list of things I want to make but am afraid or they just seem to daunting. Macarons were a big one for be but we made and they were not nearly as difficult as I thought they would be. My number 1 on the list now is sourdough bread, I want to but it seems so time consuming and a lot of steps, one day!

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  36. Always love your posts and look forward to them as I can see you take a lot of trouble. I try to find a recipe only from the country of origin so I know and feel that it will taste right. Also I’m always trying to find recipes that have a certain wow factor that usually crosses boundaries and deviates slightly from what might one think are the usual ingredients. Here’s my recommendations for the scary list!

    1. Macarons – Mary Berry (not French!! But trained in France) – using Italian style meringue / online recipe. I’ve tried loads of recipes but only this one was successful
    2. Beef bourgignon – Marco Pierre White for Knorr / YouTube
    3. Salt crusted meringue baked lamb – Raymond Blanc / online recipe
    4. Coq au vin – Marco Pierre White for Knorr / YouTube
    5. Sushi – Cooking with Dog / YouTube. Try mosaic sushi so pretty!
    6. Croquembouche – Bruno Albouze / brunoalbouze.net
    9. Escargots a la bourgignon – Raymond Blanc / video not YouTube
    10. Ratatouille – Thomas Keller on persimmonandpeach.blogspot.co.uk
    Add a little passata then Parmesan on top

    I’m hoping to make your pear cake and lobster bisque. Plus beef Wellington and chicken liver parfait. They’re expensive ingredients!

    Good Luck!
    Gabrielle

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  39. I’m doing something similar with my Baking Bucket list. It’s going reasonably well, despite the Vanilla slice I wrote about recently! It all looks delicious!

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  40. No advice other than: you ARE ready! Cooking and baking are joyous experiences. You are already tackling such a range of dishes.

    I look forward to your report on croquembouche. I have never made it, but am in awe of the beautiful ones I have seen.

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  41. Your food all looks lovely! A bit of advice about the plum crumble: make it in a larger bowl rather than the individual ones and it should be even easier to get the combination of crisp crumble and soft plums. It needs longer in the oven (about 25 minutes in a medium hot oven – 180C / 350 F).
    Also if you can source a copy of “A modern way to eat” by Anna Jones, her “proper chilli” recipe is worth a try.

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  44. A few things: kudos for trying out those recipes, they look amazing and I am sure turned out delicious as well! I don’t think I would ever be brave enough to cook a lobster! I did however get inspired to make Pears baked in pastry, they look so yummy! Lastly, your pictures are absolutely stunning – lighting, textures, details seem to be so harmoniously depicted. I am just starting to overcome my intimidation of using DSLR (NIKON) and experiment and get a hang of it, and your photos have just inspired me to work even harder on my photography skills. I am not much of a cook but I’d stalk your blog just for the sake of photos too! Although I did bookmark a few recipes already 😉 xoxo, nano

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  45. Since I moved to Jamaica I learned a lot of dishes I was never prepared and also learned save a lot of food and time. Since recently when we don’t have bread or we don’t desire dumplings I am doing tortilas (using whole wheat flour and a little white flour 80:20-90:10). Gulash is one of soup I always loved back in Slovakia and we cooked it home or during any celebration or vacations in the nature. There are a lot of dishes I want to try and I will try also some of your recipes.

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  48. I’m all for less sugar hut as u say, a pav without sugar just doesn’t exist. My darling lemon thyme has the healthiest recipe I’ve seen in her cookbook. Might be one on her blog too.

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  49. I would say ratatouille is a very easy dish to get to grips with, especially if you already know how to make a tomato sauce (which is basically adding tinned tomatoes to sweated off onions & garlic). It’s originally a peasant dish (idk if you knew that already) so it’s cheap and simple, although of course you can vamp it up in so many ways. All it is, in essence, is stewed vegetables, which you can’t really go wrong with 🙂 a tip from me for making this dish: prep your aubergine and courgette in advance by chopping them up, tossing them in salt, and putting them in a strainer in the sink with a heavy weight on top (e.g. a hardback book). You can leave them for pretty much the whole day, or less if you don’t have the time. This takes excess moisture out of them, and softens them a little for cooking. I also find that it ensures that your courgettes don’t have that bitterness that you sometimes get.
    As for the macarons (I’m assuming you mean the French macarons?), I just posted a bunch of tips and tricks on how to make them better on my blog here: https://yumyesplease.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/macaron-appreciation-post/
    Well done on conquering your scary recipes, what a success that must feel like!

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