Brats in Columbia

Had some Brats at the Flying Saucer in Columbia SC. Not nearly as good as the Maredsous 8 Belgian Beer I had, but what really is. This place has about 200 beers, and not one of them is Bud Light. Here's to you lots of beer place, kicking some Bud Light ass every day of the week.

Chili

Made some chili to bring in the fall and to go with some Sunday afternoon football. There are probably 1000's of ways to make chili, but the recipe I used was my family recipe with one can of kidney beans substituted for pinto beans. Other than that, topping it with Frito's is a must in my opinion.

Barleywine Sunday Football

What's better to get the fall started off right than some home-brewed barleywine and an afternoon of football? Nothing, that's why I'm doing it.

Cooking Scallops

Cooked a bunch of seafood for dinner last night, and finally mastered the scallop. I've cooked these many times before, but was never able to really get them right. First to know on cooking scallops is don't over cook them, seriously only about 2 min a side. Next is don't use too much butter or oil, you just need enough to prevent them from sticking not enough to baste them. Finally, and what I was missing was don't use a non-stick pan. Use something that will get a little char going, and create the perfectly browned scallop. They can also be wrapped in bacon and broiled, that's perfectly acceptable too. Also had a king crab leg and baby lobster tail to go with it.

French Toast

Don't throw away leftover French bread, when you can have this for breakfast. I made this quick French toast for breakfast with some leftover French bread from my spaghetti and meatballs. For the batter, I used egg, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Not pictured is the giant slab of butter slathered on every piece.

Meatballs

Inspired by the current issue of Bon Appetit, I made my first batch of meatballs. Not really too hard, as long as you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty. By dirty, I mean squeezing raw meat and egg through your fingers. This recipe was half pork and half beef and has the meatballs cooked in the sauce. The sauce was good, but next time I'll probably make something a little more adventurous on the sauce front. Glad I gave them a shot, and will be making more in the near future I'm sure.

Prime Rib

Love some prime rib, especially when someone else cooks it and invites you over for dinner. My friends Mark and Ashley invited me over for dinner last week and had this gem piece waiting when I got there. The beef was awesome, and so was the salad which had grilled pear and blue cheese for a topping.