Just a guy with skillet cooking his heart out….

Straight up:  I didn’t want to do this blog.  The thought of sharing my recipes, caring about the measly number of followers, and of the few that might follow me giving me suggestions/opinions on how I do things seemed pointless.  My wife is a blogger and thinks it’s good for me “to work on my voice and to share my passions” despite the outcome.  The whole “better to give than receive” notion.

You have likely heard the saying people either “eat to live” or “live to eat”.  Well I am the latter category of the two. I was brought up in a house that ate breakfast and dinner together. My mom isn’t an exotic or pretentious cook but food is her love language. As an adult, I was able to travel a lot with work and started trying new things. I guess those seeds germinated and produced a full-on food fancy.

By chance my wife, while being decent in the kitchen, never really had a passion to cook but a shared my love of eating and drinking. That fortunately allowed me to take the lead as our cook.

When I travel (business or pleasure) , I basically start with what restaurants/food carts/dives I am going to try.  Especially on vacations, Jill and I stake out breakfast, lunches and dinners spots each day. I try to never waste a meal on mediocre food.  Probably like you, I watch cooking shows on TV, read cookbooks/ magazines, and search recipes online like a squirrel looking for nuts.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy some of the recipes and lessons I have learned in my kitchen.

I have a growing list of mostly food snobbery but also some  “rules of engagement” here:

1. I don’t really care about your food issues (gluten, vegan, peanut, protein, soy, spice level, lactose intolerant)  I have my own issues.
2. This isn’t an English class and I try to error on the post frequently vs post perfectly.  I rarely review or edit my posts.   Take it easy on me.
3. Use your tongue and your head… Precision is for baking breads.  Everything else is adjustable to YOUR tastes.
4. I drink alcohol but discourage minors from doing so.
5. Don’t waste money on cheap meats (fresh, local, grass fed, organic are good)
6. I adapt a lot of recipes and  try to give credit to the original.
7. Much of my food has “heat” or spice  spices.   (see #3)
8. Sharp knives people.  Dull = dangerous.
9. Kosher Salt – never ever use iodized salt.  Once you try Kosher or Sea Salt you will see how metallic the other stuff is.  yuck!
10. Dukes Mayo only  (for sauces, dressings, sandwiches it’s the only one I use).
11. Never use prepackaged shredded cheese.  Always shred your own from blocks. Try it and you will understand why.
12. Penzey Spices:  Find a spice market or buy it online but use the best you can get. The little extra you pay is worth the flavor. http://www.penzeys.com
13. Slap Ya Mama Seasoning – for heat lovers,  this stuff is a must have.  Buy it on amazon. (white and red)

If you follow me, I welcome and thank you. I set up twitter, pinterest and instagram (rarely used) accounts with the same handle. Below are some sites and fellow bloggers I enjoy. I also created a separate page of products I enjoy with links so you can try them too.

Other Websites and Food Blogs I like
http://www.thecrepesofwrath.com
http://perpetuallyhungryblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.foodinmybeard.com
http://www.meatwave.com
www.http://damndelicious.net/
http://www.food52.com
http://www.foodnetwork.com

Follow WhiskeynWry’s board Whiskey & Wry on Pinterest.