Cooking by the seat of my Pants Cooking the way it should be done. Run into the kitchen, grab a bunch of stuff out of the larder, and wing it!

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National Cheese Doodle Day
2008-03-05 14:45:51
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 5th, 2008 Today is National Cheese Doodle Day Unless I'm missing something what they are saying here is that a puffed corn/cheese snack "food" has it's own national day in American Culinary history... If that isn't something to be ashamed of, I don't know what is! Today in Food History: 1558 Francisco Fernandes supposedly… ...

National Pound Cake Day
2008-03-04 06:42:42
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for March 4th, 2008 Today is Pound Cake Day Pound cake... A pound of sugar, A pound of flour, a pund of butter... What could be better!?! Today in Food History: 1634 Samuel Cole supposedly opened the first tavern in the U.S., in Boston. What took so long? 1792 Samuel Slocum was born. He invented a machine to… ...

A smoky love affair.
2008-03-03 18:53:05
Matt Armendarez recently posted about his love of sardines on his incredible food blog Matt Bites. In that post, titled An Open Letter, Matt's outlook on the situation is satirical, light and downright hilarious but as he put it, he just couldn't keep his love of tinned fish a secret any longer. I have a confession of my own to… ...

National Mulled Wine Day
2008-03-03 07:00:40
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for March 3rd, 2008 Today is National Mulled Wine Day The first time I ever heard of mulled wine was while watching the Christmas Classic "It's a Wonderful Life" with James Stewart.  In the movie George's Guardian Angel Clarence asks a rather surly barkeep for a glass of mulled wine.  I didn't learn what it actually… ...

National Banana Cream Pie Day
2008-03-02 22:38:38
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for March 2nd, 2008 Today is National Banana Cream Pie Day Oooh!  Banana Cream Pie!  Whether you're putting it in your face or throwing it at someone's, you have to admit that this gem is an American culinary icon.  And it's a  rather tasty one at that! Today in Food History: 1799 The first U.S. weights and… ...

Text if You Love Light Beer (and Money)
2008-03-02 22:15:02
I think the last time I drank a light beer was at a family friend's birthday get-together with my wife and several acquaintances from base and two very strange cousins of the birthday girl. I only had one because I was driving, but they still taste exactly the way I remember them. Flat, a bit watery and nearly devoid of… ...

The perfect cards for foodies or families
2008-02-29 23:21:45
Have you ever wanted that special something you could send out along with the gift of food or a certain special recipe? I know that as a food blogger, I rarely donate food to a function without trying to find some way of letting everyone at that event know that it came from me, and at the very least I send… ...

An ode to a legend: Julia Child’s French Bread
2008-02-29 16:59:55
"Welcome to the Daring Bakers, You are tasked with making the one thing in the world that absolutely terrifies you." Yup, that's how it felt. I finally decide to go and join up with the rest of the blogging world and try this baking stuff out only to find that my three worst fears had been realized on my very first… ...

National Surf and Turf Day
2008-02-29 13:38:56
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 29th, 2008 Today is National Surf And Turf Day Surf and Turf only gets its day in the sun once every four years. It's kind of pitiful isn't it? I'm almost choked up over this, or I will be right up until I make a surf and turf burger later this afternoon in… ...

National Chocolate Souffle Day
2008-02-28 23:05:16
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 28th, 2008 Today is National Chocolate Souffle Day Can it really get better than a chocolate souffle, I mean really?  The ultimate in over-the-top sweet dessert classics, just add a glass of good port and enjoy, it's all you need. Today in Food History: 1553 Michel de Montaigne was born. French essayist. There are… ...

Parmesan Garlic Home Fries and thirteen things I almost *Never* order at a restaurant
2008-02-27 23:54:06
(I'm combining this post with my weekly Thursday Thirteen, if you were just here to see the TT, scroll to the bottom of the post.) As foodies we are sometimes driven to try the most recent trend in foods. To go after more exotic ingredients and preparation methods. To push our cooking skills and palate's further than they have ever gone… ...

Have you ever wanted a personalized refrigerator magnet?
2008-02-25 21:13:14
If you have ever wanted a personalized refrigerator magnet, this is your lucky day. All you have to do to get yourself 25 free magnets with any image you'd like printed on them, is just follow the preceding link and enter the following coupon code: Blog25FreeMag There you have it. You can have magnets with photos of your kids, your dog,… ...

Cat Cora, Cooking From the Hip
2008-02-25 21:09:53
Ladies and gents, I just received my copy of Cat Cora's Cooking from the hip. I've only had a moment to flip through it at this point, but at first glance I get the feeling I'll be visiting this book often. I'll let you know more when I've had a chance to sit down with the book, a good hot… ...

Get some great Italian Recipes and help America’s Second Harvest in the process.
2008-02-25 15:55:15
In case you haven't heard, you can download a free cookbook from Barilla with recipes from such greats as Mario Batalli, Chris Daughtry, Deborah Messing, Natalie Portman, Stanley Tucci, Marissa Tomei and David Tuterra. The download is completely free, but for each copy downloaded before February 29th, Barilla will donate $1.00 to America's Second Harvest, up to $100,000.00 worth of helping the… ...

National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day
2008-02-25 14:24:47
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 25th, 2008 Today is National National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day I'm almost speechless.  Almost...  What better food to have it's own day than chocolate.  It's a milestone.  It's a perfect new day, with new hopes, new dreams and new beginnings. It's Chocolate Day! Today in Food History: 1904 Adelle Davis was born. Nutritionist, and author… ...

