Brown Sugar Glazed Bone-In Pork Chop with Celery Leaf Salad

Brown sugar glazed double thick bone-in chop with roasted garlic and salsa rojo with celery leaf and red onion salad with soy vinaigrette.

White Maize with Sage Tortillas (with Lard)

Though this is the first time I've made tortillas, I don't think I could eat store bought tortillas again. Tortillas that don't use lard just suck. Did you know that a tablespoon of lard is 117 calories and a can of Coke is 141 calories?

Still hot from the skillet; well charred and aromatic from the sage and lard.

Mixing the dough.

Masa harina, sea salt, lard and chopped fresh sage.

Halibut Crudo with Parsley Lime Pesto

Sprinkled with chile flakes.

Pan Roasted Halibut with Parsley Lime Salsa Verde

Halibut with parsley lime pesto plated on bed of roasted white corn and red salsa. 

Pan seared with red onion and garlic.

Oven roasted white corn.

Homemade Pappardelle (without Pasta Machine) with Sage Browned Butter

Final dish served with simple sauce of sage browned butter with a touch of grated parmesan reggiano and cracked black peper.

Below are the basic steps I went through to make the fresh pasta (not including the mixing of the dough). The recipe I got is adapted from one on America's Test Kitchen:

• 2 Cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
• 2 Large eggs plus 6 large yolks
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (use good oil
• 1 Tbsp sea salt

Basically, food process the mixture for about 45 seconds then hand knead it for a couple minutes. Wrap in plastic film and let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour and up to 4 hours. I cut it into 6 portions. Each portion rolls out one sheet as seen below. It can be frozen and used later.

Pasta dough after kneading and ready to rest.

Shaping portions of dough into 3" x 3" square.

Rolling out the dough.

Sheets rolled out and drying for 15 minutes on kitchen towel before cutting.

Don't roll sheets too tightly and use very sharp knife.

Parpadelle cut and separated by hand. I kept it covered with tea towel until use. Cooking time was very fast; when it floats, it's done.

Iron Skillet Roasted Half Chicken Under a Brick

Brined, rubbed with rosemary, thyme and salt for a crispy skin then roasted on a bed of onion greens and garlic cloves.

I placed the green tops of some onions on the pan to keep the chicken off of its fat. For the first 25 minutes, I weighed down the chicken with a preheated foil wrapped brick. For the last 10 minutes I removed the brick and cranked the oven to broil to finish off the skin to get it crispy and gold.

Rice Vermicelli with Rare Beef and Nuoc Mam Dressing

Served with pickled carrot, lettuce, Vietnamese coriander, cilantro and fried shallot chips .

Seared lemongrass marinated beef.

Indian Spice Rubbed Seared Loin Chop with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Indian spice rubbed seared (with duck fat) loin chop with pan roasted brussel sprouts topped with picked onion and fennel fronds.

Seared Double Thick Pork Loin Chop with Yukon Gold, Fennel and Spanish Red Onion Gratin

Served on roasted onion greens, garlic and sage plus a sprinkling of crushed chile and black ground pepper.

Gratin of Spanish red onion, fennel and Yukon gold potato with olive oil and parsley to finish off.

Seared and going into oven. Chop is glazed with olive oil and brown sugar.

Quick pickled Spanish red onion, fennel fronds, caraway seeds with a drizzle of olive oil.

Some of the raw goods.

Baked Ham Banh Mi with Maggi

On homemade baguette garnished with cilantro, sriracha and Maggi seasoning.

Mango Braised Carnitas Tacos with Cumin Refried Beans

Taco topped with roasted red salsa, queso Cotija, cilantro and onion.

Carnitas is braised in mango liquid, deep fried then shredded.

Duck fat cumin refried beans finished with queso Cotija.

Bo Kho (Lemongrass & Star Anise Beef Stew with Carrot and Tripe.)

Comfort food. Served with Thai basil and baguette round.

Dover Sole Ceviche

Served.

Cured in Meyer lemon and lime juice. Garnished with red onion, fresh jalapeno, chile flakes, lemon zest and cilantro.

Sichuan Peppercorn Carnitas and Cheese Enchiladas

The carnitas here was an experiment. It is based on Homesick Texan's Houston style carnitas recipe however I used a lot more spices than she did. Specifically, the use of Sichuan peppercorns that gives it an interesting pungent scent.

In case you are curious, this dinner takes very little active time to put together because the style of carnitas I made is mostly done through boiling then braising. The sauce was part pre-made as I used roasted red salsa with chicken broth I had in fridge. Assembly was just grating cheese, chopping onion and filling the enchilada to finish in 450º F oven for ten minutes. All because I have way too much work to do today and I'm still not done but having a proper meal is as or more important.

Just out of oven, sprinkled with more cheese and chopped red onion.

Filled, rolled and sauce, topped with cheese and ready for oven.

Sichuan peppercorn carnitas with red onion enchilada getting filled and rolled.

Linguine with Poached Shrimp in Chile Marinara Sauce with Anchovy and King Oyster Mushroom

Linguine finished in sauce.

Shrimp poaching in marinara with chiles.