Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

The holidays wouldn’t be complete without gingerbread. Of course, this would be my first attempt ever at making the traditional cookie so I didn’t know what to expect. Even though you have to roll the dough and chill it, it’s a pretty simple cookie to make. I used the food processor method to mix all the ingredients. But unless you have a large food processor bowl, I would use a regular stand mixer. The directions...

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What the Experts Won’t Eat

From Prevention Magazine How healthy (or not) certain foods are for us, is a hotly debated topic among experts and consumers alike, and there are no easy answers. But when Prevention talked to the people at the forefront of food safety and asked them one simple question—“What foods do you avoid?”—they got some pretty interesting answers. And their answers are, well, food for thought: 1. Canned Tomatoes The expert:...

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Zesty Oven Steak Fries

Steak fries are more satisfying than regular fries. But all store bought or restaurant variations have a more pillowey texture than what I have normally made at home. So I decided to take another stab at it. Rather than just relying on the oven to bake these potato wedges of differing sizes, I went to the microwave. I poked holes with the tines of a fork into whole potatoes and microwaved about 8 or 9 of them for...

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Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork

I picked up a Crock Pot Slow Cooker on Black Friday. So I was eager to put it to good use. So while searching for slow cooker recipes, I found one for pulled pork that really stood out. You know how two ingredients should never go together in a recipe, such as a Krispy Kreme doughnut and a hamburger. Well surprisingly, root beer and pork loin goes together quite well. Yea it sounds weird. But it turned out great....

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White Chocolate Fudge with Pecans

I love white chocolate and it’s also approaching the holidays. So I wondered if it’s possible to make white chocolate fudge. Sure enough there’s plenty of recipes out there. I opted to try one that was simple and had the least amount of ingredients. I’ve melted white chocolate chips before and they always seemed to have a higher melting point as compared to regular chocolate chips. Of course, I could be wrong since...

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Ultimate Southern Macaroni & Cheese

This past Thanksgiving I was treated to some comforting, homemade macaroni & cheese, so I had to share the recipe. Now many of us have come to the conclusion that mac and cheese should be swimming in sauce. We can thank box dinners for that idea. But real macaroni and cheese is so much heartier. I’ve eaten homemade macaroni and cheese before. But each recipe was hit and miss. Often times the whole dish was heavy...

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Turkey Talk....

I think a lot of people are intimidated be the turkey especially when it comes to cooking that perfect turkey that the in-laws will be critiquing from here to eternity. Truth be told cooking the perfect turkey isn't really as tough as it looks. I use the brining method to ensure moist meat and brush the turkey with bacon fat and herbs to get that crispy skin and that amazing golden brown color. The brining is simple...

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Mac -N- Cheese Anyone?

I have tried and tested dozens of recipes for baked macaroni and cheese and I have come across some very good ones, however I wanted to come up with one that give you the most bang for the buck meaning lots of cheese and the perfectly cooked pasta and a awesome mouth feel all around. I think I came up with one that just may fit the bill, I cooked this one for thanksgiving as part of a delightful feast. I say give it...

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Thanksgiving-the fallout

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Of course the fallout after this huge meal is the guilt. After all, we’re eating upwards of 3,000 calories. Luckily Lean Cuisines are on sale at the grocery store. Maybe I can eat those at least until Christmas. :-) Thanksgiving is centered around the food. But this year I didn’t even have to cook. It’s good to know a chef. He put together this great meal for us. A wonderfully...

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Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I wrote this post on Thanksgiving, and set it up to post automatically. I have a feeling I’ll be up extra early to catch some of the Black Friday deals along with herds of crazed shoppers. I’m not proud of it, but hey, I need a griddle and a slow cooker for $13.00. But if you’re not going shopping you may still have a house full of people to entertain and feed. So why not whip...

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Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

I don’t want to eat fast food everyday. So quick meals are what get me through the work week. And this recipe for chicken breasts is one of my new favorites. It seems the grocery stores here always have boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale, so I always stock up. But at this rate, I just may grow feathers. Anyhow, the flavors combine perfectly in this baked chicken dish. You won’t get too much honey or too much...

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Oh No! Where’s My Eggo?

Kellogg is rationing its Eggo products due to flooding and equipment problems at two bakeries. The shortfall could last through mid-2010. Flooding at an Atlanta bakery during heavy rains in October forced Kellogg to shut down production temporarily. Plus, equipment at Kellogg's largest waffle facility, based in Rossville, Tenn., needs extensive repairs. Apparently remaining inventory will be rationed to stores across...

