Last year, we watched the Barefoot Contessa make chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing and thought it was a brilliant combination. We actually made them for dessert in our first post (scroll down) on the site. They were a big hit, so we made them again this past Sunday.

Although we loved Ina's union of chocolate and peanut butter, we thought her cupcake recipe had too many ingredients. I'm sure the cake part tastes great, but we would have bought sour cream and buttermilk, used half, and eventually thrown the rest away.

Instead, we turned to one of our favorite chocolate cupcake recipes by Gale Gand (BTW, her fudgy frosting is killer). We love the simplicity of the cupcake batter... no eggs, no butter, no mixer required.

The SND kitchen is officially open again. We just cooked our first big meal in the new digs. To christen the place, Hungry Bear and I wanted to make a decadent multi-course dinner to celebrate the end of our moving process. We tossed around a few ideas for the main course, including braised pork belly, but went with veal chops with morel mushrooms. I couldn't pass up making the fantastic morel sauce. So, we created the menu as...

Chicken and Duck Mousse with Peppercorns 
with a sweet French baguette and cornichons

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Red Butter Lettuce with Baby Vegetables
carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, avocados and lemon Dijon vinaigrette

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Veal Chops with Morel Mushrooms 
served with roasted parsnips purée and sautéed asparagus

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
topped with mini M&Ms, chocolate nibs or crushed pistachios

Hungry Bear and I are almost done moving. It's been non-stop packing, unpacking, organizing, purging, contractors coming and going, dusting, sweeping, vacuuming and crying... we can't wait to finish so we can finally enjoy the renovated digs. The first SND in the new kitchen is this coming Sunday and we're going to prepare a major feast to celebrate!

Over the last few months, we've had many great Sunday nite dinners. Sometimes I took pictures and other times I just wanted to eat and not bother with documenting the meal. Who wants to carry around camera equipment, a tripod and a lighting rig all the time? I'm kidding about the lighting. Although, I would bring my own lights if it weren't such a hassle.

In the slideshow, you'll see a roundup of SND meals going back to January. For some reason (waiting for recipes, bad lighting, awful photographer... me) or other, I haven't shared these meals until now.

Mexican at Deb and Brennan's  (January 7)

• Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
• Caesar Salad with Chili-Cilantro Dressing
• Turkey Enchiladas
• Crème Caramel

Chinese Hot Pot at Jane and Mark's  (January 27)

• Chinese Hot Pot (beef, lamb, chicken, tofu, meatballs, spinach, mushrooms, etc.)
• Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Hawaiian at Tracie and Eric's (February 16)

• Japanese/Hawaiian-Style Potato Salad
• Salmon Tofu Salad - tofu, salmon, onions, tomatoes, watercress, and bean sprouts with a soy sauce-based sauce
• Broiled Sushi - crab, mayo, plain yogurt wrapped with nori
• Steamed Dungeness Crabs
• Clams
• Lemon Cream Napoleon
• Butter Mochi with Coconut Milk

Simple Sardines at Jane and Mark's (March 2)

• Grilled Sardines with a French baguette
• Mixed Green Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

Sorry for not including any recipes. I'm hoping to get back on a normal posting routine shortly. I'll leave you with a picture of our new range. The next Sunday nite dinner has to take advantage of all the new features (pot filler, wok grate, griddle, savory oven and sweet oven). We're thinking a pasta course, a stir-fry, a big roast and a baked dessert. Any suggestions on what to make?

Last week, I planned on making a tomato based penne. But as we were grocery shopping, I saw a cheap can of crab meat (1 pound for $7.99). Since we are on a recession budget, I decided to give the canned crab a try. And the penne dish morphed into an asparagus crab pasta with leeks and mushrooms.

I tried to keep the pasta simple and make it a one pot dish... well two pots, you need another one to cook the pasta, but you get my point. After I sautéed the garlic, leek, asparagus and mushroom mixture, I gave it a taste and it was great by itself. I opened the can of crab and finally realized it was all claw meat... damn it! No wonder it was so cheap.

A few years ago, Hungry Bear and I were shopping at the University District Farmers Market in Seattle where we stumbled upon hardy kiwis (a.k.a. baby kiwis) for the first time. These miniature kiwis are the size of a large grape (about 1 inch long) with an edible, fuzzless skin.

According to CFRG, baby kiwis are native to northern China, Korea, Siberia and Japan. When fully dormant, the vines can withstand temperature drops to -25°F, hence the name hardy kiwis. They vary in color from green to purple. In the States, the growing season starts in June and the fruit is harvested between September and November. That's the short version of the agricultural lesson. I'll spare you the rest.

In addition to seeing them in Seattle, we found hardy kiwis in the Columbus Circle Whole Foods (NYC) and more recently at our local Trader Joe's. We were stoked to find them in San Francisco, even though they were imported from New Zealand. I'd prefer them locally grown, but I couldn't pass up the baby kiwis.

There are a few things I don't do in life and one of them is peel fruit. I attribute this phenomena to my mom spoiling me and always cutting fruit for me (even to this day). Hungry Bear hates this fact and she begrudgingly puts up with my no fruit peeling policy.

Needless to say, I love hardy kiwis. They are sweeter and more flavorful than regular kiwis with a slightly sour skin. They are a great pop-in-your-mouth, healthy snack. And it's the perfect kiwi for us no peeling fruit eaters!