Dead Lamb

The post-Christmas meal is a lamb shank. I discovered a recipe (again, from Bon Appetit) for a Gochujang sauce. Gochujang is the new Sriracha, apparently. But, I'm not about the go get a new sauce when I have one that works just fine for me. :) Though I will eventually try Gochujang, I'm just waiting to use up the rest of the Sriracha. JHC, I can barely spell these words...and I don't even know if JHC is an acronym - so hopefully you know what I mean. Regardless 

I went shopping for supplies and totally forgot to get the dates that were required in the recipe linked above. But...I've been on this kick about not having to buy things that I don't need based on the fact that that when you are limited and restricted, you are more creative. So...instead of going back to the store, I looked in my cupboards and found something that I could substitute for dates and found golden raisins. They worked fabulously!! The sauce was intense and sweet.

I seasoned the lamb shank with salt and pepper and cooked on medium-high heat for 9 minutes, turning it every minute. After 9 minutes I kept it warm in an oven and added chopped onion to the hot pan and than added the raisin, oil, and sriracha sauce. Oh man, this was a tasty treat. Obviously I was so caught up in making this perfect protein that I didn't even bother making a veggie or a carb. Is that weird? I had fried pickles for an appetizer so I kinda had some variety of food that night...

Fried Pickles with Spicy Mayonnaise

Fried what?? I've never even heard of fried pickles until I was reading Bon Appetit. Apparently, some restaurant in Virginia fries pickles and serves it with a spicy mayonnaise sauce. Um...yum! It's super easy, unless you are like me and get easily distracted. So, it took me longer than most people. Either way, this is super tasty! So...you should totally make it by clicking on the link above. 

Pear Edamame Salad

Whew! After all that heavy food I think we needed a salad to cleanse the palate. So for a Christmas Day appetizer I made a pear salad. The pears were a courtesy of Miriam and Tom, my soon-to-be in laws who were kind enough to have local pears and apples delivered to our home for Christmas. So grateful! So I made this salad with edamame, pear, mixed greens, sesame seeds, and Beecher Cheese. The dressing consisted of EVOO, minced raw garlic, parsley, and champagne vinegar (I think). We were both very happy with this salad. Will definitely make it again! 

Breaded Fish

I guess vlogging is the new thing. So new that blogspot underlines it in red, signifying that I spelled it wrong. I would vlog but that would just be bad for all. My voice is really nasally. Or, at least that is what it sounds like the few times that I have heard it played back to me. Plus, it seems like a lot of effort to edit the videos and delete all the nonsense that I talk about. So, I will continue to write. However, for those of you interested in watching videos so you don't have to read I highly recommend My Drunk Kitchen and Jenna Marbles. The latter, not cooking related...just fucking funny. :) 

Happy Holiday's to all! *sip wine*. Casey told me that in Italy they eat fish for Christmas Eve. I never did verify that... 

Regardless, we had breaded snapper for Christmas Eve and it was quite tasty. Case bought this super tasty spice and nut blend that I blended with panko and breaded the fish with (flour and egg style). 

Floured Snapper...

Breaded with panko and Dukkah

Cooked in the oven and voila!

I originally cooked the fish at 450 for 15 minutes. Not so successful...
I had to cook it for 10 more minutes uncovered and than it was a tad overcooked. Despite this everything else was perfect. We had a side of frozen jasmine rice that I reheated with paprika and covered in a really good sauce. The sauce consisted of EVOO and butter with overripe tomatoes, pesto, garlic, chopped onion and a dash of the Dukkah. The green beans I cooked with pearls onions and butter.

Mahi Mahi Ceviche with Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo

Oh man, these were good. I made ceviche once in school with shrimp and wasn't very impressed. But, after eating at the Cactus in west seattle I was inspired to make good, fresh mexican food. So, I did a Bon Appetite search and caught this recipe and it looked pretty damn easy to make. 

My pictures a a little grainy since my ISO was bumped way up on the chocolate tour but I think they look acceptable enough, no? We tried the ceviche on two different types of bread. One, a rice tortilla (pictured below) which I did not like. It was stiff and did not have any flavor. The other was a delightfully small Mediterranean flat bread. A little thicker than a tortilla, very soft and pliable.

Case commented that the fish didn't even taste like fish. And it didn't...not in the fishy flavor. I loved it. It was a delicate citrus-y flavor. Really nice texture, too. It complimented the sweetness of the tomatoes, the kick of the jalepeno, and the charred shallot and corn.

