Luck, Money and Chicken

Down in the South, we have a New Year's tradition: On New Year's you must eat blackeyed peas for luck, and greens for money. Rice and fried chicken are optional, but hey, you might as well start the new year off right. I cook spinach, because I dislike collard greens. But any leafy green will do. I didn't do bone-in chicken, since it's too much for just two people, just some chicken breasts. But here's a tip, get the thin-sliced breast, sometimes called scallopine. That way, once the chicken goes into the pan, the inside is done when the outside is. Saving chicken from burning, that's all I'm doing, folks.
So serve up some luck, money and chicken to your loved ones and raise a glass with me. Good bye 2008, hello 2009.

Here's to auld lang syne. Thanks for reading.

Fa La La La

Tis the season everybody. I'm not going to waste my blogging time trying to incite people to help those less fortunate. You all know the drill. Enjoy your holiday, share the love with those around you. Be blessed.

Happy Holidays.

It Begins

With the great timing that our government is known for, my student loans are coming due. Just in time for Christmas. Whoo. But because I am a fiscally responsible individual, I'm going to pay them. Even though they are never in a hurry to give me my money back. I'm no welsher. But if the automakers get some odd billions, I want my own bailout package. About 20 large ought to do it.

Tough Cookies

Kitchens are dangerous places. With knives in the hands of crazed, short-tempered people, deep wells of boiling oil, hot ovens, hotter steamers, something bad will happen to you. It happens to everyone. Rule number one of getting hurt in the kitchen is this: Do NOT cry. There's no crying in kitchens. If you whimper, do not let anyone else hear it. They will laugh you out of the kitchen. Literally. You can slice your hand open from fingetip to wrist and you had better just cuss a blue streak and put on a bandage. As my chef says, "You ain't goin' home."
My injury was very minor. You don't always have time to wait for things to cool down properly, so you burn yourself from time to time. Mine was on the edge of a fry basket I just pulled out of the fryer. You can see the perfect corner of the basket like a brand on my arm.
My mom used to say I was a tough kid, then turned into a wimp later on. Guess what Mom? I'm still a tough kid. So there.

Just try not to bleed in the food.

In Flanders Field

"Where poppies blow..."

Today is Veterans' Day ya'll. Take a moment or two to remember those who sacrificed so you could live free, and those overseas currently trying to make sure we stay that way. Say a prayer for them and indeed, for us all.

Freedom is not free.

God. Country. Kitchen.

Everyone knows that the current organziation of kitchens is owed to the military. There is hierarchy. There is uniformity. And there is a unit. It's a bit like the Marines, without the ugly haircuts. Like the Corps, it is a team effort. You never leave a man behind. Which is why Friday found me up to my elbows in chicken flour, trying to help my buddy who was in the weeds with his stuff. All of my stuff was done, I wasn't going to let him fall on his face if I could prevent it. On Mondays, when they see me foundering in salad bar and pasta mania, they step up. Dressings get made, pastas get panned up. Food has to be done when it has to be done. There is no tape delay, we are live.

Failure is not an option.

Cold Comfort

It's just starting to be chilly here in the Carolinas and we all know how much I love the fall. I love dark mornings and early sunsets and that just makes me the oddest of ducks I'm sure. Since this is the first really cold night, I decided to make a nice non-fattening, comforting meal that my mom would make when we would get a cold week in my hometown.
Navy beans, some call them white beans, are a good source of protein and cheap to boot. Add a bit of lean ham to them while they cook and they are a meal fit for a king. Low and slow is the way to go with beans, so soak them the night before, and give them the day to simmer. You will be rewarded. Add a square of cornbread to it and it's just about right for a crisp autumn night.
You know what they say about cold comfort, it's better than no comfort a-tall.

Go forth and eat.

Here Be Turkey Legs

And pirates, wenchs and Knights in shining armor. It's the Carolina Rennaisance Festival. It was my first time to a Ren Fest so I spent the day just wandering around. Seems like mostly you buy things. There's blown glass, jewlery, leather and all types of "garb" (that's clothes). They have shows though, and a joust and musicians. Most of whom are very good. I really enjoyed the joust. How often do you get to see men in armor on horseback? Yeah, not often. Altogther, it was good fun and worth the trip to see it. I refrained from purchasing any garb, being that I do not wish to start an alternate career as a wench. But I did enjoy my food on a stick (it was sausage and it was decent) and my crepe with lemon and sugar. That was pretty tasty. Not often do you see pirates making crepes. Maybe that's why they're extinct.

