The Crispiest Apple Crisp, Ever? Ever!

Here is the apple crisp recipe that I teased yesterday, with the outrageous claim that it’s the crispiest apple crisp topping ever. Can I prove that fact? No, and that’s the beauty of such culinary hyperbole, no one can prove otherwise.The secret ingredient, as identified by several astute observers yesterday, is Grape Nuts. This extremely crispy and crunchy breakfast cereal does some amazing things to your basic oatmeal-based fruit crisp topping mixture. I figured anything that can soak in milk for 10 minutes and still be crunchy, would work well. Here is a link in case you are not familiar with...

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Oscar Party Snack Ideas! And the Winner is...

I have no problem waiting a year to watch feature films via my overpriced cable provider, but the major drawback is that I never have any clue what's gong on during the Academy Awards show. I won't get any of Billy Crystal's inside jokes, and the video clip montages will only serve to confuse and annoy. So, for people like me, the highlight of any Oscar party is the food. Here are a few ideas that should garner rave reviews. Enjoy!Deviled Eggs with Candied Pepper RingsClams Casino Dip Italian Rice CroquettesGreen HummusBacon Ranch Chicken Skew...

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Classic Chicken Noodle Soup – Thank Goodness We Had Roasted Chicken Broth Around!

In case you haven’t been following along, let me catch you up. On Wednesday we made a gorgeous roasted chicken broth for the expressed purpose of making this soul-warming soup. Here, we used that wonderfully flavorful broth to complete the recipe, and let me tell you, it was incredible.You know how much I hate to complicate a recipe, and I'll always err on the side of too few ingredients vs. too many, so when I make this chicken noodle soup it’s a constant battle to not add other “stuff.”Not that’s there’s anything wrong with stuff, per se, but if properly made, this soup is just too amazing in...

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Roasted Chicken Broth – Part 1 of The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup!

People throw around the word “ultimate” these days with total disregard for its actual meaning…and I’m no different. I was planning on posting my "ultimate" chicken noodle soup today, but then decided to show you a from-scratch roasted chicken broth first, which made the recipe too long for one single video. So, we’ll finish this schmaltzy mini-series on Friday, and with all kidding aside, it really is the ultimate chicken noodle soup. And what makes it so much more ultimate than all the other ultimate chicken noodle soups is this deep, rich broth.We’ve done classic chicken stock before, but this...

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Creole Crab & Corn Chowder – Let the Good Clichés Roll!

It’s so trite to say that something is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. Everyone knows that, right? It’s just common sense. Except, there I was, eating a very good bowl of crab and corn chowder that could have, should have, been very great; but it wasn’t because I didn’t remembered that old cliché.As I mention numerous times in the video, this would ideally be made in the middle of summer, with ears of fresh, sweet-as-sugar corn. If that’s not seasonally possible (i.e., you’re doing a Mardi Gras themed recipe in winter), you can make a perfectly fine version using a premium-quality,...

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Chocolate Soufflés with Nougat Whip (Warning: Intended for Mature Audiences)

Chocolate Soufflés with Nougat Whip Photo (c) SmithBites.comMy friend, Linda from Salty Seattle, called this Chocolate Soufflés with Nougat Whip video, “porn without people,” and I couldn’t agree more. The term “food porn” gets thrown around way too easily these days. Sorry, that picture of your red velvet cupcakes was nice, but it wasn’t really pornographic. This, however, could make you blush. By the way, the surface temperature of a blushing face is the exact temperature at which chocolate melts. Coincidence?This semi-sweet tour-de-force is from Debra and Rod “The Professor” Smith, from SmithBites.com....

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Garlic Shrimp – Not Necessarily In That Order

The great thing about posting a recipe as generic as “Garlic Shrimp,” is that nobody can complain it’s not authentic. If it has shrimp and enough garlic in it, it’s authentic. Above and beyond that, just about anything goes. The only real debate revolves around whether to cook shrimp first, and then add the garlic; or sauté the garlic first, and then cook the shrimp. I’ve used and enjoyed both methods, but I think I prefer the one shown here. If you cook the garlic first, it mellows out the flavor, and gives it a little sweeter aspect, but it also increases the risk of browning it too much, which...

