Egg in the Middle

I know most people call this Toad in the Hole, but my mom always called it Egg in the Middle. Instead of making soldiers out of the cut out bread, I tore it into breadcrumbs that I toasted with a little garlic and lemon zest. Yum!

Poached Salmon with Lentils

I really need to work on my night photography skills. Lunch always looks so much nicer than dinner!

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Beet Salad

Bruschetta is the perfect vehicle for almost any salad. Inspired by this recipe, I dressed the shaved asparagus with some finely sliced shallots, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Beet salad recipe here.

Arugula, Mandarin Oranges, Smoked Almonds

Chilled Asparagus with Crab, Lemon Yogurt Sauce, and Breadcrumbs

For the lemon sauce: grind garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice to achieve the desired consistency. Finish with freshly grated lemon zest.

Broccoli Manchego Melts on Seeded Wheat Bread

Roasted Squash and Avocado "Panzanella"

This is loosely based on this recipe from Jamie Oliver. I roasted squash with his mixture of cumin, chilli, garlic, thyme and orange and lemon halves, and tossed that with the avocado, arugula, and some red wine vinegar. Then I added some torn up bits of toasted whole wheat seeded bread at the end. I think it would have been nice with the addition of some toasted seeds like Jamie suggests, since the bread ended up sopping up all the dressing and not providing much crunch, but it was delicious anyways!

Citrus Salad with Avocado

Elk and Cheddar Melts with Piper's Pickles

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Piper whipped up this tomato soup for us after a couple of hours of romping in the snow; I made some grilled cheese using her beautiful homemade bread to go with it. (Bourbon hot chocolate not pictured.) What a perfect snow day lunch!

Elk Loin with Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Turnips, and a Red Wine- Rhubarb Apple Sauce

Amazingly enough, at Piper's house this was another pantry meal. She had the elk in her freezer from a hunter friend, and the brussels and turnips from her CSA. We rubbed the elk with a spice mix (black pepper, juniper berries and herbs), seared it on the stove and then roasted it in the oven. The Brussels sprouts and turnips were cooked in bacon fat until they caramelized, and we improvised the sauce using rhubarb, apples, red wine, rosemary, and a little gin to compliment the juniper in the meat.

Beet Bruschetta

Stuck in Chicago during "Snowpocalypse 2011," my friend Piper and I have been working with what food she has in her pantry... by which I mean, the most amazing assortment of ingredients! Inspired by a meal we had at Lula before the blizzard, I used the beets from her last CSA box to make my favorite salad, and served it atop her incredible homemade sourdough with her homemade farmers' cheese. Yum!

Roasted Beets with Olives, Capers, and Oranges; Smashed Chickpeas and Toast

Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart, Reprise

We made this tart again. You have no idea how good it is!

Coconut Rice with Squash and Black Beans

From Tartelette... Terrible picture, but this was delicious! The lime zest and lemongrass in it really give it that something extra.

Cherry Custard Tart with Anise

This came from the Moro Cookbook- the cherries (which I had frozen from last summer) are cooked in anise liqueur, and then you make a syrup with the juice to pour over the finished tart. Please note that due to the low lighting, this looks much more yellow and eggy than it really was!

Penne with Olives, Capers, and Breadcrumbs

Cranberry Beans, Roasted Squash and Apples

Lentils and Spicy Squash with Avocado Toast

Spiced Almonds

Inspired by Moro, these are just almonds I roasted and tossed with olive oil, paprika, salt, and a little cayenne and white pepper.