This is probably one of the better chilies I’ve had recently. I’m sure that it will never please a chili purist, but a chili purist I am not. I think chili can have beans and meat, either or both. It can be flavored and cooked in a myriad of ways. The only thing that should matter in the end is how it tastes – and this tasted damn good.

The smokiness of the chipotle in adobo and the smoked paprika were a pleasant diversion from the standard peppers and chili powder flavors of most chilies. It has a lot of heat – if you’re not one for spiciness I’d highly recommend substituting green bell peppers for the Anaheims and maybe omitting a chipotle pepper. I personally love the contrast of the smoky, spicy chili with the coolness of the sour cream and the richness of the avocado on top.

This recipe does call for a bottled jar of sauce. This isn’t something I usually do for recipes, but I had it on hand for a different recipe that required its use for a contest. I never ended up making that specific recipe, nor did I gain entry into the contest, so there it stood, staring at me from the counter. I didn’t feel like going to the store to grab diced tomatoes and tomato paste, so I used the bottled sauce. I have to admit, it was delicious and I’ll probably use it again in the future. That being said, if you are anti-processed food (and who can blame you after the monstrosity that is Sandra Lee) feel free to compensate by using diced tomatoes, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste plus some oregano and red chili flakes.

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This is one of those perfect weeknight entertaining dishes that looks impressive but is incredibly easy. It's a kind of cross between a chicken milanese and a latin chicken milanesa a caballo. The best part about this recipe is how make ahead friendly it is. You can bread the chicken hours before you need them and pull them out and fry them whenever.

They are exceptionally moist and the truffle salt adds such a luxurious level of flavor - even I was surprised at how well all of the flavors really meshed together. The crispy coated, moist chicken, the umami earthiness of the truffles, the acidic bite from the lemon-dressed salad, and the creamy richness of the poached egg. If you have it on hand I can't imagine that a drizzle of truffle oil would hurt the finished dish, either.

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In many restaurants bolognese is touted as a red sauce, but in traditional recipes there is really only a very small amount of tomato added. It gains it's depth of flavor through the combination of meats used and slow simmering. There's also a debate about whether red or white wine is best. I prefer white. I think bolognese is similar to American meatloaf, there are as many ways to make the perfect recipe as there are people who make it.

I made this first for the husband and I and then again for his grandparents on a lovely weekend trip up to Maryland. It's been a hit both times and I think it will be a solid addition to the "recipes-we-eat-frequently" category.

The first time I ladled it over an achingly tender tagliarelle pasta from Cipriani. The pasta is a little on the spendy side, but I think it's more than worth the occasional splurge.

I also like to add in the rind of a hard cheese like Parmigiana-Reggiano during the simmering if I've got it lying around. I think it adds a lot to the depth of flavor in the sauce.

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I usually try to stay to the healthier side of Asian cooking, but I'm willing to admit that egg rolls are a guilty pleasure of mine. I think everyone can admit that anything deep-fried is always pretty delicious. Except for deep fried Twinkies. Or deep fried butter. Wrong.

There's always been a debate over what constitutes an egg roll, a spring roll, or lumpia. I'm not really sure what category this recipe falls into, but it's delicious. That's really all I care about when it comes to food.

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A fresh breeze to ruffle the feathers, sun to warm them, freedom to run about and peck at whatever they should choose. Delicious vegetarian feed and a life free of antibiotics and hormones. That's how chickens should be raised.  Not in cages or factory farms where they never see the outdoors a moment of their lives. Not where they crawl with bugs and peck each other to death out of fear, anxiety, and a blind attempt at self preservation.

It's not a very appetizing thought, is it? Sadly, it's the reality of commercial farms, the predominant source of meat throughout the US.

It can be difficult to find an alternative to factory farmed meat, though, and the difficulty often outweighs one's conscious. It's so easy to just pop over to the neighborhood supermarket and pick up a pound or two of chicken for dinner and not think about where it came from.

It's an issue that's plagued me significantly since moving to North Carolina. In California it was so easy to find humanely raised meats at nearly any market, but in North Carolina it's been impossible - at least until last week.

Carolina Grown, a relatively new business in central NC, is offering an amazing new service. Produce, dairy, and meat from solely NC growers delivered directly to your door for a surprisingly reasonable flat fee.

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