Grandma's easy chocolate cake

Killer chocolate cake with creamy icing, obviously required to be served with ice cream. I've tried making this, and I'm not really sure how the cake turned out due to my impenetrable outer shell of icing which could have been substituted for Kevlar. Easy is a relative term to describe making it, but however hard or easy it's a great cake that I'll most definitely be giving another attempt.

Russian/Bulgarian night

Russian/Bulgarian inspired dinner provided by my cousin Sonya and her friend Lilly. First is Tarator, a chilled cucumber and dill soup made with yogurt. Second was Vinegriette, a salad made with beats, carrots, potatoes, peas, and onions. Zucchini was grilled with just salt and pepper. Finally, Mousssaka, a casserole with hamburger, potatoes, onions and eggs. All were very good, and 100% new things I'd never tried with exception of the zucchini.

Basted egg

If you've never had an egg basted in bacon grease, it's a must have. This one was cooked in a pan of bacon grease over the fire by my Mean aunt Kathy. It's not necessary to flip these over, a little basting will cook the top and make a perfect fried egg.

Paella outside

I made this paella for a big lunch yesterday. For meat, it had grilled chicken, Chorizo, and shrimp. It also had onion, red pepper, and green olives. Paella is great any time, but even better when it's cooked outside and and large quantities. The recipe for this one is below.

6 grilled chicken breast, seasoned with salt and paprika

2 pounds shrimp

1 pound chorizo

1 jar green olives

2 onions

2 red peppers

4 cups arborio rice

8 cups chicken stock

salt

saffron

S'mores

Making the perfect s'more takes a decent amount of work. First you have to get the fire just right with coals that won't ignite your marshmallow and turn it into a black char. After you achieve a perfect roasted marshmallow, the other key is to have the chocolate softened on the graham cracker to make sure you'll have a complete mess when you're ready to eat it. The final step is to force the gooey tower into your mouth with complete disregard for the sticky mess it's about to create.

Wine and cheese dinner

Tonight was a wine and cheese dinner at camp. I made a baked brie with apricot jelly and cinnamon almonds. We also had a black raspberry baked brie provided by my mean aunt Kathy. The cream cheese stuffed jalapenos were provided by my uncle Billy and aunt Kathleen. Best part is to see what a seven year old makes of wine and cheese.

Steaks and corn

Dinner tonight was steaks, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. The corn and potatoes were cooked on the open fire. I'm becoming big believer in cooking over the open fire, so much so that a fire pit in my back yard is coming soon. The baked potatoes were cooked in the Dutch oven and the corn in the husk. For the steaks, they were on the grill with some expert guidance. If you want to know the right way to cook a steak, stand next to an 80 year old cattle rancher tending the grill. I couldn't help but pick up a few tips and enjoy 15 minutes of grilling with my grandpa.

Cinnamon role on the fire

Starting to think everything is a little better over the fire. Warmed this cinnamon role up over the fire for breakfast this morning to accompany my Huevos Rancheros from the leftover green chili. Credit goes to my Grandma for making the cinnamon role which was great.

Green Chili

Green chili cooked over the fire to smother on burritos for dinner. The leftovers should also be great for breakfast. The key to cooking over the fire is one side coals, one side fire, and several beers. Also pays to have someone else do the majority of the work. Green chili is one of my favorites, and even better over the fire.

Phoenix Airport

I've had lots of good airport food, and plenty of bad too. There is usually a spot in every airport w/something decent if not above average. Since I don't often frequent Phoenix, I used chowhound.com to find this spot. Glad I did, b/c the place next to my gate had plastic food.

Blue Cactus Cafe

Stopped by an interesting lunch spot in Columbia yesterday. Their menu was split between southwestern and Korean food. I had the spicy pork which also had some sweetness for the perfect balance to the heat. Can't wait to go back and try some of the stews and southwestern choices next time.

Rockaway's

Had this giant super greasy pimento cheeseburger at Rockaway's in Columbia SC for lunch today. They also cover the fries in a layer of pimento cheese which were almost as good as the burger. Burger was fantastic, but fearing for my health and dreading an entire night on the treadmill, I restrained myself to half of each. Probably still put down 1,000 plus calories in 10 min which were completely worth it.

Baked Ziti

Had an excellent baked ziti for dinner Friday night. Cooked the chicken on the grill, before adding it to the ziti. It was excellent for dinner, but even better as breakfast leftovers.

Last supper

Took advantage of my last DE lunch and went to a great tapas place. We
had the paella, both vegatarian and w/seafood. Great stuff, wish I
could eat stuff like this for lunc every day.