A Case of the Mondays

There should be a limit to how much stupid you can commit on a Monday. There should be a law of averages or something. I got up this morning and made my coffee (i'm trying to get back on my Weight Watchers) and ate my breakfast like a good doobie. The lid of my travel mug snaps on, and apparently you twist it as well to secure it. Well, Little Miss 5AM here, neglected to twist. So I'm driving down the road to work and taking a sip of coffee and SPLASH! A good amount of hot coffee lands in my lab. OK, I'm awake now. Gets better. As I am continuing my drive to work, I try one more time to sip my damn coffee...SPLASH! All over the front of my nice clean white jacket.

Yeah, some days it doesn't pay to be me.

Repast for the Sick

Ah fall, with the changing leaves and cooler temperatures and that seasonal bugaboo, Allergies. Ugh. It feels like someone with really big hands has grabbed my face and is just squishing it. It is not pleasant. I have some very nice meds here, some that make me sleep, others that make me loopy. But food is essential comfort when you're sick. My mom would fix me Chicken -n-Stars soup when I was sick. The stars are what makes you feel better. Now that I'm all (or mostly) grown up, it is still my go-to meal when I'm not feeling so good. Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and a good cuppa. I drink a lot of tea when I'm sick. It's soothing and makes my head feel better. I have a cup before I go to work and then another when I get home. Drugs are good, and tea is good, but it's always gonna be the stars for me...

May you and yours be healthy.

In Memoriam

Six times the bell is rung. Once for the first plane, once for the second plane, for the first tower, for the second, for the Pentagon, and for Shanksville, PA. On this day we remember, chaos, fear, and courage. We remember seeing people leaping from the windows of the World Trade Center, the dead being carried from the Pentagon, the obliterated field in quiet Pennslyvania. As the bagpipes play Amazing Grace, we remember the only time we ever knew terror in our hearts, in our hometowns.
And it strikes me funny almost, that the children I see in my dining hall every day don't really know what it means. Some weren't born yet, some were just too young to understand. I was 21 when it happened. I never knew fear before that moment. I wasn't around for air raid drills, or the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was my Cuban Missile Crisis. Only they weren't missiles, they were planes. And now, every time I see one in the sky, I watch it for a moment. I know that, reasonably, its unlikely that there will ever be another attack like that. But I still watch.

Next year, that bell will ring again. Six times. Once for each plane, once for each tower, once for the fortress, once for the field.


We will never forget.

In Which We Go on Vacation

For the first time in four years...Yep, folks, no vacations for me since my honeymoon. You get used to it.

So for the first trip, my hubby and I and my parents (and a lot of my yarn) go to the NC mountains and stay in a very nice cabin, not too far from Boone, NC. Wasn't much to do in the immediate area, we went in to Boone one day, to sightsee and to grocery shop, but other than that, mostly we vegged. Played a lot of pool, played a lot of cards. Dad was the resident card sharp, but I was the pool hustler. Fun was had by all.

Sushi for Beginners

Today was my 28th birthday and a day that I thought, well, why not tackle a food fear. I don't have too many of them left, but there are a few. One of them is (drumroll) sushi. I'm not talking about california rolls you get at the grocery store. I'm talking about real sushi, made by fast guys with sharp knives. My amiga Melissa agreed to be my guide to the world of sushi and so we went to Jade here in South Charlotte. Let me tell you, it is not often I will give over control of my meal to anyone, no questions asked. But I trust her. I thought she might start me out easy, with some nigiri sushi, maybe a crab roll. Ha. Ha.
We started with the Philly roll as Melissa explains the ins and outs of sushi eating. All the pieces come on a big platter and you use the chopsticks to get your piece off that platter. You are supposed to eat all of one roll, then use the pickled ginger to cleanse your palate, and then move on to the next roll. We move on to the Red Snapper Sashimi. Which is more or less raw fish, sliced thin and put on your plate. I have heard people say that sashimi is sweet, fresh, clean tasting...I chewed thoughtfully for a moment, it tastes like...bait. Pass.
The Eel Roll was very good, mild and tasty, the Crunchy Salmon Roll was suffering from an overdose of cream cheese. I don't know why they need cream cheese in it, but it did nothing for me.
We ordered a few other things, just to round out the menu. Some chicken Gyoza (Japanese pot stickers), dim sum, and some duck, but that got sent back because it was awful. Tasted like Twizzlers. I hate Twizzlers.

