I saw the creator of the Julie/Julia Project of which A Food Year was oft compared to back in January/February as a judge on Iron Chef America tonight. How much fun would that be? I now have a new purpose in life.

I conned Shannon into helping me make pasta tonight. By conned I mean I asked her and she said OK. I'm so sneaky. Since making fresh pasta is such a laborious activity without the aide of a pasta maker or, in this case, even a rolling pin, this took quite a while. I still find it extremely satisfying and quite worth the effort and my wine bottle rolling pin skills have got a little bit better. If you keep the seal below the cork on the bottle, it sort of "rolls" with your hand imitating the handle of a rolling pin.

If you're going to go through the trouble of making fresh pasta this way, I figure you should either pair it with an incredible sauce or something very simple to compliment it. I really wanted to do a veal ragu (osso bucco style) but I've already done too many tomato/meat sauce dishes and opted for the simple compliment instead, making Tagliatelle con Limone. This is just a pretentious way of saying "wide pasta with lemon sauce". This was way too filling for either of us to finish, maybe polishing off half of our portions. We both thought this was rather amusing since we could've shaved off half the time of making all that pasta. If you're into simply dressed pastas, this is not a dish to be missed. The pasta is incredibly light, which is the perfect texture for such simple flavors as olive oil, lemon and Parmesan.

I think, along with all these fancy French bistro techniques I'm just being introduced to through books and such, that I'm really becoming interested in old classic Italian cooking as well. I'm really excited about cooking my first rabbit soon. I'm just continually amazed at just how much depth there is to cooking and how I could go on learning about food until I die and still have only scratched the surface of what there is to know. It's one of those things where the more I know, the more I realize I don't know nothin' and can never know it all. It fascinates me and I grow continually obsessed with it. If only I could afford to sedate my desires.

In my quest to determine the differences between all the different curry names so I can tell what I might actually want to order in an Indian restaurant, I think saag is one of the easiest to pin down. A lot of the other dishes I've been trying to determine rely on the "Indian spices" that have been added to the dish to determine the name, flavor and heat level. Saag, as far as I can tell, is just a direct translation to "spinach" in English, which means any dose of saag will get you a whole lot of goodness. Saag paneer is the most common type of saag, I have learned, which is likely what I was trying to duplicate by making the Curried Yogurt Spinach. It's easy to get yogurt and a cheese you've never even see before mixed up.

I made Chicken Saag, which would then be "curried spinach chicken". Normally you'd think this would be a dish I'd fall in love with, and you're right. The problem is that my preparation was not the greatest as I used frozen spinach – way, way too much frozen spinach – to compensate for the relative scarcity of fresh spinach right now. The moisture from the spinach totally drowned out any of the spices and the flavor of the spinach totally drowned out everything else. It was edible, but hardly delicious. I'm going to have to get my hands on some paneer and try making saag again.

Since I was screwed out a dinner with the water problems (and therefore also my next day's work lunch); and since this recipe actually requires 3 pans and an oven; and since I had planned on making these for dessert after the last 2 dinners and was too tired and lazy after stuffing my face, I will count this as a dinner in itself. It's certainly satisfying enough. This dinner was Apple Cheddar Crepes, with a nice little caramel sauce.

Previously on A Food Year I had created Savory Crepes with Hollandaise (and they were completely unfilled, what was I thinking?). It seems only logical to create a sweet counterpoint. Actually, this crepe sort of transcends borders between a savory and a sweet crepe. Perhaps that means I'll have to create a true dessert crepe in the future (such as crepes Suzette, perhaps? Sounds good to me.)

My oven and elements do not heat very evenly, so cooking a consistent crepe was a bit difficult, but I think in the long run things turned out for the best. The apple and cheese combination is a good one, like the Jam and Cheese Sandwich, which would make a nice themed "entree" for this meal. I will change my mind in the spring and summer, but autumnal fruits have always been my favorite. Pears would be nice in this as a substitute or in a combination with the apples. Cranberries, too.

