Recipe #24: Maine Lobster with Tarragon Butter

Sure, I've had lobster. Red Lobster. But taking a live, snapping, wiggling, maine lobster and dropping him head first into a pot of boiling water for 13 minutes then serving with a pad of fresh tarragon butter (butter, tarragon, salt, lemon, booyah) is a some what different experience. Different like playing a playstation 3 instead of a sega genesis. Different like an iphone instead of a brickphone. Yup, that's Maine lobster versus Red lobster.

Kind of supercalifragilisticexpiali-delicious

Enjoy!
Archie

Recipe #23: Chicken Piccata

I'm such a man whore. First Rachel (Ray), then Giada (Delaurentes) and now Ina (Garten). Will my trust ever stick to one! I really thought I had found an epicurean equal , but with the success of this Chicken Piccata, aka Fried Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce, my taste buds now lean to Ina! Just check the photos *single tear* and I think you'll understand...

Peace!
Archie

Recipe #22: Clam Chowder...or is that "Chowda"?

Wow, yesterday was some s**t huh? Snow? Again? Seriously people, i'm thinking about moving to London (according to the movies, the most trusted source of international information, it doesn't snow there, only rain ;). In the mean time though, I needed a serious pick me up to warm me up and a bowl of hearty soup with a glass of red wine sounded like the perfect idea. Clam Chowda anyone?

Enjoy!

Archie

The Ingredients: Celery, Carrots, Clams, Potatoes, Garlic, Onions, Butter, Half & Half and Red Wine (if I drink it while cooking that makes it an ingredient right?)















The Dish: Serve with two pieces of crusty bread and you got yourself one helluva satisfying meal

Recipe Blog #21: Basil and Sun-dried tomato Pork Chop with Baked Potato

Apologies on the long wait for scrum-delium-cious photos (been 2 months since my last recipe post!) but learning to cook for one ended up being much trickier then I expected.

"Why don't you make some Chilli again?" Nope, I end up wasting whole pots.
"How about that Roasted Chicken?" Naw, ended up tossing almost a whole bird.
"Fresh Marinara Sauce?" Even this Italian food lover has his limits on spaghetti.

So I decided to go back to my roots and make one of my very first recipes. The always tasty and easy to portion Pork Chop! Kicked up a notch or two of course. :)

Enjoy!

The ingredients (San Marzano Tomatoes playa...wiki if you don't know :P)

Getting a nice sear on them before they start simmering.

Added the basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

And the final delicious product! (Notice the healthy portion of sourcream in the baked potato. A must.)

Recipe #19: Melted Parmesan Shrimp Crustini

So Phil, his home girl and I make plans to have dinner at my crib. I cook and he brings the beer. Everything was going great but they get to my house and I realize I don't have a pot to boil water in. Needed for spaghetti. Yeah, i'm dumb but whatever. It ended up being a blessing because Phil agreed to eat whatever I freestyles in the kitchen and I came up with this nice little recipe. Thanks for trusting Phil!

Pz,
Archie














Shrimp drizzled with olive oil, minced garlic and red pepper flakes on an olive-basil brushed slice of wheat bread. Covered with shaved parmesan and melted in the oven. Then served on a red lettuce leaf.......to make it look fancy. :)

Recipe #17: Aglio olio peperoncino with Parmesan crusted chicken

So I've come to realize something about cooking and clothes again. They both have "standards". Case and point, "Aglio olio peperoncino" which basically translates to "garlic oil and pepper noodles". You could call it the "red zip up sweater" of the cooking world. It goes with everything, doesn't stand out too much and add some great pizazz!

You may recognize it from an earlier recipe of mine where I paired it with garlic and lemon shrimp (see recipe #4) but this time I tried it with Parmesan crusted chicken. And much like the red zip up sweater, it was all good times. :)

Pz,
Archie

Recipe #16: Chilli

With the temperature slowly dropping we all know it's a sign of Fall. And of course Fall means two things.

1) Better outfits
2) Chilli

It would be strange to put pictures of myself in new outfits so instead I'm posting about the Chili! *phew* Again, like the burger, I'm really happy with how well this turned out because it adds a plethora of options to my repertoire. Chili dogs, chili burgers, chili mac. Me likey.













"Goodbye summer I'd hate to see you go. I wasn't ready for the autumn winds to blow"

Recipe #15: Shepherds Puppy Plate

What's better then cooking for your family and friends? Cooking for your dogs of course! As many of you know Ruby and I are fanatics when it comes to what we feed our dogs. We're always trying to get the healthiest, tastiest foods for them. What better way to know what's in their food then, then to cook it yourself. Dog safe ingredients include; ground sirloin, garlic, shallots, parsley, potatoes, green peas and worcestershire sauce.

Recipe #14 1/2: BBQ, Bacon, Cheddar Burger

Same burger. More BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar.













Yumm-O Mutha Fucka's

Recipe #14: Burger

It's been awhile but I come back with a major hurdle. *cue thunder* The burger! I know, I know, it's an incredibly simple, classic, tested american staple. So much so that I'm not even sure you can call it a recipe. But this one I made completely from scratch and seasoned myself, so I was glad when it turned out well because it adds a whole plethora of foods to my repertoire. Can you say bacon burger? BBQ burger? Chilli Burger? Yeah, the list is endless and dope. Peep below for the pic.