Bottom line is this: I ate the sushi and nobody died. I'm not a fan of sashimi so far, but have a healthy respect for rolls. Avoid the cream cheese. Don't fear the sushi, several million Japanese folks can't be wrong.

Education: Redux

It is much easier to work overtime when you like your work and the people you work with.


Here endeth the lesson.

Isle of Capri

It's the home of capri pants, various shellfish, and this tasty salad called Caprese Salad. The red, white and green also represent the colors of the Italian flag. Fresh mozzarella is easy to find in your local megamart and tomatoes are in season, so head out to your farmer's market and pick out a nice one. Also, please use fresh basil and liberal salt and pepper.

Insalata Caprese

1 tomato, sliced

fresh mozzarella, 2 slices

fresh basil, 1 or 2 leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

extra-virgin olive oil, drizzle.

1. Layer tomatoes, cheese and basil, seasoning each layer.

2. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar if you like.

This is a great summer salad and very simple for when you don't feel like cooking. Resist the urge to use infused oils. The flavors here are subtle and using flavored oils is going to overwhelm it. I tried some truffle oil on mine. Bleah.

And There Was Much Rejoicing

Yes, folks, it is true. I have a job. A real, full-time job. I achieved employment as a cook at a local private school. It's a really nice kitchen, quite large. This is not your average cafeteria. Much nicer than any public school cafeteria I've ever been in, they don't even call it a cafeteria. They call it the Dining Hall. I'm very excited to get this position. I'm looking forward to a new adventure... with no espresso in it.

Swing Vote?

Ok, this is not a political blog, but I have to get this off my chest. I'm not a Democrat, I'm not a Republican. But excuse me if I feel like I've been swindled. The politics in this country is the biggest bait-and-switch con running today. I hate to vote for any of them. But they say the only vote that doesn't count is the one that isn't cast. They say alot.
My Daddy used to tell me that I could be anything I wanted, if I was willing to work hard for it. I think that used to be true. I could start off as a ditch-digger and become president of the construction firm. Now I can't even get that ditch-digging job. I could take a job as a secretary and work my way up to CEO, now my secretary job has been sent to New Delhi. Those of us who were waiting for our ship to come in have a long wait, ship's been diverted...to China.
I don't have much room to complain. I wasn't raised poor. I had a middle-class lifestyle. According to my tax-return, I still do. Bottom of the middle, which is now more like the top of the bottom. Maybe I'm doing ok, since I married a man who's a hard worker. If I wasn't married, well, let's just say I used to say, hey, I'm making more than minimum wage, and now minimum wage is $7 an hour. The divide has narrowed.
But what about the others? The folks out there who are trying, who work two and three jobs to make ends meet, and some weeks, they don't make it. Who give their lives to companies like Enron and World Com and wake up to find that their lives have been paying for party hats for amoral executives. I am not saying that companies have no right to make a profit, I'm saying they have a responsibility to those who made that profit for them.
Or the US military folks, who were willing to give their lives for us, and this country can't be bothered to even help their families, or get them some decent medical care.
My generation doesn't get any credit. They say we're all into our iPods and can't be bothered with voting or issues. I'll say this, we do care, we are listening, we are paying attention. But we know that we cannot win this fight right now. We don't have the power. We don't have the money. We know that right now, this isn't a fair fight. But we are watching. We are disgusted. We are ashamed.
I still believe the US is a great country. The fact that I have the freedom to write this is reason enough to want to live here. I just don't know if I can afford to.
I don't think we lost our country, I think we sold it.

