Hey there! I have been absent for a few days pondering the hour long Iron Man Video that I taped. It was boring to watch, more boring to edit, and I fell asleep until now actually… But I am back!

I will be posting more recipes in the days to come, more posts, and more funny stories (I hope)… and I wanted to thank you for being patient. It was a long week!

Tune in tomorrow, or the next day and comment on the new posts… or go comment on the old posts… or tell me something is great or something sucks, but don’t just passively read… this is a give and take!

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I have watched ‘Iron Chef’ since the very beginning… when it was only Asian Iron Chef Chefs. And, y’know what? The game has definitely changed. I remember when there was, perhaps, one assistant, who could chop like a freaking mad man, and blend like a really bad ass bartender, but that was about all they were allowed to do… Now, it seems, there is a team of culinary graduates on either side, backing up each chef. They can all flambe’, and they all know what Quenelles are. Not only do they know what they are, but they can make an assortment of them in the sidelines while the “Iron Chef” is being interviewed by Alton Brown while busily food processing something. (Did they have food processors in the very beginning of the show?)

I usually spend Sundays lazily making things that I think I will want for lunches throughout the week. Roasted Chicken for sandwiches, a soup, or some kind of potato or macaroni salad… y’know, things I can grab on the run after I have ’snoozed’ myself into a lunatic morning mad dash.

I wanted to film each one, but it would have been hours of me lazily meandering through my kitchen, taking breaks, dissappearing off camera for 15 minutes or so at a time … and all of that would have meant an immense amount of work in the ‘post show’, the editing, to make it even remotely interesting.

So in an effort to save myself a lot of work, or you a lot of boredom, I came up with my own Iron Chef Challenge. A self challenge if you will. I decided to take all of the things that I would want next week and make as much as I possibly could in the length of one, 1 hour digital tape.

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I am not sure if I am really going to do this, but I feel like doing it.

I am thinking of Banning all Kraft Products from my home. Thinking about it… Not sure if I could really do it. Just thinking about it.

Let me explain…

About a month ago, I learned about a Kraft Video Recipe Contest whereby you were to videotape yourself cooking one of their recipes. There were 10 choices and I chose their ‘Chicken Parmesan Bundles’. Now, prior to that I had the idea that I would never show my face in one of my videos… shooting them after work, worrying about hair, makeup, lighting… clothes… God, what a pain! But the Kraft Video Challenge, and my greed (you could win $1,000), changed my mind, almost immediately.

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If ever there was a gluttonous entree this one would have to rank in the top three. I say entree because, of course, there are many a gluttonous desert… but as entrees go… with two cups of Heavy Whipping Cream and copius amounts of cheese, this one could, quite possibly, be numero uno in the gluttony category.

I adressed gluttony in my “7 Deadly Sins” post on crab. What I didn’t say in that post is that there is a cure. A wipe out. A do over if you will.

You see, if you are really, really sorry for having committed one of the deadly sins, and you admit to it, then you are forgiven. Pretty convenient, I must admit, while I apologize profusely in between bites.

I even apologize upfront for the leftovers I will eat for lunches next week!

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It’s New Years Day. I am in Tempe, Arizona. I didn’t wake up until 11 am… Yawn… Stretch… I feel like a cat.

It was 72 degrees by 1pm. It’s a beautiful way to start the New Year, except… Spud has to take something to an account.

But wait… The account is the Biltmore Hotel… One of the absolute Premier Resorts in all of the land! Really.

On Expedia.com they have the following description:

“Once accessible by invitation only, this Phoenix resort is set on 39 acres of manicured gardens and tiled pools, a half-mile from Wrigley Mansion and less than 4 miles from Camelback Mountain.”

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So everyone knows that I had not seen my son for a full year. This is a little gratuitous filming to immortalize the little time I had with him.

Enjoy!

OK… I have been working hours on this video and now can’t get it uploaded on YouTube… so you will have to wait one more night for the awesome video of my Son and I…

I apologize, but I have to go to bed.

Shannon

Zachary, my son, and I made a video of baking the best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies ever. I am editing it as we speak right now. He made it back to Seattle safely, thank you everyone, and now we are planning our next get together.

As I edit the film I think about how funny he is… all 18 and 3/4’s of him… and how he has changed very little from the time he was just a baby.

He has always enjoyed making people feel good, and laugh, and even though he is an 18 year old male, he is willing to go to embarrassing lengths to achieve this… which you will see in the video.

It will be up by tomorrow night at around 9pm Mountain time, so stay tuned as I fine tune the final edit.

By the way, the cookies turned out awesome!

Again, Christmas in the desert surprised me.

First of all, it seems as cold as the Seattle I left a little tiny bit over 2 years ago. It has rained constantly all day.

In all actuality Seattle is under a foot of snow, has been for a week, and many are out of electricity. My wishes go out to them.

In fact, the big worry this week was whether or not my 18 year old son, living in Seattle, would be able to make it from his house to the airport for his Christmas Visit. Thank God for his friend’s Mom, Shannon, because apparently she was the only mobile driver in all of Seattle. She drove a good 10 miles when everyone else was stranded or stuck in their driveways, picked him up in the ice and snow, TOOK HIM TO GET HIS PAYCHECK… DEPOSIT IT AT THE BANK… And THEN delivered him safely to the airport door, an additional 5-10 miles away from her home.

THANK YOU SHANNON!!! You ROCK!

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I have addressed the fact that my mother was not the best of cooks in a previous post… and, having not been the best of cooks, I think there was a little bit of recipe withholding that went on…

A competition of sorts.

Ingredient Coveting if you will.

Please, allow me to explain.

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