I wasn’t going to post this dish. This is actually a perfect example of what I cook when I’m not “working.” Sort of the definition of comfort food for me. Make some pasta, toss some awesomeness into it, and the whole day changes. I put some marinade on the skirt steak and thought to myself, maybe I should take a picture just in case. By the time I was grilling, I was taking pictures of everything. Grilled food in mac and cheese? How could I not post this?

This bbq sauce is amazing. Like, to the point where I almost didn’t want to post it it was so good. It made me want to open an Indian-southern US-southwestern fusion restaurant it’s so good. So let’s keep this a secret you guys ok? Don’t tell anyone about this recipe! I served this with another awesome Indian-southwestern dish that I will post tomorrow.

The party I have been talking about the past few days was a great success, despite a few people bagging at the last minute. You know who you are! The party was a bit of a housewarming for me, but also to celebrate the changing seasons, and to inaugurate our brand new Beer Pong table! My friend rich (who did a lot of the art on this website) was commissioned to paint us a table for the new place, and it came out awesome. I made a few dips for the begining of the party, and these mini calzones for halfway through. I have come to realize that grilling is the best cooking method for a party. It doesn’t heat up the house or smell up the house, can add a nice break and some fresh air to the party, and can be done fairly easily if you have prepped well. I made these calzones early in the day and just threw them on the grill when people were getting hungry. Along with the apple jalapeno gruyere option, there were some BBQ chicken and cheddar broccoli varieties.

I sort of feel like it’s slightly too early to do full-on fall flavors, but when the chill is in the air, and your friends are asking, you have to give in to certain demands. I mashed this squash with potatoes to give it the starchy mash potato texture with a subtle squashy taste. I mixed in a whole bunch of stuff we had around, and it was a big hit! It was served with some marinaded steak tips.

This was one of those things that I saw on a menu somewhere and just had to make it right away. It was awesome and all, BUT I made this cheesesteak dip about a year back that was cramazing, and it would have been better to just serve that smothered all over the fries. After all, when I think cheesesteak fries, I kind of think gooey cheese fries with steak on them. I’m posting these pics anyways because this way is easier than making the cheesesteak dip, and was still really tasty, in fact my friends finished it in about 3 and a half minutes.

I have wanted to make hot dogs pretty much forever, so I made sure to finally check that off my list when I had access to the sausage stuffer. These hot dogs came out soo good! Next year, I want to make a huge batch of these at the beginning of spring, freeze them, and use them all summer! As awesome as they were, I would change a few things for next time. They definitely weren’t dry, but they also weren’t juicy, next time I would up the fat content. Secondly, the chipotle maple was subtle in these dogs and needed to be turned up a bit. Despite these shortcomings, they tasted great with an unmistakable beefy hot dog flavor and the natural casing had a perfect snap when you bit into it. Not bad for my first time!

Two of my good friends go to Hooters every sunday at the same time, and I am not invited. Apparently I might mess up the delicate balance they have with the waitresses. See, they think that the waitresses actually LIKE them and want to hang out after work. What the waitresses actually like are the enormous tips they leave at the end of the 3 to 4 hour sessions they have there on the weekly Sunday funday. SERIOUSLY JOHN AND SAL STOP IT! Notice that she canceled your date last week? (oh dip) Maybe I am just jealous though since they won’t let me come. If I DID go, what I would get is the fried pickles, cause they rule. Much different from your standard fried pickle, these are breaded, not battered, and cut into chips, not spears. I made them this past Sunday to drown my sorrows while my friends were enjoying themselves at Hooters again.

My friend Mark is moving from Manhattan to London in the near future, so a bunch of his friends down in NYC decided to throw him a surprise going away party. I went down for the weekend on the cheap bus to see him off and to cook a UK themed appetizer to help him assimilate to his new setting. Mark wasn’t surprised at all, but everyone still had a great time.