Loaded Burger

Cook up a batch of purist burgers.

Toast a bun.  

Cover the bottom bun with guacamole.

Add a slice of tomato.

Add a burger.

Add some bacon.

Add some onions & mushrooms.

Add the top bun.  

EAT.

New Year's Eve

This was the 3rd or 4th year in a row for my annual NYE dinner party.  I make all the food, and just ask that guests bring whatever they want to drink.  I've made guacamole and spinach dip every year, but those are probably the only menu items that have stayed consistent.  I feel like my kitchen expertise has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, and I put a lot of thought into making this year's menu the most spectacular spread of food I have ever accomplished.  

Due to various conflicts, only a handful of people were able to make it this year, but those of us that were there had a great time and agreed that the food was amazing.  

Sweet Potato Cannelloni

filled with crab, onion, celery, cream cheese, alfredo

Cider-BBQ Pulled Pork

pork tenderloin rubbed with flour & cinnamon

slow-cooked in the crockpot for 9 hours

Slider Rolls

choice of plain or cider

Mini-Quiche

choice of bacon or mushroom

Quinoa Salad

with carrot, celery, broccoli, mushroom

olive oil/garlic/ginger 

Cole Slaw

choice of honey & mustard or mayo & ranch

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

spinach, artichoke, cream cheese, alfredo sauce

Guacamole

avocado, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, tomato

Pumpkin-Cheesecake Truffles

choice of dark chocolate or white chocolate

The biggest hit!

I'm told they "melt in your mouth"

I didn't eat any of the white chocolate ones, but I definitely devoured some of the dark.

I'm gonna have a tough time beating this menu next year!  

But I will find a way...of course.

As a side note: as far as I'm concerned, the year ends in June and starts in August.  Which means there are about 5 more months to get through before the year ends. 

But for those of you who go by the number you write at the end of the date...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Asian-Inspired Guacamole

I was on a roll with the blog-posting last week...then something happened.  I didn't stop cooking though.  I must have been too busy eating to put stuff up on here.  I do have a couple of things to post later, but for tonight I think I'll just post the amazing concoction I made this evening. I'm not really giving you a recipe for it here...but you'll get it eventually.  If I can remember exactly what I put into the asian dressing...

update: scroll down for the link to the creamy ginger dressing recipe

A few days ago, I decided to try a salad dressing experiment.  I love the creamy ginger dressing that comes with salads at the sushi place, and I wanted to try to make it myself.  The result looked nothing like the original, but there was some semblance of a similarity in the taste.  I'm sure I will be experimenting further with that.  Anyway, I had this salad dressing that I had made, but I have really not been in the mood for salads lately.  I was running late with dinner this evening, and pretty hungry, so I thought I'd have some chips and dip while I waited for dinner to cook.  I decided to mix the ginger dressing with some avocado and tomato for an Asian-inspired guacamole.  Pure genius.  I'm pretty proud of some of my other guacamole dips, such as the cucumber avocado dip, and now this one is going up there in the guacamole hall of fame as well.

this is what the ginger dressing looked like before I put 2 avocados and a roma tomato in it

creamy ginger dressing

tostitos whole-grain chips are awesome

and so is this guacamole