A few of Ian's favorite things

Making funny faces, eating White Castle chicken rings, and making funny faces with chicken rings... This are a few of Ian's favorite things!

Jet's Pizza

Tony loves pizza. He would eat it every day if he could. This pizza is from Jet's. It was good but I quietly pretended that it was something more interesting, like Tikka Masala, while I ate it.

Connor's Favorite Snack

This is one of Connor's favorite snacks - cheese and crackers. His specifications are exact: 10 Ritz Crackers, 5 slices of sharp cheddar (not Kraft brand), and 5 slices of marbled cheddar (not co-jack and not Kraft brand).
*Note that the quantities on this plate vary from Connor's specifications because the items were prepared by Ian, who doesn't give a shit about Connor's "rules".*

Tony's Favorite Meal

Here is one of Tony's favorite meals - homemade Romano crusted chicken topped with red sauce and cheese, with a side of pasta

I've reached a new level of crazy

Tony reminds me weekly that our dog Shadow is getting older and that he isn't going to live forever. He's only kidding, but it still gets to me. It got me thinking that maybe I could improve the overall health of my dogs and extend their lives if I started making them homemade food. I did a little research and found that dogs need 1/3 protein, 1/3 vegetable, and 1/3 starch in their diets. Recommended combinations include ground chicken, ground beef, carrots, peas, brown rice, and pasta. I decided to start with carrots, pasta, and ground beef and see how my dogs liked it.

Here are the results. They loved it. How could they not? I've also tried a mixture of beef, rice, and carrots and they loved that too. The only downside to making homemade dog food is that it is a giant pain in the ass when you have two medium sized dogs. You have to make a ton of food at one time and freeze it or else you'll spend more time cooking for your dogs than you do for yourself, spouse, and kids.

Club 185

Spicy chicken quesadilla from Club 185 in German Village. I love Club 185. The food is great and it's cheap. My boss and I eat there frequently for lunch and there is always a heavy crowd of "day-drinkers". We fit right in.

Spicy Fried Rice

Homemade spicy fried rice with chicken, heavy on the garlic and hot pepper oil.

Comfort food

Comfort food - mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and roasted pork sirloin with au jus.

Questionable Fish Tacos

I'm not going to divulge the name of the restaurant that I had these fish tacos at because I really like it and I've never had anything bad there before.... That is, before I had these questionable fish tacos. They didn't taste right when I ate them. They weren't particularly good. I wasn't going to go anywhere near the avocado salsa that is also pictured because it just didn't look right. I didn't get sick from this meal, but my coworker did. She ate the salsa though.

Roast Beast

Chuck roast - marinated in red wine and garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper and seared on all sides. It's then slow roasted at a low temperature in the oven with onions and bay leaves. Potatoes, carrots, and more onions are added for the last 45 minutes. Good stuff.

The F-Word, with Michelle Stewart

If you don't watch The F-Word with Gordon Ramsay, you really should. It's a brilliant and funny show. It's on BBC America twice a day. The basic format is a cooking challenge between Gordon and a celebrity, a cooking challenge in his restaurant with a staff of amateur cooks, a segment about ethically raising animals for slaughter, and a personal cooking segment with Gordon. I love the personal cooking segments. He makes it look so easy to cook amazing meals.

It goes a little something like this:



Today's blog post is presented to in the narration style of Gordon Ramsay's personal cooking segments. Enjoy.


Stromboli. Dough. Cheese, ham, Italian sausage.


Roll. Egg wash.


Hot oven.


Slice.


Done.

LUCY!

Connor likes to eat frosting straight out of the tub. Apparently Lucy does too. Connor left a tub of frosting out on the kitchen counter, we left to run errands and came back to find the tub empty and Lucy's nose was covered in vanilla frosting residue.

Recent

I made this Barbie cake for my cousin's 21st birthday. It's a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and a layer of strawberry jam in the center.

Broiled cod, mashed potatoes, beans, and carrots from The Columbus Fish Market.

Homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.

Homemade pesto, mozzarella, and tomato pizza. I would just order this for takeout from a local pizza place, but no such place exists in Hilliard Ohio.

Tacos x 2

My boss stopped by recently after work for drinks and conversation. On her way over, she sent me a text and inquired what sorts of drinks and snacks that I would be serving. I jokingly told her that I had only Riesling and Cheetos, two of her least favorite things.

She was kind enough to stop at Famosa Latin Cuisine, near my house, and pick up some tacos for carryout. They were delicious.

By the time that she showed up, I had already started preparing dinner... Tacos. The ones she brought were much better than the ones that I made.