Doug Sohn aka Hot Doug picked me as a finalist in Time Out's Create Your Own Hot Doug's Hot Dog Contest! If I win, my hot dog, The Johnny Depp will be sold at Hot Doug's shop for a week. This is pretty much a Chicago foodie's dream come true. There are four finalists and the person who gets the most votes wins. The deadline for voting is the end of the day on Thursday July 24th.

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/?p=5701

A strawberry-white chocolate mousse cake for a dinner party tonight, and if it gets good reviews i'll be making it again for my brother's birthday party on Saturday!

We've decide to try out a couple of recipes we saw on tv this weekend :

http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/pork_tenderloin_apples_onions.html
http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/shrimp_and_tomatoes_over_polenta.html
http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/broiled_polenta_mushroom_ragout.html

Pretty simple but it will work to get us out of our routine.

I couldn't find the pork tenderloin at our local supermarket here in Mexico though...I don't know what cut to ask for in Spanish.

zucchini/basil soup from a recipe in gourmet magazine.

Spinach risotto.

Mixed quinoa – red and white, tossed into a colorful salad with yellow pepper, heirloom tomato, spinach, baby lettuces, chickpeas and some low fat feta splashed with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing.

Indonesian Satay - the recipe on the package of tempeh and steamed broccoli.

This weekend, Heidi Swanson’s mesquite chocolate chip cookies.

• Pork, Chickpea and Red Pepper Paella
• Brats on the grill
• Peach & Nectarine Crisp - the fruit was local and 99¢ per pound!!!

I made gnocchi for the first time yesterday! Ate them with eggplant parmesan, which all sounds ridiculously rich for this time of year, until you realize that I was so cold yesterday I almost turned the heat on.
Also this week, I'm going to make open-faced chicken burgers with basil mayonnaise:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/OPEN-FACE-CHICKEN-BURGERS-WITH-BASIL-MAYONNAISE-239092
Grilled pizza on Thursday, and something with zucchini and these awesome russian red fingerling potatoes on Friday.

Wild rice with red lentils and skillet seared corn kernels.

Food, hopefully.