Japanese Fried Rice

Japanese Fried Rice

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d share one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.  I know, fried rice seems like a weird thing to serve with Thanksgiving… but it’s a family tradition for us!  It all started one year… after my dad spent all day making the Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings, my teenaged brother [...]

Caramelized Apple & Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

Caramelized Apple & Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

So I guess it’s now autumn and we have to say goodbye to summer (although you wouldn’t know it from today’s 91 degree weather)!  With autumn comes some really great things… Pumpkin spice lattes, warm apple pies, spiced cider, Halloween candy… but I would say the fall flavors that I most look forward to are [...]

La Paloma (Tequila and Grapefruit Cocktail)

Paloma (Grapefruit & Tequila Cocktail)

What is “La Paloma“?  This is a Mexican cocktail – commonly prepared by mixing tequila with grapefruit flavored soda.  In other versions, the grapefruit soda can be replaced with fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, and topped with sparkling soda water. According to many sources, the first published recipe for La Paloma was in a [...]

Triple chocolate chip cookies

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lately, I’ve been making a bunch of chocolate chip cookie variations.  The latest, are my triple chocolate chip cookies.  It’s “triple chocolate” because it has dark cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips.  If you don’t have (or want to buy) two different kinds of chocolate chips, you can just use all one [...]

Asian coleslaw with sweet sesame dressing

Asian coleslaw with sweet sesame dressing

Here’s one of my basic stand-by side dishes: Asian style coleslaw with a sweet sesame dressing (no mayo!).  It’s pretty easy to prepare, and works well as a quick salad or side to accompany your meal! For best results, use Savoy cabbage (it’s the round head of cabbage with wrinkly looking leaves).  If you can’t [...]

KFC secret recipe? (Buttermilk Fried Chicken with 11 herbs and spices)

KFC "secret recipe" chicken (Buttermilk fried chicken)

Last month, I read a Chicago Tribune article that potentially revealed the KFC secret recipe of “11 herbs and spices”.  A reporter sat down for an interview with the nephew of KFC’s “the Colonel”, and was shown a handwritten paper scrap in a family album that was most likely (by the nephew’s admission) the original [...]

Maple Bacon Cookies

Maple Bacon Cookies

Last week I had a cookie craving and figured it would be a great time to try some variations on the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe that I always make.  ”Maple Bacon” flavor seems to be all the rage these days… and I usually have bacon crumbles in the refrigerator, as well as maple extract [...]

Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs (crockpot/oven recipe)

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs

Summer time weather calls for barbecue!  But what do you do when it’s way too hot to go outside and actually tend to the grill?  Crockpot ribs are the perfect solution – the ribs slow cook for several hours in a flavorful liquid, then you finish them in the oven!  These also work great if [...]

Cake Style Donuts (Baked recipe)

Homemade baked cake style donuts

Several months ago, I bought 3 sets of the large Wilton donut pan!  This pan is awesome!  Each pan will make 6 regular sized cake donuts – and with three pans, I can make the entire bowlful of batter (from 1 box of cake mix) at the same time!  Because I use doctored cake mix for [...]

Poisson Cru (Tahitian Ahi Tuna Coconut Ceviche)

Tahitian Poisson Cru

A few years ago, we took an 8-year-delayed honeymoon to Tahiti!  We had a fantastic time, and had a lot of great food!  On our first day in Bora Bora, I splurged on an all-day private island tour.  Our guide, a Tahitian man named Ari, took us all around the island of Bora Bora, showing [...]