Man I haven't posted in this thread for a couple of months. Part of the reason has been camera issues. So here's some stuff that I've cooked recently, and everything was taken with an iPhone, so excuse the the look
I have almost no windows in my house (A-frame triplex, yikes) so getting natural light is impossible, and I also don't have access to photo editing software (gimp's not working on my computer), so I can't nudge the hue or anything to make it appear more accurate. A few came out looking pretty darn accurate, though.
Now that school is done I have taken the time to finally upload the photos and whatnot. I'll also be able to cook more! The last couple of weeks I've only been cooking two or three times per week with the end-of-semester load. I'm excited to start eating less garbage now.
Quoting all photos because I didn't bother to resize them
First up: roast duck. My first time to cook duck! It was great. It was on sale for $2.50/lb which is a good price where I live, so I bought two. I've yet to cook the second, but I will soon. This was some of the best poultry I've ever had. Took a bit of time to research cooking it properly, and it came out gloriously. It was a surprise dinner for my fiance when she got off work for no particular reason. It was made with a ginger/honey/citrus glaze. I roasted some brussels sprouts and a rice pilaf with almonds, dried cranberries, and a bit of orange zest.
Pork tacos. I believe we made this with boneless rib meat. The salsa was made with pineapple and radish among other things. They were tasty, but not traditional in the least.
Crab, ribeye steak, and root veggies (and a bit of mushroom with the steak). It was great, and it was my first time to have crab in a few years. I think I'm hooked again, I plan on having it once a month or so now
I decided to make granola bars for the first time. I was lacking a key ingredient or two, but after sifting through literally dozens of recipes, I was able to create a Frankenstein recipe that turned into these no-bake granola bars. A bit of peanut butter in there, honey, oats/granola/corn flakes, almond, and white chocolate drizzle on top. Took about 5 min to make and 30 min to set. These were awesome for taking to class daily and they were dirt cheap compared to store-bought bars, and they turned out great!
Salmon fillets! With honey-glazed fennel and tart apple. I've made a lot of salmon recipes and this was definitely in my top 3. The asparagus was just simple seasoned and broiled asparagus with a vermouth/browned butter sauce.
My first time having figs! They were great. This is chicken roasted with figs, crumbled bacon, and some garlic. The asparagus is the same as above (this was the firs time we'd had it... in the previous photo we were trying it for the second time with a slight alteration). The figs and chicken went together extremely well--I definitely plan on pairing the flavors in the future again.
Some kind of asian slaw I made from mostly red cabbage, carrot, almonds, and I don't know what else. It had that "good but not great, but why can't I stop eating this!?" quality. It was a combination of a few recipes. Addicting, but mixed success... probably didn't help that I only had red cabbage and nothin' else. The dressing was sort of a peanut/sesame flavor. We had this with the chicken wings pictured below.
Thai Chicken wings. Best chicken wings I've ever had in my life hands down. Made several minor changes to the recipe, but stayed true to the spirit of it. Got Game of Thrones BD in the mail the day prior, so we messily feasted on meat with our hands while watching some epic fantasy, and it felt appropriate.
