Tag Archives: dinner

skinny carnitas

i fished a long forgotten vacuum packed pork tenderloin out of my freezer the other day (how great is vacuum sealing, it must have been in there for a year or more) and puzzled for a while over what to do with it, a nice long braise seemed the safest way to go. i knew i’d be having company the next day and decided that carnitas would be perfect. the biggest dilemma is that tenderloin is really lean and the pork butt traditionally used for carnitas, is not lean at all. at a time like this bacon drippings are your friend and i always have a container of bacon drippings on hand. IMG_4191

another great thing about carnitas is they store well in the fridge and can be easily reheated on the comal to crispy deliciousness.

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potato mushroom pierogi

leftovers again? i had dough leftover from the knishes and decided that pierogi would be the perfect snack on a holiday afternoon. pierogi are dumplings, just circles of dough filled with goodness.you can fill them with potatoes or cheese or veggies or fruit and various combos of those ingredients. the quest for dumplings continues..

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rösti

the other day i came across this lovely recipe for roesti (a sort of swiss version of hash browns) from Nick Malgieri  and i couldn’t stop thinking about them, until i had them all golden brown and buttery, on my dinner plate. you have to think ahead for roesti because the potatoes need to sit overnight after boiling and before peeling and grating.

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mushroom tart

it was time to clean out the fridge before it’d be too late to save some of the produce, that i never got to during the week. my cat is still at the pet hospital, but making some progress in her recovery and may get to come home soon. that has made me feel so much better and less distracted. the day before, i’d made an olive oil pastry dough,

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crack n cheese

still waiting for medical updates on my poor sweet kitteh Callie and looking for comfort, wherever i can find it. i want to thank all of our dear friends who have been so very kind and supportive, as we wait to see if she’ll recover.

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boeuf bourguignon

i was trying to figure out how to clean out the freezer before the end of the year. i came a cross a ton of frozen quart bags of chili, sauces, beans, soups and meatballs and a bunch of expensive meat.

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the biggest find was a couple of pounds of tenderloin tips, perfect i thought for topping rice bowls but that wasn’t going to free up any meaningful amount of space. an irresistible sale on mushrooms, left me with a fridge full and a need to use those up, as well. a scan of the kitchen and i spied a forgotten open bottle of pinot noir, with just a glassful missing. the universe was screaming at me, boeuf bourguignon, it’s fate, seize the day!

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julia child’s boeuf bourguignon was one of the first “fancy dishes” that i’d ever cooked for my family as a kid. later, someone pointed out to me Continue reading →