recipes that are simple and delicious.

Years ago, there was a restaurant in my neighborhood called The Atlanta Bread Company. I am fairly certain it is a chain restaurant where it focuses on pastries, coffee, sandwiches, and soups. When the restaurant first opened, I ordered food from there on several occasions,and as it was fairly decent in the first months of opening, [...]

Sometimes we just run out of time throughout the day. Am I correct? What sometimes can get even more crazy is when we are invited to a party and need to bring a dish. Whether it be an appetizer, side dish, or main course, we are always pinched for time, and the last thing we [...]

The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker could have been one of the best purchases I have made in some time, especially during this time of year. Not only does this device not take up a whole lot of room, but it is also really simple to clean, and furthermore, with only a few simple ingredients, you [...]

It’s finally summer time in Wisconsin, and if there is one thing I really like to do to relax with the kids after a long week of work it is to make a fire in my backyard on an early Sunday evening. Lately it has just been the thing to do, and we all seem [...]

Summer time is finally here in Wisconsin. well, I guess you could say that, but it also might be up for argument, as we have only seen a day or two with temperatures above eighty degrees. The weather has actually be a bit ridiculous, but that has not stopped me from making some summer time [...]

There is a great new place in town making their own booze. The place is called Great Lakes Distillery, and I have to admit, they are doing things right. Everything from their vodka to their rum, every sip of their stuff is, well, simply delicious. It was not too long ago where a colleague and [...]

That’s right. I made it. Maple ice cream with homemade bacon crumble. When I first made bacon some weeks ago, I was thinking to myself ‘what am I going to do with all of this bacon?’. Well, that was a silly question as I was able to give some away, and well, the rest was [...]

Not too long ago, I made some mango sorbet for the kids. Granted, I knew they loved my homemade ice cream recipes, but some times you just need to test their flavor palettes and offer something new, especially when it comes to trying new fruit flavors. I’m sure I was the same way as my [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a bottle of mango juice. Either something about the bottle, color, or label caught my attention, and my first instinct was to make some mango margaritas to sip on during a family gathering. The mango margaritas were really delicious, but the following day I realized that I had [...]

Eggnog comes only once a year in my household, and probably for many reasons, mainly the calories! For this past Christmas, I purchased a quart of eggnog, with the intent of pouring a couple of glasses, doused with a bit of dark rum, for the ladies. I knew that I would have plenty of eggnog [...]

If you have never had a blondie, you will after your read this post. ‘Tis the holiday season and I have been getting in the mood to make cookies for family and friends. I typically make one or two types of cookies each year, and let my wife handle the sugar cookies, and decorating of [...]

This past Thanksgiving brought about memories of my childhood. It’s probably because I miss my family, and the things we used to do. Granted, the holiday was surrounded by cocktails, and a smoke filled atmosphere, but heck, those were the times. That was not the memory I had this past holiday, although there were a [...]

It is the season I most enjoy in Wisconsin. The cool weather, the smell of the air, and the beautiful fall colors. It is probably one of the reasons I want to stay in Wisconsin, and with that said, it is also one of my favorite cooking seasons. Fall brings out comfort and warmth in [...]

Let’s face it, sometimes we just do not have all the time in the world to get something to the table. As much as I love making recipes by hand, I recently found that some store bought items go a very long way. I might have mentioned recently that my wife has been craving pumpkin [...]

The big question last week for the kids in the house was “would you like banana bread, or a coconut and banana egg roll?”. There was a long pause, then the response came back unanimously as banana bread. I was a bit bummed to be quite honest with you. I had this cool idea of [...]

Who doesn’t love a bowl of fresh fruit? As great as a simple bowl of fruit can be, there are times when you just need to do something unusual to it, and for, well, that was to make a syrup to go along with it. A handful of years ago, my wife and I decided [...]

You have probably noticed that out of a lot of my food categories, dessert falls pretty low on the totem poll. I am getting there, and realize that it is probably my kids favorite meal of the day, however, dessert is never really a priority to me during a meal. I am like many of [...]

The things I do for my kids I tell you. If you have kids like mine, you soon realize that the only thing they have on their mind are sweet treats. The waffle in the morning now becomes the chocolate chip waffle. Lunch is fairly neutral, a quick dinner, then the big question is always, [...]

There are a couple of things around the house that I look forward to every year, and that is planting a vegetable and herb garden, and picking fresh raspberries. When we moved into our house over ten years ago, I never thought of the bushes on one side of my deck. Then came late spring [...]

If there is something that screams Summertime, it has got to be a granita. A granita is really a fancy term for delicious shaved ice, originating in Italy. The ingredients are ever so simple and the end result is a really cold cup or bowl of fresh, and fruity ice. Granitas can really be anything [...]