Steak and Field Green Salad with Tzatziki and Feta
2008-02-25 03:43:29
As a long time cook I am well aware that nearly nothing I make is a completely original creation. In most cases I probably couldn't tell you what the original dish that inspired me was. It may have been something I saw in a cookbook, a magazine or on television several years ago. It may have been a dish I… ...

Five Sordid Facts About Jerry
2008-02-23 23:25:32
Looks like I'm workin' hard, dunnit? I don't usually fall victim succumb to the urge to participate in most meme's, but when the Good Dr. Biggles from Meathenge tags you with one, you just have to answer the call. The topic had me grinning anyway. I mean, who can resist dishing a little dirt, especially when you're dishing it about yourself! The when… ...

Food Connect, A great community site just for foodies
2008-02-23 20:39:44
Hey guys, I was just referred to a site called Food Connect at www.foodconnect.com. I know that there are a lot of new foodie sites popping up all over, but this one looks like it may have what it takes to be one of the better ones. Just like most food sites, Food Connect will let you search for and… ...

National Banana Bread Day
2008-02-23 14:30:05
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 23d, 2008 Today is National Banana Bread Day I love banana bread! Today in Food History: 1603 Andrea Cesalpino died. An Italian philosopher and botanist, he helped establish botany as a separate science. He concentrated on fruits and seeds, and he classified them by logical principles, instead of their supposed medical properties. 1850 Cesar Ritz was… ...

Smoked Salmon Pizza
2008-02-22 18:09:39
If you're looking for a meal that is cool, light and refreshing, look no further than this simple pizza. While it may sound odd for me to talk about cool meals in the wanting days of February, our part of the world has seen some pretty strange weather this winter, with temperatures ranging from the sunny and a bit over-warm… ...

National Sticky Bun Day
2008-02-21 12:18:06
Welcome to Your Morning Cuppa for February 21, 2007 Today is National Sticky Bun Day I'm not a fan of sticky buns myself, they're just "too" sweet, but as always if you have a great sticky bun recipe, let me know and I'll post a link to it. TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY 1554 Hieronymus Bock died. A German botanist whose work contributed… ...

National Almond Day
2008-02-16 15:21:21
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 16th, 2008 Today is National Almond Day Wow, I somehow managed to miss posting the Morning Cuppa Yesterday!  I'm ashamed, to say the least.  Can't let that kind of thing happen... Almonds are something I grew up with.  Living in Northern California meant that almonds were always on any table that included snacks… ...
Almond  National 

Bits and bobs
2008-02-16 01:32:19
Just thought I'd let you all know what's going on behind the scenes here at my little slice of the web. I was invited to join what I find is a pretty neat little blogroll called The Great Cooks! There are some pretty good cooking blogs listed there, so go have yourself a look-see, maybe you'll come across something you… ...

Friday Blahs
2008-02-15 21:21:58
I think I've started to write something here about 8 times today but no matter what I just can't seem to get the steam up to finish anything.  At lest not anything food related. Valentine's evening was a pretty serious bust for us.  Not that my wife and I didn't enjoy ourselves, but the friend that was supposed to be… ...

Gotta Love V-Day!
2008-02-14 17:10:23
Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Why does it seem that this one lil' holiday is more work than others?   Store run, pressies bought, I'm all good to go.  I just hope my wife likes it! ...
Love 

Valentine’s Day, National Cream Filled Chocolates Day, Bulgaria: Trifon Zarezan
2008-02-14 14:12:17
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 14th, 2008 Today is Valentine's Day, National Cream Filled Chocolates Day, In Bulgaria: Trifon Zarezan Valentine's Day is traditionally the busiest day of the year for restaurants, making this the perfect day to eat in! Trifon Zarezan is Vinegrowers or Viticulturists’ Day. This is a very ancient holiday rite; Bulgarians prune the vines and sprinkle… ...
Cream  National 

Chocolate that can make your life better.
2008-02-13 18:24:38
[youtube width="425" height="355"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ74EKFFqbE[/youtube] We all know that chocolate can lift your spirits, but what if that chocolate also promised to improve your life in the process. What if chocolate could make you more calm, more at peace with yourself and help to put you in a better mood? Intentional Chocolate claims to be able to do this, with chocolate infused with feelings… ...
Chocolate  Life 

National Tortini Day
2008-02-13 14:23:57
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 13th, 2008 Today is National Tortini Day Gotta love a day dedicated to sweet treats!  It's tortini day, are you feeling it? Today in Food History: 1851 George Brown Goode was born. He was the editor of 'The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States’ while Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Commission of Fish and… ...
National 

Spicy Chocolate Peanut Hearts, a sure way to spice up Valentine’s
2008-02-12 20:45:07
The goal: A supremely simple yet still sweet and unexpected Valentine's gift for my wife. The result: Chocolate Peanut Perfection, with a kick from Cajun spices. I don't usually "do" Valentine's Day, at least not in the sense of buying flowers or going out to the best place in town for dinner. (Which would have required reservations made before Thanksgiving.) … ...
Chocolate  Hearts  Peanut  Spice 

National Plum Pudding Day
2008-02-12 14:10:42
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for February 12th, 2008 Today is National Plum Pudding Day Man, one day this week it'll be some day or other for something I like!  As for today..  Not so much.  I'm not a fan of puddings in general, nor a huge fan of plums. (Though I love plum sauce.  Go figure.) Let's just get… ...
National  Pudding