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Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. Chicken
• 1/2 Red Onion – Diced
• 1 Sweet Potato
• 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Coriander
• 1/4 tsp. Cumin
• 1/4 tsp. Paprika
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne
• Filo Dough

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the spices in a bowl and add a little bit of olive oil to it. Set aside a small bit for later. Rub the rest of the spice mixture all over the chicken. Add the chicken to an oven-safe dish and cover with foil. Roast the chicken for about 35 minutes or until it is fully cooked and tender.

Wash and dry the sweet potato. Cut it into big chunks, wrap it in foil with a bit of oil and put it in the oven with the chicken. By the time the chicken is done the sweet potato should be nice and soft as well.

Add the minced onions along with the reserved spice mixture to a big bowl. Chop up the roasted chicken and sweet potato. Add them both to the bowl and stir them until they are thoroughly mixed.

Cut the filo dough into the shape and size you want for each of your briks (traditionally, a triangle). Add the filling to each of them and close them up using water to help seal any seams. Brush some oil onto the dough to help them brown nicely and to help keep them from sticking to a pan. Place them onto a baking sheet, put them into the oven and cook until the dough is crispy and brown.

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Thighs – Fat Trimmed
• 3-4 Strips of Bacon – Minced
• 1/4 Cup Onion – Diced
• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 3-4 Young Sprigs of Thyme – Minced
• Small Handful of Rosemary – Minced

Directions
Pan fry the bacon until it is fully cooked. Remove the bacon and begin cooking the chicken thighs in the same pan. There should be enough fat from bacon to not really need any additional oil. While the chicken is cooking, mince the bacon, thyme and rosemary and combine them with the 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Once the chicken is just about done, add the onions and cook them until they are nice and soft. Finally, add the heavy cream and herb mixture. Cook down the sauce and serve hot.

The trip was part vacation, part adventure. One of the performance groups that my wife dances with was invited to dance at various cities all over the country by the Everest Nepal Cultural Group.

Some of the places we ended up going included:

• Kathmandu
• Patan
• Narayangarh
• Palpa
• Pokhara

We will be working on getting pictures posted as we go through them, but it might take some time.

For now, here’s a picture of Mount Everest we took from the flight into Kathmandu.

A few weekends ago Dancer and I had brunch down in Laguna Beach with some of my family – the view was gorgeous. We ate at a really cool restaurant called, “Las Brisas.”

We both enjoyed the show very much. I’m always worried that I’ll get bored, but they did an awesome job of keeping the story moving along. Since it was a ballet the set is pretty open, but they were able to make it work well.

After the show we were both pretty hungry but neither of us wanted to do anything fancy. We decided to head to one of our favorite pizza joints, Piecora’s. Dressed in full formalwear, we finished out our evening with some pizza and some tasty beer.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. Good Steak – Minced (by hand)
• 1 Onion – Minced
• 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Strips of Bacon – Chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions
Heat the Olive Oil in a frying pan until it is hot. Add the bacon and cook it until the fat runs off. Then add the onion and cook them until they are soft, but not browned. Once that is done, add the steak and tomatoes, cover with water and cook until the sauce is nice and think, 30-45 mins.

Ingredients

• 12-16 oz. Ground Lamb
• 1 Large Eggplant – Charred and Cubed
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Mirin
• 1/2 Tsp Sugar

Directions
Char the eggplant over an open flame until the skin is blackened. Once it is cooled, remove the skin and cut into 1 inch cubes. Saute the eggplant until it starts to soften. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook until there is no more pink in the lamb.

Although brew in its self would be sufficient, I think food is in order too.

The plan is to make some saucy, country-style ribs (although nothing can compare to Andrew’s ribs), some tasty side dishes like Potato Curry with Tamarind or Baked Butternut Squash, maybe some yummy bread and of course the obligatory can of beer nuts.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Tofu
• 4 Tbsp. Vanilla Soymilk
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 6 oz. Vegan Chocolate – chopped
• 1-2 Dried California or Ancho Chilies – Seeded

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°. Press the tofu a little to remove some of the water. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. It should have the texture of pudding. Pour the mixture into custard cups and bake in a water bath until the mixture firm in the middle. Cover and cool overnight in the refrigerator.