Suffering from Experience

My culinary resume was once very short. Very, very short. And as culinary school progressed, I went to different jobs, added to my experience. Now my resume is very long, almost two pages. I guess it looks like I've hopscotched my way through the last two years. So now, rather than suffering from lack of experience, I now suffer from too much. Too many places, too little time at them. Some were my own fault, some not. I'm not saying I never made mistakes. But I've landed on my feet, most of the time.
My theory is this; it makes little or no sense to stay somewhere that you hate. It makes equally little sense to stay where you learn nothing. Some things are not meant to be long term. It doesn't make me less responsible, or less dedicated to my work. I work hard, I expect to be treated decently, if that doesn't happen, then don't expect to have me to kick around for very long.
Won't happen.

Fry Me a River

Fried fish can be many things. It can be dipped in beer batter, deep fried and served with chips. It can be coated with egg and cornmeal, buttermilk and crushed cereal, almost any combination is acceptable, if not always palatable. You can use almost any white fish you like; tilapia, cod, grouper if you feel really ambitious. This is my take on flounder, which I like for frying because of it's mild taste and thin fillets. It cooks fast, which is handy, because you don't want it to take forever or the crust will burn.

Firecracker Flounder

Ingredients

3 flounder filets

1 pint of whole milk

2-3 tbsp. tobasco sauce

2 c. flour

Old Bay seasoning

oil, canola or veggie, for frying

2 tbsp. butter, for same

1. Soak flounder in milk which has been liberally doctored with the tobasco sauce. You can use as much or as little as you would like. Also, put the flour in a shallow, flat pan and add as much Old Bay as you would like.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the oil. Allow this to heat until the butter foams and the oil shimmers.

3. Take the flounder out of the milk and pat them dry. Not completely dry, just so they aren't dripping.

4. Lay the flounder in the pan of flour and coat both sides liberally, shaking off the excess.

5. Put the fish in the pan, gently! Always lay it away from you, to avoid nasty splashes of hot oil.

6. Give the fish approx. 6-7 minutes on each side, depending on size, etc.

7. Remove to a paper-lined plate and sprinkle with a bit of fine salt.

Serve it up with some tomatoes and coleslaw, or corn on the cob and enjoy!

Cook's Notes: Make sure the oil is good and hot. You want the crust to seal, not soak up the fat. If your fish pieces seem to big or unwieldy, cut them into smaller pieces. Be not afraid!

Symphony in Speed Minor

So Sunday Busy Sunday...
Well, not as busy as it could have been, but definitely busier than last Sunday. I have discovered one of my many quirks, it only happens when I'm plating. I hum when I get busy. Specifically I hum classical music. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto 1, Beethoven's 5th, when I get to Mozart's Magic Flute, I am starting to panic.
I'm slowly learning all the platings, and soon they will be reflex. Hopefully, soon I won't make it all the way to the Flute.
Have a good night everybody.

Vinegar Thrills

It’s not just for cleaning your windows anymore. Next time you’re at the supermarket, take a look at the vinegars there. Chances are you will see some new faces on the shelf. As American consumers become more food savvy than ever, we demand more than just white, cider and red wine vinegars.
Now we have port wine, champagne, pomegranate, citrus and white wine vinegars to play with. And boy are they fun! Pick one up next time and add it to some olive oil for a zippy salad dressing. Try it with spices and oil for a marinade. Put it on shrimp and have ceviche.
Here’s a pic of my favorite vinegar right now. It’s called Cuvee and it’s a champagne vinegar. It has proven itself essential to my salad dressings and shall have a home in my kitchen for the rest of its days.

Now go, play with your food.

Salad Days

Very few things you make will be as simple or as complicated as a salad. A good salad must combine sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami with judicious abandon, striving for balance on the seesaw of flavors. Too much in any one direction leads to inedible misery. I will confess to not being a huge salad fan. Nothing I can think of is less appetizing than a bowl of greens with a few toppings, drowning in House dressing. (What the devil is House dressing exactly? Does anyone know?) My father, however, is a salad connoisseur, devouring one or two a day. So I thought I should give greens a chance.
The trick of this recipe is to use good ingredients. Because you are not going to be baking, boiling, or otherwise transfiguring your salad, it matters what you use. As my father says, “Garbage in, garbage out”.

