There’s a liquor store near me, owned by a guy named Henry.  he has outstanding taste in alcohol, and he’s always cooking something in the back room.  This is basically his favorite thing to eat in the  world.  He made it for a beer tasting he was holding, and it was great.  I told him… Continue reading Liquor Store Chili (AKA Henry’s Chili)

This is a traditional chinese dish that I had once and really liked, so I decided to take a stab at it.  Came out great!  And it even has tofu!  WTF.  Nobody is more confused than I am. I should mention that the vegetables were my own addition because I liked them.  Totally optional, but… Continue reading Ma Po Tofu

So this is the kind of thing I love to cook, which means it’s something I just kind of made up on the fly after skimming a few recipes on the internet, and with a few suggestions from my friends.  It’s very rich but honestly pretty easy to make.  It really isn’t super time intensive. … Continue reading Chorizo and Cilantro Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Saag is a spinach sauce from indian cuisine.  You can make this with meat if you like, lamb is often popular, but I decided to make it just with paneer, because apparently that’s more traditional.  It tastes great!  One note though, the toasted cheese loses its crunchy bits after a few days in the fridge. … Continue reading Saag Paneer

When someone I know told me to make Chicken 65, I assumed it was some kind of engrish mistranslation, like if you went to a chinese place and ordered “Much Happy Luck Joy Chicken”.  Turns out it’s not, it’s a dish from India, and this is it’s actual name.  You can think of it as… Continue reading Chicken 65

I guess the title says it all.  I first made this years ago, as a result of “Well, what the hell do I have in my fridge?”  Since then I’ve tinkered with it, and recently I asked a chef friend of mine how to take it to the next level.  He had some good ideas,… Continue reading Fennel Cream Sauce thing that I made up but trust me it’s really good

This is really good. Turns out you can substitute avocado for mayo in tuna salad and it turns out great.  Apparently it’s also healthier for you, so that’s nice if you care about that kind of thing. One caveat, while this keeps well, the citrus tends to dissipate overnight.  So when you make it get… Continue reading Avocado Tuna Salad!

Not much here, just a reminder to myself of the proportions.  The only thing I do different here is I grate a potato in with the chorizo and onions while I’m cooking it.  It has a few benefits.  For one, the potato soaks up the grease, so the tacos aren’t so greasy (as chorizo has… Continue reading Chorizo Tacos

I really like making just a thick meat sauce with lots of vegetables, but I figured I’d try something different, and these came out great!  Good on spaghetti, great for sandwiches as well.  I bake the meatballs some first to cook off some of the grease.  Not all of it, because you want some, but… Continue reading Spaghetti and Meatballs!

Red beans and rice is a staple in Louisiana, and was Louis Armstrong’s favorite food (he signed letters, “Red beans and ricely, Louis Armstrong.”  Really!)  This dish was traditionally made on Mondays, which were laundry days. The women didn’t have time to stay in the kitchen all day, so they would throw leftover ham and… Continue reading Red Beans and Rice