Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

There's still a few really good grilling days left and this Grilled Eggplant is a good one to try. It's a real quick and easy one. North African Style Grilled Eggplant (Adapted from Real Simple*) 3T olive oil 2 T honey 1T ground cumin 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1"thick rounds Mix oil, honey, and cumin together. Make slight cuts on both faces (do not cut through) of the eggplant. Brush with honey/oil mixture. Place on grill over indirect heat. Close lid. Cook until tender and slightly browned. Turn and cook until browned - total about 20 minutes. Easy - peasy. It's hardly even a recipe. *I could not find the link for this no matter how many different ways I searched so you're on your own if you are looking for the original)

There is nothing more tasty than a roasted chicken. Besides the whole house warms up and smells great. One way to roast a chicken is in a cast iron frying pan. Honey Soy Roasted Chicken 1/4 c honey 1/4 c butter (1/2 stick) 2 T soy sauce 1 small onion 1 stalk celery 3lb whole chicken Salt Melt butter, add honey, and soy sauce. Dry chicken and place in cast iron frying pan. Salt chicken cavity.  Place onion and celery inside cavity. Brush sauce on chicken. Put in 350 oven and baste chicken every 20 minutes. Cook for approximately 60 minutes or until chicken is done. You could also put some lemons inside the cavity and I think that would go nicely with the soy and honey flavors. I made a little extra of the sauce and basted a sliced acorn squash. I cooked it for about 30-40 minutes in the oven with the chicken. It was quite tasty as well but wasn't much to look at (so no pics).

I love watching all the cooking shows and saw this idea for roasting vegetables on America's Test Kitchen.  Before they roasted them, they put them in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften them up.  This way it takes a little less time for them to roast.  I thought I would give that a try and threw together some ingredients I had sitting around. Miso Roasted Parsnips & Carrots 1 lb parsnips 1 lb carrots 1 leek 1 T white miso 1 T soy sauce 2 T toasted sesame oil 1 T honey 2 T mirin Cut vegetables on the bias into even sizes. Place in dish and put microwave for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients. Place vegetables on silpat in roasting pan (or line pan with foil for easy clean up). Pour mixture over vegetables and stir. Roast at 400 for 30 minutes or until tender and caramelized, stirring every 10 minutes or so. What is it about roasted vegetables that make them taste oh so much better than just regular old vegetables??? T...