mmm...chocolate....

my wife and i just recently went to the melting pot. is it possible to go wrong with dipping bread in melted cheese (swiss, gouda, and bacon!!!), or cheesecake and strawberries in chocolate (milk chocoloate with pecans and caramel?!?!?!?!).......

...i think not. if you haven't been in a while, i highly recommend revisiting this gem. it can be expensive, but you won't miss much if you just go for the appetizer or dessert instead of the full meal

lemon garlic chicken

threw this one together with a couple things we had in the pantry. the chicken is sauteed in garlic, lemon juice, and a little bit of cream. i added a dash of turmeric and paprika for some color. serve it on top of some risotto, and you've got yourself a pretty fine meal. for the risotto, i just use the recipe on the carton of rice. its cooked with some onion and chicken stock to give it a lot of flavor. enjoy!

all you need...

is a cast iron skillet. seriously. since i received this wonderful gift, i have probably used it 2-3 a week. why is it so important? well other than being super huge and durable, it has the wonderful function of ovenproof-ness. perfect for dishes like this baked fish. tomatoes, capers, and basil make this incredibly flavorful. after you pan fry the fish for a very short time (like 2 min), you add some vegetable stock and the rest of your ingredients, and throw it in the oven. this will help the fish to really soak up all of those flavors without drying out. bon-apetit! and enjoy the christmas decorations

my own dish!

no stealing from ms. ray this time. although i'm slightly stealing the name from a maggiano's dish if it sounds familiar. i call it...rigatoni d.j.k. this meditteranean pasta dish has rigatoni, grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, tossed in pesto, and topped with a few goat cheese crumbles. you get a lot of savory from the chicken, tomatoes and pesto, but the sweet goat cheese really creates a nice contrast.

carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, can't we all just get along?

my wife and i talked last night about our increased tendency to eat meatless meals. when i was younger, a meal just didn't seem like a meal without some kind meat. since i really began cooking though, i've noticed the versatility of some foods, like mushrooms, that can really replace meat in a given dish. take our item below, the tuscan calzone with "the works" by rachel ray. spinach, cannelini beans, and portabellos covered with cheese and dipped in marinara with kalmata olives. if you don't think this is a meal, i pity you.

the perfection of the wonderous buffalo wing

this past weekend, i went to visit my sister in law for her birthday. her restaurant of choice? b-dubs. as most guys would agree, i could probably sit around and eat buffalo wings ALL DAY without getting full (as evidenced below). to top it off, b-dubs has this sweet and (really) spicy sauce called mango habenero. if you've never had it, and can handle spicy foods, get yourself over to buffalo wild wings on a sunday, order a bucket of beers and a bucket of blue cheese, watch football, and go to town.



proffessional eating tip #428- ever have trouble eating those non-drumstick wings without getting wing sauce all over your face? hold said wing at the top between thumb, index and middle finger. push down. result? an upside down palm tree of deleicious chicken wing...

(this video is a slightly different technique, but still pretty good)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lljQ4wkCiQU

like peanut butter and jelly

beef and horseradish go together as good as any food combination. ever. this is a flank steak salad with some homemade croutons, marinated flank steak (garlic, worcesteshire, red wine vinegar, etc.) and an awesome horseradish sauce. for a simple horseradish dressing, just mix together equal parts horseradish and dijon mustard, double sour cream and some lemon juice (one lemon per tbls of horseradish). the result? spicy creamy goodness (see below)