One of our favorite “Midwest” pasta dishes is this super simple macaroni and beef recipe. I suppose sometime I will write up something fun about casseroles, bakes, and other pot luck style dishes made famous in the heartland of our great country but for now […]

This is the continuation of a two-part series on cigars with my good friend, Philip Meech. I really want to give a shout out to him and his coffee roasting company, Caffe Lusso. We have been ordering coffee from him consistently. My personal favorite is […]

Salmon is probably my most favorite of all fish. We are spoiled in the PNW as we have beautiful salmon available to us almost all of the time. We do NOT have to buy farmed here (although many are still sold) and it certainly does […]

I have shared several posts over the years about my Irish heritage, mostly as it relates to food. I did a post on the history of corned beef, how to pour a proper Black and Tan, how to make you very own Irish cream, Irish […]

My first cooking experiences came out of the Betty Crocker cookbook. That big red piece of American culinary wisdom. I made waffles (many times), chocolate chip cookies, and even popovers out of there as a kid. They honestly were all great. As I got older […]

Teriyaki sauce. Rumor has it there are roots in the PNW with our Japanese friends who emigrated to this part of the USA. Not sure if true (may look it up later) but what I DO KNOW is that we love it. Quick memory of […]

 We do tacos a lot. Almost once a week we have some sort of taco on the menu. Fish, “Korean,” chicken salsa, and of course Tex-mex or whatever the typical beefy one is. We used to buy the big M brand at Costco because the […]

There just aren’t very many ways to make pie crust. You can make the subtlest of tweaks but honestly, you rarely find enough of a difference in a good, everyday crust to change the taste and texture of sweet or savory pie. What we need […]

There is not a lot to say here honestly. I was introduced to the “mule” years ago (the vodka, ginger beer and lime concoction marketed so well in a copper mug), and you have heard me talk about the Dark and Stormy, which is essentially […]

One of my favorite members of the lettuce family is arugula. Light, peppery, a touch bitter and has a freshness to it that livens up every salad. I have spoken of my buddy (not really) Jamie Oliver a few times. One of his first cookbooks I […]