corn-and-crab cakes

There is a natural affinity between the sweetness of corn and crab combined in these crab cakes. To cut some of the richness I served them over an arugula, parsley, lemon salad. Housemade remoulade sauce on the side for the crab cakes.

chicken cordon bleu with kale gratin

This was a lighter, baked version of chicken cordon bleu - still with all the flavorfull goodness of a ham and cheese filling. I also made a gratin of kale (pancetta mixed in with the kale and cream too).

my first time cooking pork belly (and kale chips)

We had enjoyed pork belly at various restaurants, and had been reading about it, so finally decided to try cooking it at home. I found it easiest to locate good cuts at a local Asian market. It took about 6 hours between seasoning, braising, roasting and final glazing - and worth every minute of it for these sweet and spicy glazed nuggets of taste. To cut some of the richness I served it with a lemony kale and chard salad. Just for fun I took some of the kale leaves (stripped off the middle rib), lightly coated with olive oil and roasted at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes to make these wonderful kale chips.

gingerbread luminarias

These are small-scale (about 4" high) individualized luminarias that we made out of gingerbread (and royal icing and sparkly sugar!) to set as placecards at a holiday dinner party. There were holes in the side and back so they actually glowed on the table with a battery votive candle inside. Guests then took their (tasty) placecard home as their gift for the evening.

lamb lettuce wraps; blackberry dessert

I had some ground lamb that I sauteed with Middle Eastern spices for a lettuce wrap filling, with a hummus/tahini sauce and pine nuts atop. Dessert was simply a parfait of Greek yogurt, blackberries and honey (I added some cinnamon sugar crisps as a garnish).

green chile cheeseburger and mexican corn

This is a delicious (open-face) green chile cheeseburger. Yes, I'll admit to putting sprouts on the top. Since I was using the grill we also did grilled corn which was then coated with Mexican cheeses and spices.

figs to start, then shrimp & pasta

When fresh figs are in the market I like to stuff them with blue cheese, wrap them in prosciutto and then roast them for a savory appetizer. Dinner is pasta with shrimp and leeks and a side salad.

grilled shrimp, corn

I grilled some large shrimp (with onions) to serve with some house-made cream of (fresh) corn. The corn is topped with an Indian-spiced butter.

chicken with tomato pan sauce; dulce de leche dessert

I pan roasted a boneless chicken breast half, then made a pan sauce with fresh herbs and roasted cherry tomatoes to top it. Dessert is molten dulce de leche cakes!

beer braised brats

You can't even see the brat in this sandwich, it is covered up by corn, avocado slices, and the red onion that was also braised in the beer. There is also a slice of Muenster cheese on this roll. I paired it with a fresh sliced tomato sala.

lamb 'sloppy joe' & blueberry cobbler

I've used many ground lamb recipes this year - this is an open face lamb 'sloppy joe' that included goat cheese and fresh spinach on the bun. I had some last garden tomatoes to make a caprese salad on the side. A lovely and tasty blueberry cobbler was our dessert.

fancy french toast

I love to start the weekends with a delicious breakfast. Here you see banana streusel French toast, and thick cut bacon. I find it easiest (and cleanest) to simply bake the bacon in a sheet pan, 400 degree oven, until it is the crispiness we desire. Then you can drain it on paper towels and pour off the bacon drippings to refrigerate for other uses (sometimes we fry our eggs in bacon drippings - decadent!).

steak salad & an eggplant rice bake

I have a great love for cheeses of almost any kind. Here I made a steak salad with some leftover grilled steak by adding in some green beans, tomato, blue cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. The other dish is a layered casserole of eggplant, marinara sauce, rice cooked with saffron, and plenty of fresh mozzarella.

bacon-chard pasta, apple tarts

It seems that a bit of bacon enhances everything! These fusilli pasta are tossed with sliced Swiss chard, cooked bacon, and cheese. It also seems that anything on puff pastry is mighty tasty. The dessert is apple-goat cheese-honey tartlets.

tuna burger

Here you see a delicious spicy tuna burger - I love to chop up a piece of fresh tuna to make these. Even more spice is added from the Sriracha mayonnaise topping! The side dish was a baked zucchini stuffed with ricotta and topped with fresh bread crumbs.