Those all look fantastic!
They sure do - yum! Never heard of black pepper with chocolate, though; what did you think?
Last night: takeout from our favorite local pizzeria. Half a calzone with mozzarella, pepperoni and minced garlic, and two slices of pepperoni pizza, with Caesar salad and a glass of ice water. Later, homemade brownies with a bit of Vermont maple syrup, and a glass of milk.
The black pepper kept the chocolate from being too intense. It was lovely!
Innnnnnnteresting. Thanks.
Brought back a huge wheel of Dutch Goat Gouda from Sint Maarten. I broke it down and shrink wrapped for gifts, use, and freezing.
Last night I made a white sauce to which I added a crazy amount of Gouda, then added pasta, for a very cheesy Mac&Cheese:
Served with a side salad. Cherry Pie for dessert in honor of George Washington:
Tonight was chicken bites in spicy peanut coating, fried rice with vegetables, and plums.
My gf took me out for my birthday dinner last night. Went to a friend’s bar/restaurant where I had much beer and my entree:
sliced filet tips/imported tagliatelle/gorgonzola alfredo/balsamic glaze
Loved watching the preparation of the Gorgonzola Alfredo. I wonder how many meals that huge cylinder of cheese makes.
::swoon::
That looks amazing!
I’m doing a made up au gratin potatoes and pork chop bake thing. Brown some off chops, the stick them on top of some taters with a roux/cheese sauce and throw 'em in the oven for a while.
Tonight’s experiment: improvised Sicilian/Maltese braised chicken with vegetables and rice in the Instant Precision Dutch Oven. Chicken thighs, eggplant, onions, red bell peppers, copious amounts of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes smuggled in from Malta, Sicilian pizza spices, a glug of balsamic, and copious amounts of olive oil. I’m thinking now that everything is browned, let it braise for half an hour, then add the rice? Totally winging it here.
Anyway, I think we’re doing OK for people with no kitchen.
A day late, but I made jambalaya and cornbread; also Vieux Carrés.
Sadly, my wife’s stomach is a little delicate tonight; so she’s having American cheese sandwiches.
Got a pound of ground pork I need to use up, so I’m making a Vietnamese caramelized pork dish with a bed of rice. Sounds tasty.
Various Chinese dumplings and pancake rolls. For dessert, naan stuffed with bananas and pan-fried, with whipped cream.
I know I’m always going on about my love for ramen noodles, but I just wanted to share the fact that this recipe for oven-baked pork chops enlightened me to the fact that my usual pre-marinated jerk pork chops that I use in ramen could be done so easily in the oven. It’s a cold, dark night and the outdoor grill wasn’t attractive, and damn, that website clued me in that all I had to do was throw a chop on some parchment on a cookie sheet in a hot 425F oven and it’s done perfectly! In my oven, it took about 18 minutes. No broiling, no winter outdoor grilling, no messy odiferous pan-frying.
And now to slice some mushrooms and green onions and spicy jerk pork ramen is on its way! 
Creamy clam & corn chowder for the meatless (by Catholic standards) eaters this Friday in Lent. This is one of my favorite comfort soups. I remember my dad making it when I was a kid using a couple cans Campbell’s New England Clam Chowder, a couple cans cream of celery, a couple cans cream of potato, and a can or two of corn (along with a base of bacon and onions.) I do it a bit different, but I did use one can of Clam Chowder for that nostalgia (in addition to butter, celery onions, gold taters, a couple cans of clams, a couple bottle of clam juice, Old Bay, and frozen corn). The kids like this one, so it’s always a win when I don’t have to make something separate.
Cheeseburgers cooked on the flat top with grilled onions.
Lentil rotini with pesto, sundried tomatoes, pistachios, and red and yellow bell peppers.
Half a leftover calzone with pepperoni, ricotta cheese and minced garlic, and a small tossed salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing and a glass of ice water. For afters, some macaroon candies.
Baked French onion soup with a chicken burrito. Haven’t had either of those in a long time!
Tonight for Sunday dinner on a wintry eve I’m going to make a good old-fashioned beef stew. Picked up some rutabaga in the grocery store because I haven’t had rutabaga in awhile, and I think I will dice one up and add it to the stew.