Sea Scallops on Butter Lettuces with Warm Peach Dressing
Serves 1

Ingredients
2 sea scallops, side muscle removed
1 medium peach, quartered
½ small shallot, chopped
3 slices center cut bacon slices
1 tsp. Ground ginger
¾ cup white wine
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 bag fresh baby butter lettuces

White Wine Reduction
1. Place white wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat slightly and cook until wine is reduced to about ¼ cup and has a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.

Dressing
1. Cook bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and pour out all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Add chopped shallot and peaches to the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add White Wine Reduction, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow a few minutes for ingredients to combine.

Sea Scallops
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.
2. Season scallops on both sides with salt, pepper and ginger.
3. Add scallops to skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until done.


Salad
1. Add a handful of greens to a big-ish bowl and pour dressing over the top. Toss to distribute dressing.
2. Place greens on a plate, add peach quarters and scallops.


Cook’s Notes: When you add the scallops to the skillet, resist the urge to move them around a lot. It is a sauté, but you want the scallops to caramelize on each side. So, place them and leave them.

How Pie I Am

Everyone should keep a pie crust in the freezer. Actually, they should keep a few, because if they are like me, they will try to unroll the crust before it's defrosted and botch the silly thing. Backup plan: Prepanned frozen pie crust. Just add filling. Filling was some frozen blueberries I had in the freezer that I added sugar to and cooked for a bit to thicken them. That botched crust? I cut circles out of it and used it for an art nouveau design top crust. Yum.

Swing Low...

Down to the Lowcountry, that is, as we take on the southern classic, Shrimp ‘n’ Grits. This dish hails from Charleston and the Gullah traditions thereof but most every state in the South has a version of this in their repertoires. This is my version, which started out as one I found in the February 2008 Southern Living magazine. By the time I was done modifying it, though, it bore almost no resemblance to that recipe. So, without further ado…


Lowcountry Shrimp ‘n’ Grits
Serves 2

Ingredients
For Shrimp
2 slices bacon (go for the Center Cut, it’s less fatty)
1 lb. Peeled, tail-off raw shrimp
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp canola oil
¼ cup green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
½-1 cup low sodium chicken broth
Pinch of salt and pepper

For Grits
1 cup half-n-half
½ cup fat-free milk
¼ tsp. Salt
½ cup grits (you can use Quaker, Anson Mills, Crook’s, just NOT INSTANT)
½ cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar Cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan (buy a chunk and grate it)

Equipment
1 large skillet, non-stick is ok
1 medium saucepan

Important Note: Those of you who have cooked grits know that if you let them sit, they will set up like joint compound, so unless you really want to spackle your walls, do the shrimp first.

Shrimp
1. Cook bacon in the skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove from the pan and reserve on a paper towel to drain. Crumble.
2. Pour off some of the bacon grease into a glass or metal container; don’t just pour into the trash (you’ll melt the bag).
3. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. (If you use frozen, make sure they’re well-thawed)
4. Add mushrooms to the skillet and sauté until tender. Add the green onions and give them about a minute.
5. Add the garlic. Be careful with the heat on this, garlic is good, burnt garlic is less good. And garlic burns fast!
6. Add the shrimp and sauté until the shrimp turn all pink.
7. Add in the chicken broth and let it reduce by a third.
8. Sprinkle the pan with a little flour, stirring to prevent lumps and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes, until it starts to thicken. (This is called the Sanger method)
9. Set aside and keep warm.

Grits
1. Bring half-n-half, milk and salt to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remember what we said about dairy and boiling over? Same thing applies, watch it.
2. Add in grits slowly, whisking to prevent lumping.
3. Reduce your heat and let simmer until thickened.
4. Add in your cheeses and whisk again.

Spoon grits onto a plate and ladle some shrimp over the top. Garnish with grated Parmesan if you like and the crumbled bacon.

Cook’s Notes: Make sure you cook the shrimp mixture for at least 3 minutes once you sprinkle it with flour. It cooks out that raw flour taste, which is less than tasty. Grits are done when you can stand a spoon in the middle of the pot and it falls slowly to the side.

Low Fat Notes: Cooking grits in cream may not appeal to those watching the calories. You can also cook them in low fat milk (2% minimum) or in chicken stock. Try it both ways and see how you like it. Grits are cheap.

