Julia Wright’s Gumbo Cook Off Winner Julia is a home cook from the Pacific Northwest, just east of Seattle, in what she calls “Microsoft Land”. Julia is also a member of my Facebook group, What I Cooked For Dinner Last Night, where our group shares meals they’ve prepared the night before giving us all ideas […]
Have You Discovered Blue Apron Yet? On Saturday Fed Ex dropped off a couple of large boxes from Blue Apron, “a new concept in grocery delivery, built around incredible cooking experiences.” A friend of ours sent us their once-a-week subscription service because they were out of town and thought we would enjoy the service and […]
I told you about the African vegetable mash called Mukimo my friend Susan taught me how to prepare and now I want to share with you this African beef stew we served it with. It’s called Kitoeo and is another very easy dish to prepare. Susan comes from Kenya and told me all young girls […]
What To Do With Leftover Steak? Friday night we grilled up some steaks and had one extra that did not get eaten so I was thinking of some way to use it up and decided on steak stew. This is a true “what’s on hand” type of meal and great for using up “stuff” in […]
If You Like Garlic…….. Nora is a great friend of my wife’s and spent some time with us over the holidays with her husband and young son Liam. While here, she made this great meal in less than an hour. This meal is delicious. It calls for beans and a lot of garlic…. so be […]
How to Make a Great Beef Stew Being a novice home-cook, I still use my cookbooks and cooking magazines to generate ideas and learn techniques and that’s how I approach most recipes including this one for stew. First, I look up the dish in several cookbooks and read about the essential ingredients and what cooking techniques are involved. You’d […]
What is it? My wife found this great looking recipe for Fricassee of Cornish Game Hens in the May edition of Bon Appetit and wanted to make it for dinner. It was easy to prepare and turned out great. In fact, it’s one of those recipes you know you will make again and again when friends come […]
Dutch Oven Cooking Last weekend we fired up our outdoor wood-burning oven for a party where we cooked 26 pizzas for a bunch of friends. I love cooking in the oven but it takes about 1 ½ hours to get the temperature up to the 700°F to 800°F necessary for proper cooking. Once hot, the […]
I have a theory that the only people who don’t like sweet potatoes haven’t tried them. Or maybe they have tried them but they’ve tried them plain, cooked half-heartedly in a microwave and topped with something lackluster, like fat-free sour cream or worse: fake butter. Sweet potatoes also take a lot of flack when it […]
What to do with leftover spiral ham? There are many nights I have no clue what I’m going to prepare for dinner until about an hour before my wife comes home from work. I know this isn’t the way I suggest people cook during the week but guess what – it’s how many of us […]
I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More
What is Demi Glace? I am a huge fan of demi-glace for preparing classic sauces like mushroom or peppercorn sauce but I have to warn you, it is a huge process to make classic demi glace at home. It is not for the faint of heart but well worth the effort – at least once. […]
Penne Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella
How to Make a Delicious Pasta Meal with Roasted Tomatoes & Fresh Mozzarella In our house we typically have a weekly “What’s On Hand” meal where my wife and I find ingredients in the refrigerator and pantry that need to be used sooner than later and prepare a pasta dish, stir-fry or Mexican fajita. This […]
Pan Roasting—the Chef’s Secret Cooking Technique One of my favorite cooking techniques not talked about in most cookbooks If I could teach you just one chef’s technique that will help you save time in the kitchen and deliver a thick cut of meat to the table with a perfect sear and juicy medium-rare throughout, it […]
