Fusilli with Green Beans, Pancetta, and Parmigiano
So the cheese shop was out of Pancetta, so I went with the La Quercia bacon. Now I love this bacon, but we have had an odd side effect (dreams). Shannon didn't have any this time around, but I sure did (woke up thinking someone was stomping up the stairs at least 3 times). Anyways this was a nice combination and worked out pretty well. I followed the recipe right, and bacon and pancetta are from the same part of the pig (though treated differently). But it worked out well.
The problematic note here, is that I forgot to buy parmesan (after being there to buy bacon), and I didn't want to go back. So I went to Dahl's instead. Yeah...that was a mistake. It really detracted from it, the extra cost is totally worth it. These are the lessons we learn.
Hearty Lamb and Vegetable Stew
With this I did my best to butcher a shoulder of lamb and get off enough chunks to make the stew. This, not something I do often. I have had more experience with poultry then meats, and even that, I wouldn't count as a whole lot of experience. But I worked my way through it using boing knife. Eventually I had made enough of the way through to feel satisfied, then continued to make the stew. It turned out well, but part of me really wanted to have potatoes in it. Maybe there's just a connection there, but I had t double check to make sure they weren't in the recipe. It turned out well, though for that amount of effort I couldn't believe they had such a little amount of stew made. So I did add a bit more of most things, and it turned out well. It was one of those things that, even though it wasn't quite fall at the time, it felt like it and really gave that sort of comforting feeling. I really enjoyed it, though next time I want more. And maybe next time, I'll skip the shoulder and save that for something that I don't have to work as hard, though the shoulder is relatively cheap and forgiving.
BATs
So when I was making Chili, I had the extra bacon, and I really wanted to have tomatoes at the time, but I didn't, so Jill at Blue Gate suggested that I use the Cottage Bacon from Crooked Gap to make that. So I bought some tomatoes (T) from Jill and some bacon (A) from Ethan, some arugula from Larry (A). Added some Mayo and a bit of Goat Cheddar from Avalanche Cheese Company (via the cheese shop) and it made a great sandwich.
Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers (p14 Cook's Country August / September 2012)
ehhh...I was busy updating my iPhone, our iPads, and some other software, and and when I went up stairs to start this, the 30 minute wait time to do this, seemed a bit excessive, so I just winged it. We ended up with cheese stuffed burgers. They were pretty good.
Spinach, Bell Pepper, and Sausage Pasta (RC Cook's Country August / September 2012)
Joseph stopped by after a long day of work and we fed him. It was good, we all were happy.
This week I also made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (don't get to make them that often, cause Shannon doesn't like raisins), and two cheddar and stout items for Game night (dip, fondue). All three turned out well, though I had to do a double take on the fondue recipe when it called for apple juice concentrate.
