Food Blog

One of the best reasons to live in the country is to take advantage of all the farm fresh food opportunities. We’ve been living in rural Maine for over 10 years and I can tell you that here I’ve tasted some of the best and highest quality food I’ve ever tasted in my life. The fresh meat is off the charts and the eggs – well, the eggs are the world’s best. In this post, I discuss how I recently happened upon some of the most luxurious and downright delicious goose, turkey, and chicken eggs I’ve ever tried. Given to me from a real farmer. Yes, that’s right, a real farmer. Up until this point in my days, I’d never tried some of these types of eggs and I can tell you the wait was worth it. Now I look for them at every turn. They’re not easy to find – I can tell you that. I suppose I’ll have to patiently wait for the next opportunity to arise. Click through to read about my experience and thoughts on my latest and greatest egg adventure! Continue reading…

This is the one. This is the famous Betty Crocker zucchini bread recipe that everyone has been searching for. I’ve gotten comments on this post through the years and I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they used to have this recipe stored on some index card or in their mother’s old Betty Crocker cookbook, but somehow misplaced it or flat out lost it. Somehow, I got my hands on one of these old cookbooks and, every so often, have prepared this wonderful zucchini bread. It’s always come out perfectly. It’s actually quite challenging to screw up. Since the zucchini adds so much moisture to the cake, it never ends up dry. Harvest season is right around the corner and September is usually full of zucchinis, so grab a few and start peeling. The ingredients for this recipe are very common, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with that. Get baking and please let me know how everything goes. Does this bread remind you of the old days? From what I hear, no one has yet to beat Betty Crocker! Continue reading…

I’ve made a lot of cakes in my day and I think I’ve settled on this one being my favorite. That’s why I added perfect to the title. It really is perfect. And like I said in the first paragraph of this post, this bundt cake is sweet, moist, and simply delicious. It’s a fairly straightforward recipe as far as apple cakes go – there’s no fancy topping or anything like that. All that’s required are some apples, some sugar, cinnamon, flour (all the regular stuff), orange juice, eggs, and walnuts. I recently prepared this cake and since I had some dried dates on hand, I tossed a half cup of them in too. I think they added some additional flavor. Since apple season is right around the corner, I encourage you to visit your favorite orchard or grocery store to buy some apples. Then head back home and follow this recipe to make the perfect apple cake. I think you’ll be delighted. Continue reading…

Have you ever eaten at a fancy restaurant that fed you tiny, but intensely delicious, portions? The average person would scoff at a tiny portion. I know I would. Or at least I used to. To me, the bigger, the better. I want my money’s worth. I’m a basic guy and I don’t like to pay a lot for my food. I just want to feel like my stomach is full. This type of thinking went on for years. Years – until I began learning about what actually goes into the preparation of those expensive dishes. Typically, it’s the exotic ingredients as well as the labor involved that costs so much. Anyone can throw a big fat steak on a grill. Not everyone can soft-boil a quail egg and perfect a twenty two ingredient sauce over five years. The garlic spread in this sandwich sort of reminds me of the latter – the sauce. Yes, I could have used regular mayo for this post. I didn’t though because I wanted to see how it was really done. If I wanted a fresh tasting garlic mayonnaise that would ultimately be used as a base for an insanely tasting spread, I knew I’d need to take all twelve ingredients involved and work my magic. The sandwich is simple enough; it’s basically bread, mozzarella cheese, avocado, and tomato. The goodness is in the sauce. Or the spread, in this case. The sandwich is simply the host. I beg you to try this recipe out. I promise you won’t regret it. Click through for full details. Continue reading…

If you’re into orzo salads like I am, you might want to check this one out. It’s a simple recipe that calls for only a handful of ingredients. To start, there’s orzo, which is used as the primary ingredient. Orzo, also known as risoni, is a form of short-cut pasta that’s shaped like a large grain of rice. It’s traditionally made from flour, but can also be made from whole grain. It’s often made with semolina, a type of flour made from durum wheat. Beyond the orzo, the recipe calls for olive oil and balsamic vinegar as the vinaigrette, Parmesan cheese, radicchio (a tender, slightly more bitter version of red cabbage), chickpeas, fresh parsley, and scallions. And that’s pretty much it. Cook the orzo according to the instructions in the recipe and then prep all the other ingredients, combine, and you’ll have yourself a straightforward, yet very delicious little meal. I always enjoy eating these types of salads because they’re fast and easy. And if I double up on the recipe, I’ll have lots of leftovers for later on. Click though to take a look. Continue reading…

