What are you eating?

[Exhuminator]

I will never have the fortitude and dedication to cook the kind of meals Luke does.

I just have to accept that. Right here and now.

I made a pretty rad baked sweet potato the other night.

[Luke]

Hey, this one has vegetables in it! Looks tasty too.

I see what you did there

It was magically delicious and may be my new favorite lasagna. When you "just cook" you never know what the end product will taste like. But "just cooking" is one of my favorite things ever. "You know what would be good with this?" is equally as fun.

Practice, passion, and patience is all you need.

When I make it again I'll post a recipe. In fact, I might make a recipe book for the RB Charity auction.

What kind of cook surface are you running?

Stupid induction electric range, stupid convention oven.

They're not stupid, it's just that I prefer a gas range and a convection oven. I like the instant gratification of putting a range on "high" and it instantly is. Same with the range being off...It takes a while for this sucker to cool down which makes the kitchen different shades of hot.

I will never have the fortitude and dedication to cook the kind of meals Luke does.

Invite some friends over to help. Doesn't matter if you are an old Mexican lady or a handsome white dude in his thirties, cooking with friends kicks ass. You learn a lot about friends while cooking with them, plus it's fun and a learning process.



Cooking fail story: Around a dozen years ago a popular item that was popping up left and right was "Margarita Chicken". It was a marinated chicken breast with a Margarita sauce, hot peppers, and thinly sliced tortilla chips. Usually it also came with a shot of tequila, because why not?

I tried to copy cat this dish (I was still in college) and made the mistake of marinating the chicken in a margarita mixture.

After cooking the chicken breasts looked glow in the dark vibrant green. If you were blind, you might be able to stomach it, but my girlfriend and I decided to opt out and order a pizza. The pizza wasn't that much better, but that chicken tasted like someone put a chicken breast in a blender with a Margarita.

Barf.

[Exhuminator]

Barf.

When I was ten years old I made a marshmallow and mustard sandwich.

Shit was tight.

[Luke]

marshmallow and mustard

Sounds like something the ninja turtles would order on a pizza.

[MrPopo]

What kind of cook surface are you running?

Stupid induction electric range, stupid convention oven.

They're not stupid, it's just that I prefer a gas range and a convection oven. I like the instant gratification of putting a range on "high" and it instantly is. Same with the range being off...It takes a while for this sucker to cool down which makes the kitchen different shades of hot.

But the induction on high is instantly high; water only boils so fast. I have loved my induction range ever since I got it (gas is not an option unless I want to pay 30k to extend the line to my house). And sure, the ceramic surface stays hot from the residual heat from the pot, but it goes away pretty quickly and isn't near the heat creator that my old coil resistive electric range was.

[Luke]

Made veggie Gyros last night, which sounds weird because it is. They were also delicious.

I took the "Greek Chicago" approach, as that's my favorite Gyro...but ya know, without the meat.

I roasted thin slices of eggplant for only a minute or two with a nice dose of olive oil, salt and pepper. This was done only to make the eggplant a bit sticky.

Coated the slices with a tsp of flour, a cup of Panko, some rosemary, marjoram, and lightly sauteed the slices in hot vegetable oil.

Threw the eggplant in a steamed pita, topped it off with a homemade tzatziki sauce, some freshly sliced tomatoes from my garden, and a few sliced sweet onions.

Delicious, and I'll be making them again.

Tonight: Swedish meatballs and asparagus (just the tips).

[Luke]

I believe everyone who knows me already knows that I very, very rarely eat fast food. But I've been wanting to try something for months, and since I won't be eating dinner tonight I figured today presented an opportunity.

So! Today I ordered a "Poor Man's Big Mac". You order a McDouble, say "No mustard, no ketchup. Add Special sauce and lettuce". You don't get the sesame seeds on your bun, and no third bun, but it tastes exactly like a Big Mac. For under two bucks. This will be my first and last Poor Man's Big Mac for the year, but I'm looking forward to my next road trip in 2016 so I have an excuse to order fast food.

[MrPopo]

My parents came into town and we went to an upscale steakhouse. I ended up getting their filet sampler, which was four 4oz filets. The first was aged prime, the second American waygu, the third Australian waygu, and the fourth Japanese waygu.

Holy shit.

[Luke]

My parents came into town and we went to an upscale steakhouse. I ended up getting their filet sampler, which was four 4oz filets. The first was aged prime, the second American waygu, the third Australian waygu, and the fourth Japanese waygu.

Holy shit.

Name of the Steakhouse, please?

Not only is it superb that you had a proper selection, it's incredibly awesome and rare that the cuts of meat were properly named. No kidding, this place seems to know what it is doing. Way too many steakhouses will slap the name "Kobe steak" assuming the consumer is an idiot.

So I gotta ask:

I'm assuming the filets were all tenderloin, right?

Were the steaks seasoned at all? If they were, do you think they would have been better without seasoning (talking just salt and pepper)?

Which was your favorite of the four cuts?

Will you take me out on a date to this restaurant? I eat cheap and put out.

[Exhuminator]

Way too many steakhouses will slap the name "Kobe steak" assuming the consumer is an idiot.

The fact that said steakhouses commonly get away with it indicates they're correct in that assumption.