I generally prefer to cook during the winter months. Here in the deep South, it just gets too hot in summer to prepare anything fancier than something like gazpacho or pasta salad.

Here's what I've made recently (pictures behind the cut):

01-02-2010: Chicken Paprikash

This was okay. If I were to make it again, I'd subtract a cup of chicken broth and replace it with sour cream for a thicker sauce, and add more paprika. Oh, and I'd use pork instead of chicken.

01-19-2010: Cheese Fondue with Ciabatta Bread and Fuji Apples

This was ridiculously simple and a total cheat: I tasted Trader Joe's beer cheese fondue one night, and had to get it. It was that good, and it keeps in the fridge for months after purchase. I grabbed a loaf of their ciabatta bread, and had some Fuji apples on hand that were left over from a party at work. We drank a Trimbach Riesling with it (I definitely need to get another bottle of that). This may be one of the easiest dinners I've ever made. As a bonus, we got to use our cool electric fondue pot for the first time, hooray!

01-21-2010: Corn and Ricotta Pie

I served this with Scott Wells' grandmother's recipe for meatloaf, but I didn't take a picture of the latter because meatloaf, while tasty, just isn't that photogenic. The recipe is from Vegetarian Celebrations: Menus for Holidays and Other Festive Occasions, and I first encountered it when my sister brought it for Thanksgiving one year. We haven't seen it there since, so I decided to give it a go. I was very pleased with how this turned out, and would definitely make it again, though I might add a bit more parsley.

Here's a view of the pie sliced open:

01-22-2010: Corn and Ricotta Pie

It contains corn, sun-dried tomatoes, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, a little parsley, garlic, and black pepper tucked into a ciabatta breadcrumb crust.

If you'd like one of the recipes, just post a comment. I'm glad to share. :)