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Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. But apple cheesecake is not my favorite. With that said, I was up for the challenge to come up with a recipe that worked for me. Let's just say my first venture into the land of apple cheesecake was a complete disaster. I used Granny Smiths and sautéed them much like this recipe calls for. But the apples were still too moist, allowing their juices to mix into the cheesecake batter making for a gloppy...

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Oat-Nut Pancakes

Tired of plain ol’ pancakes? It seems many restaurants have a fascination with thick, heavy pancakes. They’re so thick, they barely get a chance to cook inside, leaving a funny, floury after-taste. They may even go so far as to call them “fluffy.” But as you near the end of your breakfast, you realize you’d rather not see another plate of pancakes any time soon. There’s really not much to pancakes. It’s basically...

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The Perfect Roasted Chicken - (in my humble opinion)

I love chicken, mostly because I ate it so much growing up but also because it is so versatile. There are over a million recipes for chicken I'm sure and I'm sure just about as many ways to cook the bird, but the trick is to use the proper technique for each recipe you try. I've roasted countless chicken throughout my time as a cook and I am constantly looking for ways to improve recipes and simplify the process of...

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Magic Cookie Bars

Layers of chocolate, coconut and nuts with sweetened condensed milk and graham cracker crumbs. Sounds good doesn’t it? This is one those easy favorites anyone can make. There’s recipes all over the net and you can even buy a kit from the grocery store by Eagle Brand (they’re the ones who make sweetened condensed milk.) I definitely had graham cracker crumbs left over from my fanatical cheesecake baking a few months...

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Yes You Can! (A White House Victory Garden)

So as I always do I ran across this story about first lady Michelle Obama and her message to the nation about eating healthier and being conscious about why we are eating what we are eating and I thought I'd share it with you!Rarely has a giant sweet potato, a muddy knee and a stubbornly rooted fennel plant caused such a stir. But when First Lady Michelle Obama led groups of District of Columbia fifth-graders Thursday...

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Ahi Tuna with Lemon and Herb Pasta

OK so the same day I grabbed the Halibut that I wrote about in the previous post I picked a couple fillets of some wonderful tuna which i also love. I was kinda playing with the pasta dish and thought this would be wonderful for friends that were coming over for dinner. So I cooked these just a touch pass med rare with this wonderful lemon and herb pasta which I paired wth a wonderful Pinot Grigio and it paired wonderfully...

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How about Halibut!

So as you guys know I love fish and I espcially love what I consider to be meaty fish like Escolar, Monk fish or Halibut. I got some this weekend because it was on sale at the local fish shop and decided to play with some flavors like vanilla, nutmeg,lemon and white wine and some chinese five spice. I think the flavors mesh well but I think I'll omitt the five spice in the final rub recipe i'm working on. I plated it...

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Veggie Pasta with Herb Butter and Parmesan

Talk about simple. This pasta is full of flavor and takes just a few minutes. You can use any veggies you want, but I find the pre-packed bags of vegetables at the grocery store makes this recipe a snap. For this pasta I used broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots along with some celery and capers I had in the fridge. The ultimate flavors come from my recipe for herb butter. The herb butter has Italian spices and of...

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Back For More!!

Okay so I've been away for a while concentrating on work and school and the summer stuff like my gardens and home projects. I am happy to report that I will be back posting hopefully on a regular basis and with a whole new outlook on food and the Food of Love movement! I hope you all will join me again as I continue to share ideas , recipes and so on! I have missed you all greatly! Here's a picture of my new place in...

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Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Don’t you hate it when you have every possible ingredient for a recipe except one thing that requires a trip to the store. Well it turned out I had four ingredients to make the one thing I needed. Who knew sweetened condensed milk was so easy to make at home? And this is no stretch of the truth, it tasted just like the famous Eagle Brand. Amazingly I have a couple boxes of nonfat dry milk which is the prime ingredient...

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Pumpkin Brioche Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

During my trip to Ketchum, Idaho, I tasted some wonderful pumpkin brioche bread pudding at the Ketchum Grill. It was so good I knew I had to try making it at home. Little did I know, my first big challenge was finding a bakery with Brioche. I made a few phone calls and was shocked some “bakeries” didn’t even know what brioche was. I made a mental note to avoid going to their shops in the future. Finally I found Rustica...

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