Recipe #13: Croque Madame

I love the french. Not only because Paris is the most beautiful city I've ever seen, but because they made this gluttonous sandwich called Croque Madame. Seriously, one of the most delicious things I have ever ever, ever ever ever, ever ever ever tasted. Quick overview is...butter two pieces of bread, add ham and gruyere cheese, brown on skillet then melt another slice of gruyere on top in the oven at 400 degrees. Add an over easy egg and the taste is straight Rick James...smack!














Gluttonous indeed.














Mmmm...yolk...

Recipe #12: Red Curry Chicken

This is one of Ruby's favorite dishes. So I knew if I could swing a decent version we would have a new house staple. Again, I was really surprised how simple this turned out to be so next time I'd like to make the whole thing from scratch opposed to using the "Red Curry Paste" you buy in the store (a bit lamer I think). As for the taste. It was almost there. Just lackin' some spicy kick (that's what I gotta do this mug from scratch!). Next time though, I'll perfect it.

Recipe #10: Empanadas

My first successful deep fry. And who would have thought cumin and oregano would be so off the chain?














Before...



















After!...

Recipe #9: Roasted Herb Chicken and 3 Cheese Mac and Cheese

From the very beginning there is one recipe I've always wanted to try. Not Mac and Cheese...but Roasted Chicken. The taste for it comes from a french restaurant in the Gold Coast called Bistrot Zinc (www.bistrotzinc.com) where I had THE PERFECT roasted chicken. So in honor of my first shot at this elusive meal I decided to take several photos of the process. Enjoy!

The ingredients. Chicken, lemon, sage, garlic, and butter. I gotta say I freestyled a little bit and in addition to seasoning the chicken I also rubbed butter, fresh garlic and lemon juice all over it. Jigga.

Recipe is pretty simple. Take all the shit you bought...and stuff it into the vajayjay of the chicken. Now on to the Mac and Cheese.

For today's attempt we got some sharp cheddar for color and taste, mozzarella for creaminess and pecorino for additional texture.

Cheese only get's better when it's melted. Now though, let's get back to the main event...

BAM! A beautiful roasted chicken even from a novice like me. It was surprisingly simple and I'd encourage anyone reading to try it out.

Sorry for the sloppy plating but I had been cooking for the last 2 hours and was ready to get down. As for the taste. I believe the kids say...OMG, WTF! Yeah, crazy good. Till next time though.

Pz,
Archie

Recipe #8: Cheese Tortalini with Creama and Cheesy Garlic Bread

Can't front on the cheese tortalini. That was store bought. And as much as I'd love to actually make my own. I'm not at the experience level quite yet. So, to jazz things up you just add some green peas, scallions and cream sauce (which is just flour and milk, wtf!) and put a side of garlic toasted smoothered with parmesan cheese (which is melted at 450, wtf!). I gotta say. I'm on a roll, cause this was restaurant stylee!

Recipe #7: Tex-Mex Pie

Now that I've been cooking more, i'm starting to notice a ton of similarities between cultural staples. This tex-mex style pie for example. It's basically an italitan meatball with salsa intead of garlic and cheddar instead of romano! Those little changes make all the difference though. BTW, very good :)

Recipe #6: Chocolate Chip and Almond Marshmallow Cookie Sandwich

It's late and I'm stuffed. Let's just say don't eat a Chocolate Chip and Almond Marshmallow Cookie Sandwich before dinner. Because dinner may not happen. Completely worth it though. Oh, small note. This is actually a Ruby recipe! :)

Recipe #5: Spicy Orange Beef

My first Asian dish and my first dish that you eat with rice! I keep making these noodle / couscous / bread dishes and I realized I haven't made anything that you just eat with rice. Maybe it's because I eat everything else with it, aka. spam, hotdog, bacon, sausage that I naturally want to try something new. Anyways, the orange flavor of this dish was so much more natural and bright then your local chinese joint. It'll be tough going back to the "we delivery" orange beef that we all normally eat. So good!!

Recipe #4: Aglio Olio Pasta with Cajun Shrimp

Again, I had to do this twice to get the heat level just right. But good jesus was it satisfying to get that right level of garlic, oil and heat. And see those shrimp? Those are perfectly cooked shrimp my friend. Frackin' delicious.

Recipe #3: Pasta Fresca with shaved parmesan and shrimp

Did my best to copy a recipe from Noodles and Company (tm). It wasn't exactly the same, but just as good in a different way!

Pz,
Archie

Recipe #2: Spaghetti and Meatballs

It's-a-me Archiebal! And I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Truth be told, I had to make this recipe twice because I completely phucked it up the first time. I'm a chef in training okay!

Recipe #1: Lime Salmon Fillets with Feta Couscous

Tried a new recipe today that used several ingredients I've never cooked with. 1) Salmon, 2) Feta and 3) Couscous...wtf is Couscous!? So I was quite anxious to see what these flavors would turn out to taste like.

All I can say is that it tasted as good as it looked! Big ups to Lime, Salmon and my homie Couscous!