Tue Jan 8, 2013
Hell yeah, tomorrow is my birthday! Now solidly in my mid-thirties, I've noticed that each subsequent year, fewer and fewer friends openly celebrate their birthdays, but I'm still all gung-ho about mine. While I'm usually humble and reserved, on my birthday I want to feel special, be the center of attention, get what I want, and not be concerned about the selfishness of it all. I still throw myself a party, and I fill it with all of my favorite people and favorite foods. Among the bar foods that make up my birthday menu, wings take top billing, and the top of top are these Sriracha hot wings—a recipe I devised specifically for my birthday last year.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Thu Dec 27, 2012
New Years poses a hosting challenge—you're usually not serving dinner, but you need to keep guests well sustained for hours while counting down the clock, and if the party is going well, you'll most likely be too inebriated to cook. I attack this quandary by creating an army of finger foods that are good both hot and at room temperature, and these goat cheese-stuffed Peppadews fit the bill quite nicely.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Tue Dec 4, 2012
There are few pleasures in life quite like pig candy. This sugar coated treat hits so many culinary high marks it's insane—smokey, salty, sugary, spicy, crispy, and (most important) meaty. Pig candy, otherwise known as candied bacon, first came into my life while helping out on the competition barbecue circuit, where more than one neighborly team cooked up a batch and shared a couple strips with me. So when I wanted to learn the ropes of pig candy myself, I turned to a favorite barbecue blog with solid roots in competition, Patio Daddio BBQ, where pitmaster John Dawson has amassed a treasure trove of great grilling recipes.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Wed Oct 10, 2012
Distance might make the heart grow fonder, but it can also be a bitch. I just got back from a visit with two of my best friends in North Carolina, where both carnivores and herbivores found common ground sustaining ourselves on fried delicacies like hush puppies, tots, and mozzarella sticks during a holiday beach weekend spent alternating between laziness in the sand, couch, and hot tub. While sloth and gluttony may have been the dominating themes, my overall feeling was a strong desire to be with these two amazing people way more often in my life. In the fleeting moments we do get to spend together each year, those often too quick encounters do lead to fond memories. One of those was a time when they were on our home turf, and wanting to show off some grilling skills without the use of meat (oh, how hard that can be), I put together a grilled pizza party, which was preceded by these figs stuffed with goat cheese.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Tue Aug 14, 2012
The Meatwave Team's last competition of the season is coming up this weekend. Not only is this the biggest event we've been in to date, 50 teams total, but also the longest—spanning three days. On top of the eight different categories I have to cook, this long weekend also has me considering keeping the team well fed, especially before the leftovers start piling up. So while I haven't made anything beyond the required categories in the previous two comps, this time around I'm bringing some extra treats with me, which include a mess of armadillo eggs—that's cheese-stuffed and sausage-wrapped jalapenos.
More and recipe after the jump >>
