Cassoulet

Ok, this was pretty exciting. Yes, I spent three days on it. Yes, boneless lamb and duck are super expensive. And yet, worth it. A showpiece recipe from Cooking Light.

The next time I make it, I’d go with a milder sausage, like chicken and garlic. I bet you could also swap in chicken for SOME of the duck meat, but not all, as it really adds to the flavor. I didn’t rinse the duck, which made mine saltier, but I like salt.

Everything Lo Mein

This recipe makes a ton, and is tasty. Adapted from Rachael Ray.

Chickpea Fajitas

This is one of those recipes I saw and wanted to make that night for dinner. I decided to to save it for entertaining friends this weekend, but they ended up canceling. John and I had them for dinner anyway and they were really satisfying. The chickpeas don’t taste like meat but they make it taste like you’re not just eating condiment fajitas, if that makes sense.

Valentine’s Day Steak Frites

John outdid himself this year for Valentine’s Day. Steak frites for dinner: ribeye with roquefort butter, skinny truffle fries. Plus spinach salad and a Scotch and cheese pairing for dessert. It was AMAZING. He even served the fries with a bleu cheese dipping sauce inspired by the cabrales potatoes he made a couple years ago for Vday. This recipe was the steak inspiration.

Black Bean and Bacon Taquitos

This Rick Bayless recipe is totally delicious. Make next Tuesday Taquito Tuesday!

Parsnip, Eggplant and Cashew Biryani

Meatless meal from one of my vegetarian cookbooks. Extremely time consuming but tasty.

Chicken Ricotta Meatballs

Aaand…that’s the rest of the ricotta.

These meatballs, from Oyster Evangelist Joy Manning, were terrific. It also marked my first time using the meat grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid, which honestly, is kind of a pain and isn’t something I see myself digging out on a regular basis (luckily, next time, I’ll just use the food processor for these).

Served with angel hair and homemade tomato sauce.

Recipe Variation: Lentil and Sausage Slow Cooker Stew

So apparently I made this recipe two years ago but didn’t remember it. Anyway, some notes.

*I used chicken sausage rather than duck sausage this time, and prefer it.

*My main issue with this recipe is the broccoli rabe, which gets overcooked in the crockpot, and tastes a little funky as a result. Next time, I’d substitute spinach or something for the rabe.

Bison, Tofu and String Bean Stir Fry

Big thumbs up for this recipe from the latest Food & Wine. A little ground meat goes a long way here, adding richness, while tofu helps keep things nice and protein-packed. Spicy but not too spicy.

Soba Noodle Salad

This salad has been making the rounds lately and I decided it was our turn. I made some changes – I took Joy’s advice re: fish sauce and chicken thighs, and I threw some Chinese radish, broccoli and egg into the mix. So tasty!