Here’s a great game day recipe from Kenny.

See, here’s the thing, some men think if they cook something it somehow will make them less manly. Negative. Learning how to cook makes a man into, well, a better rounded man. With that in mind and the Falcons/Seahawks game starting in less than a couple of hours here is something more advanced than toast or even a sandwich but easier than brewing your own beer. More on that later.

These are big honking potato wedges with a punch of heat and a powerful dip to go along with it. Figure 1 is the ingredients and most of the tools for the wedges and the dip we’ll cover while the taters are baking. This is an indoor recipe so if you’re game is the late game, like mine is today, you can watch one of the early games while you’re making these. It takes about an hour and ten minutes including prep and cleanup so start them at two if your game comes on at four.

Just a note, because I know guys, make sure the kitchen is clean. At my house that means every surface I am going to be working on and every kitchen tool I am going to be using is disinfected with a water and chlorine bleach solution (1 gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach).

Fig 1: Ingredients and tools for the real men's potato wedges

Ingredients list:

• 4 medium white potatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• ground cayenne pepper
• sason completa (complete seasoning)
• 1 egg
• a large mixing bowl (a big pot will work)
• 1 cookie sheet or aluminum foil
• 1 sharp kitchen knife
• a teaspoon
• a sauce brush or clean shop rag
• an oven
• an oven glove
• probably a beer if that’s you style (note: beer goes in the face, not the recipe)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Make sure you didn’t leave an old pizza still in the box in there. While your oven is pre-heating get ready to go on the stuff. Now you can make this and it will be great even without the dip but you’ve got time and you’re a bad-ass in the kitchen so make the dip, too.

Fig 2: Potatoes cut into wedges in 1/4s the long way

• Wash your potatoes and cut them into quarters lengthwise. (See Figure 2)
• Pat them dry with a clean cloth and let them air out while you make the crap to coat them with
• In the mixing bowl place 2 teaspoons (that’s the little spoon not the ice-cream spoon) of olive oil
• Add the egg but take it out of the shell, okay? (egg shells can kill you because of a little thing called salmonella so wash up)
• Use your teaspoon and add:
• 2 teaspoons of sason completa
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper (or about 10 cranks on the grinder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt (I use fresh ground Himalayan pink rock salt but I’m a triple food ninja)
• Mix all that together with something like a fork or a whisk if one exists in your house

This mixture should turn into a thick slurry that looks like some nasty radiator fluid out of that ’56 BelAire you bought that had been sitting in the woods for 21 years without moving.

Now comes the part that takes muscle … but not much. Drop all of your potato wedges, you should have 12 of them if you followed the instructions. You can follow instructions, right? Okay, drop the wedges in the goop and toss them. If you drop one on the floor just pick it up and throw it back in because they are going to be at 400 degrees for a while and even the crud on your floor won’t live through that. Toss them for probably 3 to 5 minutes until they are coated really well. Not all of the gunge you made will stick to them, we’ll get to that in a minute.

On your cookie sheet or aluminum foil lay the wedges out skin side down at least 1/2 inch apart. After that using your clean shop rag or, better yet, your BBQ brush apply the remainder of the stuff in the mixing bowl to the wedges.

You are now ready to actually cook. Set a timer for 25 minutes. If you don’t have a timer use your Android because it’s smarter than most of us. Place your wedges on their whatever you have them on, could be an old hubcap for all we care, into the oven and get ready to make the dip. You *could* use just plain old store bought stuff with rat crap and illegal alien hairs in it or you could make your own.

For the dip you’re going to need:

Fig 3: Real men's potato wedge dip recipe

• Some sour cream (about a cup – 8 ounces)
• Two cloves of garlic
• A jalapeno pepper
• Some cilantro (ask your neighbor, if she’s hot she has some)
• Salt
• A lime
• A tablespoon (that’s the big one you use for ice-cream)
• A bowl
• A knife

You’re going to learn a new trick here if you’ve never worked with fresh garlic. In fact this will turn into one of your kitchen super-powers for when you find “the right one” and really want to impress her.

