This is Why I'm Fat

Herb Garden Fried Rice

With beef spinalis!

Salmon and Kale Curry

Man, I love sous vide salmon.

Liquid Lunch: Pina Colada

Fresh pineapple (with core! I was skeptical but it was fine!), coconut rum (not a lot, it's kinda gross) and ice in the Vitamix. No garnish cuz I'm lazy.

Salmon and Beet Salad

Sous vide salmon is the best salmon. Also, it's possible that the ATK beets that failed last time were the fault of the beets - these were great.

Accidental Panna Cotta

This was completely made and cooked in the blender, which can generate heat with the friction of the blades on the liquid. I was actually trying to make vanilla pudding, but it ended up being too stiff and gelling like a gelatin-based panna cotta. The cherry sauce is just blended cherries and sugar (but later I added some vitamin C powder because I noticed it oxidizing). Proportions are off - should've been much smaller with more sauce.

Carrot Carbonara

A bit too rich. Needs tomato. Using some cauliflower soup as sauce improved it too.

Smoked Cauliflower Soup

Leftover BBQ cauliflower (that didn't soften on the grill...) whizzed up in the Vitamix with onion and cream.

Vitamix Cherry Ice Cream

Deal of the year: scored a Vitamix for $300.
Also, the frozen cherries that Costco sells are pretty awesome.

Steak and Tortellini 2

So good, I made it again, this time with sous vide steak.

Pancake Dinner

Good excuse to have maple syrup but sadly lacking in bacon :((((

Kale Tortellini and Steak

Kirkland 4-cheese tortellini is almost TOO cheesy! They got me with an in-store sample with the Kirkland pesto as well. Definitely better than the Olivieri stuff. Kale, garden tomatoes and pan seared steak round out the meal.

Hickory BBQ Chicken with Green Coriander Seed

This was my first time using green coriander seeds - it's not available in stores so these are from the garden cilantro plants. I put them on the chicken and from the (neighbor's garden) tomato salad - they have a distinctive citrus flavor that's pretty strong and not at all similar to cilantro leaf.

Pan-seared Spinalis

Pan searing can actually give a better crust than grilling, because of the increased contact surface area. The modern 15-second flip gives a better cook than the traditional steakhouse flip-once technique as it prevents the outer layer of meat from overcooking. Not practical in a restaurant because of the constant attention required.

I was going to BBQ but the pineapple was horrendously under-ripe and I had to toss it. On the plus side, pan-searing = mushrooms!

The spinalis muscle is the super tender and super flavorful muscle between the rib eye and the rib cap. Best part of the animal.

Soup and Ham Sandwiches

Steamed picnic ham stock goes into the split pea soup and doubles as sandwich meat. I made a lot of this for the parents and froze the rest for a day when I didn't feel like cooking.

Tomato Bocconcini Salad

Mini-bocconcini was on sale, as were some variety tomatoes that actually had distinct flavors. I marinated the non-authentic cheese to give them some more flavor and added some garden tomatoes. Delicious, but not light... I ended up eating all of the cheese. Basil and parsley from the garden.

Cherry Wood Grill

The cauliflower didn't really soften... maybe I need to par-cook it a bit - other than that, things were good. Two chickens for $10.

CB Sandwich and Salad

Beef tenderloin was on sale. After trimming and slicing steaks for the parents, I sous-vide-ed the chateaubriand to medium rare, seared and sliced. Great for sandwich meat. Crazy amounts of croutons were on sale from Costco ($3). English muffins at Freshco ($1). Tomato from the neighbor's garden and salad greens from Jen's fridge after she went camping.

Beet Salad

Pretty, but bland. A rare America's Test Kitchen failure - braising the beets made them easier to peel but less flavorful than roasting them.

Steak and Bacon

Whenever I have bacon on hand and hot coals, I put some strips on the BBQ. Bacon without the mess.

Smoked Potato Soup

When BBQing, I usually throw whatever I can on the grill to collect smoke. In this case, it was some leftover baked potatoes which were then pureed with cream to make a tasty and interesting cherry smoked soup. This was actually a while ago - I just found it on my HDD.