NOVEMBER 2023 My original culinary concepts page with early experiments and a still developing photo style. You can consider it as an appetizer of sorts for the more recent recipes.
To view the latest dishes, select page number "1" in the numbered navigation below:
For all the vegetarians out there: a multi-layered eggplant and tomato recipe.
There's a growing number of well-loved mac & cheese recipes out there. This specific version comes with a slightly crisped top.
I set out to make the chunkiest cookies in Christendom. They say "Go big or go home", so after looking at these I went home.
This almost looks like I cooked it in an open hearth somewhere in the heart of ancient Greece. Here's to appearances.
Smoothies are way better than an energy drink. (…at least in terms of actual nutrients.) And with no caffeine or added-sugars, your body will thank you in the long run.
A subtle dessert in a light wine sauce. (I realize poaching is illegal, so don't tell anyone.)
Someone was wondering about the stew Jacob served to Esau, so I decided to try my hand at a modern variation of it. It came out passable, but not good enough to sell a birthright for!
A personal serving of a Swedish classic, albeit with slightly less crisping of some of the elements.
I've attempted multiple versions of this, trying to perfect it. Now finally the student has become the teacher! (Not really, but I've always wanted to say that.)
Have you ever seen a Break-Apart Cheese-Filled Bread? I took it a step further & applied a simplified version of that technique to a sandwich top.
In school, for some reason kids hated it when Stuffed Shells were on the cafeteria menu. Sure, it takes work stuffing each individual shell, but it can be a really delicious meal.
Some who have actually visited China say their food is nothing like our Americanized versions. That's likely true, but I'm quite content with our takes on their dishes.
You've already seen this image in the Sauce Week section, but I still wanted to showcase the main ingredient. Welcome to the Friday night fish-fry!
I wonder who came up with the banana & chocolate combination. You wouldn't expect this to work, but it does.
A slightly spicy remix on an Italian classic: meatballs with a light Creole sauce.
A simplified version of the Americanized Asian dish. And yes, you already saw this photo in the Sauce Week section.
I saw this recipe for a compact Mediterranean dessert and I was curious to try to prepare it. And I'm glad I did.
I really should be better at making this type of dish. Is using chicken stock the key to a savory Spanish rice? Hello, anyone?
I was surprised how easy it was to put this soup together and the taste was fairly close to a restaurant version. Plus, no MSG added!
After all this time, I learned you can actually briefly broil a dessert to achieve a golden top crust. Shows you how much I don't know about cooking!
This recipe was different from most of the other ones I had found and though the texture was fairly unique for a lemon pie, it was spot on.
The texture of my first upside down cake left much to be desired. But the "a la mode" topping did wonders for my presentation. (Thank you ice cream!)
A tribute to a Hawaiian classic. Of course, I remixed it ever so slightly, but the core elements are still there.
Welcome to Sauce Week! Whether you refer to a sauce as a roux, a relish, a salsa, a gravy, or any combination of the above, I think we can all admit that a "sauce" often completes what could otherwise be a very plain dish. Since the emphasis was on the sauces themselves, the plating for the examples below is mostly minimal. (Or you could chalk that up to shrinkflation. Or you could attribute it to attempts to replicate a typical gourmet dish where ingredients are sparse and prices are astronomical!) So join me as I endeavor to improve my cooking skills while preparing both common and less well-known sauces & spreads.
Wine sauce with a side of Salmon. Or is it Salmon with a side of Wine sauce?
Most of the mushroom sauces I've made have a subtle aspect to them. Or maybe I'm just used to spicier, in-your-face relishes.
Is it a given that Hispanics can make good Guacamole? Is it even considered a sauce in the strictest sense? The debate rages on.
You can't really have Egg Foo Young without the sauce, so here's a repeat of this plate photo.
I was missing a key ingredient, but allow me to introduce my weak Chimichurri sauce anyway.
As opposed to buying a ready-made gravy off a store shelf, it's always fun making your own right from the resulting cooking juices.
Sure, this ended up being a bit on the thick side, but I wasn't aiming for an Olive Garden®-like consistency from the commercials!
A truly simple sauce that surprisingly turned out to be quite a hit. And I didn't use more than 4 ingredients.
Pati Jinich definitely knows how to cook and this was originally her recipe. (But for the life of me, I can't recall what I used it on!)
This sauce with a little bit of kick actually seems to pair well with fish. Who knew?
Working from a new recipe that I had only glanced at in passing, I completely botched this. But when all else fails, just make it spicy!
It turns out my version of this wasn't quite there yet, but now I know what was missing. (…besides the order-out phone number.)
This is my Mom's recipe of a classic Hispanic pasta dish. I styled it differently, but still used most of the same ingredients for the top-secret sauce.
I had just a few minutes to assemble a quick lunch, so I put this together. Does it qualify as a Quesadilla? (Or maybe it's a pesadilla, depending on the taste…)
Brazilian Cheese Bread is a delicious snack that's fairly easy to prepare. But I really have to work on my shaping skills. Some of those bread balls look more like frisbees.
How can you watch all the Superbowl commercials without a hand-made chocolatey & gooey snack to pass the time?
Although this is an old recipe, I kicked it up a notch by adding more cheese (Garfield would be proud!). Next time, I'll go for at least 20 cheeses.
My first time making Chicken in Florentine sauce clearly needed some work. But I confess it began to make me feel a little Italian at heart.
To show I'm a true rebel, I sliced the peppers lengthwise. Note: If you make these, don't forget (like I did) to season the ingredients before you stuff them!
What else can you to do with all the leftover holiday cranberries? Use them in baked bread! And you can likely make enough to last you till next Christmas.
Prepared a non-alcoholic multi-fruit drink and thought it would look cool served in a martini glass. But I definitely wouldn't hire myself as a mixologist.
Simple chimichangas (baked, not fried) on a platter. And yes, Hispanics do eat a more varied diet than just tacos, chimichangas, & enchiladas.
Introducing baked Salmon on a bed of Pappardelle pasta. From now on I think I might try napping on a bed of wide noodles. (Life does imitate art!)
My modified version of Cinnamon Swirl Bread from scratch. (Note to self: Refrain from ruining the fresh loaf by impatiently removing it from the container while still hot!)
This was my attempt at making Breaded Chicken without using any bread or breadcrumbs. Next time, I'll try it without using any chicken.
Presenting Swedish Meatballs, albeit using a different meat for the base. (And rest assured I didn't cook any small woodland creatures.)
One of my first tries at making blueberry pie. I have to remember to completely wash off my oil paintbrush before using it to dab the egg on top!