Fig 4: Smashing garlic

If you have ever worked with fresh garlic but you don’t know this really common, kitchen wimp technique (meaning anyone can do it) you’ve struggled with getting those little stinker out of their skin. No more, you are now going to be knighted into kitchen master brotherhood – albeit still far from being the jedi master I am. Because I am so cool and awesome you’ll even get to see a photo. Figure 4, actually, shows the magic. Take a clove (that’s one little piece) off the garlic bulb and lay it on your cutting board. With a broad blade knife, the kind kitchen jedis like me use, and lay it flat on it’s side on top of that little pimple of garlic and smack the crap out of it. Okay, not that hard. More like bump it.

When you lift the knife it should look all squished and flat. Pick it up by the skin and chances are the meat will fall out of the skin. If not just pull the meat out of the skin and you’ll have the part you need.

Like with anything else there are other ways but the one above is the fastest. If you’re meticulous and orderly you can cut the clove in 1/2 the long way and peel the skins off fairly easily. I prefer to go beast on it and make that “wham” noise so the wife asks, “you okay?”

Fig 5: De-seeding jalapeno peppers

If you can’t handle the heat you can de-seed the jalapenos but I don’t recommend letting anyone actually see you do that. If you must and the hotties hurt your little tummy simply cut the pepper into halves, use a paring knife and cut the pith out then scrape the pith and seeds out with the back of the knife.

Many people recommend you wear gloves when handling raw, fresh peppers. I never do but be warned, if you touch your eye, pick your nose or take a leak without first washing off very well you are, definitely, going to pay the price. If you get burned from the capsaicin in peppers the best wash is fresh milk. Scientifically proven I kid you not.

Chopped everything up pretty finely and toss it into the bowl. Squeeze in the juice of a half of the lime and spoon in about 6 big spoons of sour cream. Stir it up until the components are a nice, smooth blend. Probably take you about 45 seconds to smooth it out.

By now your taters should have cooked for 25 minutes which is the point where you’re going to use your oven glove and flip those bad boys over. Since they are triangular you’ll just be flipping them over onto one of their sides. I’m kind of anal so I have to rotate them all the same direction but it really doesn’t matter – just get them off the skins and onto a side. There will be a little dry crust of the egg that has run off the wedges and you can just flip them over onto their sides right on top of those spots. Set your timer for another 10 minutes and put them back in the oven.

Fig 6: Real men's potato wedges - men cook!

Get a plate ready and start cleaning up the mess you made so when they come out you can be ready to eat them or share them with your girl. If you’re sharing you can go for some presentation like in Figure 6. That will score some points with your lady and you may even get a silver star – if you know what I mean. Most of all, make sure you clean the kitchen!

Hey, that’s it! Here’s the finished product with a little style to the serving. If you have buds over you’ll need one plate like this for each two people. Just increase the cooking time by 5 minutes for each additional potato and make sure you add the appropriate amount of ingredients for the number of potatoes, too. Don’t go for 2 eggs until you hit 7 potatoes but everything else can be increased by .25% per additional potato.

6 egg whites, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups quick oatmeal

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce( can sub with 1/4 banana, 1 cooked apple in micro)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 packets Splenda

Beat egg whites until frothy (but not stiff). Fold in the other ingredients. Portion batter to make 6 regular muffins. Add ground oat flour or more oats to your consistency. Bake at 375° approximately 14 minutes or until golden brown on top. Can be refrigerated or frozen.

This is an amazing and portable way to get your protein and good carbs in. This recipe can be doubled in size to make 12.  Feel free to make this your own and substitute! Some have tried using pumpkin and zucchini. Some prefer making the applesauce to 1 cup or adding mashed banana or blueberries. Make it your own and throw in some ground cloves, ginger or nutmeg. I have a friend that doubles the recipe but with 3 cps zucchini instead of applesauce, plus she cuts her oats to 2 cups. Enjoy!

The ingredients I’m using today are Nestle Butterscotch Chips and Ghirardelli Chocolate Classic White Chips

I could not find any macadamia nuts so I substituted with cashews and pistachios.

I used Ann’s House Pistachios and Planter’s Cashews.

I substituted 1/2 of my white granulated sugar with Stevia per the Stevia In The Raw package recommendation.

I also substituted the all purpose flour with King Arthur Gluten Free multi-purpose flour.