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies – These are to Chocolate Chips as Turkeys are to Eagles

This classic peanut butter cookie recipe has me thinking about something I saw on the history channel a few months ago, about how the bald eagle became our national bird, instead of the wild turkey.While the regal eagle was the popular choice, many, including Benjamin Franklin, argued that the lesser attractive turkey was more deserving. Not only was it truly indigenous, but they also argued it was more courageous, and unlike the eagle, was not a lowly scavenger. Of course, we all know how that one turned out. Now, I don’t think America has an official national cookie designation, but if it did,...

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Valentine’s Day Carpaccio – A Meat Heart for Your Sweetheart!

I like carpaccio. My wife and Valentine, Michele, likes carpaccio. So for us, a heart-shaped version of this classic Italian beef salad seems nothing short of fabulous. Of course, I do understand that this isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like, or more likely, are afraid of rare meat, I don’t imagine you’ll be giving this a try.That’s perfectly fine, and we’re all too busy to bother trying to convert you over to the red team. However, for people that do enjoy this classic dish, and realize that properly handled, high-quality beef is no more dangerous to eat raw than sushi, or a spinach salad,...

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Dried Cherries (Aphrodisiac-Amplifying Alcohol Sold Separately)

As I mention in the opening of the video, this stuffed, prosciutto-wrapped chicken breast has everything you want in a Valentine’s Day entrée; it looks fancy, it tastes amazing, and contains dried cherries, a known aphrodisiac.Of course, the efficacy of aphrodisiacs has been hotly debated for centuries, and while I think that some foods can have this effect, it’s virtually impossible to prove as scientific fact. One challenge with objectively analyzing the libido-leavening effects of these substances is that they’re often served alongside copious amounts of alcohol. Would eating two-dozen oysters...

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Pizza Sauce – Let’s Play ‘Hide the Little Fish’

I can assure you that the anchovies in this pizza sauce recipe are there for the subtle saltiness and unique savoriness they provide, and not just so you can tell your friend (the one who really hates anchovies) that they just ate some. Could it be for both? Sure.This pizza sauce recipe represents a new and improved version of the one we posted way back in 2007. We snuck in some of the aforementioned fish, and we’re also using both fresh and dried oregano. I love this sauce. If there’s a tastier, all-purpose pizza sauce recipe out there, I haven’t tried it. Convention wisdom says that great pizza...

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Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse – Pick’em Up and Lay’em Down

Most foodies know that Tiramisu is a decadent dessert featuring coffee soaked ladyfingers layered with a zabaione and mascarpone, but what many people don’t know is that the recipe’s name is one of the best culinary double entendres ever.“Tiramisu” translates to "pick me up." Considering that this popular Italian dessert is spiked with proven mood-elevators such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, and alcohol, the name seems to fit perfectly. But wait, there’s more.As legend has it, tiramisu was a popular snack with the “working girls” of northern Italy, where the dessert originated. So, not only does "pick...

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Super Bowls of Cabbage Rolls

I wanted to wish you all a fun, festive, and very delicious Super Bowl Sunday! I’ll be watching the game with the in-laws, and if you’re wondering what we’re going to be eating, you may be surprised. There will be no Buffalo wings, no nacho cheese, and no baby back ribs.I’m so tired of football food, having produced all these recent Super Bowl-inspired videos, that I made a batch of cabbage rolls using this very popular, previously posted recipe. Hey, they are football shaped after all. I didn’t re-shoot the recipe, but I did snap a couple cell shots that I posted to Instagram (don't worry,...

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Quick Pickled Jalapeno Rings – I Hear These are Great on Nachos!

Unlike nacho cheese sauce, the nutritional label on a jar of pickled jalapenos isn’t very scary at all, so you can’t use that as an excuse when your non-foodie friends start making fun of you for having too much time on your hands. Nope, you’ll just have to fess up to making these pickled jalapeno rings for the simple reason that you knew how. While these are a no-brainer topping for your nachos, the fun doesn’t stop there. These make any sandwich more special, and any salad less snoozy. It would be faster to list things that this wouldn’t make more delicious. As I mention in the video, these...

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Homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce – Sure it’s Harder, But at Least it’s More Expensive!

Unlike most of the videos I post, this nacho cheese sauce recipe is not cheaper and easier to make at home. In fact, you could probably get a gallon of that industrial strength lubricant that passes for cheese sauce at the grocery store for the same cost as a single batch of this, but what you lose in cost and quantity, you more than make up for in actual food content.I’m not really that militant about insisting people read nutritional labels. I mean, who has the time? But just for fun, the next time you’re in the processed foods aisle (if those are still legal where you live) check out the back...

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