This was my first attempt at ever making a caramel. I got so giddy when I saw the clear, boiling liquid turn into a thick, brown syrup that I completely forgot that it would continue to cook and then harden. So, my result was a basically inedible hardened sugar glass. However, I am now positive that those fancy sugar plates I've seen in restaurants (OK, in pictures and on television) are quite within my grasp now! It tasted good for the few seconds before it broke my teeth, but was surprisingly easy to clean off our plates.

I've made a couple of other gratins in the past (Broccoli and Cauliflower) and basically took them to mean "baked in cheese sauce". I didn't, basically until moving here, know that "gratin" was pronounced "grah-tan" and not "grah-tin" so people probably make jokes at my expense. This "gratin" (and this time I use quotes because I'm really not sure anymore) is more of a custard with cheese. Does that still qualify? Either way, the pseudo-Zucchini Gratin slash custard slash quichey zucchini dish was good. Shannon said she did not like it very much, in which I replied she was crazy because I thought it was delicious. Both zucchini and eggs are great at tasting like basically nothing at all, so this can easily be dressed up with sharp cheeses and fragrant herbs of your choosing.

I forgot to take a picture of the brussel sprouts individually. They were simply boiled and tossed with garlic butter and season with salt and pepper. These ones were surprisingly palatable, but brussel sprouts seem to be hit or miss because I never know when I'll grab an especially potent batch.

Learning how to make a roux, in all its simplicity, is one of the most important things I've learned in my culinary adventure so far this year. A roux is simply equal parts melted butter and flour to form a paste that can be used to thicken a sauce. Unfortunately, I have not quite seemed to grasp the concept of how much roux is necessary to thicken how much sauce, and basically everything evolves into a thick gravy (like my Merchand de Vin). I made the same mistake again making Coq au Vin. Fortunately, Shannon has a forgiving palette and swore it was delicious and satisfied her every desire. Please note that I did not have her indulge in any of the vin before consuming said dish! The "crispy bits" (bacon) were her favorite part. Had the sauce been saucier instead of a gravy, I would've liked this very much as well.

There's really no theme tonight, I just happen to have some ingredients and needed to fire off a dinner for the website. Usually I'm into it, but tonight's Friday and I don't really feel like cooking and I just wanted to fire off something as quickly as possible. I had planned to make a nice little meal around this Thai Beef, which I've already done a few similar dishes of. I suppose that's still what I did. I actually liked how tender the meat was and the sort of "is it fishy or is it notness" from using so much fish sauce, which is more salty than anything. I'm sort of a sucker for anything with lemongrass, so this won me over for simplicity. Plus, it's really cheap, quick and easy and can be thrown into basically anything, like a stir-fry or in a spring roll like I was originally going to do.

Instead, I made some Red Rice to throw it on. This was basically spicy Coconut Rice with a mixture of tomato paste, cayenne, red chili flakes and paprika to give it the red color. I think the paprika was a bad idea because it gave it a bit of a Southwest Chili flavor. On its own or with another dish it would've been fine, but it didn't really go with the Thai beef that well to me.

I already kind of did a Curried Cauliflower dish, but this one is different! This one contains a sauce! and saffron! and more exclamation marks! I also totally overcooked the cauliflower, leaving it very mushy. So that definitely sets it apart from the last time I made it, because I'm not sure the last time I totally overcooked cauliflower. That ruined it for me, so I can't really say for sure if it would've been good otherwise. I'd just stick to the original recipe or make a cauliflower soup, I reckon.

When I was visiting Simon in Vancouver we went to a restaurant called Mistral where I had a Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce. I liked it, it was simple and flavorful and best of all, I could make it. So I sort of shelved the idea in the back of my head and set about my ways. Well, I've kind of been in the mood for some French-style cooking lately and figured this would be a good recipe to try and create. So I did, with fairly positive results.