White Chip Macadamia Bars

Yield: 3 dozen bars

• 2 cup(s) Classic White Chips
• 1 cup(s) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup(s) brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup(s) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 3/4 cup(s) macadamia pieces, coarsely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium-size bowl, beat butter with brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low speed until combined. Add vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to creamed mixture, and fold until combined. Fold in chips and macadamia pieces. Spread batter in a 13″ x 9″ pan in an even layer. Bake at 350°F for 27 to 30 minutes. Let cool at least 40 minutes before cutting into squares. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Optional: Espresso White Chip Macadamia Bars: Add 1/4 cup brewed espresso or 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder to the batter after combining eggs. Or substitute 1/4 cup water and 4 teaspoons instant coffee, if espresso is not available. Bake as directed above.

I can never resist a taste test so I split the dough in two batches and put the pistachios with the butterscotch chips and white chocolate and the other half with white chocolate and the cashews. I preferred the Butterscotch ones and my husband preferred the white chocolate and cashews.

I used a big ice cream scoop to make them all the same size. I ended up having to bake them for about 15 minutes since they were so large.

I love using the Baker’s Secret pans that have a layer of air between them. The cookies never burn.

I showed the coke zero so you could see how large the cookies were.

My cookie model, social media dude, WebPress guru and dear husband, Ken Cook.

This is an unsolicited commentary. I have not been compensated by any of the brands depicted.

Crocheted Afghans
25 throws, wraps, and blankets to crochet
By: Melody Griffiths
Published By: CICO Books
ISBN: 978-1-906525-78-1

Book reviewed by Michael Sellick – The Crochet Crowd

“Artistic Crochet” is what comes to mind when I think of this book. I had already purchased this book prior to being asked to review it. The green afghan with the wildflower design on the cover grabbed my attention. This book goes beyond the traditional crochet techniques to something that takes the normal crochet hook and creates another dimension of crochet with an artistic edge.

The pictures inside this book are crystal clear. Me, being a very visual person can observe the stitches and count them out for myself to help me understand the written pattern directions. The ideas are modern and extremely colorful in design. In some of the designs, there are Charted Diagrams to show where the stitches are being placed.

Win this Crocheted Afghans book! http://www.allfreecrochet.com/sweeps/Crocheted-Afghans-Book-Review-Giveaway

We are giving one Crocheted Afghans book to one lucky winner.  In addition:

1. If you blog about this giveaway at your blog, we’ll give you an extra entry. Contact us and include a link to the blog post.
2. If you tweet or Facebook about this giveaway, you’ll get an extra entry. Again, contact us and include a link to the tweet.
3. If you add a link to us on your blogroll or website, we’ll give you an extra entry. Again, contact us!

Contest ends February 23, 2011. You can enter once daily, so return often to improve your chances of winning!
Crocheted Afghans Book Giveaway

VALENTINE’S DAY AT GEORGIA AQUARIUM

It’s already time to plan for Valentine’s Day! Georgia Aquarium is hosting a unique night with a lecture about secret mating rituals of aquatic animals on Feb. 12, 2011 in Georgia Aquarium’s Oceans Ballroom. Hosted by our very own Dr. Al Dove and Sr. Animal Care Specialist Trish Dove (yes, they’re married!), Motions of the Oceans, presented by HalfOffDepot.com, will surely entertain you. The event will also include dinner by Wolfgang Puck Catering. Bring your loved ones or a group of friends to this fun experience at the Aquarium. Then, go all out this Valentine’s and join us after the event for our Adult Sleepover! Discount for Members! Save your spot today.

(Note: this is not vegetarian soup. It is vegetable soup and we use poultry or fish stock. I don’t do many things that are vegetarian.)

Myra loves my soup and I like it, too. If you want to knock the cold out of your day and can handle some heat (spice) you will like this, too. It is very quick and simple to make and stores well in the freezer for later. Understand I am just a great cook – not a trained cook. Chances are you can take my basic recipe and make it much better.

This recipe will yield about 6 big servicing or 10 normal servings and you can change the level of pepper heat to suit your pallet but I do urge you to try it without modification for your first batch.

