Wasabi Pea Encrusted Salmon

While I normally ignore chain emails, I got lucky with a recent recipe exchange like you'd never believe.  One of my favorite finds is a wasabi pea encrusted salmon.  It's simple to prepare and is the perfect twist on fish.  It's a salmon fillet topped with a thin layer of mayo mixed with wasabi powder and topped with crushed wasabi peas and sesame seeds.  It's baked to perfection in 15 minutes flat and you can serve it with basmati rice and asparagus to tie in the Asian factor.  It's pretty awesome.

PC: Bon Appetit

Recipe: Danielle Kozin

Recipe after the jump: 

Apple Cider 2.0

I rocked my Fall-themed Cooking club with my favorite spiked apple cider and it was an affair to remember (or not).  I'm not even a huge specialty drink kind-of-girl and this sultry drink made me change my tune.  It's served warm and goes down nice and smooth like apple pie.  It's a must-try for those of you who like do it up.  It's the quintessential Fall drink.

Ingredients:
1 Gallon apple cider
4 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle Captain Morgans Rum

Combine three ingredients in a pan over medium heat.  Allow to heat up and serve in mugs.

PC: thedeaneryproject.com

Food Delivery Part II

Here is another fantastic recipe, Ina's Turkey Meatloaf, that was delivered by my girlfriend Allyson who spearheaded the delivery of meals to my house. (Thanks All!) It is perfect comfort food but unlike the traditional kind, it's healthy and light.  Best of all, it is HUGE, so you'll have leftovers for days.  

PC: Food network

Friends are the best medicine

After welcoming my third child into the world in August, my wonderful friends delivered the most amazing gift imaginable-daily home-cooked meals for four that were as delicious as they were heartfelt, appreciated, and devoured with nursing hunger gusto.  While I thought I had everything under control, I had no idea just how hard it was to get a meal on the table while caring for a newborn baby.  I guess that's why the saying goes, "friends are the best medicine." This is especially true after a c-section!

After recreating my friend Emily's Spaghetti Bolognese two months later, I realized how much love and time she put into her meal and I don't even have words to tell you how much I appreciate it.  This sauce is the real deal.  She uses a mix of veal/beef/pork (which you can substitute if you don't like one of the meats) and layers it with carrots, onion, and celery and finishes it off with whole milk (I used 2%), white wine (which is the ticket) and crushed tomatoes.  While the sauce takes about 3-6 hours to cook (6 hours if you double the recipe like yours truly), it's worth every minute of your precious time.  She delivered it with fresh pasta from Eataly (damn she's good), homemade caesar salad and a blackberry crisp.  It was a meal to remember and I'll be making it forever while thinking of her generosity and love. Thanks Em!

This is also the perfect dish for entertaining guests.  You can prepare the sauce in advance, buy fresh pasta from a good market, make a good caesar (with store-bought dressing to save on time), and serve it with garlic bread and biscotti and gelato for dessert... or a crisp if you're an all-star like Emily.  I can't think of anything better.

PC: Bonappetit

Recipe after the jump: