Beer Braised Chicken with Caramelized Onions - Adapted from Epicurious

Start by seasoning bone in, skin on chicken thighs with a sprinkle of allspice and salt and pepper to taste. Brown them in 1T butter and 1T olive oil. Remove them to a plate while you caramelize 3-4 small sliced onions in the same pan. You can add a sprinkle of sugar to help the process. When the onions are golden brown add 1/2C beef stock and 6 oz. of a dark beer and deglaze the pan; we used a porter. Stir in 1T red wine vinegar bring to a boil and return the chicken thighs. Cover and place in a 275 degree oven for about 2 hrs. We used 2T chickpea flour to thicken the sauce but you could use flour or cornstarch. Adjust the seasonings and serve with a starch like pasta or potatoes. The vegetable pictured is the roasted root vegetables again. This dish will stand up to a nice red wine.

Mulligatawny- Adapted from Saveur

Remember the Soup Nazi? On Seinfeld? Mull-i-gatawny reminds us of the show. We started with 1/2 lb ground lamb forming some of it into balls. Brown the lamb and remove it for later. In the same pan, saute a small finly chopped onion and 3 cloves minced garlic. When the onions are soft add 3/4t each of ginger, coriander and cumin plus 1/8t turmeric, 3/4t curry powder, cayenne pepper to taste and salt to taste. Add 3C chicken stock and 1/4C chickpea flour. When the mixture reaches a boil and its final thickness, process it in a blender until it is smooth. Add the meat back to the pan and heat through. We decided to add lentils since some recipes suggest that so, we cooked 1/2C green lentils until they were just al dente, strained them and added them to the pot. Serve with steamed rice. At the table add chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. We used a mix of hot and mild curry. You can adjust the heat to your liking.

New England Clam Chowder - Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

This is a nice meal for a cold winter day. We chose not to start with fresh clams so we used 2-6 oz cans of clams and their juice and 1-8oz bottle of clam juice. Start by browning 2 strips of bacon in an ample soup pot. Remove the bacon and add 1/4C diced onion and 1/4C diced celery and saute until tender. Add 1T flour and cook gently for 2 or 3 min. Add the clam juices and deglaze the pan before adding 1/2 lb. of diced potatoes, 3/4t dry thyme and a bay leaf. Simmer gently until the potatoes are fork tender. Just before serving, add the clams to 1 1/2C heavy cream and heat gently but dont boil. You want to add the clams right at the end so they dont get tough. Add the clams and cream to the potato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot and top each bowl with 1T dry sherry and some chopped scallion tops, for color. Serve with a crusty bread and a dry white wine with Tabasco on the side. Nice!

Crab Cakes - Adapted from Chef Patrick Clark, Tavern on the Green

We found this recipe in Food and Wine magazine. In a food processor, puree a scant 1/4 lb of a white fish; we used cod. Transfer the fish to a bowl and add 2 thinly sliced scallions, 1 seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper, 1 1/2T fresh lemon juice, 1T chopped parsley, 1/4t cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4C mayonnaise. Mix these together well. Fold in 1/2 lb diced crab meat and 3/4C bread crumbs. Allow the mix to sit in the refrigerator for 30 min or so and then form into patties. Fry until golden brown in vegetable oil. The topping was made by mixing 3/4C mayonnaise, 1 chipotle chile in adobo, seeded and minced, 1T fresh lemon juice, 1t Old Bay seasoning mix, and 1t Dijon mustard. We served them with cole slaw and french fried potatoes. One note, the heat from the various peppers builds as you eat so adjust their amounts to your taste. The recipe serves 2 very generously.

Chip Dips

We have taken to making my own chip dip. We start with an 18oz container of greek style (its thicker) yogurt, 1/2C sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. then caramelize one medium onion, diced and 3 cloves chopped garlic. Mix with the yogart/sour cream and chill.

Today we are making a new variation. Start by finely chopping 8oz. mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic and sauted them in 1T butter until all the liquid was gone. Then mix them in the same yogurt/sour cream mix.

Very tasty and we are sure you can think of other variations (bacon perhaps?) There is no picture because it just looks like a bowl of yogurt.