The charred shallot and corn were not a part of the initial recipe but I highly recommend it. I actually set off the fire alarm in my apartment heating up the oil and than sitting outside on the balcony...and subsequently forgetting about it. Ooops, I've never seen my apartment so smoky. Regardless.

Corn on the cob is a revelation for me. Since I got my braces I can't eat it, but I have learned that you can cut the kernels off the cob which for some reason or another I thought was difficult to do. This could not be further from the truth. If you chop up some shallot and cut the corn off the cob, you put it in a heated pan with oil (I've been using garlic avocado oil lately, yum!) than cook it on high heat so the  pan develops that nice brown crust on the bottom. Than I lowered the heat and added a little water to scrap up the awesomeness. And this flavor will tie everything together.

Mahi Mahi Ceviche with Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo
Adapted from Bon Appetite 

1 lb. Mahi Mahi Tuna - very fresh, cut up in 1/2 inch cubes
2 T lemon juice
3 T lime juice
1 heaping teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 c. diced heirloom tomatoes
3/4 c. chopped/minced sweet onion
1 jalepeno, seeed, diced
cilantro, chopped
olive oil

romaine lettuce, sliced thinly

1 corn on the cob
1 shallot, chopped/minced

Combine first four ingredients along with freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Let marinate in fridge 4-6 hours. Be sure not to leave in the fridge for longer than 6 hours or the fish will get tough.
While the fish is in the fridge prepare the pico de gallo - combine the next five ingredients along with sea salt. While those are marinating cook/char the shallot and corn as described above. Since the meal is cold - don't worry about keeping it warm. The fish will be done when it is white and no longer has a raw appearance. Once it is done, remove the marinade and add the pico de gallo to the fish. Serve on tortillas or flat bread.


Also, I had left over cilantro that I decided to mix with mayo and slather on the bottom of my flat bread. Oh yes, I like.

Savory Tart

I have been craving sun-dried tomatoes and in accordance with my pastry phobia I purchased a pre-made tart and filled it with:

Chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil

Queso Fresco

Panfried onion, bell peppers and button mushrooms

Than I whisked together 2 eggs, 3/4 c heavy cream and chives and poured it over my toppings. 

This dish is so superbly easy and you can use whatever ingredients you desire. I reheated it in the microwave for work the next day but I would highly recommend not doing that and reheating in the oven instead. Big mushy mess. :( 

Shrimp Sandwich

Just recently had my braces tightened. Nothing quite like making you appreciate food like not being able to eat it. On a recent hike my friend and I went to a truckers diner. I ordered a burger - I had to fork and knife it. This sandwich however, I was able to bite into. 

My favorite thing to do is to dress up mayonnaise. Especially with spicyness. This mayo had chives, lime, salt and Sriracha. The perfect accompaniment to a shrimp burger. I cooked the shrimp in butter and chives on high heat and sliced tomatoes and avocado for the stuffing. The 'burger' was served on a Trader Joe's Brioche Bun with spinach. I was incredibly pleased with it and would probably make it again. The leftover shrimp I dredged in fancy mayo and ate by it's lonesome.

Independence Day Ribs with Charred Corn Salad

Because people love having pictures of them taken while they are eating...

My well of culinary creativity has been dry. I usually can't stay away from my kitchen too long. A visit to my favorite blogs or a glance at Bon Appetit is usually enough to get those creative juices flowing. But nothing. I wander aimlessly around the grocery store frustrated and looking for inspiration. I listlessly scroll through appealing posts but still I stay away from the kitchen. Seattle's short summer has finally arrived and slaving away at the hot stove is not necessarily ideal but still...I mean c'mon! I could whip up a salad or two. Heck, even a tasty alcoholic beverage. Jeez. So finally the Bon Appetit issue came with a salivating picture of ribs on the front and Independence Day was around the corner and I thought, well there it is. 

These ribs were very very good and the recipe is so easy! I highly highly recommend it. Living on the fifth floor of an apartment building, I don't have a grill so it was all in the oven. The only downside was they tasted, er, a little fatty. I think the ribs had a lot of fat on them because I repeatedly ran my finger through the sauce on the plate and licked it off (it was that amazing!) - so I don't think it was the sauce. I am notorious for accidently getting fatty cuts of meat. Once I got bacon that was more fat than meat. I don't know why, I never check.

The meat starts off with a dry rub. You wrap it in tin foil and cook it for 2 1/2 hours.

