Bean Cassoulet with Fennel-Spiced Chicken & Roasted Veggies

I’ve been wanting to try cassoulet since that chick lisa garza impressed all the next food network star judges with her dish. Her recipe is a bit fussy – not surprisingly – so i went with ol’ faithful and strangely sexy Michael Chiarello’s instead. Hearty & comforting with a really interesting and unique flavor. The best part is definitely the veggies. Next time I’ll make with fresh beans instead of canned, but in a pinch, canned worked a-ok.

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.

Spicy Pumpkin Enchiladas with Walnuts

Part 1 of our Pumpkin Party Sunday night Recipe Swap. This is a super easy way to enjoy enchiladas. They definitely pack a punch – ease up the chili powder if you want it milder. The walnuts make this really special – kind of a wink & a nudge to the flavors in a Nogada sauce – a traditional mexican creamy walnut sauce (get it at Tu y Yo in the ‘Ville – YUM)

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict

Crab cake, meet hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise, you already know egg. Let’s party.

The lemony goodness of the hollandaise is perfect with the crab. A delicious and hearty brunch. I made the crab cake mixture the night before so it was nice and easy to make the next morning.

Rigatoni with Turkey Sausage, Pistachios, and Zucchini

This is definitely a favorite…if only because I get to use my fancy mandoline to do the heavy slicing.

Premiere! Spinach & Artichoke Tortellini Bake

In honor of the premiere of america’s next top model (ahem, and of this blog!), I decided to make dinner for a couple of girlfriends. Since Fall is upon us, comfort food was in order. It was easy, super yummy (hello melted cheese, we are engaged), and fed the 3 of us with seconds and lunch for the next day. And it’s vegetarian. Although that means there’s no bacon at all, it was still good. Yay us!