Crispy Ginger Lime Chicken Thighs

Sorry for the lapse in posting! I've been in Hawaii (Kona and Waikiki), snacking on kalua pig, plate lunches, sushi, poke, malasadas, Kona coffee and lots of beer... mmmm.
Tonight, in our post-travel stupor, we easily pulled this ginger, curry, lime chicken dish together- very easy and very tasty. Served with whole wheat couscous cooked in veggie broth and topped with lime, raisins, cilantro, green onions and parsley.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I had some bananas getting a serious sun tan on the counter, so I thought I'd make some banana bread. I wasn't quite in the mood for regular banana bread, though, so peanut butter, banana and chocolate chip bread it was. The combination reminds me a sundae I always used to order at Friendly's as a kid... they discontinued it early in my childhood and I never forgave them. Jerks.

This bread is really good- really rich, though, more like a cake. I bet you could cook it in a shallower cake pan or pie plate and cut it in wedges. A great flavor combo.

Some strays from my files...

I forgot to post about these jewels back when I made and gifted them...

A Christmas gift for Jamie:
A Christmas gift for Liz, Tim's dad's wife:

Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits

Just about everything Joy the Baker makes causes me to drool... but this cheddar/black pepper biscuit recipe particularly caught my eye because she used the biscuits as the basis of an egg sandwich. I love egg sandwiches. I think my dying meal would be a bacon, egg and cheddar sandwich on a biscuit.

Anywho: biscuits.

I used to be intimidated by biscuits, but turns out they're really easy to make. I had great luck with Smitten Kitchen's cheddar and jalapeno scones, which were very biscuit-like (what is the difference between scones and biscuits?). These were equally awesome... peppery and cheesy with a ton of flaky layers. Yum.

Butternut, Rosemary, Spinach and Gorgonzola Risotto

Oh my god, this risotto recipe is awesome! I would highly recommend it, as would Chuck, Tim and Tony. But Tony would recommend the recipe more if you call it "butternut, rosemary, spinach and 'whoregonzola' risotto."

I did switch it up a teensy bit from the recipe: I added some garlic in with the onion, skipped the cream (risotto is creamy enough), used frozen spinach (nuked a little and squeezed out), and added a little more than the requisite gorgonzola.

We served it with this crispy baked chicken recipe with garlic and rosemary... also pretty awesome. Panko is one of my favorite ingredients...

Jewelry for Amy's Wedding

Amy asked me to make the jewelry for the bridesmaids (including me!) in her upcoming Hawaiian wedding... each girl is wearing a different brightly colored dress, so the jewels coordinate with each girl's dress. The jewelry came out pretty cool!
A little bit of a vintage vibe in turquoise, coral and bright yellow.

Baked Tortellini with Tomato Spinach Cream Sauce

Casserole week continues!!

Threw this semi-homemade dish together really quickly, but it was pretty good. I used tomato sauce that I made last summer during tomato season and threw in a bunch of frozen chopped spinach for some veggies.

Pretty good!