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Pork Paprikash

Soy Glazed Beef and Green Beans

Chicken with Poblano Cream Sauce

Sauteed Chicken in Mustard Cream Sauce

Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry with Peanuts

Broken Noodles with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta

Sage Pork Chops

Hey. What's kickin', Basil?

Tonight I made my own pesto for the first time ever. I found a recipe but was too lazy to print it out so I just made it up as I went a long, which is probably for the best. I used about two cups of fresh basil from the garden, six cloves of garlic, a handful (and then some) of pine nuts, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The Lad has a bit of reflux and I am not eating dairy so this was pesto sans Parmesan. Andy described it as "spicy" when he first tried it. It definitely had some kick and I am pleased with the results. I froze half and used the other half to make white bean pesto pasta with fast roasted zucchini and tomatoes. It was very good and I would definitely make this again. I would also consider adding different vegetables such as asparagus and red peppers. One could also replace the pasta with roasted potatoes and add green beans, a variation on this, a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.

Are You Looking for a Challenge? Spicy Peanut Noodles

Spicy peanut noodles, really anything with a spicy peanut sauce, has long been one of my favorite foods and I am really quite surprised that I have not attempted to log every spicy peanut recipe on the internet in a blog post. In fact, this is the only mention. And I have to admit, I never got around to that menu.

In any case, this past Sunday I cooked spicy peanut noodles from this recipe on Epicurious. It was good, not great. Perhaps a 7.5 or 8 on a scale of 10. In any case, I am feeling inspired. Inspired to find the best spicy peanut noodle recipe on the internet. I welcome suggestions. In the meantime, I am going to start compiling and I may have to go ahead and make last year's menu.

Fireworks and Barbeques!

Really, those are the two things I associate with July 4th. Say what you will about freedom and independence, I generally think about these things every other day in various political and intellectual contexts and actually welcome a break from it.

My contribution to my aunt's barbecue is my famous Orzo Salad with Feta, Spinach, and Mushrooms. I may have used more spinach than I needed, but I think it turned out well.

Whenever I cook something from my Food & Wine magazine, I feel a twinge of gourmet guilt. My original goal was to cook at least one thing from every issue. I think I need to resume that goal. Beginning this month, I am going to try to do this, likely for our weekly "treat" dinners, those meals where nutrition takes a back seat to taste and decadence.

I will begin with Cold Peanut Noodles with Tofu and Red Peppers. In addition to the F&W goal, it also brings me closer to finding the best cold peanut noodle recipe in my collection. I think I will also be attempting the brandied peaches (with vanilla ice-cream) because they look simply amazing and amazingly simple. Perhaps we'll enjoy them on the same night.