Unlike Green Curry, green peppercorn sauce is more of a tan or brown color, since it takes on most of its color from the beef, not the peppercorns themselves. Green peppercorns are simply unripe peppercorns, so they have a milder flavor, which is how you can make a sauce of them and not burn your mouth. I used flank steak instead of sirloin or better for this, but only because of financial restraints. A nice seared piece of steak would be equally viable. My addition of black and white peppercorns raised the heat level a little bit and sort of took away from the green peppercorn flavor, which was kind of silly of me, but it was still a nice, peppery sauce to go with the meat.

I also made another dish that may as well be French because it uses Dijon mustard and potatoes, a very simple and very delicious Dijon Potato Salad. I nibbled on this occasionally as I was waiting for the steaks to finish and both Shannon and I were very satisfied with this on our plates and as leftovers. This just wouldn't be the same without Dijon mustard, but it wouldn't be bad, either. There's just a certain oomph that Dijon adds. Finally, just some Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese, a very nice compliment with a drizzle of lemon juice and a dash of kosher salt. The goat cheese melts with the lemon juice into a very luxurious sort of dressing.

When Shannon's parents were visiting, before we went to The Main, we had briefly stopped into a restaurant called Jonas' Grill, that draws my attention every time I walk by because someone is grilling chunks of meat in the window. At that time it was too busy and seemed a little pricey for the 4 of us, but to treat ourselves we decided to check it out.

I have read mixed reviews about this place, mainly due to complaints about the service. My only complaint was inconsistency. Jonas' is a Portuguese style grill with a very good marinade that makes its way onto everything from sausage to squid. Among many menu items I was indecisive of the chef choice or the chef special. Upon realizing I could order my choice of 4 of basically any menu item for the chef special, I opted for that option and ordered the rabbit, lamb chops, Portuguese sausage and squid. In the meantime, I savored a Portuguese beer called Sagres that I've been seeing everywhere and never attributed to anything Portuguese whatsoever. Shannon ordered the Portuguese sausage alone.

The starter salad had very good quality olive oil, which really made it since it wasn't much more than mixed greens and a tomato slice. Then two enormous plates of meat were placed in front of us. I started with the squid, because I figured it would be the least likely to taste good after cooling off. It had a nice smoky flavor infused and tasted even better with a splash of lemon juice, but I lost interest after the first piece, only managing to finish the second before turning on to the lamb chops.

I typically only prepare or eat lamb in a very basic Mediterranean way, with a simple herb rub or something, so with a bit of a spicy Portuguese kick was a pleasure. The chops were small, but very well cooked, and I enjoyed them very much without any intermission. I moved on to the rabbit, regretting I had not ordered the pork, which I thought was quite foolish considering it is my favorite kind of grilled meat.

The rabbit was my favorite of the four. I insisted that Shannon try it and she loved it as well. It was so perfectly cooked and delicious I just cannot even compare. Lastly, I moved on to the sausage and thought it was incredibly salty, gross and overcooked. What a horrible spoiler to the entire meal! Shannon, who had ordered the sausage exclusively, insisted that it was good. There seemed to be a huge discrepancy between our two servings. Hers was excellent and mine was basically inedible. Since I was so incredibly satisfied by the end of the meal anyway, I didn't bother bringing this to anyones attention, but it was sort of disappointing. Still, we thought the service was excellent and the food was delicious and we'd surely recommend this place to anyone.

I just started working nights again, which has previously totally messed up my schedule for cooking dinners (who wants to cook a dinner first thing in the morning?) and the city shut off my water, rendering me unable to do dishes and therefore actually cook anything. There has been a lot of road construction in this area and they're building a new condominium down the street, so it's not surprising, but I wish there were some sort of notice for this thing. On the bright side, I am a day behind with an excuse that doesn't involve me being lazy or making up excuses! A new first for A Food Year. It has also come to my attention that there's really nothing anywhere on the site indicating where I was behind and/or why, so I'm working on that.

