Paella and Tapas

Over the weekend we went up to Seattle to visit my family and see my uncles, who both normally live in Southern California and I rarely get to see. Since it was a special occasion, my mom made a paella, and I made three different tapas.

Chili and Cornbread

These little hybrid delights finally have me convinced cornbread can be good

I don't like cornbread. There, I said it. It feels good to get that off my chest. It's either dry and crumbly with little to no flavor or overly sweet and cakey, making a poor excuse for a side to a delicious chili or BBQ. So what do I pair with the white chicken chili I planned for our last (tear) football Sunday?

Grown-up Mac and Cheese

Get the recipe

I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but around here, we like love our mac and cheese. (Ahem... see here and here...oh, and here) So when our beloved Broncos were playing their first playoff game in six years, I decided we needed a themed meal. I made some delicious orange and blue snacks for the game, and bleu cheese mac and cheese for dinner. Of course, I managed to pick a recipe that used extra sharp cheddar (white) and bleu cheese really isn't all that blue. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.

Thai-style Chicken with Basil

I don't know about you, but I get bored easily with chicken breasts. My beloved could eat them pretty much most days, but within a few meals, I'm over even the cheesiest of chicken. I have noticed that lately the only Asian-style dish I throw into our weekly meals has been stir fry. While it's a great standby and a good way to use tofu when it goes on sale, that gets old, too. So when chicken breasts went on sale last week, I had to come up with something a little more entertaining. Enter the Thai-style chicken with basil.

Birthday Cassoulet

Last night we celebrated our good friend's birthday with a nice Sunday dinner. He works a lot and despite my best efforts, I rarely get to give him a nice home cooked meal. Since he has great taste in food and has eaten at many of the fine dining restaurants in Portland, I decided some French comfort food was in order.

Holiday Cookies

I love the holidays if only for the food. We get the best of the best--ginger, pumpkin, chocolate, molasses--everything that says warmth. Oh yeah, and that's just the dessert side of things. While I don't have the sweet tooth I once had, I still greatly enjoy spending a whole day baking cookies. I took last Friday off to get started on my long list of cookies to be made. Shawn gave me a look when I showed him the eight varieties I planned to make in one day, and I reassured him that I had a plan. A cookie plan. Needless to say, given the great number of refrigerator cookies I had planned, they all didn't get made. Not even close. I still had a great time.

Easy Winter Vegetable Soup

It's already feeling like winter, even though we're still a couple weeks away. The weather has been very crisp and clear--quite a treat for us in Portland since we're usually in the middle of a month-long stretch of rain at this time of year. With the holidays approaching, our calendar is filling up and I have less time for long-cooking Sunday meals. Kale was on sale, though, and I had to get in one of my favorite soups--kale and white bean soup. I know I've already posted a similar soup before, but this one is so easy, quick and filling, I had to share the latest rendition. And there are really limitless combinations...I happened to have an extra potato hanging around, so I chopped it up and threw it in. There are so many warm, earthy flavors. I just love it.