The Pecan Affair

Recipes for the Week:

So, I have a confession. I'm madly, truly, deeply in love with pecans. If this romance was a movie it would unfold in the typical fashion of an opposites-attract, love/hate chick flick. I detested all things pecan growing up and saw them as the black sheep of the nut family. Mind you, I love most nuts- almonds, pistachios, cashews, etc. But man, did I hate taking a bite of a cookie or a piece of chocolate to find a pecan in there. But then, a few months back in a tiny cafe, I gave pecan pie a second chance. Now it's all I can do to keep from putting pecans in everything I eat. So in honor of my new favorite nut I decided to get a little edgy by trying out this recipe:

Pecan Crusted Chicken

I knew from the first taste that this was EXACTLY what I wanted to eat for dinner, and for every dinner after that (at least until my pecan obsession ran out of steam). I was pretty skeptical about the combination of chicken and cinnamon but it was positively delicious. For once being adventurous has paid off! Other pros include: super quick, super easy, and requires only basic ingredients (besides the pecans- but I have bags and bags of those now).

Disclaimer: The picture above is not mine, nor did it come from the recipe site. However, I swear this looks exactly like what came out of the pan.

I also ended up having another culinary adventure involving Italian sausage and gnocchi. A friend and I sort of put together our own recipe which we'll probably never manage to recreate exactly but the combination was heavenly. A smattering of peppers and bay leaves and red wine may have played a part. The result is pictured below:

Of course we all know the real hero here is the Italian sausage, let's not kid ourselves.

Other food adventures:
-Tacos
-My Mom's chicken lentil soup (now sitting in the freezer)

I've also just ripped open a package which contained the deep fryer I got for Christmas. Donuts anyone?