Somehow, I hadn’t tried the shepherd’s pie at Dog and Duck until a few weeks ago, but it’s already a favorite, especially on a cool night.  Such comfort food!  Don’t forget my recipe, Not Nigella’s Shepherd’s Pie, if you want to make it yourself at home!  A perfect fall and winter dinner.

This is a recipe I’m still working on: baked salmon with coconut-almond-jalapeno sauce. It was pretty good with pasta and green beans. A healthy dinner, and a very rich dish to meet our weekly fish-eating goal.

This week’s scotch was the Aberfeldy 12 year. I’ve actually been to the Aberfeldy distillery (now owned by Dewar’s)! Perfect for a cold front and a quiet night.

Cheeseburger can haz sad.  The eerie green glow is thanks to the wall of neon right behind our table.  The burger was actually quite tasty.  Lunch combo special: cheeseburger, fries, and a soft drink (free refills) for $7.00 (including tax), Players on MLK.

Eric made a huge batch of pesto with the bumper crop of basil collected from our allotment. So one night this week, we enjoyed some simple farfalle with pesto and parmesan. Real comfort food, and a little, late taste of summer.

A quick lunch at Niki’s Pizza: the two (huge) slice special, with a drink, all for $5.00. Though the location in Dobie Mall isn’t particularly inspiring, this is still some of the best pizza in town, in my opinion.

Eric also made these sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches and served them with a little tomato bisque and fresh chopped homegrown basil and sage. A few months ago, everyone I know seemed to be having tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Why don’t we eat this more often?

Here’s a huge brunch plate! Prepared pork tamales, fried eggs, and bacon with a generous splash of Cholula sauce. I ate this at about 11:00am and wasn’t hungry again until 7:00pm. Mmm.

I also roasted a big bunch of homegrown jalapeños, using Tori Avey’s excellent instructions.  We have so many at the moment, and they’re pretty hot!  I can’t possibly incorporate them all into omelettes and tacos, so I decided to roast several pans’ worth and save them for later.  Expect to see some new recipes featuring roasted chiles in the coming months!

This week also saw the finalization of my Cider and Sage Pork Chops recipe, which is now probably my favorite homemade pork dish! It’s great for fall, too. Have a glass of cider with dinner—perfect!

We also enjoyed some Shiner Octoberfest (among other beers!) this week. Great stuff.

Weekday lunch special at Dog and Duck: spicy potato and chipotle creamed soup; bacon, cheddar, and arugula melt on sourdough with onion and a sriracha sauce; side salad. All for $8.50! I couldn’t resist. Actually, I think this was the best bacon sandwich I’ve ever eaten.

Hope everyone had a spooky and candy-filled Halloween!