Deep Blue Calamari

Killer calamari at Deep Blue in Wilmington DE. Comes with a small
arugula salad with a lemon oil dressing. Not only is it top 5 on my
calamari list, it only $5 until 8:00. If you don't have a top calamari
list, better get on it. Never know when someone might ask you for it.

10 minute dinner

Actually made this dinner in 10 minutes. Had some pre-made tortellini & Alfredo sauce and topped it with sauteed baby spinach. Only good part was the spinach, and the raspberries I ate while it was cooking. Not really sure what could have helped it other than a few scotch bonnet peppers, or me actually having drank a fair amount of Scotch before eating it. Only vindication is that it beat Rachel Ray by 20 minutes and I never once used the word EVOO.

Southwestern Dinner

Still enjoying the southwestern fare. Had some people over for dinner and cooked up a bunch so ended up eating way to much and gave myself a food hangover the next day. I'm pretty sure that's what did it anyhow. Menu consisted of the following:

Guacamole

Mango civeche

Lobster corn chowder

Roasted corn w/lime juice and feta

Poblano's stuffed w/sweet potato and blue cheese

Pork tenderloin stuffed with chipotle peppers

topped with Blackberry ginger sauce

Chocolate mouse desserts (provided by Alex of Winestyles)

Highlights were definitely the lobster corn chowder and for me the blackberry ginger sauce. It may have actually been better on the tacos made from the leftovers the next day. Think I also personally took down about five of the desserts.

Manwich

Had this Sloppy Joe for dinner the other night. Can't really remember the last time I had one of these, but I had to be less than 10 or maybe 12. This one is topped with some sriracha sauce to spice it up, plus that's probably the way I had it when I was 10 anyhow. Awesome Friday night meal.

DE Indian Buffet - Nirvana

Found something I never would have thought existed in Wilmington DE,
an Indian Buffet. Had Tandori chicken & vegetables, butter chicken,
lentils, Nan, and not pictured was rice pudding and Gulab Jamun. And a
King Fisher beer. Great change up for, DE and now have to try the
Mongolian place next door.

Grilling on the 4th

Not sure why the 4th of July is a traditional grilling holiday, it's got to be one of the hottest days of the year. None the less, grilled out with my parents in Youngsville for some 4th of July lunch despite record heat. We had bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and pineapple, baby back ribs, squash casserole, and watermelon. For the ribs, I used a dry rub w/salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, mustard powder, and garlic powder. For cooking, they were steamed with a Honey Brown beer, then finished on the grill to add some char. Used a little of the watermelon in mojitos to balance out some of the outdoor grilling heat.

Mark & Ashley's

Better than cooking a good meal is getting invited over to a friend's for a good one. Last night my friends Mark & Ashley cooked some great crab cakes and potato pancakes. The pancakes were Julia Child style with cheese and cream. Hard to go wrong with cheese and cream. The corn, black bean and cilantro salsa went great with the crab cakes too.

Vanloi II

Stopped by Vanloi II off High Point Rd in Greensboro for lunch yesterday. My regular stop for Vietnamese takeout had their phone disconnected so had to look for more options. This one turned out to be pretty good, and definitely worth a second visit to check out a few more items on the menu. I had the BBQ pork over rice which is my Vietnamese go to dish. Next time I'll be giving the duck a try for sure.

Bobby Flay Steak

Got the chance to go to Bobby Flay steak in Atlantic City this week. Ambiance was geared more for consoling desolate gamblers rather than food blogging patrons. So other than the pic that had to be taken in moderate darkness, the place was great. I had the rib eye, which came with a chili infused steak sauce that was really good. Other highlights were the truffle mushroom mashed potatoes and the espresso brownie ice cream desert. Definitely not up to Mesa Grill standards, but a great meal for sure.

Cilantro Pesto Pasta

This is a cilantro lime pesto with shrimp and feta on wheat pasta. Pesto had lime juice, cilantro, garlic, oil, and onion. Easy to make, just cook the shrimp part way then add the pesto and mix in with the pasta. Overall, really good, pretty healthy, perfect light summer dinner.

Roast chicken

It's been awhile since I've made a roast chicken, and not sure why. They are good and easy. For this one I seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme. Inside i stuffed with an onion and some garlic cloves. Also stuffed some butter up under the skin to help crisp it up a little. Had it with grilled asparagus and zucchini. Think grilling asparagus is my new favorite way to eat it too, a little char goes a long way.

Sugarfoot

Had this perfectly steamed latte this morning from the Sugarfoot in
Wilmington DE. Add one splenda, one raw sugar, and a perfect morning
for a walk to work and it's pretty hard to beat.