Weekend of Cooking

Here's a list of everything that I prepared over this weekend:

• A batch of soboro, which is now frozen and awaiting consumption for lunch.  I still use the meatloaf mix from the supermarket when I make this, but I'm contemplating using all-beef if/when I decide to start grinding my own.
  
• 2 dozen pan-fried chicken burgers, also frozen for future lunches.  I wonder how these would come out if I ground up the chicken thighs, rather than putting them through the food processor.
  
• A Middle-Eastern feast for Stephanie and my parents - ezme salata, baba ganoush (thanks to Deborah Madison), baked falafel and tahini sauce.  Needless to say, a fantastic and filling meal.  I'm so happy Stephanie has discovered the joys of falafel - she's got a whole new world of culinary exploration open to her now.
  
• 3 dozen pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing - thanks to my mother for letting me borrow her pastry bag and 3/8" round tip.  Ironically enough, she asked me what I wanted to Hannukah this year...pastry/decorating tools would be interesting, but I'm not that into baking anyway.  These cookies were ridiculous - earthy and spicy (but not too sweet) cookies, combined with a rich and nutty icing - there were only 6 left this morning (thanks to my parents, Stephanie and I, as well as Brian and Jenny)...and those didn't even last too long.
• Bacon - I thought it would be very apropos to cook and eat bacon while watching the NYC Marathon...I don't really know why.  I know a lot of people who were running it today, and I thought it would be funny to post on Facebook that I was eating bacon while they were off being insane.
• Asian-style braised short ribs - I *always* forget that after the ribs are done braising, that I have to degrease the liquid (my least favorite step in any recipe), then reduce over 1 quart of cooking liquid down to 1 cup.  Honestly, I cheat and use cornstarch, because I don't want to wait to eat my delicious short ribs.  Even though I forgot the orange juices at the end, it was still rather tasty (even for an Emeril recipe)

That's it!  Tomorrow is "Meatless" Monday (we're having leftovers for lunch) but for dinner:  Zucchini-Chayote Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce.  Here's my question:  What did YOU cook this weekend?

Spice-Rubbed Chicken Breast Tacos

No pictures tonight, kids.  Apologies in advance.

Here's the recipe, and I followed it pretty faithfully where I could.  The only subs I made was I used Mexican-style hot chili powder vs. ancho chile powder (here's a nice post about the difference), and I used less cumin to compensate.

As I was prepping dinner, I was not happy with some of the individual components of the dish.  The poblanos, while prepped easily, came out tasting horrendously bitter, so I didn't use them.  The guacamole, usually something I prepare well and enjoy, was a bit too citrusy for my tastes.  The slaw was tasty, but had too much mayonnaise than my standard cole slaw recipe.  The only thing I was really happy about was the spice rub for the chicken, which was a clever combination of chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Honestly, Stephanie and I were prepared wanted really wanted to dislike this dish, simply because of the guy who came up with it (I've made my dislike of Bobby Flay very clear).  But let me tell you something.  This recipe was awesome.


Like every dish that ends up being delicious, it was the perfect balance of sweet/spicy, warm/cool and soft/crunchy.  I'd have stopped to take pictures, but it wasn't really photogenic, having chicken, guac, coleslaw and onions jammed and folded into a tortilla.  Absolutely delicious, and highly recommended.