Pot stickers

Super easy. I made up the recipe from what I had in the kitchen:
1 pork chop
4 medium carrots
1/2 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 TBSP fresh ginger
1 packet of pot sticker wrappers (I have made these from scratch before and I thought it was too much effort for the result)

Cook pork in pan, cook everything else in peanut oil in another pan. When carrots are tender and pork is finished combine in a food processor. Using the dough blade, blend until everything is pretty minced. Spoon it into the wrappers and then fry or steam.

Salmon Tom Ka

Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering just looking at this. I buy curry packets from Thailand but this is so easy if you have the premade curry pack. My favorite is Lobo but check your local asian grocery store for brands. All it takes is following the directions on the pack. I think I added a few extra things but I can't remember- oo, I know I added fish sauce but I don't know what the greens are. It's meant to be a soup but I poured it over rice, creating a stew that was amazing. Having fresh lemongrass would really add to this dish, but I didn't have any and it was amazing. I've never made this with salmon before but it's what I had in the house. The intense flavors from the fish complimented the curry way better than I would have guessed.

Ebelskivers

My 4th attempt at ebelskivers and they are finally looking decent. I haven't tried to stuff them yet. Instead, I drizzle real syrup over the top and dip them in homemade jam. Yum. The trick is to fill the pan with more batter than you think. Almost to the top. I was gifted the pan and a premade mix with recipe from williams-sonoma but I'm sure I'll find something better online and for way less $$. This was breakfast for dinner a few nights ago with poached eggs on the side. Yum!

Slow-cooker Winter pork chops

A delicious recipe from Dave...

Ingredients:

4 pork chops
2 cups sauerkraut
2 big apples, sliced
10 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 TBSP Juniper berries
salt and pepper

Cook Juniper berries on hot dry pan until fragrant and add chopped onion. Sprinkle salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes then set aside. Brown pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side and set aside. Layer the ingredients into the crock pot: potatoes, sauerkraut, apples, onions. Repeat until all ingredients are in the crockpot and lay pork chops over top. Pour chicken broth over top and cook for 2-2.5 hours on high or 4-5 on low.

Jelly Omelette

For all you skeptics out there..you HAVE to try this recipe. I got it from Dave's Dad, and I guess his Dad's Dad used to make these all the time!!

Recipe:

2 eggs per person
milk (few tablespoons depending on how many people you are making these for)
Your favorite jam or jelly
Cream cheese (optional)

beat egg whites for a few minutes
add in yolks and milk and beat for a few more seconds

heat pan and ladle a scoop of egg batter onto pan. let cook for 2-4 minutes before trying to flip. It should be basically cooked before you flip it, otherwise you'll have a mess. Make sure you can get a spatula all the way underneath it before you flip or you'll lose a few corners. once flipped, spoon on as much jelly and cream cheese as you'd like, fold the thing in half and you're good to go!

Chilean sea bass with sweet parsnips, spinach, and saffron-vanilla sauce

From Thomas Keller's French Laundry cookbook, this is by far the tastiest dish I've ever made. I found this really helpful website (http://www.frenchlaundryathome.com/) that walks you through a bunch of his recipes. This one was suggested for newbies like me and I would totally make it again. It wasn't too difficult at all though I wish the skin would have come out more crispy. Anyway...amazing cookbook. I'm learning a ton about cooking!

Fennel confit

This recipe is from the spring 2009 Gourmet-Paris special. The salad includes, fennel, fresh orange juice, almonds, raisins, fresh cilantro, and coriander. Super delicious!