Pizza

From the backlog: 5/29
Pizza with mushrooms, red peppers, Italian sausage, and shallots.

Huevos Rancheros

From the backlog: 5/28

Veggie Panini

From the backlog: 5/23
Vegetable panini on the Foreman grill, with leftover Artichoke-Olive dip (don't worry, it wasn't leftover from the original blog posting), red onion, roasted red pepper, and mushrooms.

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

Before... and after.

From the backlog: 5/20
Crunchy Baked Pork Chops from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Cook's Illustrated.

My memory is getting fuzzy on a lot of these backlog meals, but I clearly remember this being one heck of a tasty pork chop and one that I would like to recreate in the future.

Baked Doughnuts

From the backlog: 5/20
Baked Doughnuts from King Arthur Flour's website.

Coq au Vin

From the backlog: 5/19
Coq au Vin from Simply Recipes.

Pasta Puttanesca

From the backlog: 5/18

Parmesan Cream Crackers

From the backlog: 5/18
Parmesan Cream Crackers from the Minimalist.

Black Bean Quesadillas

From the backlog: 5/16

J. and I worked all afternoon into evening, and just as we were deciding to run out to the grocery store, a downpour started. So I fashioned these black bean and roasted red pepper quesadillas out of the ingredients I could scavenge from my refrigerator - black beans, roasted red peppers, red onion, cheddar cheese, whole wheat tortillas, and cilantro.

Pancakes

From the backlog: 5/16

Buttermilk pancakes from Smitten Kitchen, served with strawberries and blackberries.

Swordfish with Balsamic Butter Sauce

From the backlog: 5/15

Swordfish with Balsamic Butter Sauce, from the package of frozen swordfish from Whole Foods.

1 package [12 oz] swordfish steaks, thawed
1/2 cup [1 stick] unsalted butter
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp drained capers
Chopped fresh tomatoes

Simmer butter until melted in medium saucepan until deep golden brown. Remove from heat. Whisk in balsamic vinegar, honey and mustard.

Brush swordfish steaks with olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat heavy large skillet over medium/high heat. Add swordfish steaks. Saute just until opaque in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates.

Whisk sauce over low heat to re-warm and spoon over steaks. Sprinkle with capers and chopped tomatoes.

Huevos Rancheros, Parts I and II

From the backlog: 5/11 and 5/13

Huevos Rancheros from Smitten Kitchen. So good on Monday, I made it again on Wednesday.

Smashed Chickpea Salad

From the backlog: 5/10

Smashed Chickpea Salad from Smitten Kitchen, served as a sandwich with roasted red peppers. Chickpeas are great, although "garbanzo beans" is more fun to say.

Maple Syrup-Glazed Pork Chops

From the backlog: 5/9

Vermont Maple Syrup Pork Chops from Simply Recipes, roasted new potatoes, and green beans. The pork chop recipe is a keeper.

Homemade yogurt

From the backlog: 5/9

I was inspired by Harold McGee's column in the NY Times to try making my own yogurt. Not bad, though I doubt I'll make it a weekly tradition, as he has. Guess there's a reason he has a food column and I don't.

Breakfast was fresh yogurt with berries and a purchased almond bear claw.

Hey, that's not dinner!

But it's awfully cute.

Pizza

From the backlog: 5/8

Pizza with Italian sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers.

Chicken Thighs

From the backlog: 5/7

Grilled chicken thighs, served with brown rice and sliced avocado. I must have marinated them in something, but I can't remember.

Apple Cake

From the backlog: 5/7

I made Mrs. Paxton's Raw Apple Cake from Simply Recipes to take in to work. A bundt cake pan is one of those kitchen items that I forgot I no longer own, so I made it in cupcake and mini-loaf form instead, which ended up being a positive because it was much easier to serve. I love this recipe - not hard, and it produces a very moist cake.

Artichoke-Olive Pasta

From the backlog: 5/5

I used some of the remaining Artichoke-Olive mixture to make a pasta dish, with roasted red peppers and flaked salmon.

