Guinness French Onion Soup

This is my go-to french onion soup recipe. I’ve made it countless times but have never been able to get a decent picture. Melted cheese in a bowl, while in theory is AWESOME, isn’t the most appetizing thing to look at on a website. This french onion soup has a nice sharpness due to the sherry vinegar and guinness, which I just love. The original recipe calls for irish cheddar, but I add in a little gruyere for it’s melty-ness.

Blackberry-Orange Margaritas

SUMMER.

Penne alla Vodka with Shrimp

So here’s the thing about diets:

I suck at them.

I mean, no carbs, sugar, or alcohol for two whole weeks???

You know what I say to that?

Pasta with vodka cream sauce. That’s what I say.

Bam.

What? At least I used whole wheat pasta.

Croque Madames (quickened, definitely not lightened)

In a continuing effort to improve my photos, I took a little field trip to one of my favorite shops, Paper Source, to purchase some props. Behold one of the pieces of beautiful wrapping paper I purchased to use as a background. Despite my somewhat inexplicable lack of motivation in pretty much every area of my life right now, I have, somewhat miraculously, managed to construct a DIY light box, very much using Ashley’s model and other resources on the interwebs — something that’s been on my to-do list for many months.  I’m starting to see some improvements around these parts, which is a nice motivator. Who knew?

Oh, and the food. This sandwich is the freaking bomb. Make it, immediately.

Pork Loin with Port Wine Sauce

I want to put this sauce on everything. Seriously. Come to think of it, the sauce would work equally well with a nice roasted chicken too! I made the sauce a day ahead and was a cinch to reheat before a dinner party.

Lime-Glazed Coconut Banana Bread

Although baking scares the bejesus out of me, I think I have mastered the fruit bread. This is my absolute favorite banana bread recipe, and if you cut it into 16 slices (but, really, who would do that?), it’s even inspired by a Cooking Light recipe. I, of course, slice it into about 8-10 fatty slices, slather it with a little smart balance, and dig in.

Steak Au Poivre

Recipe #2 from Rocco’s book, Now Eat This! So good! No wonder the book is already #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this since I’m a bit of a steak purist, but this was delicious. I would definitely make this again, especially since it’s so quick and easy.

Cioppino

Recently I bought an amazing amount of cod at Costco. Have I mentioned my love for Costco? Well, I also love seafood. While I haven’t quite kept my New Year’s resolution to cook fish at least once a week, I’m getting better. Now look at this picture. Tell me you don’t want to eat that. Delicious, easy, healthy — can’t ask for much more than that.

Anyway, I used some of the cod I bought right away, but there was no way I could make the 3 pounds I bought without freezing some. This is uses some of that frozen cod (defrost before you add it to the stew!), fresh scallops, and cultivated mussels. You can add whatever seafood you like — shrimp, calamari, etc. This recipe comes from a cooking class my mom and I went to at Stonewall Kitchen in York, ME. It was a great class and would definitely go back again.

Chicken with BLT Gravy

This literally takes no time and is a great go to. And it has bacon.

Calamari Stuffed with Itself, Shrimp, Spinach and Herbs

Since I was making this as 1 of about 245 dishes to be served for a Christmas Eve supper (feast of 7 fishes, to be exact) for 18 people, I doubled the recipe. They were so yummy and very messy-fun to make! Midway through, I decided to scrap the original sauce recipe and improvise toward a more traditional gravy for my family. Try this dish – it tastes even better the next day so is a perfect do-ahead.

Shepherd’s Pie with Scallion Cheddar Crust

Ok, I may have outdone myself with this one. Totally comfort food, totally delicious. I’ve been looking for a good shepherd’s pie recipe for a while, and have tried a couple of RR’s recipes over the years…well, THIS is the only recipe you want for shepherd’s pie, legit.

Pumpkin Pasta with “Sausage” and Sage

Let’s talk about sausage and best friends. I love both of these things, however when best friends decide to be vegetarian, this lovely relationship becomes problematic. Until I discovered this! Now, I have tried vegetarian fake meat products before and have literally gagged while trying to prepare them. Gimme lean tastes and cooks like real sausage, and is virtually fat-free and loaded with protein. I can’t wait to try it in other recipes that call for sausage. A sausage and vegetarian lover’s new best friend.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and Cognac Gravy

Chicken with how many cloves of garlic, you say? Yes, 40. Well, I halved the recipe, so used a few less, but nonetheless – that’s a lot of garlic. No worries – it gets so super sweet in the cooking process that you’ll delight in chewing on the entire cloves while eating. No garlic breath either, I promise.

Herbaceous Kale and Sausage Soup

I write a blog so I can say things like ‘herbaceous’. Also so I can share recipes like this one — a new fall favorite that is really yummy, comforting, and healthy.