That's Amore...no, that's Risotto

First installment of the Cookbook Project comes from the September 2007 issue of Bon Appetite magazine, a recipe that they got from a restaurant in Portland, Oregon called Le Pigeon. The “Risotto with Leeks, Shittake Mushrooms and Truffles” looked rich and delicious. My version is a bit lighter in the calories and in the grocery bill.
The first step was to reduce the recipe from feeding 6-8 people, to feeding just one or two. Want to know the trick? It’s called a Conversion Factor. When you divide the number of servings it makes by the number of servings you want to make. You then multiply all of your ingredients by this number and it will give you the amounts necessary for the alteration. (Note: convert all fractions to decimals. Save the headache.)
This recipe is very simple and the prep is almost nil. Each component is prepared separately and then combined into the risotto at the end. So we’ll begin with the leeks and go from there.

Mushroom & Leek Risotto
Adapted from Bon Appetite Sept. 2007
Serves 2 dinner sized, 4 first-course sized

Leeks*
1 large leek (only the bottom part), split lengthwise, chopped small
½ cup of whipping cream

Mushrooms
4-5 ozs gourmet or stir-fry mushroom mix, sliced
¼ large onion, chopped small
1 tbsp. Butter, melted
1 tbsp. White truffle oil
1 tsp. Fresh thyme leaves

Risotto
2 tbsp. Butter, divided
¼ large onion, minced
½ cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine (I used a Voigner)
2 cups hot vegetable broth (use the broth, not the stock)
¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan (yes, buy a chunk and grate it.)
fresh parsley, chopped fine (for garnish)

Equipment
1 wide shallow saucepan
1 small/med saucepan
1 small sheet pan

Leeks: Put the leeks and whipping cream in a saucepan and bring them to a boil. Watch it carefully, dairy is quick to boil over. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until leeks are tender.

Mushrooms: Heat oven to 400. Combine all ingredients on the sheet pan and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the mushrooms are tender and brown on the edges

Risotto: Melt 1 tbsp. Butter in wide shallow saucepan. Add onions and cook on medium-low until soft (Note: keep the heat down. You want to sweat/soften the onions, not sauté, so no browning!) Add the rice and stir for a minute. Add wine and stir until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add ½ cup of the hot broth and stir until this is almost absorbed. Add another ½ cup, stirring frequently. DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON THE RISOTTO! I mean it, if it burns, there’s no saving it. You’ll have to trash it and start over. Keep adding broth and stirring until rice is tender and creamy. (no, I won’t tell you how long, you just have to stir and watch) Add in the leeks and cream and then mushroom mixture, stirring frequently. Once fully combined, add 1 tbsp of butter, Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of the white truffle oil. Once butter and cheese are melted, remove to a serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley.

Cook’s Notes: This is not a dish to make with everyone all mucking about in the kitchen. Run everyone out so you can concentrate. The leeks and mushrooms can be prepared in advance, just make sure they are warm when they go in the risotto. Vegetable broth has salt in it, so be easy with the salt when you season.

*Clean the Leeks: Leeks are notorious for holding dirt in their layers. Cut off the top parts, split and chop the bottoms. Fill your sink with water and dump the cut leeks into the water. Agitate a bit and then leave them alone for a bit. The dirt will settle to the bottom. Scoop out the leeks and clean your sink.

Low-Fat Notes: If you are worried about the butter, substitute your favorite impostor for the mushrooms and the initial sweat of the onions in the risotto and save the butter for the end.

Girl's Gotta Have a Hobby

In a quest to reduce my somewhat alarming stoutness, not to mention my cholesterol and my gas bill, my resolution is to cook at home more now that's school's done. Cooking is what I do, after all. But I was at Target (I live there) and perusing the minuscule selection of cookbooks and something dawned on me. Why would I pay $15 for someone else's recipes? Do I not have a slew of magazines and books at home already? Why not create my own cookbook?
So that's my new project. Every week I will test a new recipe from my stash, or of my own creation and post results here. The ones that are tasty get a post and a spot in my personal cookbook. The ones that aren't so tasty go to file 13... (cue evil laughter)

Coming Soon

So settle the hell down.