What's Been Cooking this Week?

Since I went a bit on cooking overload, there were lots of leftovers to enjoy at the beginning of this week. But now I'm once again trying to get through the tons of food in my fridge, and I might be on the winning side this week.

Zucchini fritters frying in the cast iron, soy-balsamic glazed chicken braising in the back (recipe for the fritters coming soon, as well as an explanation on braising and why it is one of my favorite ways to cook).

Other half of the zucchini was cut into half moons,  tossed with olive oil, salt, black pepper and a pinch of red chili flakes. These were roasted in my toaster over (that's right, a toaster over, and what!) at 450 degrees until they were tender and slightly charred (that leant a slightly smoky taste that feels summery; Mike thought they tasted as though they were grilled -- he loved them btw).

Here was dinner.

Clockwise from the top left: Soy-balsamic glazed chicken, left over pan-fried albacore, white rice, roasted zucchini

At the Top Left: More white rice, zucchini fritters

At the Top Right: Kool-aid (ooooooh yeaaahhh)

Made Mike a pepperoni pizza (I have an experiment going to find the perfect ratio of white to whole wheat flour that he really enjoys). For myself, I made a gorgonzola-gruyere-Parmesan cheese sauce with anchovy and bacon, mixed into lemon-pepper pappardelle (from Trader Joe's), with haricot verts for color and orange cherry tomato confit* for sweetnes and acidity, perfect for countering the saltiness and umami* goodness of the cheese sauce.

*Confit is used to describe foods that have been immersed in what I believed was always fat/oil, but apparently it's anything that will preserve it and add flavor.  The French are known for their duck and goose confits, and there are also fruit confits, with sugar used as the preservation substance.

*Umami is another name for savory, named by the Japanese scientists that discovered this flavor profile. It's a flavor commonly used to describe meat, mushrooms, and cheese.

And it appears Safeway has begun catering to a new class of shoppers. Anyone want to split 1/100th of a pound of Truffles*?

*Truffles are a fungus, prized by Chefs and home cooks alike, and referred to as the "diamond of the kitchen." While truffles are definitely out of most people's budget, truffle oil maybe be a more cost-friendly substitute. Though, keep in mind, truffle oil is not actually made from real truffles, but instead a synthetic substance.