Butter Chicken

My first encounter with butter chicken was at the India Jones food truck. This butter chicken recipe is similar, but has a lot more tomatoes than the one I first had. It is really good and I got to use a lot of my new spices. I would double the amount of spices in the marinade because they were overpowered by the tomatoes and cream. Not sure if it's authentic (hopefully it's not the Panda Express dish of India), but it's easy and really good. My cooking adventure continues!

Chicken Adobo

Again, I have very little knowledge of Philipino food so I when I saw this recipe in the NY Times I knew I had to try it. Apparently there are many different variations of chicken adobo- this is just how one family makes it. The sauce/marinade is really really good, but I'm going to have to use less vinegar next time. My apartment smelled TERRIBLE while I was cooking it. It's sweet, salty, spicy and sour, a very complex taste.

Potatoes Au Gratin

There is really nothing I like better than potatoes au gratin. What isn't there to like about layers of thinly sliced potatoes with cream and whole milk. deeliiisshhhh Panko bread crumbs make it even better. This is a classic recipe and there's nothing I'd change.

Braised Short Ribs

One of my new years resolutions is to cook more meat (even though I don't really eat meat). Braised short ribs always seemed like a complicated dish to me because the meat is so tender and flavorful. Turns out, it is incredibly easy. A few ingredients and just one pot. Unless you are like me and don't have roasting pan... then you have to take it from pan to oven-safe dish and back to pan. Either way, it is delicious.

My short ribs look a little different from the blog I got it from- I guess it's a different cut. I have no idea what part of the animal this is, I just asked the butcher for "short ribs" and he gave me these. Uhhh I will recommend trimming the fat before you cook them because these had a very very healthy amount of fat.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I didn't really grow up eating brussel sprouts, but I haven't ever heard any good things about them. My sister made these roasted brussel sprouts and I was hooked. I've been making these consistently for about 2 years for everyone, including so-called brussel sprouts haters. The outer leaves are crispy and the insides are mellow, sweet and slightly bitter. The balsamic vinegar is sort of sweet too and I love the crunchy salt. Definitely something you should try.

Crab Cakes

I was stuck in LAX for a few hours on my way to JFK and the only thing in the Virgin America terminals was Burger King, Starbucks and Gladstone's. I ended up in Gladstones with a crab cake sandwich. It was bland with very little crab. When I got back home, I had to make a good crab cake. The recipe includes an avocado sauce, but I skipped it.

crab cake + arugula + red onions + egg + balsamic vinegar + olive oil

The previous recipes I've made involve frying the crab cakes, but this one has you bake them. The bread crumbs are tossed with the butter so they're still crisp. I finished mine in the toasted oven for a few more minutes to get a nicer crust.

Toffee Saltine Bark

all you need to make delicious toffee

Toffee is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.... unfortunately my previous sugar candy making endeavors resulted in grainy junk, but this is a really easy recipe. You probably have all the ingredients. The addition of saltine crackers was kinda weird, but it fits in the salty+sweet combination. Be sure to eat within a few days or the crackers get stale. I upped the salty+sweet factor by liberally sprinkling sea salt on top, yum.