carnitas and queso

It felt like a south-of-the-border evening.  Here we have shredded pork carnitas served alongside queso fundido with rajas (strips of green chile).  All those go well with warm fresh corn tortillas and some cool, refreshing cerveza.

sheep roast with red chile and an almond mocha mousse

Wow - sheep and mousse in one meal!  A hunter friend had gifted me with a sheep roast so I slow braised it in red chile sauce and then shredded it up to serve over rice.  For dessert I made an almond mocha mousse and topped it with chocolate wafers topped with an almond praline brittle.

spaghetti and salad

I seem to be using a lot of bacon lately!  These meatballs were made with some ground elk from a friend, then sauced alla'matriciana style (tomato sauce and bacon) over spaghetti.  The salad used spicy greens, like watercress, and was tossed with a bacon and cider dressing.

pancakes and bacon

A great way to start the day - especially on weekends.  These are "lighter-than-air" silver dollar pancakes made with sour cream.  We love to splurge on thick-cut smoky bacon.

spicy sausage and chard pasta

I have just now planted some chard in the home garden - love to use it in many different ways.  The pasta sauce here includes spicy Italian sausage and chard, topped with shavings of Parmesan.

salmon and peas

Even though our weather has turned cold again we keep hoping for spring.  Here I have some blackened salmon and a creme fraiche topping.  I also did some creamed peas and onions as the side dish.

asian soup; berries over ice cream

I had some leftover roasted turkey which turned into this satisfying hot Asian turkey noodle soup with various accompaniments.  For dessert I roasted some fresh berries to serve over vanilla gelato - I threw a berry truffle on top just for fun.