It’s been a very long couple of weeks ! I took some needed vacation at the end of 2006 (mostly because IBM said I had to or I’d lose my vacation time). I’ve been talking for a long time about making something out of the bamboo flooring that was left over from when I did [...]

There is a “blogging theme” going on out on the Internet. I stumbled across it on Carl’s blog. then again on NotesGirl’s Blog and again from Captain Oblivious. So I guess I will give it a try …
1) I studied Biomedical Engineering in college but couldn’t remember a thing in all of my biology other [...]

I start my day like a lot of you - with a caffeinated beverage. I never learned to drink coffee. (My unofficial servey shows the pivot point for most people was college; that was the early 80’s for me and I was drinking dew and cola then.)
A few years ago, ironically on the eve of [...]

I have settled into a rut as it relates to my morning routine. I’m not complaining. I actually like this rut ! I’ve blogged before about my espresso addiction. Like most coffee addicted people, I now start my day with a little “giddy-up”.
What struck me this morning is the vessel for my morning elixir. Back [...]

I’ve worked on my scone recipe for quite a while.
My cooking “process” is to get a good recipe / result and then try to find out just how simple / fast I can make it. For my scone recipe, the evolution took some time but the results are well worth it.
For anyone wanting to [...]

This recipe started evolved from my grandmother’s apple pie recipe. The big change is the addition of cranberries to balance the sweet-tart experience.

Bullseyes are destined to become a lost culinary treat. The advent of store bought pastry sheets and pie shells means no one makes their own pie crust anymore - and bullseyes are made from leftover pie crust dough.
I have vivid memories of my grandmother making pies when we would visit. After the last pie went [...]

Summer is almost here (I hope) !
I’ve often enjoyed Sangria out on the deck in the summer time with good friends and good food. A few years ago, while celebrating at a Boston/Cambridge restaurant, I tried Clerico. It was a fresh change and a perfect match to the tappas (and the company). After some needling, [...]

A cold and rainy autumn day (or late spring for that matter) can be warded off with a hearty bowl of stew, some spent grain bread, and a Guinness. I’ll leave you to your on devices for the bread and beverage. Here is my take on a hunter’s classic.

Your typical Thanksgiving dinner is complete with turkey and cranberry sauce. A few years ago I took my own direction for the cranberry sauce. Rather than serve it with the meal, I wanted to make it part of the horsdouvre course.

You’ve heard of “30 Minute Meals” … well, sometimes I am even too lazy for 30 minutes. My solution is what I call “Eight to Eat” - making something good in eight minutes !

When I was growing up, I spend a year living with my “aunt” Anne. In actuality, she was the aunt of my best friend but she took me in when I needed to “get out of the house” from my family. She was an amazing person - a strong religious foundation and very “salt of [...]

This is not completely my own recipe. It started with a friend of a friend of a friend and along the way it has evolved.

4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/8 cup caramelized onions or roasted garlic (optional)
1 (9-inch) deep dish pie shell
Salt and [...]

The answer to “What is It? #2” is … as most of you had too much fun with this one … an “apple peeler and slicer”. I’ll give it a try sometime and show the results. Personally, I’m good enough with a knife at this point that I would not get this “unitasker” for my [...]

There is a fig tree where I live. To be honest, it looks more like a bush because it is actually 3 or 4 trees that are clumped. According to the owners of the property, no one has ever harvested the figs because they go by so quickly.
That last part is very true. I picked [...]

A good friend of mine often quips, “can we start with desert ?” Well, I won’t get into the benefits of starting with desert but I will give you a simple and fun option - hors d’oeuvres for desert.
The idea is to create a few different deserts and then serve them in small, bite [...]

This year the fig tree was very productive. I harvested as fast as I could but often was in a race - let them stay on the tree long enough to ripen and get sweet but not so long as to give the ants, birds, insects, etc. too much of a head start. I estimated [...]

A while back I did a “what’s it” for an apple peeler - slicer - corer. I’ve seen these over the years. Most often on a yard-sale table or in the back of a drawer - long since forgotten. As a cook (I never claim to be a chef) I try to exercise my [...]

I was in an Irish Pub a few days ago enjoying a Guinness when an earthen flat bowl came out of the kitchen and was set down at the bar in front of the gentleman next to me. The site of it brought back lots of memories of my childhood. Shepard’s Pie was a staple [...]

I had this discussion with my family over the holidays - “what’s in your macaroni and cheese ?” It sounds innocent enough but be warned, you may not want this debate if there are cooks in the house !
I survived on “mac n’ cheez” in college. I know a lot of guys who did. However, [...]

This is about as far a field as I am likely to get for a while. I have thought the “Bullet Blender” was pretty cool but I already have an industrial blender (yes, that is the right description for it). As such, it will probably never burn out as long as I don’t try [...]

Over six months have past since I read a post about grilling the perfect steak. It calls for liberally covering an inexpensive cut of meat in course salt and letting it sit for 30 minutes. Then rinse off the salt, pat dry and grill as normal. I knew the science behind it but not the [...]

This is the rebuttal to my own post. 4 months ago I came across and idea and thought it would be cool - blending frozen drinks in one of those mason jar glasses. Well, I finally came across such a “jar glass” at the House of Deals. So I bought the dust collecting beverage [...]

Last year the figs started to ripen around late August. This year they are a bit early and the weather is not cooperating.  I thought my biggest worries for the figs was “the race”. “The race” is between me, the birds, and the bugs.  We all seem to know just when the figs are [...]

Yes, you read that right - soup in five minutes and I’m not talking about from a can … well, not exactly. Let me explain.
I believe in a well stock pantry and freezer. I also am a strong proponent of cooking with “building blocks”. In all honesty, nearly everyone cooks with building blocks, [...]