Untested - Roasted Zucchini Soup with Fried Shallots

http://theunemployedcook.blogspot.ca/2006/07/roasted-zucchini-soup-with-fried.html

For the shallots:

3-4 shallots, peeled and sliced very thinly
peanut oil

1. Heat about an inch of peanut oil over medium-high heat in a small, heavy pot. 
2. Fry the shallots in batches, being careful to not overload the pot or they will stick, until a deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

For the soup:

4-5 medium zucchini, cubed
Olive oil (how much?)
light cream (how much?)
chicken stock (how much?)
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
2. Toss zucchini in a generous amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
3. Roast until caramelized on the edges and very soft--you want it softer than you would if eating it on its own.
4. Dump the zucchini into a food processor and pulse a few times until pretty mushy. 
5. Add stock and continue processing until as smooth and thin as you like. 
6. Add some cream (you could use cream or even whole milk instead) in at the end and pulse again to combine. 
7. Taste and adjust for seasoning--I like it simple, but you could add any number of spices at this point.
8. Ladle into a shallow bowl and top with a generous amount of the fried shallots. 

Untested - BBQ Artisan Bread

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-bake-no-knead-bread-on-the-grill-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-90955
http://www.nokneadbread.org/gas-grill-instructions-for-dutch-oven-baking-and-noknead-bread.html
http://waywardspark.com/barbecued-bread/
https://memphisgrills.com/no-knead-artisan-bread/
https://breadtopia.com/grilled-bread/
https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2013/07/26/kicking-off-the-outdoor-baking-season-with-a-boule-on-the-gas-grill/comment-page-1/

The links above appear to contain lots of different information so this may turn out to be several bread recipes, or lots of variations to test.

Cream of Aspargus Soup - Test 1

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/cream-of-asparagus-soup-without-cream-292876

1: May 21 2018 - Hit it out of the ballpark on the first go. We heard of this soup from Diane at Whalewych Farm so I just looked it up and bam! There is was. I only had about 12 oz of asparagus so I cut the amount of ingredients to match, and it turned out quite nice. I was surprised at how creamy it was, sans cream. The next test will include a swirl of cream as an optional garnish, just to see. Also, how would it be with fresh herbs?

2 lbs asparagus (optional - save tips)
1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 -6 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Heavy Cream
Fresh herbs? tarragon, parsley, basil

1. (Optional) Cut the tips off of 12 asparagus (1 1/2") and set aside.
2. Trim the tough ends of the asparagus and cut into 1" pieces.
3. In the soup pot, cook onion and asparagus in the oil, stirring often, till softened.
4. Add broth and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
5. (Optional) While the soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender (3-4 minutes) and drain.
6. Puree the soup until smooth; adjust the seasoning.
7. Ladle into bowls with a grind of fresh black pepper on top.
8. (Optional) Garnish with asparagus tips.

Wine braised pork chops - Test 1

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/pork-chops-with-wine-and-garlic/21171/

1 - Good first test, but the recipe needed some changes (in my opinion). I included the oven instructions and some finer points on how to have tender pork chops. The original recipe doesn't seem to include information on how to make sure the chops are cooked enough (but not too much), and the timing seemed way off, so I added quite a bit in that respect.
1a - I accidentally made this with lamb chops and it turned out really well. I mean, wine, right? The only difference, really, is the cooking time - much less time for the lamb chops, just a few minutes in the braising, and I did it all on the stove top. Still love the popcorn!

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 + 1 Tbsps butter
1 kernel of popcorn (optional)
Salt and black pepper
4 bone-in T-bone pork chops, 1" thick (about 2 lbs)
16 12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ½ cups red wine
1+1 bay leaf
½ cup beef broth, plus more if needed
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. (optional but a good idea) 30 minutes or several hours before, brine the pork chops in a water bath including a little less than 1 Tbsp of salt per cup of water, and a few bay leaves. 
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. In a heavy skillet fit for oven use, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat. To check that it's hot enough, throw in a popcorn kernel - when it pops, the oil will be at 325-50F and ready for a good, quick sear. 
4. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. To sear the chops, avoid crowding! Giving them room means they'll brown before they overcook. When one side is beautifully golden (about 3-4 minutes, flip and brown the other side. (No need to completely cook the chops at this point.) 
5. Remove the chops from the skillet and set aside to make the braising sauce.
6. Reduce the heat and throw in the whole cloves of garlic in the hot oil and juices. Swirl them around and cook until they get nice and golden brown. 
7. Deglaze with the red wine, then add the bay leaf. 
8. Adjust the heat to create a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced and thick, and it leaves a clear line when you draw a wooden spoon along the bottom of the pan.
9. Stir in the beef broth (you can add more if it needs the liquid) and put the pork chops back in, arranging them firmly in the sauce. 
10. Add the balsamic and tilt the pan back-and-forth to help it distribute. 
11. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes (or more?), or until the internal temperature 145F (still slightly pink in the middle).
12. Remove the chops from the skillet to rest and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer once again and cook until it has reduced to your desired consistency and the garlic is nice and soft and sweet.
13. (Optional) Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
14. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning.
15. Arrange the pork chops on a platter, then pour over the whole skillet of sauce (including the garlic).