Than you drain the juices into a measuring cup, chill the juices and the meat. When you are ready to reheat it you add BBQ sauce to the measuring cup shown in the picture above. The bottom color is juice from the ribs, the middle layer is fat from the ribs and the BBQ sauce is on top with the fork driving through the layers.

Than you mix it all up in this clumpy fatty juicy sauce. Trust me it's amazing!

Than you reheat the ribs either on the grill or in the oven like I did. I used half the sauce initially and the rest half way through the cooking process.

While it's cooking make a healthy side dish. I purchased corn on the cob, cut off the kernals and charred them in my cast iron. I added basil, tomatoes and fire roasted red peppers. The dressing was lime, olive oil and sea salt.  

The finished products...

This recipe was for 8 lbs of ribs and I had maybe half of that. However for 8 lbs. of ribs they recommend 1 1/2 c. of BBQ sauce.

Best-Ever BBQ Ribs
Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 1/2 Tb. kosher salt
1 Tb. dry mustard
1 Tb. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce


Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and rub on ribs. Wrap ribs in foil and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Unwrap ribs and place juices in measuring cup. Let ribs and juices cool completely. When ready to reheat, preheat oven to 350.

Whisk in BBQ sauce into juices. Baste the ribs with half the sauce. 15 minutes into the cooking baste with other half of sauce.

Salmon Salad

It must be the weather. All this sun is making me crave seafood and shellfish. This particular meal was right up my alley. The salmon was a tad over cooked which was a shame - it made it a little dehydrated and tough but still totally edible. I cooked the Trader Joe's Harvest Grain's Blend (which by the way, is awesome) in a little turmeric, made a mustard vinaigrette for the greens and seared the salmon with lots of lemon and olive oil. Oh and by the way the Trader Joe's salmon comes with lemon!

Deep Fried Oyster po'boy

Mayo, Red Pepper, Onion, Sesame Seeds, and Sriracha

...all mixed together

Delectable Oysters in cornmeal

The awesome sandwhich

The fried oyster 

This is definitely one of the better meals I have made in awhile. Casey went down south for a boy's night and so I made something entirely unappetizing to him - fried oysters with a simplified remoulade. I seriously woke up this morning thinking about it. I love oysters. Raw, Fried, Smoked, Shooters. It's all awesome. I would have to say though that smoked is my least favorite if only because they are so dry and I really love the juicyness of them. This is a Bon Appetite recipe for Oyster Tacos - but I had nice bread rolls in the house and used those instead. The original remoulade recipe has a few more ingredients that I decided to leave out including the main one - relish. I really don't know what I would use the leftover relish for. But I loved the quick remoulade that I ended up doing. Also it called for freshly shucked oysters - which is a lot of work! I purchased and jar of medium oysters. Since I live the northwest I trust that they are fresh. Plus, I am deep frying them anyways. The oysters that I could not fit on the two sandwiches I made, I dunked in the leftover remoulade. *sigh* amazingness.


Oyster po'boy
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Remoulade

1/2 c. Mayo
3 Tb. minced red pepper
3 Tb. minced sweet onion
1 Tb. Sriracha
1 tsp. sesame seeds
freshly ground black pepper and salt


po'boy

1/2 c. yellow corn meal
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 Tb. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. baking powder

lettuce /tomatoes/sandwich toppers

Mix all ingredients together for the Remoulade. Mix together first four po'boy ingredients. GENTLY dredge the oysters in the mixture. (I plopped them all in there but they are so juicy I got clumps of cornmeal that stuck together and not on the oyster and hence I got deep fried cornmeal balls). Deep fry the oysters for three minutes in 1 inch oil heated to 350. Place on sandwich.

Stuffed Tomatoes

The baked stuffed tomatoes.

Hollowed out tomatoes...

...than stuffed...

...and served with spinach quinoa.

I made sangria last night. It was pretty phenomenal, though it packed a bit more of a kick than I was anticipating. I added the juice of two blood oranges, juice of half a lime, rooibos tea, rum and calvados to some boxed red wine I got at Trader Joe's (which just opened in West Seattle!). The blood orange alone was amazing, I might actually make some this weekend it was so good. To me they taste like a sweeter grapefruit.

This weekend should be photorific. Case and I are traveling north to see the Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon and onto to Deception Pass and Port Townsend. Later I'll be taking a photography class courtesy of a Groupon. I'm pretty stoked. I keep waffling on getting another lens. I'm ready to 'advance' but I cringe every time I see the price. I may end up renting a lens for a day or two and splurge if I fall in love with one.

