Honkman

Sausage with Cannellini Beans and Kale - Fresh Italian pork sausages get cooked to build some fond. Deglazed with onions, garlic, red wine, tomato paste and smoked paprika and afterwards you cook lacinato kale, cannellini beans and the sausages with the fond and water. Finished with olive oil and sherry vinegar

If you cook for more people than usual Chili is often a good approach - this one was a rather classic way with ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes and kidney beans pureed to give a good consistency, onions, chili powder, chipotle with adobo, coriander, garlic powder, cumin and oregano. Served over rice and with avocado, cheddar and sour cream

Pasta Cassarole with Linguica and Kale - there are dishes you make for the first time but it hits a sweet spot and everybody at the table mentions that it is feels like comfort food you have made and eaten many times before. This casserole was one of these dishes. The recipe didn’t look that special but somehow it worked really nice together - penne, blanched and seared kale, seared linguica and mornay sauce with gouda and cheddar and topped with a little bit more gouda and panko crumbs.

Roasted Indian-Spiced Vegetables with Lime-Cilantro Butter by a recipe from Diana Henry - potatoes, carrots, parsnip, cauliflower and red beets get oven roasted with garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Finished with some compound butter made with chili, cilantro and lime juice and zest. Served with yoghurt and mango chutney

Fusili with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto - pesto made with sun-dried tomatoes, toasted walnuts, toasted garlic, olive oil, parmesan and some pasta water

Variation on Chickpea-Dal - Chickpeas, red onion, garlic and red lentils are cooked in vegetable broth and coconut milk. At the same time you make some seasoned/infused oil by quickly pan-frying garam masala, cilantro and red pepper flakes in some oil before balancing it with some lemon juice. Mix everything together, add cashew nuts and more cilantro and serve with some coconut yogurt

Messy photo of a quick Shakshuka with chickpeas, roasted red bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, feta, garlic, coriander, smoked and hot paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, mint and an egg

Greek-Inspired Feta-Filled Bifteki with Pepper-Bread Salad and Tomato Dip - bifteki were made from ground beef, egg, soaked naan, mustard, tomato pasta, fried onions, paprika and oregano. Filled with feta, seared in the pan and finished in the oven. The salad had red, green and yellow peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, parsley and quickly fried naan with a sauce made from yoghurt, olive oil and lemon juice. The dip was made by cooking tomatoes, red onions, garlic and fresno chili.

Korean-inspired Chicken Salad - cooked chicken breast, blanched green beans, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, scallions, cucumber and pine nuts are mixed with a sauce made from pureed pine nuts, mustard, lemon juice, gochujang and water.

Green Asparagus Ragout - green asparagus, snow peas, peas, onions cooked in vegetable broth thickened with flour. Finished with sour cream, plenty of basil and lemon juice. Served over rice and with a soft boiled egg

German-influenced Chickpea Dal with Red Beet Yogurt - dal made with suppengemuese (mixture of leek, carrots, celery and celery root), chickpeas, onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder, tomato passata, vegetable broth and coconut milk. Topped with yogurt mixed with diced red beets, dill and lemon juice

Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple and Mango Sauce and Pisto Manchego - pork tenderloin cooked sous-vide (140F, 3 hours) and served with a sauce made with pineapple juice, mango, brown sugar, ginger and cornstarch. The pisto mamchego was made by sauteeing tomatoes, onion, garlic, green pepper, zucchini and parsley in lard and cooking it in its own juices.

Fettuccine with Mushrooms, Mint and Chili Oil from Back Pocket Pasta - Mix of mushrooms (portobello, king oyster, shiitake, oyster) and thyme gets sautéed before adding and cooking down red wine and finishing with parsley, mint, egg yolks and chili oil. Served with fettuccine

Lamb Tagine - made with cubed lamb shoulder, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, turmeric, caraway and hot paprika. Served over couscous and topped with yoghurt with fresh mint

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple-Lentil Salad - dinner was completely prepared on the grill with the pork tenderloin coated with a rub made from chipotle powder, cumin, sugar and salt. Pineapple and poblano chili were just simply grilled with some olive oil and mixed lentils, cilantro, olive oil, some of the rub and some lime juice and topped with some pepitas

Chinese inspired Thanksgiving dinner with “Taste of Sichuan” Beef Shanks from ATK’s “A Very Chinese Cookbook” - diced beef shank get first braised in water with plenty of ginger and star anise and then a second, shorter braise in a mixture of ginger, garlic, rock sugar, doubanjiang, shaoxing wine, chinese black vinegar and soy sauce. Finished with some toasted sesame oil. Served with some stir-fried choy sum and rice

Savory Dutch Baby with Portobellos, Roasted Red Peppers, Walnuts, and Feta from Cook’s Illustrated - dutch baby made with flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs and butter starting in a cold oven. The topping is a mix of sautéed portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, toasted walnuts, feta, parsley, lemon juice and zest and olive oil

Tofu and Bacon (from a German cooking magazine) with Stir-Fried Chopped Choy Sum (from Every Grain of Rice) - for the tofu and bacon part you cook diced bacon and than consecutively add diced extra firm tofu, red pepper and scallions and finish with soy sauce, fish sauce, roasted sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Topped with cilantro and peanuts. Choy sum gets first briefly blanched before finely chopped. First a quick dry woking to elimate all water, then stir-fried with chili, garlic and ginger before finishing with some roasted sesame and chili oil.

Variation on Feijoadinha - vaquero beans from Rancho Gordo are cooked with kielbasa, linguica and garlic. Green pepper, carrot and onions are sautéed before added to the beans and cooked a bit more. Finished with some cumin and parsley. Served over rice and with braised kale (simple longer braise with torn kale and plenty of garlic)

Phanaeng Curry with Chicken and Kabocha Squash from Simple Thai Food by Leela Puunyaratabandhu - the curry is made by cooking chicken breast and diced kabocha squash in a mixture of coconut milk and cream, chicken broth, coconut oil, red curry paste, fish sauce, light brown sugar, fresno chili, makrut lime leaves and thai basil. Served over rice

Potato Salad with Pears and Radicchio - potatoes, peas, shallots, pears, radicchio and manchego are mixed with vegetable broth, olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard and lemon juice. Served with the obligatory wiener wuerstchen

Cottage Pie - ground beef, onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, marsala wine, thyme, bay leaf, flour, cornstarch are cooked in beef broth and get topped with mashed potatoes (made with butter, milk, egg, scallions) and heated under the broiler.

Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce - Fusilli with a sauce made from ground beef, shallots, garlic, gorgonzola dolce, white wine, heavy cream and vegetable broth.

Spanish Tortilla with Chorizo and Scallions - Rather classic preparation with thinly sliced potatoes, chorizo, scallions, onion and eggs. Served with some japanese kewpie mayo for the extra umami kick

Cheesy Beans and Kale - kale and beans (cannellini and great northern) are braised with garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes in diluted aquafaba. After cooking, parmesan is added and some beans are mashed to get some creaminess. Finished with more parmesan and served with wiener wuerstchen.