February Recipe Challenge: Here we go again...

So let's give this another go, shall we?

I kept meaning to blog over the last week and a half, but due to work schedules and a much needed break to the coast (Sylvia Beach Hotel, awesome place for quiet time), I haven't had time to update things. I've been challenging myself as much as possible since the beginning of the month, though.

So this first blog is just going to be a summary of what I've done the last 11 days or so, without too much detail. I'll post links to as many recipes as I can.

First up, chili. Never made it before and it's not one of my favorite dishes to eat. However, this was a white bean (cannellini) and chicken chili. I roasted a poblano pepper to add to the below recipe, but otherwise I stuck pretty close to the instructions. Except for the parsley. I hate parsley. It tastes like grass, not in a good way, and it gets stuck in my braces.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/white-bean-and-chicken-chili-recipe/index.html

I, unfortunately, forgot to take any fancy prep shots of most of the dishes detailed here in this post, but here is a shot of the chili simmering away in the pot.

The next dish I made turned out awesome, if I do say so myself ;-) Bacon, cheese, and herb souffle. It was insanely yummy.

The only change I made was to add bacon, because as everyone knows, bacon makes everything better. Except vegans. And vegetarians.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/cheese-and-herb-souffle-recipe/index.html

After this, though I went to the coast where I ate such things as potato gnocchi, fish and chips, and a smoked salmon omlette. Here's a shot of my breakfast from the last morning there and some random pictures of my room. It was Tolkien/Lord of the Rings themed. Sweet!

Mordor in the bathroom.

After I got back from my trip, I decided to make ahi tuna steak with orange & carrot rice with almonds. Turned out pretty well according to the hubby. I'd never had ahi before.

The next dish was spanakopita, which I've had, but never tried to make before. Spinach pie in phyllo dough... it didn't last long, and what small amount was left, became my lunch the next day. I did put parsley in, but only because it would be cooked down and I wouldn't know it was in there...

I'll summarize faster now as this is getting kind of long due to the pictures... I made scallops and celeriac puree, which I wasn't that fond of. Jeremy loved it, but it made me kind of nauseous. I must qualify that with the fact that I wasn't feel very well in the first place.
The dish I made last night was my first attempt at curry. The resident expert in such matters, gave it a passing grade... maybe even a B+