Catch up!

Ronnie looking crazy!


Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Glaze, asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes.


The rack right out of the oven!


Tuna steaks with Wasabi Cream and Soy Ginger Carrots


Roasted pork loin stuffed with fennel, pears and herbs with Brussels Sprouts with bacon.


Roasted baby pepper stuffed with herbed goat cheese.

So obviously Ronnie and I have been really busy lately! We've got recipes to come but for now, just enjoy these lush photos from the last 2 months of the food we've been cooking.

Classic Lasagna

That's a heavy pan!




Ronnie gets a taste.


That was pretty good, I will try to stay awake.

Making a huge lasagna on a Sunday is a great way to get ready for the week and save money on lunch. Especially for me, midtown lunches are not cheap! My lasagna is just a mess of veggies and cheeses.

Lasagna

Half a box of Lasagna Noodles, boiled
1 container ricotta
1 package mozzarella
1 jar of tomato sauce
Basil leaves
Stuff to put in it: I use mushrooms sauteed with cumin, zucchini, spinach, eggplant, fennel, and onions

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Layer it all up! Bake for 45min - 60 min or until the cheeses are melted and browned on top and the sauce is bubbling. Let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and Serve!

Sticky Fingers Indeed

Before

After

Every time I come down here, I insist on going to the relatively local BBQ joint, Sticky Fingers. It's great, they smoke the meat and the sauces are pretty amazing. This time we got take out and it went fast!

Dad's Classic Pancake Breakfast

My Dad makes pancakes every Sunday. EVERY Sunday. Today though he moved it because tomorrow is Easter Sunday and we are having a huge midday meal. I love my Dad's pancakes.

Comforting Continued - Bourbon Pecan Pie

It's still cold out. Ronnie and I are still kind of nursing ourselves back to some kind of health, emotional and physical, what ever. What better way to do that than to whip up a pie that has three or four of my favorite things:
1. Pecans!
2. Bourbon
3. Dark Chocolate
4. Butter
With the added bonus, it's PIE!

So we spent this Saturday after class napping and baking and feeling self indulgent.

Bourbon Pecan Pie - HungryGhoast told me that this is also called a Derby Pie. He had a hand in suggesting the chocolate addition.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

for the crust
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water

for the filling
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped Pecans
3 generous shots bourbon
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3 egss
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate (you can add more for more chocolately goodness)

Soak the nuts in the bourbon for several hours. I put mine in and then went for a 3 hour nap. Then made the crust, which needs to be refrigerated for an hour, while I watched Dollhouse. So, I'd say mine were soaking in the sauce for 4.5 hours.

Make the crust. I tell you how here.

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Combine all the ingredients, except the nuts and chocolate. Beat well. Add the nuts and chocolate. Pour into the shell. Bake for an hour. Don't over bake. It will continue to cook and set when you take it out of the oven. Mine was undulating, popping and hissing like a cat in tub of water.

Also, this pie is delicious and very addicting. In fact, it was my breakfast.

Another added bonus, here is Ronnie yesterday, enjoying her favorite treat of lettuce. I know, she's a weird cat. She takes after her mother.

Comfort Food

It's cold out and changes of all sort have been a foot. The best thing to turn to is an old friend. One that you know will always be steadfast no matter what the window dressing is. And this week, that friend is the apple pie or my take on it.

Tart Apple Pear Pie with Gruyére

for the crust
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup butter cut into 1/2" cubes and chilled
1 teapoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons of ice water

for the filling
6 Granny Smith Apples
2 large Comice pears or Barlett pears
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Gruyere Cheese for grating on top

In a food processor or the old fashioned way with a pastry cutter, mix the flour, salt, and sugar together. Add the chilled butter. I like to put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and I also freeze my flour. Storing flour in the freezer saves space in my tiny kitchen! Plus the food processor 6 - 8 times until the butter is broken up into the flour but not thoroughly blended. Add the ice water a tablespoon at a time and pulse, repeating until the dough forms small beads and sticks together with a pinch. It should not be wet all all. Roll into two balls and wrap in plastice warp and chill for at least an hour. It will keep up to a week.

Thinly slice the apples and pears. Squeeze the lemon over them and toss. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar and spices, add the apples and thoroughly toss.

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Roll out the dough and line a pie dish.

Add the filling and cover with the other piece of dough. Brush with water and sprinkle with a little sugar. Cut in slits at the top for venting.

Bake for 45 minutes on the low rack. Then add lots of cheese grated on the top and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the cheease just starts to brown.

Let cool and serve how you like, with ice cream, more cheese or whipped cream.