Happy first anniversary to The Hungry Panda!

I had to look back at the archives to realize it's been a year since I've started this blog.  So...what can you expect from me in the future, besides themed dinner parties, restaurant reviews, and silliness?  I'm very excited about some new cookbooks I've purchased, Rick Bayless' One Plate at a Time and Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen.  With those, I hope to expand my repertoire of dishes beyond quick sandwiches and salads (which is sadly all I eat when I don't have time/energy for anything else).  The latter's blog is amazing, and of course I will explain why I think I need a Vietnamese cookbook.

Here's what I'm working on:

-pane siciliano (I've made this bread more times than any other in the past few months, so it deserves an entry.)

-Asheville Bread Festival (Yes, I went...where were you??)

-pie crust (Will I ever top my m-i-l?  A tall order, considering I did not grow up eating pie.)

-Wiltshire on Market review

Anyway, I made graham crackers on Monday night, just to say that I could.  (I doubt I'll be doing this again.)

                                      

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/graham-crackers-recipe/index.html

Changes:

- I used a total of 10.25 oz of graham flour; no all-purpose flour.

-Following other reviews, I substituted the molasses with 2 oz of honey.

-I used liberal dashes of cinnamon, but it really didn't make a difference in flavor.

-No whole milk in this house; just skim.

Thoughts:

-I couldn't roll my first batch very thinly, so it became a delectable crunchy cookie.  Mr. S. had better luck with rolling the dough out to the correct thickness with the second batch, but the crackers became slightly burnt.  Still edible though.