Pork Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

John and I are back from Key West, sick of fried food and a little rounder around the waist. As a result, I expect you’ll be seeing a lot of salad recipes in the near future…

This was good because I managed to put it together with relatively few fresh ingredients on hand. Plus it’s the first lettuce from my garden!

Vietnamese Veggie Stir Fry

This is kind of a deconstructed nuoc cham, with some red peppers thrown in.

Recipe Variation: Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

Do lettuce wraps have to contain meat? Not necessarily. I made a variation on my standard recipe with some new ingredients and some Quorn veggie crumbles. Pretty good! And very low cal. Pictured with Vietnamese veggie stir fry (recipe to follow).

John Monday Dinners: Pesto Chicken, Caramelized Veggies and Asparagus

John’s been cooking on Mondays a lot lately, as that’s the night I usually go swimming if I don’t have to work. His meals aren’t always recipes per se, but he comes up with some great old favorites and fun combinations regardless.

Tonight’s dinner was a particularly yummy one, particularly as he was going for a low carb meal. I want to blog it so I can remember it for a future meal.

Chicken thighs marinated in pesto sauce and grilled + onions, peppers and mushrooms, caramelized in a skillet, with a leftover grilled bratwurst sliced up and thrown in + grilled asparagus = deliciousness.

Go John!

Curried Potato Salad

John and I had a little indoor picnic tonight. Grilled chicken bratwursts (Stachowski represent!) and peppers from the market , grilled asparagus and a new Cooking Light recipe, Curried Potato Salad. It was pretty good, but a little harsh tasting (I think the Greek yogurt should be cut with something). A splash of champagne vinegar balanced things out a bit.

Spinach Salad with Salmon and Cilantro Dressing

Yum! This was inspired by a dish I really like at Village Bistro, a restaurant near my office.

John’s Lemon and Saffron Aoli

We topped the fish burgers with this.

John’s Fish Burgers

John’s fish burgers, made from leftover white fish, were the silver lining of the crappy sauteed recipe we tried out last weekend. Served with saffron lemon aoli (recipe to follow).

Salad Lyonnaise

I wasn’t too thrilled with the Bittman “Classic Sauteed” fish recipe I tried last night- fell apart, coating didn’t work, etc.. At least the salad I made on the side was decent? That said, I’m still not great at poaching eggs. Anyone have a foolproof technique?

Biscuits w/ Sausage Gravy

Ways to use up buttermilk, take #1. These were easy and delicious, and it was a chance to use some of the sausage we got with the pork.

The gravy measurements are pretty improvisational.