Tag Archives: onion

[119] Pork Shoulder with Chipotle-Orange BBQ Sauce

Cover of Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool

Note: this was made prior to buying the hog. It is NOT from our share of the hog.

We made this one for a party. I’m not sure if I was prompted by a Whole Foods sale on pork shoulder, a cut I am loving more and more and more. My friend Dylan tells me it’s commonly turned into sausage, do to its ratio of fat:meat. I say, “What a waste!” This is good for so many other things!

I have a slightly tilted photo there. No idea why.

Anyway, as you can see, there’s a lot of good stuff going on in that photo. Aside from a nice cut of meat, the oranges, green onions & chipotles!

I recall it being pretty simple to make as well.… Continue reading →

Tasha’s (attempt at) Asparagus Risotto

Cover of How to Pick a Peach, by Russ Parsons

One of the first things I wanted to do upon arriving home to Chicago was find some asparagus. I love asparagus utterly, and could probably eat it until I turn into an asparagus spear.

Luckily for me, asparagus season isn’t that long.

“Asparagus season isn’t that long” was actually my biggest fear upon arriving home too. I was terrified that three weeks gone from home, and a couple weeks of not shopping prior to that meant I’d missed out completely. Which would have made me quite sad.

So, of course, it only makes utter sense that we would get in about 8:00 pm on a Friday, and I’d be prepared to go to a Saturday morning farmers’ market. Where, thankfully, I found asparagus. I also found a couple of tomato plants, an amazing tamale (that isn’t New Mexican style at all), and some eggs.… Continue reading →

[114] Linguine Nagoda for Two

Cover of Cooking for Two

I picked this recipe because it looked very fast and easy to make, and because it involved pasta, heavy cream and walnuts. Which is funny, because I’m not the biggest fan of walnuts. They’re growing on me, particularly mixed in with something, but generally I don’t like ’em.

And I’d better not see any in or on my brownies. No joke.

Anyway, I needed a dish that wouldn’t take much energy, time or focus, because I was “battling baked beans TO THE DEATH for a party.”:http://metacookbook.com/archives/221-113-Borracho-Baked-Beans.html I needed something that would be fast and good enough to fill the gaping hole that comes from smelling delicious food cooking all day, then being told (or telling yourself), “Don’t eat that. It’s for a party.”

This appeared to fit the bill when I was digging through my cookbooks.… Continue reading →

[113] Borracho Baked Beans

Cover of Red Chile Bible by Kathleen Hansel and Audrey Jenkins

I have a friend who throws an awesome party approximately yearly. I think she is not the originator of this party idea, but it has migrated to her home through the years. The party theme is “Beer and Bacon”. It’s basically a pot luck that everybody brings a food that has beer or bacon (or both!) involved. Also, many people just bring beer.

Obviously, it is full of deliciousness.

This year, I was very torn on what to bring. I just couldn’t make up my mind. Eventually, I settled on bacon macaroni and cheese. Bill thought this was a very great idea, I thought this was probably a great idea, and it sounded pretty straightforward. All systems were go. Until I realized that this is a pretty straightforward recipe, and so possibly it might be one the hosts would make…

Yup, going back and looking at a few comments she made on her blog about her plans, I realized she was definitely making bacon mac & cheese, and so I should probably do something else and not duplicate that.… Continue reading →

[110] (Vegetarian) Baked Beans

Cover of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

More beans!

Okay, beans have entered our food life in a big way. Mostly because they’re fairly inexpensive and filling, but partially also because it’s supposed to be “the” way to have a substantial vegetarian meal.

Plus, Bill likes them. Especially if they’re black beans. I don’t know why black beans are his favorite, but they are. I suspect it has to do with a woman he dated previously, and her preferences. You’d have to ask him.

This was my second foray into baked beans, though it’s the initial recipe all of Bittman’s vegetarian baked beans derive from. I tell you this so you don’t get weirded out by the sense of deja vu you’re about to have. I did, in fact, basically copy what I wrote for the Maple-Baked Apple Butter Beans and adjust what needed to be adjusted.… Continue reading →