bacon blue cheese quinoa/porcini rubbed pork chops

I've always been extremely, extremely skeptical about quinoa. That's like health food, right? No thanks, I'll pass. So what made me pick up a bag? A recipe where the other ingredients are bacon, blue cheese, spinach and cannellini beans, obviously.

a good pot of lentils

Back in December Bon Appetit posted a so-called food lover's cleanse, with a bunch of healthy veggie-laden recipes that were supposed to appeal to well, food lovers, while still being good for you. Sounds like a win-win, no?

crispy chicken wings with mushrooms, garlic, thyme and vermouth

Chicken tends not to be the most exciting type of meat, and it takes a great chicken recipe to get me to stand up and take notice. This, my friends, is a great chicken recipe. And I'm not just saying that because this is by far the garlickiest dish I have ever made.  It's incredibly crispy, without being weighed down with any sort of batter, and the white wine, mushrooms and thyme are the perfect sauce.