As for these tomatoes - pretty damn good. I've never cooked with ground pork - only turkey and chicken. Maybe because Ground Turkey is very lean (healthy, yuck!). I was thrilled with them, Casey not as much. He wasn't a fan of the ground meat but I am totally okay with that texture.

Stuffed Tomatoes
Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 Large Tomatoes
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 c. peppers diced
1/2 c. leek diced
3 minced garlic cloves
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. paprika
Handful of parmesan to sprinkle on top

Heat oil. Soften onion, peppers, leeks and garlic. While it is softening, hollow out the tomatoes, chop up the guts and add it to the veggies. Add pork. Add bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you desire to use. Stuff the tomatoes and top with parmesan. Bake it for 30 minutes.

Soupaholic

I find it odd that as our Seattle weather warms up I am making more soups. The one on the top is actually a vegetarian chili and the bottom is a potato leek soup with deep 'fried' shallots. Funny thing deep frying shallots - they never fried, like crispy fried. I was supposed to place a bunch of shallots in olive oil and butter and fry them for 30 minutes. They were in there an hour and never got crispy so I can only imagine the heat wasn't high enough. Oh well, they were amazing anyways and I think I'm actually glad that they were soft and probably saturated with oily goodness. Roasting the potatoes, leeks and arugula gave it a huge flavor boost. No bland soup here. 

The longer days have been giving me a ton of energy. Really happy perky energy. It's weird and a little uncomfortable but overall I suppose it's quite nice. I am making goals, plans, budgets, shopping lists. I'm going to the gym before work, which by the way, means waking up at 4:40. Now I just have to stick with it. I become incredibly discouraged when I 'fall off the horse'. But for now, it's working and that's fine with me. 

A (Non)Vegetarian Rant and Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

There is no telling how much mayo I consumed yesterday. Speaking of mayo, Case and I went to Vegfest last weekend. It was packed (of course) and I just happened to walk by a stand of veganaise. Let me tell you, that stuff is amazing! It didn't taste exactly like mayo but it had a really nice creamy savoriness to it. I have to say I am super impressed that it specifies non-GMO Soy protein which I happen to think it very important. GMO - I mean, I'm sure you know what it means but the words just say it all. Genetically. Modified. Organism. Isn't that just another way of saying that you fucked with nature on a molecular level? I wholeheartedly believe that plants and animals were not meant to be messed with this way. But ultimately I am ignorant in such things and probably a hypocrite too. The chicken in this dish, even if it is "Free Range" and "Organic," the farmers can still treat their animals like crap and the birds probably still spend their lives confined in some way.

I do appreciate where vegetarians come from, but I don't think that they tell you the whole story. According to the "Go vegetarian!" pamphlet I got from PETA there is no naturally occurring B12 save in meat, so going vegan means you have to take a pill or eat fortified cereals or soy milk. Er...doesn't that sound a little unnatural? Clearly we are meant to have B12 but the only way to have it is through artificial means? Though, if it saves an animals life I suppose it is worth it? Also in the pamphlet is this completely ridiculous statement: "One egg contains a staggering 185 mg of artery-clogging cholesterol." I'd like to point out that humans naturally make cholesterol and it is in fact essential to living. Yes, essential. The daily recommended intake is 300 mg of which an egg is lower. (I'd also like to take a moment to point out a 2001 study by the Kansas State University that found egg cholesterol is more difficult to absorb). I mean how biased is that?! Artery Clogging. It's like saying Iron is Cirrhosis-inducing (and it is, if you overload). Clearly everything is bad if you have too much of it.

And lastly being vegetarian does not mean you are healthy. A lot of the faux-meats out there are filled with preservatives, firming agents, artificial flavorings (and what the hell does that mean??) and super nasty additives. Morning Star Bacon has Caramel Coloring which has been found to be carcinogenic. Oh, and of course the pamphlet pushes the 'If you are vegetarian you will lose weight' bit. And there is probably some truth to that...but you can have a twinkie and be a vegetarian. I don't think eating meat makes you fat.


Chicken Wraps

1 chicken breast
1/4 thinly sliced onion
1 tsp. dried thyme
handful of halved cherry tomatoes
mayo
freshly ground salt & pepper
sliced green onions for garnish
hummus
spinach

Boil chicken breast until done. Shred. Add chicken, mayo, tomatoes, onion and thyme in bowl and mix. (I forgot to add some Dijon Mustard but it would have been great in here!) Add salt and pepper. Line wrap with hummus and cover with spinach. Add chicken on top and that's a...no I can't. And than you wrap it.

