Eggplant Dip

Eggplant Dip

We are doing a pot-luck-like thing at work, where every two weeks someone brings a dish starting with the next letter of the alphabet.  My turn is the letter "E."  My first inclination was to make an egg salad with bacon and avocado, but after a trial run I was looking for something else to bring.  After being left on the counter for a little bit of time, the whole mixture turned an unappealing brown-ish color.  This didn't change the taste, but I was worried the color would be a prohibitive turn-off for most of my co-workers.

As I kept thinking of what I could do to improve the egg salad recipe appearance without changing the taste profile, I kept coming up with nothing.  Then I started thinking of what else I could make that started with "E" and would be more successful than the browning egg salad and came up with eggplant dip.

My family has a very delicious recipe for eggplant dip, but I wanted to create my own, as I usually do.  The dip dry run was a success and I will be bringing it in to work in another week or so.  I plan to serve the eggplant dip with some mini-toasts.  I hope that my co-workers enjoy it as much as The Guinea Pig has. 

Prosciutto and Fig on a Bed of Butter Lettuce

Prosciutto and Fig
on a Bed of Butter Lettuce

It's summer time and there is lots of fresh produce to enjoy.  Last night, I raided the fridge and through together a nice, light dinner.  All it took was a few leaves of butter lettuce, a slice of prosciutto, sliced figs, sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado, and a bit of goat cheese crumble on top.  

Salmon Tartare

Salmon Tartare

I've been wanting to make a tartare for a long time.  After finding a new favorite tuna tartare over the weekend, I decided this week was it!  So today was the day.

I came up with a combination of relatively simple flavors I wanted to combine and began dicing.  Salmon, avocado, shallot, and chives later were seasoned with lemon zest, masago, salt and pepper.  Simple yet delicious.

My perceived success made me proclaim that I were a genius as soon as The Guinea Pig walked in the house.  We quickly proceeded to devour every last bite.  The tartare was served with some sliced cucumbers and freshly made crostini.  I have a feeling I'll be making this one again, very soon.

Parsley and Rice Soup

Parsley and Rice Soup

I had a bunch of parsley in the fridge dying to be used.  I figured why not make a soup with it?  I started planning.  At first I was going to use potatoes, but then decided on rice instead.  Onions, carrots, and celery were a given.  Simple seasoning of salt and pepper worked out great.

Broccoli Bell Pepper Salad

Broccoli Bell Pepper Salad

To accompany Guinea Pig's amazing Korean BBQ Ribs, I decided to make a salad.  The dressing for this one envolved soy sauce, peanut butter, and honey.

At first I was a bit worried about the chunks of broccoli and how they would go together with the ribs, but my worries were unfounded.  I almost licked the bowl clean.

Needless to say that I will be making this again very soon.  Good thing I only made half the recipe and still have all the needed fix-ins.

Korean BBQ Ribs

Korean BBQ Ribs

Another turn for the Guinea Pig to cook.  He's been bugging me for something to make on the grill and when I came across a recipe for Korean BBQ Ribs, I couldn't resist.

The Guinea Pig outdid himself this time.  The ribs came out finger licking good.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.

New Years Eve Meal

New Years Eve Meal Menu

For the past few years, it's been just the Guinea Pig and me for New Years.  We usually just make a goose.  A wonderfully, melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bones, delicious goose.  It has always been more than enough food for us and satisfied our needs.

This year, we had a few guests over, 5 to be exact.  One goose was not going to be enough.  On top of that, one guest was a vegetarian, so the goose definitely wouldn't work.  I decided to make another meal.  I made all the sides/soup vegetarian, this way the one guest could eat everything but the goose and I wouldn't have to worry about her having enough food.

Winter Vegetable Soup

I started the dinner with a winter vegetable soup I've made before.  One of the guests was crazy about sweet potatoes, so I ended up putting a few more in the soup.  She loved the addition and it didn't hurt the flavor.  I kept the seasoning to just salt and pepper, not wanting to over power the rest of the meal.

For sides I went with 3 salads - beet, carrot, and eggplant - and a hot side of pearl barley with peas and mushrooms.  All were a hit.  At the end of the night, I maybe had a tablespoon of each left over and was going to toss it.  One of the guests stopped me saying she'll eat them for breakfast, which she did.

Goose and Sides

The goose was perfect, as always.  All four paws went right away and some came back for seconds.  We barely ended up with leftovers this year, which means everyone enjoyed.

For dessert, I let the Guinea Pig make a layered pudding cake.  Finding a recipe for something called "sex in a pan" will brighten anybody's mood.  I added simple gel icing to it.

Pudding Cake