A ragù is a meat sauce that simmers for hours. The slow cook is intended to tenderize the meat to the point of falling apart on the fork. This is an entirely new concept to me, but one I recently tried and have fallen in love with. Leave it to the Italians – they certainly are the ones who know how to cook. After watching another episode of Gino’s Italian Escape with Gino D’Acampo, I decided to give his Fettuccini with Neapolitan Ragù recipe a try. The way he prepared it on the show made it look so appetizing. I gathered the necessary ingredients, followed his instructions, and was floored by the result. What an incredible dish. I have to tell you, for so little effort, I felt as if I were eating a gourmet meal. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to try something like this. The meat was extremely tender and the other ingredients just melded together, for lack of a better description. If you enjoy Italian food and are looking for a dish that’ll satisfy you like nothing else can, I wholeheartedly recommend this one. Click through for the recipe and some photos. Continue reading…

Gino D’Acampo is a wonder with Italian cooking. During one of his more recent television shows, Gino explored Italy on a quest of education and food discovery. He found both and during each episode, Gino showed the world how beautiful the Italian coast and countryside can be and showed some of the finest foods the nation has to offer. A few of Gino’s recipes caught my eye. I’ll need to wait on some of the more in-depth dishes, but one straightforward dish stood out among the rest. One that I could prepare today – spaghetti alla carbonara. I’ve heard of carbonara, but I’ve never tasted it before. I actually didn’t even know what went into it, which is strange, considering how simple it is. Basically, pasta carbonara consists of some sort of salty pork, pasta, cheese, and eggs, among other ingredients. The pasta and pork is cooked and the eggs are beaten. Everything is combined so the eggs form a smooth sauce. It’s a wonderful dish really and one I wish I had discovered earlier in life. Since I watched the episode with Gino, I’ve used this recipe twice. And it’s only been a few weeks. If you’d like to learn more about spaghetti carbonara and would like to see how easy it is to prepare, click on through for the recipe and some photos. Continue reading…

This is an incredibly easy dessert to prepare and it’s perfect for summer nights. If you click through to look at the ingredient list, you’ll find that the salad includes pineapple, cantaloupe, melon, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, apple, and banana. And that’s just for the fruit side of things. The dressing consists of yogurt, honey or maple syrup, lemon juice, and nutmeg. So you see how this dish has some strong deliciousness potential. This is actually one of my favorite desserts of all time. Not only because it takes very little time to put together, but because it’s sweet and creamy. The yogurt/honey blend is out of this world. If you’re looking for a definite crowd pleaser, you really need to check out this recipe. Continue reading…

This is an incredibly simple, yet wonderfully elegant salad to prepare tonight. Zucchini are nearly in season (depending on where you are) and every other ingredient this salad calls for is readily available. What’s more is that there are hardly any ingredients to begin with. The list includes pecans, squash, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, baby greens, and Parmesan cheese. The only cooking involved will be to grill the zucchini and toast the pecans. Everything else is done with no heat at all. And being one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes from his cookbook called Plenty, you know it’s going to be good. It’s actually very straightforward and that’s the beauty of it. If you’re looking for a tasty, but simple salad to impress friends, family, or a special someone, try this one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Click through for the recipe. Continue reading…

Looking for an insanely delicious vegetarian lasagna recipe? It just so happens that I’ve got one for you. It’s a recipe I pulled from Curtis Stone’s cookbook called What’s for Dinner?. If you browse my blog, you’ll find that I’m a big fan of Curtis and that I’ve prepared many of his recipes. I’m not sure I can say I’ve ever had a bad experience. This lasagna recipe is one of his best. It uses a tomato sauce that’s full of dynamic flavors – most likely because of the inclusion of garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine, ricotta cheese, and basil, among the usual ingredients. As for the lasagna itself, beyond the typical noodles and mozzarella cheese, this recipe calls for eggplant, balsamic vinegar, zucchini, and red bell pepper. If you’re a lasagna lover, you really need to try this one out. It’s the perfect vegetarian meal. If you’d like to add some ground beef to this dish, simply include it along the way. It’s fairly versatile. Click through to check out the recipe along with lots of photos. Continue reading…