Rum Muffins with a Yuzu Rum Beverage

The second batch was much sloppier as I had been steadily drinking...

...but they turned out just fine

While purchasing wedding gifts from Williams-Sonoma I came across Yuzu Juice. I kept reading it about how it was the new cool thing and I kind of turned my nose up at it.  I'm not one for trendy things - okay maybe I secretly love them but trends are just that - trends. They don't last forever for a reason. They don't stand that test of time. But really. Yuzu. Isn't that just so much fun to say? I couldn't help myself, I had to get it. And so it sat in my fridge for a few weeks - waiting to be exploited. And so when I purchased a handle of Sailor Jerry's (The awesomest Rum ever) I combined it with Yuzu on the rocks. Seriously, it tasted like vanilla. It was amazing. Come to think of it I should have added Yuzu to the cupcakes.
Onto the muffins! This recipe is pretty famed at work. I brought them to a St. Patrick's Day party - it took less than 10 minutes for a dozen people to eat 48 muffins. Casey was pretty stoked about them and there is already a request to make these again. Of course this will require another handle - since we have drunk most of it. Alas I highly highly recommend making these guys. It's actually a recipe made for a bundt pan and making them in a bundt pan makes it way easier to let the sauce soak in but muffins are so much more fun to share!

Rum Muffins

18 oz. yellow cake mix
3 1/2 oz. box vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. rum
1/2 c. canola oil

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Roast chopped walnuts until fragrant and darker in color. Combine first 6 ingredients, pour into cupcake pan and top with chopped walnuts.

Sauce

1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water

Boil 5 minutes, remove from heat and add rum. Pour over muffins while they are still warm so the sauce soaks in. Oh, and the sauce here is key, DO NOT make these muffins without it. Seriously. The muffins, as mentioned above are more difficult to soak than a one-pan cake. With the mini muffins I took them out of their pans (which I had to anyway since I needed the pan to make more muffins) while they were still hot (ouch) put them in a glass 9x5 dish and poured the sauce over them. Whatever landed on the bottom got soaked up real nice. The big muffins are easier - I could pour the sauce over them and it would sink to the bottom.

Lentil Tomato Soup

I am not much for soups, but I have to say this one pot cooking is working for me. Truly, it is the garnish that makes a dish. It takes all the intense flavors and ingredients - you know the ones that have been cooking in that big pot, every spoonful tastes the same - and it adds that panache. Green onions are great for doing this. They are fresh, easy to clean and chop. They look good over anything, making it look a little extra fancy. Fresh basil and cilantro are always excellent too. Seriously - don't leave them out!

Lentil Tomato Soup

1 Anaheim pepper

1 Poblano pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2 Tb. Ghee

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp turmeric 

1 c. lentils - mixed colors

4ish c. water

1/2 can broth

1/2 c. crushed tomatoes

Olive Oil/Sriracha/Butter for sauce topping

Green Onion/Cilantro Garnish

Melt Ghee, Butter or EVOO. Add onion and peppers. Soften/Carmelize. Add spices. Add Lentils, mix, add water and bring to boil - lower heat and simmer until lentils are almost cooked. Blend 1/4 - 1/2 mixture for desired thickness of soup. Add broth and crushed tomatoes. Cook until lentils are done. Serve and top with green onion and cilantro. 

Minestrone with homemade Turkey Meatballs

Satisfying, filling but light. The Turkey Meatballs were a plus! In the magazine it calls for 5. cups broth and 2 cups water. I did not need nearly so much and my soup still turned out pretty brothy.

Taken from Bon Appetite

3/4 c. ground turkey (6oz.)
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
2 heaping tablespoons parmesan, plus extra for garnish
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb. fresh chives (didn't have any)
1 Large egg

2 Tb. EVOO
1 leek, sliced
1 Qt. broth, plus extra water as needed
3/4 c. ditalini
1 1/2 c. carrot rounds
1 c. packed baby spinach
basil and green onions for garnish (don't leave this out...it truly makes this dish.

Mix first six ingredients, form into small meatballs. In pan, heat olive oil, cook meatballs until browned, thought still raw on the inside, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate, set aside. Add leek to pot, cook for 3 minutes, add broth, bring to boil. Add pasta and carrots, cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked. Add meatballs and cook until they are done, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Top with green onions, basil and parmesan.

