New recipe, March 31, 2014

Grilled Chicken with Curried Couscous Spinach and Mango from the Spring 2014 CookFresh. Used Chat Masala when I discovered I didn't have curry powder. Very nice mix of flavors, it gets a 4.

Wine: Von der Leyen Riesling 2012-a reasonable match.

New recipe, March 30, 2014

Pork Tenderloin with Sage and Marsala from the Spring 2014 CookFresh. This is another delight. 5 again!

Served with roasted blue and sweet potatoes, and leftover Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Herbs and Goat Cheese.

Wine/ Black Diamond Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2009--an excellent match

New recipe, March 29, 2014

For lunch, Chicken Soup with Rice Lemon and Mint--the lemon and mint transform a simple soup into a delight--5! For dinner, we contributed the Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Herbs and Goat Cheese to Scott Noble's birthday dinner. The addition of herbs (basil, mint, parsley, tarragon) takes this salad to a new level as well--another 5!

Both are from the Spring 2014 CookFresh.

New recipe, March 28, 2014

Lemon Garlic Lamb Chops with Minted Couscous from the Spring 2014 CookFresh. These are tasty--we give the whole deal a 4.

Wine: Exem Bordeaux 2010-- a good match

New recipe, March 27, 2014

Herb Coated Tilapia with Lemon from the Spring 2014 CookFresh. Simple and tasty, this gets a 4. Served with arugula salad and boiled potatoes.

Wine: Evolúció Furmint Tokaj 2011--an excellent match

New recipes, March 26, 2014

Carl's birthday dinner, which we celebrated with Dwight Davidson. From the April 2014 Food and Wine: Seared Scallops with Caper Raisin Sauce (a definite 5!) and Endive and Grapefruit Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette (we give this a 4).

Wine: Comte de Saint Venant Vouvray 2010--a nice match

After dinner: The French Intervention, from The Drunken Botanist, by Amy Stewart

New recipe, March 25, 2014

Flatbreads with Herb Roasted Tomatoes, from the April 2014 Food and Wine. A great flavor combination, we give this a 4.

Served with a cucumber red pepper salad.

Wine: Barnard Griffin Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008--a great match

New recipe, March 24, 2014

Cumin Lamb Noodles with Eggplant from the April 2014 Food and Wine. There is mint in here that really takes it over the top. It gets a 4

Wine: Muriel Rioja Reserva 2007--a very good match

New recipe, March 23, 2014

Lamb Steak Frites from the April 2013 Food and Wine. Excellent, we give this a 4. Served with roasted broccoli with a dash of lemon juice.

Wine: Poggiotondo 2009 Chianti Superiore--a good match

New recipes, March 22, 2014

From the March 2014 Food and Wine, the Low Approach cocktail was our aperitif--a nice flavor combination. We give it a 4.

Dinner was Pork Tenderloin with Cannellini Beans, and Arugula Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette, both from the April 2014 Cooking Light. We give both a 4.

Wine: Kosta Browne 2011 Ruasian River Valley Pinot Noir

New recipe, March 21, 2014

The Lillet Spritzer, from the label on a bottle of Lillet Blanc. It is pleasant, we give this a 3.

New recipe, March 20, 2014

Travel and meetings kept us from cooking, so we have this cocktail--the Mulligan, described to Carl by Brett Sklar and Doug Duncan. It has vodka, ginger beer, mint and lime. Tasty! We give it a 3

New recipe, March 19, 2014

Manhattan made with chocolate bitters, a recipe given to Carl by Wes Williams. Tasty, it gets a 4.

New recipe, March 18, 2014

Spicy Bean and Quinoa Salad with "Mole" Vinaigrette, from the April 2014 Cooking Light. This was pretty good, could have been spicier. We give it a 3.
Served with cornbread.

New recipe, March 17, 2014

St Patrick will appreciate the change, we hope! Leftover Stir Fried Vegetables from the January/February 2014 Cooking Light (still a 4) and Nutty Almond Sesame Red Quinoa (we used regular quinoa) from the March 2014 Cooking Light. Simple and delightful--it gets a 4.

