I was intrigued when I first read of an African Sweet Potato Peanut Soup. Firstly, I know close to nothing of African cuisine, secondly, I love peanuts, and thirdly, I hardly ever use peanuts outside of breakfast/dessert applications (usually as peanut butter, yum!), so really, there was a lot to this that caught my eye. Of course, tinkering with the soup a bit here and there, I’m not sure if its quite the same African peanut soup any more, but its definitely a keeper.
Somewhat to my surprise, this soup reminded me of red Thai curries I’ve had before. The sweet potato base of the soup gave a great heartiness while the mix of ginger, peppers, peanut, and coconut added that creamy/tangy/spicy blend of flavors that so strongly evoked thoughts of Thai for me. Was it precisely what I intended? No. Was I disappointed? Definitely not. I would describe this as a sweet potato version of panang curry, but in soup
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Posted by mike on April 2nd, 2009 in Asian, Beef, Main course, Side dish, Soup & Stew
Garlic isn’t one of those things that gets the spotlight very often, and there’s no good reason for it because it seems that just about everyone enjoys it (have you ever met someone who doesn’t just love garlic bread?). I mean granted, your breath won’t be making you any friends for a while after, but you’ll feel happier for having indulged in your garlic craving, right? Whatever the case, this soup is where one my favorite supporting flavors (its probably in almost every meal I prepare 
) finally gets its time in the sun: roasted garlic chicken soup.
I really enjoyed this soup. It was simple in flavor, but surprisingly interesting. You might think you have garlic nailed down, but the soup showcases it in such a way that you really get to appreciate a fuller profile of garlic than you might otherwise. There’s a combination of lightly sautéed cloves of garlic as well as slowly roasted whole heads of garlic, so
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Posted by mike on February 26th, 2009 in Chicken, Main course, Mediterranean, Side dish, Soup & Stew
This was inspired by a side dish I had when enjoying an incredibly delicious lunch at Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta (this is where former Top Cheftestant Richard Blais currently hangs his hat, and if you’re in the area, you must go. Period. Where else could you have a foie gras milkshake?). The side was titled simply: fingerling potatoes and carrots. I like both, so why not? I just expected a side of potatoes and a separate side of carrots. Mixing these two in one bowl never would have crossed my mind, and as a result, I found a new favorite side dish.
I have a hard time pitching this mix of flavors to people because it doesn’t really sound all that sexy. Carrots, potatoes, fennel, and bacon. Individually, they’re all great. But all together at once? Its strange, but you get this perfect combination of salty, smoky, and savory where each component is still quite distinct and they all play off of one
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Posted by mike on February 23rd, 2009 in Pork, Side dish
For me, no dinner is complete without some form of bread. For Thanksgiving, I thought a pile of fresh biscuits would be perfect finger-food for sopping up gravy and getting that bready fix. Plus, biscuits are awesome, especially when loaded with cheddar and chives.
These biscuits had everything you could want in a biscuit. They were tender, flaky, buttery, nicely layered, and really tasty. The butter gives a nice richness, the buttermilk a bit of tang, and the cheddar/chive combo adds a delicious, sharper flavor. And did I mention biscuits are awesome? Another flavor I strongly considered adding into the biscuits (but laziness won, so forgive me): crumbled bacon! I throw it out there for any motivated would-be biscuit makers. 
I made these to go with my Thanksgiving dinner.
- 4 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup shredded cheddar (~4 oz)
- big handful fresh chives
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne
- 2 cup buttermilk
- ~1/8 cup heavy cream
(yields 20-25 biscuits)
Begin by preheating
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Posted by mike on December 6th, 2008 in Side dish
I hope you had a good Thanksgiving–I certainly did. I hosted again this year with a small gathering of friends and family, serving enough food for a…much larger gathering, lol. Normally, I’m just cooking for my wife and me, but Thanksgiving is an entirely different animal what with the wide variety of dishes to coordinate–you don’t want redundant flavors, too few pans, too little oven space, too much to do at once–its a lot of work, stress, and trouble…and I love it. As I had promised you, I wanted to share the outcome of my Thanksgiving this year with you as this holiday is obviously about giving thanks, and for me, its also very much about the food.
Also, something worth mentioning: Foodbuzz. I’ve been a member with Foodbuzz for a while now, and they have been nothing but good to me, so imagine my delight when I was selected as one of the food bloggers to take part in their monthly
Read more about Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Southern Inspired Thanksgiving »
Posted by mike on November 28th, 2008 in Dessert, Main course, Side dish, Uncategorized
Somehow, I’ve gotten a bit behind on some of my posts, so despite the fact that the leaves have already changed colors, let’s take a moment to pretend its still summer. What do you say? This soup is so delightfully simple, you could make it in a hurry any day of the week. If you love avocados, you’ll love this–creamy and served cold, the toughest decision is what you’ll want to serve along with this Creamy Avocado Soup.
As you can see, the brilliant plating I had in mind looked a little silly when all put together, but ah well, you win some, you lose some. Flavor-wise though, I was delighted–I cooked some bacon, crumbled it on top, and then sautéed some fresh, local shrimp in the bacon fat (shelled, deveined, and cooked for 3-4 minutes) to go along with this soup and make it more of a self-contained meal. Plus, both the sweet flavor of the shrimp the smokiness of
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Posted by mike on November 12th, 2008 in Fruit, Main course, Mexican, Seafood, Side dish, Soup & Stew
