salmon salad

I had some leftover roast salmon and wanted a cool supper so I just made salmon salad (think tuna or chicken salad and just substitute cooked salmon) and added some thick potato chips for fun crunch on the side.

chicken dinner and ice cream dessert

But not just any chicken and not just any ice cream!  Here I have stir fried chicken with pistachios and honey served over rice.  For dessert I did hot caramel banana sundaes, and topped them with a chocolate truffle.

san diego treats

Here are a couple of images from a recent San Diego visit.  An insanely delicious triple pork sandwich from the amazing Carnitas Snack Shack and a Chicken Fajita Eggs Benedict enjoyed during a late breakfast at The Cottage in La Jolla.

tropical party (pork) appetizers

We were headed to a friend's house for dinner and I had volunteered to take some tropical appetizers to celebrate their return from Hawaii.  Around the rim of the platter you will see pan sauteed shrimp - first they were marinated in a mixture of orange marmalade, soy sauce, ginger and garlic; then wrapped in prosciutto before being cooked.  Inside I paid homage to the wonderful Maui gold pineapple they brought us.  I sprinkled the chunks with curry powder, wrapped them in bacon, and roasted them.

clean-out-the-refrigerator pasta

When we are stymied about what we want to eat, we usually turn to pasta.  My 'sauce' really happened out of the refrigerator - it has pancetta, shallots, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, kale, Parmesan, and pine nuts.

fancy shrimp and salad

I made some shrimp kebabs, topped with coconut, to go with this great kale/bacon/potato salad.  We are enjoying a bumper crop of various types of kale this spring.

chicken & quinoa, with caramel-filled cookies for dessert

I used a red quinoa to make this main dish salad full of chicken and fruit and nuts.  The cookies are coconut thumbprints filled with a fleur de sel caramel, and a tiny sprinkle of more salt on top.

green chile stew leftovers made wonderful again

I had some of the lamb green chile stew leftover and gave my husband the dinner duty.  He made some homemade fry bread, topped it with the stew, then topped all that with a fried egg.  I don't know what name to give this concoction but it sure made for a wonderful dinner.

grilled pork tenderloin and turmeric rice

I love the colors in this dinner.  First I brined the pork tenderloin, the brine was vanilla-flavored.  I made a quick mango-pineapple chutney to serve over the grilled tenderloin.  The side dish is turmeric rice with raisins - a kind of pilaf.

lamb green chile stew with cupcake dessert

I made a huge batch of green chile stew with ground lamb, potatoes, corn, and tomatoes.  For dessert we enjoyed banana cupcakes with a maple frosting.

steak and potatoes

Mmmm.  This is a spiced (and sauced) grilled steak, served over gorgonzola/pancetta mashed potatoes.

scampi and salad

I made some lemon-garlic scampi to serve over herbed orzo, the salad is just baby greens (some are growing in the garden now!) with a balsamic vinaigrette.

chicken saltimbocca

Plain chicken is transformed when prepared with prosciutto and sage, a little lemon spritz on the top and you have a wonderful combination of tastes.