Panko Asparagus

Just trying to think of a way to shake up a side dish (we had this with crab cakes).

Homemade Beef Stock

This is not something I make regularly because beef stock isn’t really like chicken stock – you don’t just have cow carcasses laying around after a simple dinner. But I did end up with two bags of meaty beef bones when we bought our share of a cow, and this seemed like the obvious way to use them. I loved how gelatinous and rich the broth turned out. I’ll be using some of it for French Onion soup later this week. And I actually saved the beef that fell off the bones: it came out almost like braised short rib. John will make tacos with some of it tonight.

Kitchen Resolution: Homemade Beef Jerky

Our food dehydrator has officially been  broken in. Got this recipe from the “Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It” cookbook. My sister and I had planned to have a “jerky-off” (classy) when we came up to visit…but I totally left mine in the fridge.

Drunken Blondies

With the caveat that I don’t bake much, this may be the best dessert I’ve ever made. John and I did a little restaurant/bar crawl for belated Valentine’s Day this year, and we finished the night with these for dessert. So good! I got the recipe from Amateur Gourmet, but I subbed walnuts for pecans (just because it’s what I had), omitted the coconut (not a fan in baked goods) and doubled the chocolate chips. The texture is particularly good.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

This is one of those dinners I really can’t believe I haven’t made before, just because it’s so intuitive. And because I love buffalo wings.

Ina’s Crispy Mustard-Roasted Chicken

Oh, Ina. I love mocking you on Facebook, but your recipes rarely let me down. This is from her new cookbook, and is by far the crispiest non-fried chicken that I’ve made.

I didn’t find the mustard flavor all that prominent. Next time, I may marinate the chicken in the mustard for awhile. In the meantime, I served this with a little homemade honey mustard, which did the job nicely.

Beef Negamaki and Chicken Yakitori

Mm, izakaya night. I wanted to make negamaki but was worried I didn’t have enough steak, so I decided to throw together some yakitori with the same marinade.

 

Asian Frittata

Simple weekend breakfast. Something a little different.

Recipe Variation: Seared Scallops with Bacon Appetizer

This was our appetizer for Scotch Night. I basically took this recipe (which I’d already adapted once for rockfish instead of scallops), halved the amount of scallops, and served one scallop per person. Basically you cook a few pieces of bacon, crumble, and set aside. Sear scallops (in two batches), after dusting them with sifted flour, briefly on each side. Serve on a bed of spinach, shallots and garlic, with a lemon on the side for squeezing on top. The picture was taken when mine were half eaten, but hey.

Lamb Guinness Stew

This was so, so good. It was the centerpiece of our Scotch-themed dinner party. I like making stews the night before, and then removing the fat that comes to the surface when you refrigerate it, to make a less greasy stew. This isn’t a necessary step, if you want to make this for same-day eating, but just a tip. A Cooking Light recipe.