Man, this photo makes me want to go back in time and sprinkle some parsley over the top of that dish for color. Sigh.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw

From the backlog: 5/4

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2009. Tasty, and pretty quick.

Artichoke-Olive Crostini and Poached Salmon

From the backlog: 5/3

Appetizer: Artichoke-Olive Crostini from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Mario Batali.

Main course:

Poached Salmon from Simply Recipes, served on a bed of couscous with a side of garlicky spinach.

Eggplant Terriyaki Stirfry

From the backlog: 5/1

This was an experiment. I marinated eggplant cubes in purchased teriyaki sauce for awhile, then stir-fried them with snow peas and green onions. Served over brown rice, garnished with cilantro. I wouldn't necessarily reproduce the results, but it was a fun experiment and it fed me for the night.

Pizza, again

From the backlog: 4/26

Okay, so I liked this pizza dough recipe so much that I made it again, less than a week later. This time, topped with mushroom, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, cheese, and basil.

Eggs Over Not-Easy-Enough

From the backlog: 4/26

Eggs with yolks set a bit too firmly for my tastes, homemade no-knead bread, and smoked salmon.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

From the backlog: 4/25

I saw strawberries and rhubarb on display together at the grocery store and decided that they looked so good, I would have to buy them first and find a recipe later. [I like when my impulse purchases are ingredients rather than processed crap.] The recipe turned out to be this Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble from Smitten Kitchen.

I shared a few servings with coworkers so I wouldn't eat the whole thing (but believe me, I was tempted.)

No-Knead Bread

From the backlog: 4/25
Basic loaf from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Egg in a Hole

From the backlog: 4/24
Egg in a Hole. Simple yet amazingly tasty breakfast.

Bisquick-like Hamburger Pie

4/21 Ground Beef, Mushroom, and Broccoli one-dish pie, loosely based on the crust part of the One Dish Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo recipe from the Fleischmann's Yeast website. It seemed loosely like the "Impossible" Bisquick crust dishes I remember from childhood.

Baked Shrimp with Feta

From the backlog:
4/20 Baked Shrimp in Tomato Feta Sauce from Simply Recipes. This recipe's a keeper - tasty and very easy, too.

Pizza

From the backlog: 4/20

I found this Light-As-Air Pizza Dough recipe from the King Arthur Flour website, and it's a winner. It uses some baking powder as well as yeast, so it doesn't take too long to rise. I just whip up a partial batch of dough and then bake on one of my personal-pizza sized baking stones. I think this pizza has roasted red peppers, caramelized red onion, a few anchovies, and basil.

Okay, not the healthiest meal I've ever made (skillet flatbread, zucchini, and broccoli)

From the backlog: 4/17
Flatbread from the recent Minimalist column, sauteed zucchini, and broccoli florets.

Quinoa salad

From the backlog: 4/15

I think this was using up the leftover grilled chicken from a few nights before, with some red peppers, green onions, parsley, etc.

Barbecue Grilled Chicken

From the backlog: 4/8

Chicken thighs marinated in barbecue sauce and cooked on the Foreman grill, oven-roasted sweet potato fries, and grilled mixed vegetables.

Cinnamon Bread

From the backlog: 4/6

I think this was a cinnamon-bread variation of the basic Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day recipe, but I can't quite remember it.

Salmon with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

From the backlog: 4/4

I'll admit - I don't quite remember what this meal was. I think it was grilled salmon with a mango-pineapple salsa, served with couscous and avocado slices.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti

More from the backlog: 4/3
Italian Sausage Spaghetti from Simply Recipes. Simple yet tasty. I made it with turkey sausage because that's what was on sale.

Turkey Stroganoff

From the way-backlog: 4/2
Turkey Stroganoff from Simply Recipes

Growing up, my brother always requested beef stroganoff and I was never really a big fan. My mom used to hold out some of the mixture for me before she added the sour cream, since I liked it slightly better that way. But once in awhile, it can be good, especially if you have ground turkey to use up.

Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce

From the backlog a long, long time ago on 4/1:
Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce from Simply Recipes


Served with a sweet potato and sauteed spinach.