The “magic” in this soup is in the peppers. First is cayenne which is, in the minds of many who have studies, almost a miracle food. For me, personally, it has definitely helped with things like digestive issues, the pain of arthritis and breathing problems. I have been to the doctor for all three health issues and have been given prescription drugs for all three issues. You can do some research and find great resources on cayenne – it’s “active” ingredient capsaicin – at this link http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cayenne.htm

As for black pepper there are some pretty amazing claims. The benefits of black pepper we are most interested in are increased circulation and opening of the nasal cavities. Since increased circulation is also a result of ingesting cayenne pepper you can imagine by adding black pepper, especially in the quantity of which we are speaking, will really enhance the efficiency of the many pumps and filters in the body which work to combat illness. Here is a resource to get you started http://www.ayurvediccure.com/health/health-benefits-of-black-pepper/

Additionally we are going to add an abundance of yellow onion which is definitely a miracle treatment for breathing problems among others. Again this is “soup to knock out the cold” http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/updates/onions.php and onions really do make a difference. Join that with yet another herb which has years of evidence in the treatment of breathing disorders – celery http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/herbs-health/celery.php.

I won’t continue incessently about the remainder of the ingredients but you can do some research for yourself and see that all the ingredients, including corn, have some pretty amazing properties. Corn is full of beta-cryptoxanthin and if you Google that term you’ll see where it will get you.

Now the recipe

• 4-6 cups of stock (I prefer a homemade chicken or fish stock)
• 2 medium yellow onions (about 3″ to 4″ in diameter)
• 2 large white potatoes (skin on or off, your choice)
• 2 large stalks of celery with leaves
• 3 fresh cayenne peppers
• 1 fresh jalapeño (hall-ah-pay-nyo for you Food Network stars)
• 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed or ground black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder
• 1 cup of yellow corn (fresh is best)
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 cup of sliced okra
• 1/2 cup of lima beans
• 4 fresh bay leaves

Cut the potatoes into about 1/2 inch squares (batonnet then cube), the carrots into about 1/4 inch slices (rondelle or diagonal), dice the onions fairly large (allummette then dice), and rondelle the okra and jalapeño. You can deseed the jalapeño but why?

I do not crush, fold or roll the bay leaves I simply drop them in early – before any of the vegetables. They will release plenty of oil to flavor the soup. And for any purists I fully understand you can correct us with specific time intervals of adding the vegetables. I also recognize some of the vegetables will start to cook into a mush and this is by design. This soup should be able to be eaten without the requirement of much chewing – you ever try to chew with an earache?

For me I start the stock first and add the black peppercorns in a tea sachet along with the other peppers including the whole pepper and the bay leaves. I do not ever boil the mixture but rather simmer it for about 35 minutes – pot covered. You can probably take it from there but you may want to experiment with the order in which you add the ingredients. I add the carrots first, celery next, then the potatoes, celery, corn and lima beans. I add the okra when the potatoes have lost their tooth to about 25% of the original texture or when there is about 7 minutes of cooking time left (28 minutes after you put in the carrots).

If you like your celery to have more crunch add it at the same time you add the okra. My preference is the okra, carrots and potatoes be easy to consume without having to really chew them like raw veggies.

Potatoes health benefits – http://www.best-home-remedies.com/herbal_medicine/vegetables/potato.htm
Basic types of knife cuts - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-basic-knife-cuts.htm

Related articles

• How to Make Your Own Vegetable Broth (naturemoms.com)
• 3 Amazing Fall Vegetarian Soups That Will Rock Your World (eco-chick.com)
• Cauliflower Soup…hot or cold (savoringeverybite.wordpress.com)
• Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup (momblognetwork.com)
• A Jewish Puerto Rican Thanksgiving (offthebroiler.wordpress.com)
• I need hearty soup recipes (ask.metafilter.com)
• Recipes: Soups, Chips and Sautés (nytimes.com)
• Cayenne Pepper Diet (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• Energy Soup Recipe, Southwest Style (rawlivingfoods.typepad.com)
• Cooking for One with Packaged Soups (wholefoodsmarket.com)

Good at thousands of restaurants nationwide!

Pardon me for the “spammy” interruption but I think you’ll find the “meat” is in this deal. Myra and I buy and use gift certificates from this group all of the time. This is something new in that it is a gift card – not a certificate. But here’s some really great news: the gift certificates are available for $2 each (for $25 certificates).

Here’s the bad news: the really good restaurants usually sell out quickly because they only allow a certain number of these to be sold. So, get ‘em while they are available, I did! I bought FIFTY of them for gifts and to keep as giveaways at events.

