First let me say this is not a post about the weather in San Francisco. I am currently working on a new recipe development project that involves freezing. My assignment is to create recipes that can be prepared in multiple individual portions, then frozen and cooked before serving. Each recipe is like a fun little puzzle to try and solve.
The real challenge is finding things that actually benefit from this treatment. If you read the widely circulated recipe for chocolate chip cookies in the New York Times recently, then you know that letting cookie dough rest, makes for a better cookie. I have it on good authority that freezing gnocchi dough also improves the final product. In the past I've frozen things like crepes and dumplings very successfully.
So far my list of completed recipes consists of chicken apple sausage patties, chocolate chip cookies, jerk-rubbed chicken wings, and sesame ginger beef and I plan to try using ice cube trays and muffin tins to make individual portions. Ideas I am pursuing include herb biscuits, calzones, meat pies, puff pastry turnovers, pesto and variations, stuffed mushrooms, gnocchi, spaetzle, ravioli, dumplings, spanakopita, blintzes, meatballs, stuffed peppers, crepes, and veggie burgers.
But I'd like to hear from you. Is there anything you freeze in individual portions for serving another time? Links to posts, recipes or pictures would be great too. I look forward to your comments!