09/06 i used to live in the most adorable and quaint (real-estate code for "dinky") apartment in old town alexandria. i love that neighborhood, and i loved my apartment! i also loved that there was a balducci's right across the street. an expensive high end grocery store that i would never be able to buy all my food from, but did splurge on the occasional treat. one of my favorite things that they made in house was their turkey and black bean chili. i don't know what magic combination of ingredients they put in there? but it is the best chili. i happened to be in the old 'hood the other day, so picked up a quart for old times sake. heated up on the stove and served with a dollop of sour cream and some scallions? perfection!
09/07 tonight was a happy hour for tony's job. it was a delightful group of people, and the happy hour turned into several hours of chatting and laughing. not wanting to break up the festivities, tony and i stayed at o'sullivan's (our local irish pub) through dinner. i had a cobb salad with a side of onion rings. something about putting onion rings on salads.....such a wonderful addition! i know, it defeats the purpose of an otherwise healthy salad....but a little cheat isn't so bad? right?
09/08 a few weeks ago i promised that there would be more variations on the butternut squash mac and cheese. tonight i changed the recipe to add a little bleu cheese and gruyere to the sauce, in place of the cheddar. then i added slivered pears and bacon crumbles. i mean, anytime you combine bleu cheese and bacon it's magic, right? and pears always seem to compliment butternut squash so nicely. it turned out quite lovely! a side of asparagus, and a very comforting meal.
09/09 tonight's meal is one another one i happened to stumble upon in my pinterest trolling. pork loin all focettina. don't ask me what focettina means....i have no clue. but these delicate medallions of pork loin in savory herbed sauce are phenomenal! i served them over polenta cakes and with a side of parmesan zucchini. the polenta made for a perfect accompaniment to soak up all that wonderful sauce that comes with the pork! here's a link to the recipe i used.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/debi-mazar-and-gabriele-corcos/pork-loin-alla-focettina.html
09/10 a while back i made sweet potato nachos and was amazed at how well the sweet potato took to being married to "tex mex" flavors. so tonight i did a slight variation, and made mexican stuffed sweet potatoes! this ended up being a vegetarian meal, and i didn't even notice! i'm sure it would be lovely with pulled chicken or seasoned ground beef. but it was still awesome without!! i started out with roasting my sweet potatoes, then splitting them in half and scooping out the "meat". i mashed that with chopped chipotles, shredded cheddar and a little greek yogurt. then i put it back in the skins, and topped with black beans and more cheese. i put them under the broiler just until the cheese melted. to finish, i topped with sour cream, salsa, avocado and cilantro. amazing!!! and so filling!!!
09/11 so i realize that this dish isn't one of my prettiest, but it is definitely one of my tastiest! it's one i learned to make on my sabbatical to tuscany, where i spent a week in a cooking school. "beef carbonada" (not to be confused with carbonara) is beef that has been slow cooked in chianti with onion and garlic. simple right? and yet so good!!! it comes out this strange purple color.....i recommend serving in candlelight so people don't notice! a mushroom rosemary polenta works well as a vehicle to soak up all the extra sauce that creates itself from the wine and beef. and roasted tomatoes complete the dish!!
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