I first met Giada de Laurentiis a few years ago at the opening of her first restaurant - a fabulous spot in the Cromwell Hotel on the Vegas strip. I'd become numb in terms of meeting celebrity chefs and foodpreneuers since most concepts were merely the celebrity's name and not much else. Giada was different though - not only was she there that night watching us take photos and videos but she even criticized us for taking too many pictures and letting the food get cold! So, when her PR person reached out a few weeks ago with an offer to send me some of her new line of Giadzy Pasta... I knew it was going to be good!

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables since it is so incredibly versatile. From roasting and grilling to ricing and even mashing... cauliflower has a unique ability to act as a blank canvas for whatever you as the chef... artist... can dream up. For me, I love roasting my veggies on the grill. There's that perfect char that comes from grilling that just can't be replicated by an air fryer or convection oven. So, for today's recipe, I'm going to present one inspired by Gobi Curry but far far easier to prepare and dare I say... a lot less messy too!

Eggs Benedict is one of my all time favorite things to eat and I know that's true among many of my friends as well. It's a special dish that is generally reserved for special occasions and restaurants. However, it's easier to make at home than you might imagine.

I LOVE fajitas - unfortunately they are typically really time consuming to cook at home because you have to cut pieces of raw chicken, marinate them and then cook them. That's time consuming but also messy and frankly it's just easier and more enjoyable to go to a restaurant so you get the pomp and circumstance of the sizzling skillet and fresh, steaming hot tortillas. While it doesn't quite bring it to your table, the new Foster Farms Sauté Ready chicken makes things SUPER easy to cook up awesome fajitas at home. All you need to do is add onions, peppers, toppings, and tortillas and you have a great family dinner in just about 30 minutes!

The other day I was wandering around my local grocery store trying to figure out what to buy for lunch. I was hungry and creative - a combo that tends to be expensive for me. As I wandered through the sauce aisle I realized that nearly every time I buy a bottled sauce I'm disappointed in the flavor, thickness, etc. So I thought to myself, "why can't I make a sauce that matches exactly what I love?" While this sauce ended up turning out great and was ultimately "wife approved", sometimes the journey of creation is exciting in itself. You can always learn from your mistakes, adjust the proportions and make things distinctly YOURS!

The other day I discovered I actually liked gin... or at least Tanqueray No Ten. To be honest, I'm still not a huge fan of dry gin and so bear with me - this is something different. Instead of the medicinal, pine-tree-flavor you might be familiar with, we're going for a bright citrus flavor that compliments the classic base of juniper and other botanicals that give gin such a unique flavor for our wings in today's recipe. For those of you who love wings and are looking for something new - this is going to be a treat!

One of the fun things about cruising is the food – not just the quantity, but the specialness of having treats that you generally don’t find at home. Over the years, as American tastes have gotten more sophisticated, cooking shows have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. While many cruise ships do have a cooking demo a couple times on each voyage, Holland America Line has taken this to the next level with actual theaters to showcase their chefs as well as periodically invite celebrity chefs to make an appearance as well. Even though cruising is closed right now, we can still remember the good old days while planning for future explorations and adventures!

Sometimes it is nice to just have a delicious meal that is easy to prepare and tastes great. I've been doing a version of this recipe as a pasta side dish for the past year but decided to kick it up a bit and turn it into a full meal with the addition of some shrimp mixed in. 

Chicken, ham, fish, beef, lamb these are all standard dinner meats but I personally love to explore flavors found in wild game animals. Even when they are farm raised, trying something different helps set the mood that tonight's dinner is going to be something special. 

March has begun and that means that it is unofficially Irish Heritage month - even if that's mostly celebrated by St Patrick's Day traditions such as green beer and leprechauns as well as more palatable ones such as a corned beef and cabbage dinner.  Variations on the classic corned beef and cabbage recipes have been what I've eaten for St. Patrick's Day for the past 30+ years, so it's time to try something new and explore Irish culture a bit while doing so.

This dinner is a classic Jewish dinner that would be appropriate for any number of holidays. However, I decided to prepare it last night in honor of Hanukkah even though I'm not Jewish or even particularly religious. Why? Because Beef Brisket, Latkes, Chollar Bread, and Matzo Ball Soup are all among my favorite treats and I love switching up my menu to try different recipes in my own kitchen.

One of the challenges with a restaurant like Fogo de Chao is that meat is the centerpiece of the experience (aside from their amazing service of course!) So while the market table is an essential part of the Brazilian churrascaria, often the salads become standardized. One of the things I love about Fogo de Chao is that every time I visit they have new seasonal additions that are unique, innovative, and generally pretty exciting to taste. It's summer and so that means that it is watermelon season and I was excited to see the latest addition to the market table was a Watermelon Feta Salad. Here's how you can make it at home.

 Looking for some recipe ideas that feature cheese? Check these tasty creations out!

Perhaps the biggest thing I miss about not being able to travel right now is the thrill of discovering new foods and regional interpretations of foods common across the United States. Earlier this year while I was in Lafayette, Louisiana I was introduced to a flavor combination that frankly, I'm now obsessed with. The simple combination of rice, scrambled eggs, and a dusting of Cajun spice took something that would otherwise be mundane but now it was unique, fun, and exciting.

The trouble with going to other people's BBQs is that you can't be "King of the Grill" since it's their domain, but that doesn't mean you can't be king of the table and win bragging rights by having the biggest, baddest dish that everyone will be talking about next week at the office. Sure, anyone can bring "mac and cheese"... for goodness sake, it comes in a box and even college kids can make it. Let's dress this up a bit and make something that everyone will want a piece of.

Comfort food is, well... comforting. Generally easy and cheap to make, recipes like Chicken and Dumplings have evolved over the years from easy - but time-consuming - to relatively quick and easy using shortcuts. That's what we're doing today. Easy to make, homemade chicken and dumplings where we focus on what's important. For me, that's a healthy recipe that you can whip up fast and fill your family's bellies with something other than the mass-produced package foods where you really don't know where things actually came from.

It's been too long since I've been able to enjoy the sizzle of a piping hot, perfectly cooked steak brought to my table. Sure, there's delivery and pickup available but by the time my steak gets home it just isn't the same. Luckily I have the solution to creating the perfect restaurant-quality steak at home and I'm about to share it with you guys...

Quarantine can be tough on all of us and romance can be a big loss when people spend too much time together. I know that initially it was great to spend more time at home but as things drag on... I can't wait to get some time alone. However, almost equally so I can't wait to get out in the world again and explore, relax, and experience new things again with my amazing wife. It seems like the folks at Temptation and Desire Resorts in Mexico agree so they've sent over two awesome "sexy recipes" to help get us in the mood until we can go visit...

I'm a fan of big bold flavors and when that combines with travel it's even better. Recently while on a trip to New Mexico I discovered a new recipe that I've now fallen in love with but have never seen outside of the state. It was a deliciously bold combination of red chilis and tender chunks of meat that almost melt in your mouth. So, like any self respecting foodie, the moment I got home I searched for what was in it so that I could make my own version of Carne Adovada!

If there are two things that I love most in life - aside from my wife of course! It's traveling and discovering new local favorite foods. One area that continues to be on my bucket list - is Branson. There's a simple wholesome joy about this "Vegas of the Midwest" that draws my interest. So of course, when the folks at Silver Dollar City sent me their recipe for Their famous Ozark Mountain Succotash Family Fued Skillet... well, I just had to share it with you guys.