Bison Burgers with Cabernet Onion and Wisconsin Cheddar (Bon Appetit 02/2009)

Ok So I didn't use wisconsin cheddar...or bison (Hy-vee usually has some, they didn't, it was on order, ended up using ground beef). But I think this turned out pretty well. Shannon didn't like the onions...she said they were too much like the cabernet that they were cooked with. I thought it tasted really good though...made for a wonderful sandwich. The ciabatta rolls that they were on didn't hurt the flavor in the slightest.

Caribbean Pork Tenderloin (Cooks Country Feb/March 2009)

I uh, accidently, bought an extra few pounds of pork tenderloin...and have lots of leftovers...I thought it was the meat for the Carne Adovada...but instead I have about 3 pounds of it left over. Anyways, this was also very good. Sweet, tart, a bit spicy.

Skillet BBQ Steak Tips (Cooks Country Feb/March 2009)

This was a nice rich dinner after a long day. I didn't really agree with their assumption that all BBQ sauces are too sickly sweet. I almost exclusively use Russ and Frank's BBQ sauces and they are head and shoulders above most BBQ sauces.

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust (Cooks Country Feb/March 2009)

It was this recipe that finally broke my back. I have been putting off buying new baking pans for a while, and this would've been extra outstanding if I was able to bake it on a rack on top of a baking pan, so the air would've circulated under it. I went out on Friday and bought these (along with tongs and an electric tea kettle). These turned out very well. The parmesan, fresh sage, and melba toast made for a great crust.

Carne Adovada (New Mexico Pork Chili) (Cooks Country Feb/March 2009)

I'm glad that movie night was cancelled this week...I don't think I could've made this in time. Even if I left work way early. Preparing the meat, and all the ingredients took quite a while and since I used my Chantal pot it took even longer... It's not that the pot was really the issue, its that it's fairly narrow and tall, so when I cooked the pork, instead of in the two batches liked the recipe said, it took five. So at 10 minutes per, it took an extra 30 minutes just to start, before the rest of the recipe went down. It was so worth it though. Getting to around 8:PM it was finally done, we dished it out mixed in a bit of sour cream and called it good. I'm curious about adding a bit more of the chipotle pepper and adobo...

As suggested, I'll be making the Spicy Pork Empanadas with the leftovers....tonight probably.