As an appetizer, I had a very, very basic avocado dish that I am calling Suave-o-cado because it is really nothing more than soy sauce and avocado. Soy + avocado = suave-o-cado. Yes, I know, I am incredibly clever. Since salt is really the only ingredient you need to add to an avocado to make it palatable, soy sauce is a very good addition as a little pool where a pit once laid.

I'm not sure why, but tomatoes are really cheap right now (correct me if I'm wrong, but late October is not tomato season) so I picked up a pint of cherry tomatoes. Never knowing really what to do with cherry tomatoes, they sit around for a couple days going bad until I decide to throw them away. In this case, I made Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, which is a great way of intensifying their flavor.

Sticking with the roasted theme, I made Roasted Garlic Tunisian Chicken, which is probably the most American adaption of Tunisian cuisine possible, including the likes of ranch dressing and making harissa take a back seat like a simple ketchup. However, it pleased both Shannon and my taste buds and, aside from the misappropriate name, I was pretty well satisfied with this dish. This went very well with the roasted tomatoes as a sort of condiment.

The other accompaniment pictured is just cooked white rice, only I browned it slightly before adding chicken broth to give it a nuttier flavor. Some would say too nutty, since I totally forgot about it while surfing the internet and ended up burning half of it. The important thing is that it blurrily fits into the background to round out the plate.

I have always been under the impression that Borscht is a horrible disgrace to the idea of food and that most people find it absolutely repulsive. Perhaps it's the idea that it's supposed to be eaten cold. Perhaps it's because it's purple. Perhaps it's just because people don't like beets, I don't know. I decided to try and make some and see if this is all some sort of bizarre childhood memory where I accidentally ate some spoiled some cream and attributed it to borscht instead.

It's not half bad. The recipe I used said to serve it hot, so I served it hot. It's not climbing up the rungs of my favorites, but it's different, warm and filling. A little splash of apple cider vinegar seems to really bring together the flavors of beef, beets and other vegetables and the sour cream, when swirled in, gives it a really pretty color. I ate a second bowlful and within a few hours I was peeing a putrid orange and purple fluid.

Despite its non-revolting nature, I am not sure that I would make borscht again. I think I like the novelty of eating something purple more than I actually enjoyed the soup. It's a nice autumnal harvest sort of thing, but as a main dish it is not as satisfying as I would like and as a separate course I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Dolmathes are one of my favorite things at any Greek restaurant. They're great snacks, appetizers, entrees, side dishes, hot or cold, vegetarian or not, and so on and so forth. So, when I discovered I could buy grape leaves in the supermarket, I figured I'd give it a go and make them myself.

Since one jar of grape leaves can yield a ridiculous amount of dolmathes (much like one head of cabbage yields a ridiculous amount of cabbage rolls), I went two separate routes. In the first corner we have the Vegetarian Dolmathes, which have always been my preference, and in the other corner we have the Lamb Dolmathes, which are still pretty keen. Let the battle begin!

Both are seasoned relatively the same, so they both have similar flavors. I added garlic, lemon and raisins to the rice ones, but otherwise the flavor is basically that of dill and mint. The lamb dolmathes turned out a little dry compared to the rice ones, since rice is basically a moisture pocket where meat is definitely not. Score one for the vegetarian ones!

The larger grape leaves were kind of chewy in both instances. The chicken broth that the lamb variety was simmered in would allow for an easily prepared sauce, but since both were served with Tzatziki, that's only a mild bonus. I just think that the vegetarian ones taste better (which is somewhat unfair since I added more flavor to them) and generally have a better texture. The vegetarian dolmathes win! Horray!

While I waited for the dolmathes to finish cooking my stomach started rumbling, so I made a pretty typical Greek dish of
Cauliflower with Lemon Sauce. Basically, cauliflower in its own cooking water with lemon and eggs. Don't be fooled by the simplicity! This is an excellent way to have cauliflower and a very good side dish. It's not exactly a vegetarian entree, but it definitely has enough flavor to stand up as a worthwhile addition to a meal.