Chocolate cake

"The BEST chocolate cake I have EVER had!" That's the comment I received the first time I served this cake, and it really is true. I give the credit to the recipe, which is from Ina Garten's cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home. The secret ingredient is a cup of freshly brewed coffee added to the batter just before baking. A truly special cake; it's so moist, so rich, so delicious...

Pork tenderloin with mashed butternut squash and roasted Brussels sprouts

This is my favorite meal in recent memory. It was one of those meals that I wanted to last forever, and I was actually happy I was eating it alone as it guaranteed leftovers. I started by marinating a pork tenderloin in a mixture of freshly squeezed orange juice, honey, fresh ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes which I had heated to boiling. After about an hour, I put the baking dish the pork was marinating in into a preheated oven and roasted it until the internal temperature was 150 degrees. Meanwhile, I peeled, seeded, and diced a large butternut squash. After tossing it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, I roasted it until very tender. Then into a mixing bowl to mash along with some butter, brown sugar, milk, and a bit more salt and pepper. While the butternut squash was roasting, I also trimmed and quartered some Brussels sprouts and roasted them until a bit brown and tender. Once I plated the three components, I couldn't wait to eat. The pork was extremely tender and slightly sweet, but carried some heat from the red pepper flakes. The butternut squash was sweet and a nice contrast to the salty Brussel sprouts. The perfect balance of spice/heat, sweet, and salt. I couldn't have been happier eating and can't wait to make it again...