In the kitchen having fun.

So I've received encouragement to write a cooking blog. I love to cook. I do. I read cookbooks for enjoyment, at any time of the day or night. I take notes while watching "Iron Chef America". But, I must admit, almost none of what I cook come from my own ideas. I occasionally will vary a recipe, based on what I have on hand or to make dietary changes. But rarely will I concoct something out of the gray matter in my brain (I can't change its color like I can the hair on the outside). If you find it enjoyable to hear about what interesting looking recipe I'm trying tonight, this is the place to do it. Between the internet (favorite sites include epicurious.com and allrecipes.com) and my two completely filled-to-overflowing bookcases of cookbooks, I do find some pretty tasty things, I think. Because I'm not a willing plagiarist (my journalism background is too strong), I will link to the recipe when I can find it online, or give credit to where I found it if I cannot.

Tonight's entree is Pork Chops with leeks in mustard sauce, from Epicurious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-Chops-with-Leeks-in-Mustard-Sauce-352613
I'm using regular ol' pork chops (have never seen "heritage" ones for sale and don't think I want to know how much those are per pound), and I'm only making two chops. I'm going to use the full amount of leeks though, because veggies are good. Oh, and I have yet to find a store anywhere near me that carries creme fraiche, but I have one which has an awesome supply of Latin American creams. Seriously - they have Mexican and Guatemalan and Honduran. Maybe more. Are all those creams That much different from one another? They all looked like pretty much they had the same ingredient list. The Honduran has heavy cream, cream cheese and sour cream, and it's in a thick liquidy form. I'm going to try that with this dish.

Along with that, I'm going to roast some carrots. I'll try to dig up that recipe but it's been a long time since I actually used the written word for it. Peel carrots - however many you want - and cut them into the approximate size and shape of those overpriced "baby carrots" they sell. Put in a casserole dish, drizzle olive oil on 'em and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 oven (not sure this is correct... I usually just put them in with anything else that needs oven time and take them out when they're neither raw nor mushy).

For dessert, I've made mocha fudge bread pudding. The recipe came from my Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2007 cookbook, but the link I found is at allrecipes.com: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1227891
I only have fat-free milk on hand, not 1% (will make up the dietary difference by using that Honduran cream in the pork chop sauce, no doubt). I used a cup of coffee from my freshly-made this morning pot and it's half hazelnut, half French vanilla. And I used light brown sugar instead of dark. That was because I apparently needed to drink more of said coffee before beginning to cook and grabbed the wrong kind.

Pictures later - now it's lunchtime! Having leftover Thai coconut-butternut squash soup.