Eating Well

I have not posted much about food lately, but we have been eating well around here.  The problem with eating as well as we have been is that the food budget has been blown completely out of the water.  Our food around here is about to change, so I thought I would give you a taste of our "last suppers!"

First up is a Ginger Carrot Soup , Pappardelle with Scallops and Spicy Polenta Crackers.  This meal was delicious.  I have never made crackers, but these turned out great.  Next time I will use a finer grind of polenta.

 

Next up is a Lobster Pot Pie.   I had never cooked lobster before, but it was so simple to do.  The crust for this recipe was delicious.  I will make it again, but make some changes to the recipe.  There were way to many pearl onions and I will also use fish stock.  I did not have any so I substituted just a bit of clam juice and water.

To follow up the pot pie I made a Deeply Chocolate Gelato.  Again, super simple to make and so rich and delicious.  Lamar had brought home some chocolate covered strawberries and we paired it with a bottle of port that we recently found on a wine tasting excursion.  The gelato was so rich and creamy.  It made the chocoholic in Nora Beth very happy!

Now on to my new addiction.  I just can't get enough of this Kalua Pork.  It is so simple to make in the crock pot (I know, not the traditional way of doing it).  The recipe says to cook it for 16-20 hours.  I am not sure what kind of crock pot they are using, but mine has it done perfectly in about 6 to 8 hours.  I could not find the two types of Hawaiian sea salt, so I improvised with two other similar sea salts that I found.

The end product is so versatile.  You can eat it just the way it comes out of the crock pot or fancy it up with some BBQ sauce, salsa or curry after it is done cooking.  Any way we have tried it has been fantastic.  This is my new "go to" recipe when I am at a blank for what to make for dinner.

 

And finally we have a new version of the Beer Can Chicken.   This was made in the oven instead of the BBQ and it is dressed in BACON!  Next time I will use the bacon, but use the seasoning that we have used in the past and that will result in the perfect recipe.

What is the party for?

I was feeling the culinary motivation today and decided to get busy in the kitchen.  I got the idea to make Butternut Squash Ravioli .  Nora Beth helped me each step of the way.  First we roasted the squash.

Then made up the filling.  The recipe called for cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.  Next time I will make this more savory with sage and thyme.  The filling tasted more like pumpkin pie than I was looking for.

Using won ton wrappers was an easy alternative to using ravioli sheets.  I would prefer the sheets, but until a holiday fairy brings me the pasta maker I want, I have to use the easy out.  The won ton wrappers make a much thinner ravioli and the flavor is not exactly the same.

I then made a sage butter sauce to go over the top.

To finish off the meal, Nora Beth and I made orange cupcakes.  She was so excited to lick the beaters after I made the frosting.  She even helped me zest the orange for extra flavor.

So what does the the family say about my extra effort for dinner tonight?  Why are we having a party? and Who is coming over?  Can't I just make a nice dinner on a random Wednesday night!