chocolate breakfast pastries

These two-bite treats are our homemade version of pain au chocolate.  I like to make them the night before; cover and refrigerate so they are ready to bake up for breakfast.  I just put chunks of dark chocolate (about 1/2 oz. each) on little rectangles of thawed puff pastry, brush edges with egg wash and fold dough over to completely encase the chocolate.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover and chill.  For breakfast:  heat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush tops of pastries with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and brown.  Let them cool down a bit so you don't burn yourself on the yummy melted chocolate filling. 

pumpkin ravioli

I used wonton wrappers for the pasta, and canned pumpkin mixed up with some spices for the filling.  These are in a little brown butter sage sauce, topped with Parmesan, and toasted pumpkin seeds.

salmon, squash & pumpkin seeds

I roasted some pumpkin seeds (pepitas) to use in the salsa verde on the grilled salmon, and also to garnish the salmon and some roasted acorn squash wedges.  We had some leftover mashed potatoes that I reheated to add to this comforting winter dinner.

cranberry-mint cocktail

I make the base components a day in advance so they can chill.  The mint tea is made by steeping 2 c. of fresh mint leaves in 4 c. of boiling water for 10 minutes.  Strain and cool.
The cranberry syrup is made by boiling 2 c. of whole fresh cranberries with 1 c. of sugar and 1 c. of water.  Once that mixture boils, remove from heat, let cool, then strain and refrigerate the syrup.
Use a bar shaker full of ice to make each cocktail -1/3 c. of  the mint tea, 2 Tbs. of the cranberry syrup, 1 Tbs. limoncello, 2 Tbs. vodka, and 1/2 tsp. lemon juice.  Shake, then strain into your glass. 
Be careful - these are more potent that you think!

paprika-rubbed roasted chicken with garlic

I made a rub of paprika, dried oregano, and salt for this bird.  We love the kosher chickens from Trader Joe's for extra flavor.  Tossed in the pan with some half heads of garlic and all drizzled with olive oil.  Roast at 400 degrees until done (tent with foil as needed to keep the spice mixture from burning). 

vietnamese-style grilled pork and noodle salad

This is a bed of rice noodles (with a fish sauce dressing), mixed in with a bunch of herbs and veggies, then topped with grilled pork slices. 

orange-roasted duck and vegetables

I had saved this recipe from a March 2010 article in Martha Stewart Living and finally invited some friends over to enjoy it for dinner.  The roasted duck is accompanied by roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips, with a lovely orange pan sauce too. 
http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/roast-duck-101

pear-gruyere-leek turnovers

These are great appetizers, or could be a nice lunch dish with a salad.  I sauteed leeks in butter, added a chopped pear and a pinch of sugar and cooked that down for a few minutes.  Let cool, season with salt and pepper.  Add some grated Gruyere cheese and chopped chives.  This filling was placed on 5" puff pastry circles to make turnovers.  Brush with egg wash, place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and let chill at least 20 minutes.  Bake at 400 degrees until puffed and golden, about 18 minutes.  Serve warm. 

individual lasagna

We had made a huge pan of our homemade spinach lasagna bolognese for Christmas Eve (a 5-6 hour project), and I had frozen some leftover bolognese (meat) sauce and spinach lasagna sheets.  So I thawed those out and made some bechamel (white) sauce; then layered bolognese/pasta/bechamel/Parmesan several times in individual ramekins to bake as mini-lasagnas. 

banana pancakes and brown sugar bacon

We love to have a substantial breakfast to start the weekends.  I just added a mashed banana, a touch of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla extract to my usual pancake recipe for these banana pancakes.  I always bake (rather than fry) my bacon - for this one I patted some brown sugar onto the bacon pieces and then baked them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Do this on parchment lined baking sheets for ease of cleanup.  Once the bacon is cooked, let cool a bit on a rack and the sugar glaze will set up so it is like candied bacon. 

saffron-steamed mussels

I love the ease of cooking mussels - for this dish I sauteed some diced red and yellow bell peppers in olive oil, then added some chopped garlic, a pinch of saffron threads, fresh ground black pepper, clam juice and white wine.  After that broth had simmered a bit to blend the flavors, I dumped in a couple pounds of live (rinsed and cleaned up) mussels.  Cover the pot, simmer 8-10 minutes, and enjoy with garnish of chopped parsley, lemon wedges, and crusty bread to mop up the tasty juices.  Note:  dsicard any mussels that don't open after cooking. 

slow-grilled rack of lamb with caramelized onion jam

I like to buy my racks of lamb already "Frenched", that is - trimmed up and the bone ends scraped, from either Trader Joe's or Costco.  I made the onion jam while the meat cooked.  Another winner from the Nov. 2011 issue of Food and Wine magazine (that one was a treasure trove of tasty delights).
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/slow-grilled-rack-of-lamb-with-mustard-and-herbs

caramel-pecan hand pies

Another winner from the Nov. 2011 Food and Wine magazine.  This one is pretty involved - toast pecans, make filling, bake filling, chill filling, make crust dough, chill dough, cut out and fill pastries, bake, let cool.  Yes, it is worth it.  They were so rich that we found 2 people could easily split one - mouthfuls of pecan pie goodness. 
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caramel-pecan-hand-pies

pasta with caulifower and brussels sprouts

A tasty way to get more cruciferous veggies - from the Nov. 2011 issue of Food and Wine magazine.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bucatini-with-cauliflower-and-brussels-sprouts

simple salad

Sometimes, just an iceburg wedge will do!  I was trying out a blue cheese vinaigrette (which was fine) but then I remembered that what we REALLY like is a either a Russian or Thousand Island dressing, with the addition of blue cheese crumbles.  Since I had leftover Russian dressing I made us two wedge salads with the two different approaches to dressing.  We ate both but our preference was for the creamy combination of the Russian dressing with the blue cheese. 

my not-so-ordinary oatmeal

Happy New Year!  During colder months we indulge in this luxe version of oatmeal.  Per serving:  the night before, I combine 1/2 c. regular oats, 1/2 c. milk and 1 Tbs. water in the pot that I will cook them in.  Stir and refrigerate overnight.  To cook and serve (the next morning), I add another 1/2 c. of milk, pinch of salt, dash of cinnamon, 1 Tbs. brown sugar and 1 Tbs. maple syrup.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cover, and let set about 1 minute.  Delicious.