News: Epic Meal Time

If you have tender ears, heads up on this one. These guys cook like a boss and don't hold back. While their demeanor may not be appreciated by all, the don't lack passion or inspiration with the creations they come up with.

News: Cooks Illustrated

Cooks Illustrated has provided me some fantastic fundamentals in cooking. My grandma started buying me subscriptions to the magazine years ago and not a single publication has had the pages un-turned. Now I use their website as well to easily tag recipes and other helpful info to aid in my future cooking endeavors.

News: Best birthday to date

I turned 30 this year. For my birthday I had a wonderful weekend of cooking. Between 2 days I cooked I think almost 60lbs of meat. this is a shot of the before-pile. I was so caught up in the prep, cooking and consumption that I didn't take any after pictures. But dream with me a little and imagine what this could turn in to.

News: Lunchtime NY Strip w/ grilled onions and bell pepper

First item of business: apparently I need a better camera cause this shot does not do that meal justice!

News: In the Beginning

All great things of this world have a beginning. In the hopes that this will be one of those things, we here begin.

News: 9 Ways You'd Never Expect to See Broccoli

Broccoli is super. Not only is it jam-packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and fibre, but it's one veggie that refuses to be just a side-dish. Nobody puts broccoli in the corner.

News: Beef with Oyster Sauce

I have the honor of knowing a woman who lived in Taiwan for a couple years back in the day, as a missionary. One of the things she brought back from her time spent there was the Pei Mei Chinese Cookbook Vol. 1 published in 1969. You can grab a decent used copy on Amazon for about $15. I knew I wanted my own copy after my friend invited me over for a Chinese feast one afternoon, where we sampled no less than half a dozen dishes from the book.

News: Fruit Tart

Made my first fruit tart over the past couple days. The crust was pate sucree (basic sweet crust). The filling was a custard that I tried to thicken with flour and corn starch. The top was just fresh fruit with an apricot glaze (just warmed up apricot preserves with a little water so I could paint it on).

News: Lemon chicken, garlic riced potato's and sugar snap peas

Another poor quality photo but I swear the food was amazing. I loved the simplicity of the dish. The crisp sugar snap peas, zesty lemon chicken and aromatic potato's (I tossed in some bay leaves and garlic cloves while the potato's boiled... I think it made a difference) really all came together quite well.

News: Dramatic sushi presentation

Tomo Sushi in Atlanta with a friend/vendor on a recent work trip. Expensive but delicious and inspirational presentations. I don't remember exactly which fish this was. It wasn't mackerel or needlefish. The flesh was minced with some green onion and white wine vinegar I think. Good stuff.