Milk Braised Pork - Testing

Saving this here - it's on LaMouffetteGourmande, but is an older recipe that needs to go through the testing phases to clarify how I've done it. For example, the timing is way, way off.

http://lamouffettegourmande.blogspot.ca/2011/04/simple-and-slow.html

May 4 2018 - in remaking this, I noticed that the time is way off. I wonder if I need to pay more attention to the internal temperature of the pork? How would it work in a slow cooker?

March 23, 2024 - This cooked so differently. I've reverted the recipe on La Mouffette as a draft. The recipe currently says to cook at medium, but from my experience cooking at medium does not allow for enough of the milk's water to evaporate to get to the golden curds before the loin is cooked. It might have been the size of the tenderloin I used? Anyway, I can't keep this recipe available until I figure out the rather important details of getting to the results I had before. I thought of maybe using the slow cooker with the lid off, which likely would represent a lot more milk to braise the pork, which might be fine because the cheese it creates really is wonderful.

Parsnip Ravioli with Balsamic Butter Sauce - Test 1

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/parsnip-triangoli-aged-balsamic-vinegar
https://alwaystimeforfood.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/parsnip-ravioli/

1 - The filling is delicious. Chad made a red cabbage and carrot salad with asian flavours and it paired quite well - I think it was the toasted sesame oil.

2 - Really quite good, yet again. The changes I made worked well. Made it for a group and it was well appreciated. I did not have chives on hand, but someone paired it with a potluck super-garlicky spaghetti squash mash and liked it. I think this indicates that adding something like toasted garlic or minced chives either as a garnish or in the sauce might be good.

Pasta dough
2 cups + flour
3 eggs
pinch salt

Filling
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 cup 3 parsnips, (340gr), coarsely grated finely diced peeled parsnips
1/2 cup water (maybe stock in second attempt to see if added flavour is needed/noted)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tsp Champagne  plum vinegar
Salt

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsps Balsamic vinegar 

(maybe try frying a little garlic in the butter OR adding some minced chives at the end?)

Garnish
Fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbsps snipped chives

1. On a board or the counter, make a mound of flour, sprinkle on the salt, create a bowl in the centre of the flour mound, crack in the eggs and start combining with your fingers. You should end up with a very dry dough, almost cracking; if sticky, add flour until this is achieved. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour. 
2. Meanwhile, cook the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the parsnip and the water and cook, covered, until the veg is tender (about 15 minutes), then uncover and boil away the liquid.
3. Transfer the vegetables to the food processor and puree. 
4. Stir in the Parmigiano and Champagne  wine vinegar and season with salt. Let the filling cool slightly before applying it to the pasta.
5. Cut the pasta dough into 4 pieces and keep wrapped. Using a hand-cranked pasta machine and dusting lightly with flour, run each piece of dough through each setting 3 times, beginning at the widest setting and ending at the second-to-the-narrowest. Place the pasta sheet on a floured work surface and cover to prevent drying out. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of pasta dough.
6. To stuff the ravioli, lay out one sheet on a floured surface. Measuring out 1 Tbsp per ravioli, space them out evenly on the sheet, allowing plenty of room of virgin dough between lumps to make a good seal. Brush around the filling with water.
7. Lay the second sheet on top, smoothing out and pressing gently to make the two sheets touch around the stuffing and seal with the help of the dampened bottom sheet (this last bit can also be done after cutting the shapes).
8. Cut out the ravioli in circles or squares with a knife or pasta cutter. Press out any remaining air bubbles and be OCD about pressing the edges a lot - try to get it to be as thin as the single-thickness of the original sheet so that it all cooks at the same rate. Put any finished ravioli onto a floured baking sheet.
9. While bringing a large pot of salted water to a simmer, prepare the sauce.
10. In a large saucepan, heat the butter to a froth and cook until the butter is lightly browned. 
11. Remove from heat and stir in the Balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
12. Once the water has started to boil reduce the heat and let the water slow to a gentle simmer. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook until they rise to the surface and puff up (3-4 minutes). You may have to do this in batches to avoid crowding and sticking.
13. With a slotted spoon remove the ravioli and put directly in the sauce, covering them with the butter sauce before dropping in the next one (swirling the pan helps to cover the ravioli without having to handle it too much).
14. Plate the ravioli, drizzle any remaining sauce on top, and garnish with fresh ground pepper and snipped chives.