avablog

I was at one of the local Hy Vee grocery stores the other evening picking up some supplies, and I happened upon one lone bag of Fiery Habanero Doritos. Score! This snack started out in limited release on the West Coast (isn’t it always thus?), and I managed to grab a couple bags when we […]

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This past Saturday evening we attended a birthday party for our friend Dawn. This event is surely the highlight of the annual social calendar for our small group of friends and acquaintances. Over the years Dawn has managed to cultivate a number of interesting, smart, funny, and attractive people in her cadre of pals (thankfully, […]

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You ever have one of those meals that just sticks in your memory? Before we left for our vacation, a colleague of Leah’s clued her in to a restaurant in Winter Park where his brother used to dine when he lived there.  We were looking for a place to eat one evening, and Deno’s Mountain […]

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Get it?  “Roll?”  Like a day-old bakery item or a slow pedal down a backcountry road? OK.  Fine.  Anyway, I know I don’t brag on this woman nearly as much as I could.  Fact is, she makes me look bad!  How’d you like to be a 35-year-old man in good health whose 63-year-old mother can […]

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Leah and I went out for dinner last night while Rachel and Kevin watched Ava. The name of the place is Devil’s Thumb Ranch, and it has a gorgeous view out over a wide mountain valley. Rachel and Kevin had dined there the night before, and they were lucky enough to get a nice clear […]

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I’m wrapped up in a project at work that’s going to keep me away from my desk all day for the whole week.  I only checked e-mail once during the day today!  What kind of life is that? So I was driving over to pick up our pizza last night (I had a Chicago-style, feta, […]

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I rarely do any big blowout recipes anymore.  There just isn’t time. When I do, it’s almost never a dessert recipe.  Leah and I were invited to a chocolate party last month that required us to make a dish to share.  Leah came up with this recipe for peanut butter chocolate buckeyes. The recipe itself […]

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Marcia sent along a review of a restaurant in NYC that has this dish on the menu.  I can immediately spot three dealbreakers for Leah, but it sounds fantastic to me. Salt and pepper 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch dice […]

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What a classic.  Kevin’s asked me a couple times what it is I do with the delicious free range chickens I get in bulk from a local organic farmer.  In the winter I’ll typically thaw one out and drop it in the crockpot with a little salt and pepper before I head out the door […]

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I’m pretty sure last night was the last night of Leah’s birthday celebration.  I’ll have to check with her to make sure.  If it was, it was a nice way to end the festivities. We hired a babysitter and went out to dinner and a movie.  We hadn’t made any reservations anywhere, but we figured […]

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The family headed up to Madison this past weekend to visit Aunt Rachel (“Rashe”) and Uncle Kevin (we’re still working on that one). Aunt Rachel came up with some cool activities for Ava.  On Saturday we went to the Madison Children’s Museum and had a great time playing with the different musical instruments and watching […]

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Leah’s a big fan of taco pizza. It’s all right. I never really ate it at all before I met her, though I knew it existed. Now, we get one every couple weeks or so when our schedules don’t allow a home-cooked meal. Happy Joe’s is an interesting chain, at least insofar as they’ve really […]

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For the past three years Leah and I have had our families to the house for a big dinner and celebration on New Year’s Eve. It’s pot luck, and I usually do the main course. This year Rachel suggested a French theme, which turned out fantastically well (if I do say so myself). Without further […]

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Next time you’re attempting to pour an entire pot of boiling water into a bowl, don’t hold that bowl; set it on the counter or in the sink. Otherwise, you’re bound to drop the bowl and spill the scalding water all over your hand, resulting in a nasty burn that causes the skin on your […]

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A recipe Leah got from our friend Megan. 1 lb mild italian sausage (bulk or link) 1 c. onion (chopped) 2 cloves minced garlic Brown sausage, onion and garlic; drain well; combine in a soup kettle with the following ingredients: 5 c. beef broth 1/2 c. dry red wine 1/2 c. water 1 c. sliced […]

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Leah and I don’t entertain that often, so when we do it’s still quite a process. We’d been talking for months about having a couple of the neighbors over for brunch, and the date finally rolled around this past weekend. The menu included pear ginger muffins and feta tomato quiche. I’d never made either, but […]

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One of my favorite things to cook is bolognese sauce. I was turned on to it by my friend Marcia, who passed me a copy of Marcella Hazan’s recipe. The recipe is very simple. And like so many things in life, the more time you put into it, the better it turns out. The first […]

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The meals are stacking up fast and furious heading into the holidays. It’s a bit daunting to think of all the things I’ll be cooking between now and January 1, but it’s also going to be a lot of fun. Recently I made my first batch of chicken stock using the remains of a chicken […]

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It doesn’t seem possible we’re coming up on another Thanksgiving already. Why should the presence of a baby suddenly make time accelerate so drastically? Anyway. The schedule for this year is going to be the same as last. Wednesday I’ll roast a turkey and make a sweet potato dish with a streusel topping that was […]

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Marcia made these this past weekend; they sound great. Time: 30 minutes 1¾ cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¾ cup sugar ½ cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2/3 cup sour cream ½ cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon honey 2 large eggs 1½ cups peeled, cored and finely […]

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