Turkey Bean Burgers

Turkey Burger Goodness! I carmelized some onions in bacon fat and white wine. Than mixed it in in ground turkey and half a can of mixed beans. I also added a little BBQ, cajun seasoning, and dried parsley. It makes for a flavorful, moist patty. And then...you can top it with whatever you want. I slather my buns with mayo and hummus and drizzle ketchup over the whole awesomeness.

Pork Chops, Creamed Leeks and Rice Pasta

I love cooking with booze. Not only do I get to eat it, I get to drink it too! This particular recipe called for Calvados, something I have been meaning to try for quite some time and I found the perfect recipe for it. The drink I made to go along with this dish was Calvados + Maple Syrup + Lemon Juice. It was good...but a little too strong for me. Oddly enough I had gone to Cupcake Royale that morning for my Red Velvet Cupcake fix (no, that's not unusual) and instead of getting my Capuchino I purchased a freshly squeezed Lemonade instead. So I added it to the Calvados beverage and yum, yum, yum! It was perfect. So perfect. Not to be a complete snob but I think it helped that the Lemonade was of good quality. I will be cooking with Calvados in the future. It kinda reminded me of super fortified white wine. The apple notes and all. But it's really an AOC apple brandy. Way better than what I thought it was - an apple liquor. I was even looking in that section for it. Since it has these tantalizing hints of sweetness I think it will go great in a dessert as well.

As for the rice pasta in this dish, Case and I fans! Rice pasta, while it may sound a little weird, has a buttery taste. No kidding! It's got great texture and flavor (unlike whole grain pasta which I find are entirely too gritty and mushy all at the same time) and it's gluten free. While Case and I are not gluten intolerant I think we appreciate cutting out the gluten every once in awhile. Also, if you can find rice-quinoa pasta that is also amazing!

If you have the time, the recipe calls for a brining which I totally skipped. Follow the link.


Pork with Apples and Creamed Leek Rice Pasta
Adapted from Bon Appetite 
Serves 2


2 Pork Chops
1 Apple
Rice Pasta
2 good sized Leeks
1/4 c. Calvados
1/4 c. broth
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream
butter/olive oil/bacon fat

Start the water boiling. While you are waiting, clean, halve and chop your leeks. Soften your leeks in bacon fat. (I like them to get pretty soft.) When they are as soft as you like, add the cream (up to a 1/4 c. you don't have to use it all) and some of the broth. Is the water boiling?? Great, add the pasta, cook, drain and add it to the leeks.

Cook the apples in butter for 3 minutes, add the sugar, cook, add the calvados and the rest of the broth. Set aside. In the same pan add your pork chops, cook, and at the end add the apples to reheat them. Serve the pork chops in top of a bed of the pasta.

Spanish Cassoulet

Yes! A recipe with that perfect blend of flavors. French of origin with a spanish twist and sauteed in bacon fat. What more could I want?? This was very very loosely adapted from Bon Appetite's Chorizo and Gigante Bean Cassoulet, but I used a lot of stuff I had lying around my fridge.

Spanish Cassoulet

1 leek
1 small yellow onion
2 spicy sausages (Andouille would have been awesome but we had a spicy chicken sausage on hand)
2 can Lima Beans
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tb. Tomato Paste
1 1/2 tsp. Paprika
1 can diced tomatoes
7 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Bacon fat

Crumb Topping

Panko Bread crumbs
dried herbs
lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Soften leeks and onion in olive oil and bacon fat. Add sausage, cook (My sausage was pre-cooked). Add anchovies and garlic, cook. Add tomato, tomato paste, paprika, diced tomatoes, beans, thyme and bay leaves. Transfer to oven proof dish. Mix ingredients for crumb topping. For the dried herbs I used parsley, thyme and powdered sage. Cover dish with bread crumbs. Bake until crumbs are a golden brown.

Multi-Colored Carrot Cake

Multi-Colored Carrots

Ghee/Clarified Butter

I was hoping using different colored carrots would give me a cool swirl affect, but not so much. Not even a little. Next time I might use only purple carrots. This cake is perfect. It is very dense and very moist and apparently using ghee means it will stay that way since the water has been removed from the butter. Next time I might use half ghee half olive oil. I appreciate the purist that Elizabeth is from Guilty Kitchen. No nuts, no fruit pieces, no coconut. Just carrot cake and a frosting that I didn't make. Click on the link for the recipe.