Wine: Evolucio Furmint 2011--a nice match

New recipes, March 16, 2014

Coconut Curry Halibut (we used tilapia), Cashew Rice, and Stir Fried Vegetables--all 3 from the April 2014 Cooking Light. These were very nice together, and we give each a 4.

Wine: Domaine du Tariquet Rosé de Pressée 2012

New recipe, March 15, 2014

This is the Centennial Smash, from 5280 Magazine. We give this a 4--it is delicious! Thanks Mark and JD, who made a fabulous dinner for us!

New recipe, March 14, 2014

Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Chops from the January/February 2014 Cooking Light. Very tasty, we give this a 4. Served With a green salad with Viandox vinaigrette.

No wine, as we headed to the Curious Theatre to see the excellent production of "Good People".

New recipe, March 13, 2014

Howard's Blend from Tim Federle's Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist. Nice flavors, we give it a 4

New recipe, March 12, 2013

Maple Glazed Carrots from the March 2014 Food and Wine. We used dried dill, as that is what we had. As made, this was pretty grassy, and also pretty sweet in an unbalanced way. It gets a 2. Served with grilled African Adobo rubbed grilled pork tenderloin (which gets a 4!).

Wine: Bantan Gewürztraminer 2013 Monterey County

New recipe, March 11, 2014

Scallion Dill Potato Salad from the March/April 2014 Eating Well, served with a reprise of the Seared Chicken with Lemon Herb Cream Sauce from the same issue. The salad gets a 3, the chicken still gets a 4,

Wine: Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2009. A reasonable match.

New recipe, March 10, 2014

Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto and Juniper from the January 2014 Food and Wine. Delicious, we give this a 4! Served with pan fried D'Artagnan sausages.

Wine: Fattoria Rodáno Poggialupi Toscana 2007--nice match, especially when lemon juice is added to the sprouts.

New recipe, March 9, 2014

Quick Shepherd's Pie from the March/April 2014 Eating Well. Very tasty and comforting, we give this a 4.

Wine: Mormoraia Chianti Colli Senesi 2012--an ok match.

New recipe, March 8, 2014

Lamb Stir Fry with Pomegranate and Yogurt, from the March 2014 Bon Appétit. Tasty, and we think a slightly shorter cooking time did the lamb would be even better. We give this a 4. Served with a riff on the Roasted Cabbage with Chive Mustard Vinaigrette from the March/April 2014 Eating Well--we did an olive walnut vinaigrette, once again a 5.

Wine: E Guigal Saint Joseph 2003--an excellent match!

New recipes, March 7, 2014

Quick Fettuccine Alfredo, and Roasted Radishes and Leeks with Thyme, both from from the March/April 2014 Eating Well.

We give these both a 4!

New recipe, March 6, 2014

Fennel, Citrus and Roasted Beet Salad from the January/February 2014 Eating Well--a nice if not memorable set of flavors--we give this a 3. Served with some roasted chicken.

Nice with a brown Leffe beer.

New recipe, March 5, 2014

Gulpiver's Travels, from Tim Federle's Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist. Good flavors, this gets a 4.

New recipe, March 4, 2014

Southwest Quinoa Cakes, from the March/April 2014 Eating Well, served with a chipotle salsa, avocado and cilantro. This is really delightful, and vegetarian to boot. We give it an enthusiastic 5!

New recipes, March 3, 2014

Two from the March/April 2014 Eating Well: Seared Chicken with Lemon Herb Cream, and Roasted Cabbage with Chive Mustard Vinaigrette. The chicken is really nice, and we give it a 4. The cabbage (yes, cabbage!) is amazing, and gets a 5!

Wine: Von der Leyen 2012 Riesling Nahe--a very nice match to both dishes.

New recipe, March 2, 2014

Rib Eye Steaks with Piquillo Pepper Sauce from the March/April 2014 Eating Well. This is quite nice--we give it a 4. Served with braised fennel.

New recipe, March 1, 2014

March already! The new recipe is African Sweet Potato and Chicken Stew with Couscous, from the March/April Eating Well. Quite nice--we give it a 4. We think this would be a 5 with a bit more of the spices--ground coriander, grated ginger, and cayenne.

Wine: Huia Marlborough Dry Riesling 2010-- very nice match,