Get 80% off Restaurant.com Gift Cards! Use code GOBBLE at checkout now through 11/25/10.

I was definitely in the mood to make a healthy and delicious treat this year! I found this easy recipe on The Food Network. This new chef named Anne Thornton does sweets right. She is so fun to watch on tv. It is nice to watch a chef that is beautiful inside and out. She looks like a real chef. I was surprised that she used chop sticks for her handles, that was such a smart idea! Be sure not to substitute anything in this recipe (otherwise you might be making caramel for a half of a day!) I was two tablespoons shy of light Karo syrup and used agave nectar instead. Not a good idea! Anyways a half of a day later, my caramel is scrumptiously divine. The taste is WAY better than the store bought alternative.  I can’t wait to crunch into and eat my treats! I will give some away to the trick or treating neighbors tonight. Yay for Halloween!

Homemade Caramel Apples

Couture Caramel Apples

Recipe courtesy Anne Thornton

Show: Dessert First With Anne ThorntonEpisode: Scary Sweet

Cook Time:15 min Level:Easy Yield:6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 wooden sticks
• 6 Granny Smith apples

Toppings:

• German Chocolate Apples: chopped salted pecans, toasted coconut, miniature chocolate morsels
• Peanut butter chocolates (recommended: Reese’s Pieces – Halloween colors)
• Ginger snap crumbs and candied ginger
• Caramel popcorn apple: salted buttered popcorn
• Halloween sprinkles

Directions

Mix the white sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 7 minutes, but do not stir or swirl around to mix. Watch it carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt in no time. Put an oven mitt on the hand you will be using to stir in the butter, and heavy cream, and stand back to avoid splattering. Slowly and carefully, stir in the butter and the heavy cream. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool slightly.

Put the apples on a cookie sheet lined with lightly greased aluminum foil. Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple. Dip each apple into the caramel and scrape the excess caramel from the bottoms using the side of the saucepan. Roll the apples in the desired toppings and arrange them on the aluminum foil. Serve.

Yummy but scary cupcakes!

This Halloween will be special if you make a few scary treats! I am so excited because this year I am guaranteed to get a lot of trick or treaters to my house. I personally don’t think these treats will last long at the office so I think I will have to make up another batch for the scary trick or treaters! Enjoy!

By Woman’s Day Kitchen from Woman’s Day |October 17, 2010

This cupcake recipe is the only one you’ll ever need. It’s simple and adaptable—to change it to chocolate, just add a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, increase the water by half a cup and omit the eggs.

• Active Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

• • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1⁄2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1⁄2 cup water
  • 3⁄4 cup oil
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs

  Recipe Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 350ºF. You’ll need 24 regular muffin cups with cupcake liners.

  2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk until blended. Whisk milk, water, oil, vanilla and eggs in 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl.

  3. Make a well in the flour mixture. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture; whisk until blended (some small lumps may remain).

  4. Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean.

  5. Cool cupcakes in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

  To make chocolate cupcakes: Add 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder to dry ingredients. Increase water to 1 cup and omit eggs. Prepare and bake as directed.

Cream Cheese Frosting from Paula Deens’

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

on the Food Network:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

A happy husband is a mellow husband, especially at Mellow Mushroom pizza

Cheese lips.

Calzones always make husbands very happy.

Jazz hands with the ‘food scientist’, chef and master pizza slinger Adam who happens to ROCK in the oven arena.

Build your own salads – never can go wrong there ~ I’m in heaven! Right about now I was VERY angry with my husband who had NEVER taken me to Mellow Mushroom yet in all our 13 years of marriage living in Georgia! His response was, “…well I can’t take you everywhere then it would all get too boring…” and so I’m assuming he is saving the best for last. THEN he tells me he used to eat there like 4 times a week before we got married. Hoarder.  Hummptf.

Coolness.

Adam, a ruddier jolly man very content with himself, and his job. He is one of the main reasons to experience The Mellow Mushroom.

2421 Shallowford Rd Marietta GA 30066 770-516-1500

Gotta go back! Can’t wait! I love Mellow Mushroom! More locations? Wow. Over 100 locations now. Just type in your zip code!

http://www.mellowmushroom.com/index.php#/locations