I am not sure why I haven’t posted something on this yet. This is one of the great DIYers of the home bar scene. It is shocking that there are simple syrups on the market in bottles sold at a premium price (I wish I […]

There is no wrong time to smoke water. I mean, I usually do it around Thanksgiving because I have always felt that smoked cocktails are a fun “pre-funk” to the Turkey day celebration but the truth is, smoked water, then ice, is perfect for ANY […]

If you aren’t making beef and chicken stock yourself, you honestly should be.  You also may have received a bunch of bones from the beef you committed to this year from your local farm (as you should!). You should be able to make a lot […]

We are now in year 4 of raising our own chickens. We started with layers only as the wife grabbed any ‘dent and ding’ bird that was around and with COVID, there were all kinds of folks getting into the chicken game and then just […]

As you may have noticed, the work on the blog covers a lot of ground. We started with simple and fun recipes that came out of my time as a single dad, moved to big family and gathering recipes to curing, smoking, and even cocktail […]

I talk about my Irish heritage all the time but let us be clear…my mother’s maiden name is MacPherson, therefore putting me squarely with the Scots as well.  MacPherson was originally Mc but was changed because another guy in town had same name and apparently […]

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 […]