Meeting Alton Brown
My experience meeting Alton Brown, the man behind Food Network’s Good Eats series.
Recent Posts
Godiva Coffee Tiramisu
Look, I understand why everyone who puts his or her hand on a Godiva’s Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark coffee should instantly think of brewing it and drinking it as fresh or in a beverage of sorts. But why not trying these coffee blends in a dessert recipe like Tiramisu, and sipping freshly brewed along with it?
Not Your Mom-in-Law’s Stir-Fry, but Mine!
I am also a musician, and like to improvise on my guitar when we are getting together with a couple folks for a jam-session. This recipe will give you the freedom of doing just that… culinarily speaking (don’t use this dish to play music, it might get awkward). It’s my Mother-in-Law’s Stir Fry recipe that was posted on one of those church Cookbook collections. It beats a lot of recipes out there, and I can vouch for it since I am making it every other week! The secret is in the garlic, of course. Read on, good people…
Sun Dried Tomato and Cheese Chicken Breast
Looks like I’ve been having my fill of BBQ this summer. Every Friday I pull it out and start improvizing with whatever I have at hand that day. So the other day I opened an almost empty, un-inspiring fridge, to discover that I sill have a couple frozen chicken breasts, cream and blue cheese, olives, lemons, parsley and garlic and butter. “Garlic and butter!” I thought to myself… I am saved!
Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche
You know that fall is approaching when you start baking. Lately the temperature in Chicago was more baking-friendly so I thought it was time for another BBA Challenge dust-off here with a delicious Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche.
Newtons Fruit Thins Review
Look, how can say NO to a chance of reviewing a cookie (or more)? And how can you relax better than sitting down on a summer afternoon, with a bag of Newton Fruit Thins, a real espresso, and a laptop ready for the review? It doesn’t happen often so might as well dig in… Literally.
Started Smoking… Meat!
So, yeah… Lately I took on a new habit. Smoking… meat, you silly! The need came as I was prepping some Hungarian Gyulai Sausage (post will follow soon) that needed about 8 hours of cold smoke, at 90 F degrees maximum. I needed a simple device that would house the meat, and where smoke went in then smoke went out. Here’s how I did it!
Dijon Mustard Crusted Chicken with POM Sauce
Here is another of those “oh my, it’s 5.00 pm, and I have no clue what to cook for dinner” meals. Considering of course that you already have a boned chicken, grainy Dijon mustard and of course the new POM pomegranate cranberry juice, you can craft a dinner to remember.
Chicken Piccata
So we have this new thing going on when I have to take care of dinner three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday to be precise. It is something I enjoy, and it’s a way to wind down after a busy day. The problem is that I am a terrible meal planner. I do grocery shopping, and usually get what’s on sale, or what might inspire me to do a certain meal, but I don’t remember ever going with a pre-planned ingredient list for an upcoming meal. And usually what happens is that I wake up, open the fridge to sort of assess the situation of what I have or don’t have or what needs to be gotten rid of, then frantically search the Internet, cooking magazines or cookbooks for something that might resemble a decent dinner. For some strange reason, I always find that I have excessive mushrooms from the previous grocery shopping day. Don’t ask me why.
But I have my staples. I’m not that hopeless. For instance I make sure there are always a couple lemons and limes in the bottom fridge drawer. When skinless, boneless chicken is on sale, I pile up, and divide them up into portions and freeze them. Butter? I need that like gas in our car, okay? And, look! I have all I need for Chicken Piccata, a sublime marriage between sauteed floured chicken breast cut into thin cutlets and a lemony-buttery-garlicky sauce topped with lemon slices, capers and parsley. To be honest, I inherited this recipe from Steph, since she does the best Chicken Piccata in town. And it’s a big town.
Roll Your Kaiser
Look, this is not the healthiest breads of all, but sure makes a killer sandwich. Also thought it was time to dust off my Bread Baker’s Apprentice book and take on a new bread baking challenge.
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