warm shrimp salad

Sauteed shrimp is combined with some wilted escarole, radishes, and a warm vinaigrette for a lovely salad supper.

chicken pot pie

Use whatever combination of meat and vegetables and sauce that you like, then top with puff pastry and bake - I made this chicken pot pie in an individual bowl for one.  With it I had my favorite kind of vegetable - just about anything oven roasted.  This time it was cauliflower and onions with some Parmesan thrown in at the end.

wonderful Asian meat dishes

Here we have a spicy Sichuan lamb stir fry over rice and some steamed bacon buns.  These are both from the Feb. 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine and marvelous taste combinations.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spicy-sichuan-style-lamb-with-cumin
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/steamed-bacon-buns-with-hoisin

green chili cheeseburger

This is one of the ultimate treats in New Mexico - a green chile cheeseburger and, yes, I like mayonnaise on my burgers.

red, white and green dinner

I sauteed red chard with garlic as the side dish to penne pasta with chicken and zucchini (my garden is producing quite a bit of chard and summer squash right now).

fish and an ice cream dessert

I was experimenting with different recipes this night so I ended up with a strange combination of crispy fish with Asian sauce (over rice), and broccoli with a low-fat cheese sauce.  The real winner was the pecan blondie caramel sundaes inspired by this recipe:
 http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/butter-pecan-blondie-sundaes-with-creamy-caramel-sauce

I just made it easier on myself by buying the candied pecans and a salted caramel sauce from Trader Joe's.

roast chicken and potatoes

I would vote for this as one of my all time comfort meals - a nice roasted chicken (I always like the dark meat part) and some au gratin potatoes.  These are fingerling potatoes cooked with cream, herbs, garlic and Parmesan.

beef stroganoff

There is something wonderful about the combination of flavors in the beef and sour cream sauce to go with the noodles in this dish.  I know most people also load it up with mushrooms but fungi and I just don't get along.

gnocchi and greens

I used store-bought gnocchi in this dish.  I cooked some broccoli in browned butter and added the cooked gnocchi.  The side dish is lemony sauteed kale.  Everything is topped with shaved Pecorino Romano cheese.

shrimp caesar salad

This one has a south-of-the-border riff, with a spicy dressing and tortilla chips as the croutons.

chicken tostadas and refried beans

When I cook a big pot of pinto beans, I make refried beans with the leftovers.  I melt a bit of bacon fat, saute in some onion, garlic, and  a pinch of red chile.  Then I add in the whole beans and cooking liquid to simmer and reduce, while I mash up the beans with a potato masher.  When it is the right consistency I add in shredded cheese and some crema or sour cream.  For dinner one night I served the beans as a side dish to some chicken tostadas - topped with yummy items like avocado.  Breakfast the next morning is a fried corn tortilla, topped with refried beans and an egg.

Date Cake

No, really, a cake that includes diced dates.  The amazing caramel sauce topper on this is provided by one of my new favorites, the salted caramel sauce available at Trader Joe's.

eggs and asparagus for dinner

This is one of our favorite meals, reminds us of a home-cooked dinner we had in Italy while on our honeymoon.  This is so simple and yet just the right combination of flavors.  On this plate I had some leftover lamb sausage patties that I included.  We just cook asparagus (boil it, steam it, roast it, whatever), and top it with a fried egg and some shaved asparagus.  Sometimes I also add strips of sauteed prosciutto.

BBQ Shrimp tacos

The base is shrimp in BBQ sauce, the toppings include some flash pickled red onions, pumpkin seeds, jalapeno and cilantro.

pasta for comfort

Nothing better than a big bowl of penne bolognese.  Make your favorite meat sauce and serve it up on your favorite pasta!