fall luncheon

I had some friends over in late October for lunch. The blackboard proclaimed the menu - then you see the risotto and salad on a Halloween plate.

thai style stir fried noodles

I love the testing and techniques from Cook's Illustrated magazine, which result in fabulous food such as this Thai Style Stir Fried Noodles with Chicken and Broccolini. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/login.asp?docid=37163 I paired it with a cooling, refreshing avocado and tomato salad.

orange-rosemary roasted shrimp

I combined orange slices, shrimp, fresh rosemary and a bit of oil to roast in a hot oven for this dish.

fajitas and margaritas

I just cooked up some chicken strips, chile strips and onions to serve as fajitas. The great topping is some bacon-tomato guacamole. Rick Bayless introduced us to this concept - just add some cooked bacon and chopped fresh tomato to your favorite guacamole (this also has some cilantro, garlic, and chipotles in adobo). I also pickled some radishes as part of the dish. We also enjoyed our favorite hand-squeezed margaritas. We've stopped buying margarita mix now that we have our 3 needed ingredients: fresh squeezed lime juice, agave syrup, and silver tequila.

international night: lamb, eggplant, potatoes, chiles

I used a lasagna concept for the main dish - incorporating eggplant and lamb in it, then chose to have Papas y Rajas (Potatoes and Chiles) for a side dish.

avocado soup; shrimp pasta

This combination is best suited to a warm spring or summer night (which we dream about in the cold of winter). I started with a cold avocado soup topped with a dollop of fresh salsa. Then the main course was farfalle pasta with green beans, shrimp, and feta cheese.

fall dinner party

We had 6 friends join us for dinner - the menu is on the blackboard and here are a couple of shots from the event. The placecard apples were harvested off our tree.