(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

A friend asked me how I cook ribs today - so I thought it was something necessary to have early on in this blog.

Five years ago, I had no idea how to cook ribs. It was another of those things (read; obsession) that I had eaten or ordered somewhere, and decided I had to learn how to do.

I tried many different techniques… and it is a technique much more than a recipe, and finally found one that works for me. This recipe is everything that you could ever want out of ribs… tender, juicy, flavorful, easy, and relatively quick for good ribs.

(more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Ok, this will be a shorter post simply because it’s late and I can’t fit everything into my day that I want to.

For my birthday today, I got a new laptop, and I am soooo freaking excited to be typing while sitting in the living room, with other people, leaning back, feet up in a recliner, that I can’t even tell you!

Usually I am sitting in a back room that I use as an office, in a fairly decent setting, but separated from everyone.

But - back to my birthday!

So, I wanted to go to this really wonderful local restaurant that serves an incredible duck dish, but some friends of ours went there three weeks ago and the menu had changed.

Huge bummer, because I don’t know where to go now to get duck.

(more…)

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

I remember the first time my virgin, Pho Soup lips touched that delicate blend of indescribeable flavor. It was my Oprah ‘Aha’ moment of a cuisine so unfamiliar, of a spice combination so.. well, (I hate to say it) foreign, and yet so soothing. So balanced. So complex and deep.

The day I had my first ‘Pho’ Orgasm’ (lovely play on words) (more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Five years ago I had never met a Mango. In fact, I had no idea what was, but I was at the ‘Asian Store’ and saw one for less than a dollar and decided to try it.

Of course, I didn’t have a clue what to do with it. I had no idea what a ripe mango felt like, and in my trepidation, I let it sit on my kitchen counter for perhaps 5 days. I had a birthday party planned (for me) with a mexican theme and didn’t even know how many ways I could have included the poor, ripening mango on the counter. (more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Every soup has its variations but it seems that lentil soup has no definitive taste, texture, or ingredients. I have seen Lentil Soup Recipes with tomatoes, spinich, red wine vinegar, bacon, egg, flour, and even parmesan cheese. I have seen recipes with 2 quarts of water calling for anywhere anywhere from 1-5 bay leaves… 1 quart of water, HAMBURGER (ick - sorry), various vegetables and even potatoes. (more…)

I live in Tempe, Arizona, home to about 175,000 people, of which approximately 40,000 go to Arizona State University. I moved here from Seattle, Washington for many reasons… too many to list… but I do remember that there was one thought that crossed my mind (more than once), and that was that I would no longer have to worry about either Earthquakes, Sunamis, Volcanoes, or Terrorist Attacks… All of which, I felt, were real threats for most of my adult Seattle life.

Since 9/11 (especially) disaster preparedness has been a thought in the back of my mind. I have read some very interesting articles about what you should have on hand to get you through the long days after a natural/man made/terrorist induced calamity. I have read quite a bit… but, alas, I have never implemented any of it. Not one plan… Not one preparation.

Then, when we moved here to Arizona, (more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

There is no better comfort food than that of a good bowl of old fashioned chicken and dumplings. That being said, there is nothing worse than an under cooked, or rubbery dumpling in your bowl, much less one being dropped from your mouth back into said bowl.

I adapted this recipe from one of Tyler Florence’s recipes a couple of years ago, and if I could, I would have it every day. Ok, maybe not every day… but I do love me some goooood soup!

(more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Garage Sale Cookbooks are the best in the world. Often times they are really old, which, with food knowledge and changing diets, would mean just 20 years older or more. In those cookbooks you get recipes that you can’t find anymore, anywhere… Recipes with all the fat … PLUS, or even ’shortening’ which I am fairly positive my 18 year old has never even seen. Wait, I did use it for the frosting for my Wilton Cake Decorating Classes… but I digress.
(more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Tonight I am having one of those dishes that you crave for a week but you are out of an ingredient, or there is a special ingredient that you have to go to a special store to get… and the store isn’t on the way to, or even remotely close to, anything in your world… so you remember it only when you are at the regular grocery store, and then mutter ‘Damn’ under your breath.
(more…)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Some dishes have great presentation but lack flavor, and some look like dog food but taste great… This dish has incredible flavor and presentation! This has got to be one of my favorites.

I have been working and re-working this recipe for about a year I think… maybe longer, and I think this is the best rendition I have come up with… Try it and tell me what you think.

(more…)