We celebrated my birthday on Friday evening. My birthday was four months ago, but due to multiple reschedulings, we weren’t able to use my gift from Kim until then. She bought seats for both of us to attend a cooking class at the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking. Originally we were going to take a grilling class, but after missing that class we opted for an Thai cooking class.

First we were briefed on all of the different dishes we were going to prepare and enjoy over the next three hours. From there we were all actually able to get our hands dirty and involved in each phase of multiple dishes. For both Kim and I, it was great to learn some knife skills first, and then put them to use cutting and chopping all sorts of fresh ingredients. Later, we were involved in tasting and recommending additions that needed to be made to each dish. And finally, we got to sit and enjoy all of the dishes the group of around fifteen of us prepared.

Though we lost the recipe book that was provided to us for each of the dishes, I think the overall knowledge we gained will help both of us cook better than before. Now all I need is a decent chef’s knife to use as the techniques we learned are likely not going to work with what I’m using currently.

Something is really bugging me about my turkey sandwich from Subway that I’m currently eating. Where the heck are my tomatoes?!? I’ve always loved tomatoes, and this recent health scare has really been bothering me. I hope it all gets resolved soon or else I may have to start a garden out back or help the neighbors with theirs. Fortunately I heard that cherry tomatoes were 100% safe, so I used them in a grilling recipe last night that I found in a book called Patio Daddy-O at the Grill. The book was a recent wedding shower gift to Kim from her friend Amy, which translates to recipe books for me to use to cook for Kim. The results were so delicious! I wish I could find the recipe online, perhaps I’ll type it up later if I remember.

I made some delicious chicken enchiladas last night, loosely following this recipe. Typically I just take a can of enchilada sauce, combine it with some chicken and cheese and call it a meal. This time I wanted to find something to add to the sauce to make it even better. This recipe definitely did the trick.

Instead of using ground chicken, I baked a chicken breast and then shredded it. I didn’t have any jalapeños, but I did have the diced tomatoes with green chile peppers. I’m not sure it was exactly 10 ounces, as I had used one cup from a 14.5 ounce can earlier in the week for an Indian dish. Other than that I tried to stick to the recipe, although I did add extra onion, both to the inside mixture and on top of the enchiladas once they were rolled into the dish. Once they were done I topped them with some hot sauce and sour cream and they were fantastic! I’ll definitely be making these again.

Last night I made a pasta dish that I’ve made many times before and is still on the top of my list. If spicy sauce is okay with you, I would definitely recommend trying this out sometime. I like it so much that I just had it again for lunch today, minus the wine that we had with it last night. After we ate last night Kim gave me a gift for Christmas. I had been wanting a big pot to cook with, and that’s just what I got, along with a bunch of other new pots and pans. It’s a full set of hard anodized cookware from Kitchenaid. I can’t wait to cook again!

Trying to get back into the swing of things, I’ve been doing a bunch of cooking so far this week. On Monday I made some pasta that I’ve done before and loved. This recipe is the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. The first taste is sweet, but after it sits in your mouth and you begin to chew, the spiciness comes out. The only thing I’ve changed on the recipe is the addition of a chopped onion which I sauté before adding the garlic and crushed red pepper.

Last night I grilled some asparagus, which I blanched the night before and then let sit over night in Italian dressing. I also grilled up some marinated chicken to go along with it. But the highlight of the night, at least for me, were the mashed potatoes. It was my first time mashing potatoes, so I had to pick up a masher at the store, but I must say that it was really pretty easy. I didn’t boil the potatoes for the full 45 minutes, more like 35 minutes, but I was only using four pounds. I also added garlic in the last 10 minutes of cooking to seal in the taste. Other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe, and I would have to agree with their four and a half star rating. They are an excellent side dish. The asparagus was pretty good as well.

Last night I cooked up what could be my favorite pasta sauce yet. I found this recipe and pretty much followed it exactly. The sauce might have got a little dry before adding the cream and vodka. I had to run out to the liquor store since someone drank all of the vodka! This was also my first time using heavy whipping cream, and I must say that I’m a big fan. The sauce doesn’t have a strong tomato taste, but it’s there. It’s not very spicy, but there is a kick to it. I loved it and will definitely be making it again in the future. Next time I think I’ll add some garlic as some of the reviews say. Maybe even get crazy and try to get some chicken in somehow.

I haven’t written anything for the cooking category in a long time. That will likely change as working from home has given me the opportunity to plan out and spend more time cooking. Last night I made some homemade spaghetti sauce. I’ve done this a few times before, but this time I found and used a more complex recipe. The only thing I did not have in the house was the lemon juice. I also added extra tomato paste, since I didn’t want to waste almost an entire can. We ate it over some ziti pasta and the results were great! I cannot wait to have some more of it for lunch.

Over the weekend I finally gained some key Kansas City knowledge, how to use a smoker for cooking. Our friend Todd gave us a smoker shortly after we moved into our house. He won it on eBay and then realized that he had nowhere to put it at his apartment complex. I gladly accepted the device and even put it together, but then it sat covered and unused for many weeks. That was until this past Saturday afternoon.

I asked Phil “Dr. Brisket” Kenagy to come over and assist me in smoking a couple of chickens. We did one “beer butt chicken” and another chicken with a can of Pepsi inside. If you’ve never heard of this BBQ method, it involves a whole chicken that is resting on a can of your favorite beverage. This helps to keep the bird nice and moist and also adds even more flavor. I forgot to keep track of which was which, so I’m not sure if one was better than the other, but I must say that it was all very tasty.

After a pool party up at Woodside we had a little after party at our house. Kim and Amy, who was in town for the weekend and desperately needs to update her blog, put together lots of side dishes for the party. Everyone in attendance agreed that the chicken was really good. Phil and I think that we may have cooked it just a bit too long, but it was definitely a successful first effort. The guys over at Triple Fat Back Barbeque better watch out!

Without a bar in the house we’ve been forced to keep our rather large collection of booze on a bookshelf in the kitchen. We’ve even managed to fill the bookshelf beyond it’s limits. So last night I decided to use some of the liquor for my cooking. I found a recipe for a bourbon chicken marinade online that appeared to be right up our alley. I had to make a few modifications since we appear to be out of garlic powder and I didn’t have dried minced onion. Instead I used about half a clove of regular garlic and about one tbsp of garlic powder.

I fired up the grill for the first time this summer and cooked some potatoes on there as well. I also steamed some broccoli to go along with the meat and potatoes. Everything was very tasty, especially the chicken. The marinade smelled a little strong on the bourbon, but the taste was just right after cooking. Next time I want to let the marinade sit on the meat a little longer, but that’s about all I would change.

Over the weekend we bought a food processor to replace the as seen on TV “quick chop”. As much as we use fresh vegetables in our cooking, we figured that a $20 or $30 processor would be worth trying.

Last night was the first time we used it to make a vegetable soup. I found a recipe online that looked pretty good and we just left the corn out (because of my supposed allergy). The processor easily chopped the onion, maybe even too easily. The potato was also no match for the blades. The slicing of the carrots and celery worked alright, not the most consistent cuts, but it worked. The end result is delicious! I’m eating some right now.

The only other thing I did last night was that I gave up on the Olympics. The closing ceremonies have already happened and I was still four or five days behind. I went ahead and deleted the rest of my recorded episodes. Better luck in four years I guess…