Meatballs with Bacon-Wrapped Garlic Centers

Close-up of the madness.

Step one: wrapping garlic cloves in bacon. I've made bacon-wrapped garlic many times before, and I've always wondered what it would be like to wrap them in meatballs. I was not disappointed.

Held them together with toothpicks; sometimes as they cook and the bacon contracts, it squeezes the garlic out of its wrapping.

Plate o' bacon-wrapped garlic.

Starting from scratch means making your own bread crumbs ;)

Premium Australian ground beef, homemade bread crumbs, and onion. Two eggs, 'cause these babies have to hold together. No need to add garlic to the mix (for obvious reasons).

Finished cooking the garlic. Time to wrap these babies in some meat!

Getting ready to roll.

Like anything that has a center, I started with a flat, round shape...

Added the filling...

And rolled 'em up nice.

Meanwhile, a little homemade marinara sauce with mushrooms and green and red peppers.

All rolled up and ready to go in the oven.

Meatballs are done cooking, inspiring the phrase "Wow! Those meatballs are dripping with bacon fat". I will probably go to hell.

Plated up, covered with extra old cheddar, and a little broccoli to offset the almost unbelievably extreme unhealthiness of this meal.

Digging into the first meatball. Was it as good as it looks? No, it was much, much better.

Table set for two. We spent the rest of the evening on the floor.

Pork Tenderloin Beyond Delicious

No lie; this was the best tasting food I've ever made!

The pork in Korea is beautiful!

Into the bowl it goes, covered with finely chopped garlic and onions.

A few spices (salt, pepper, thyme, basil, chili powder, and turmeric)

I had some leftover chopped green peppers from my pizza balls, so I threw those on top.

All mixed in with olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and a shot of red wine.

Baked to perfection in my trusty toaster oven!

A thing of beauty. I never imagined it would taste so good - it had a mustardy flavor, and I don't know where that came from. Just synergy between the different tastes, I guess.

Plated and ready for eating (I had seconds)

Pizza Balls with Homemade Marinara Sauce

First serving...which led to the second (and third)

Nice homemade dough...makes everything taste better to make it from scratch.

Thawing out some of my own marinara sauce...

Such a sweet little bunch of fungi.

Green peppers - fresh from the market.

Some of the best pepperoni I've ever had. It's a little expensive, but the pepperoni in Korea is so much better than what I can get at the supermarket in Canada

I figured that the only way you can make a recipe like this better is to add an inordinate amount of roasted garlic - and I was right!

Fresh jalapeño peppers; a little spice for those who care...

All my ingredients, ready to roll!

I prepared WAY too many toppings (fillings?), which resulted in my having to make more dough after dinner, and prepare a bunch of calzones, which I will post when they are cooked, so you can see how delicious they look ;)

The first batch - pan-fried chicken breast with a touch of taco seasoning, roasted garlic, cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.

First batch ready to go in the oven (the dipped one has a pile of jalapeños in it, so it had to be distinguished from the others).

The second batch had pepperoni instead of chicken.

A bunch of balls waiting to go into the oven. Since it's a toaster oven, they had to wait a while...

I will definitely make these again!

9-hour Marinated Pork

A beautiful meal - well worth the wait

Big pile o' pork. This is Samgyeopsal style pork (kind of like thick bacon, but a little less fatty).

Chopped up pork, mixed with a generous portion of garlic and onions.

Close-up!

A bit of wine to bring all the flavors together.

Ready to go into hibernation for the day...

Ingredients:

Pork, garlic, onion, olive oil, wine, sesame seeds, soy sauce, thai chili sauce, salt, pepper, chili powder.

9 hours later, and it's ready to go into the pan - no need to add anything, as the olive oil in the marinade makes it slippery enough not to stick.

A nice fried-up mess of pork soaked in deliciousness!

Jalapeño bagels

A few beautiful bagels, care of my trusty toaster oven :)

A beautiful risen dough - good sign of things to come.

To make the dough, I used the same recipe as my first time making bagels.

Simple ingredients make the best food - flour, water, sugar, yeast, and chopped jalapeño peppers.

Rolling the peppers into the dough.

Once the peppers are incorporated into the dough, it's just a matter of cutting it into pieces, each with the right amount of dough to make one bagel

The bagels after being proofed and boiled, ready to go in the oven. Just before baking, I drizzled a little olive oil on top and sprinkled some kosher salt on them to bring out the flavor of the peppers.

The finished product - nice and shiny, and cooked to perfection!