What really makes great food?  Ingredients.  Essentially, what you put into a dish has a direct correlation to what the end result is.  This is the same as with anything in life really, you use cheap lumber on a deck, it won’t last as long, you go cheap on the paint on the exterior of your house, you are going to be doing over again sooner than you think.  This is how it is with food as well except, you get one chance to use those ingredients.  I want to stress this down to the most basic level.  Some people put lots of focus on buying high quality meat, a prime rib for example or local farm raised chicken but then use an onion that is going bad or stock from a can when making the sauce for this.  Homemade stocks, high quality vegetables, good meat, and of course fresh spices will make all the difference in the world with the final outcome of your dish.  The difference between that little plastic lemon you get at the grocery store and freshly squeezing a fresh lemon for a picatta sauce will be the difference between having something be edible or memorable.  Take the time, spend the money, and put in the care and effort into making great food and ultimately, you will be rewarded with great food.

Although I should have titled this post “Delivery System for Tequila” I needed to share this new recipe for jalapeno limeade.  Super simple, easy to make and will be the foundation for all tequila this year.

1 Cup of sugar
1 Cup of Water
2 Jalapenos
1 Cup of fresh lime juice (about 8 limes)

Start by making a simple syrup, in a 2 quart saucepan combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, add the 2 jalapenos sliced in half and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.  While that is simmering, extract the juice from the limes.  I like to use a citrus press as it is the most efficient way to get all the juice out.  After the 5 minutes, remove the chilies from the simple syrup.  Fill a half gallon pitcher full of ice and add the simple syrup and lime juice and fill the rest of the pitcher with water.  Now, from here is where some tweaking may be needed.  If it is too tart you can take some out and add more water or sweeten with honey or agave nectar.  Either way, time to make a margarita.

I am a big fan of a lot of other food sites, I like to read what other bloggers are doing, how they are pushing the limits and reading about recipes that get me inspired.  One site that I love is Food Porn Daily.  Not every day does that site get me chomping at the bit to get into the kitchen but a few weeks ago, it did just that.  Now, to make a panini is not that difficult.  Yes you can get one of those fancy dancy press things that go for $80 or something like that.  Not needed.  Two hot stainless or cast iron pans will work just fine.  Here is what you need:

Some good bread
Brie
Proscuitto
Red onion
Tomato
Butter

This one is pretty simple.  Start by grabbing a few slices of really good bread, for this, I used a kalamata olive bread from one of the local bakeries.  Next spread the outside with butter, better yet, use some of that bacon chive butter you just learned about the other day.  Take the brie out and slice off the casing.  You don’t really have to slice off the casing i guess but I have never been a fan so I cut it off.  Next, slice up the tomato and red onion super thin.  Now start to build your sandwich.   Bread, brie, red onion, tomato, and the proscuitto followed by the other slice of bread.  Now get your first skillet going on medium heat.  Note: all stoves are different, the key hear is to toast the bread to golden brown while melting the cheese inside. If you burn the bread, it will be ruined and if the cheese isn’t melted, well, it won’t be done correctly.  As you are getting the first side of the bread toasted in the skillet, heat up the second skillet on high heat.  After flipping your grilled cheese at this point, take the hot skillet and use it as a press.  Don’t press too hard that it mashes the sandwich, press just enough that you can hear some searing going on and that the sandwich presses.  return the 2nd skillet to the heat for a few minutes before flipping the sandwich again and pressing a 2nd time.  When the cheese is melted and the sandwich looks like above…eat.  That simple.

If you are like most of the people I associate with, I probably had you at “butter” right?  What could be better than butter though?  Compound butter.  To be more specific, bacon chive butter.  The image alone, although poor quality just makes my mouth water.  Now how to make it.  It is so simple, there is really no reason not to have this in your kitchen at all times.

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 slice of bacon cooked crispy
3 Tbsp of chopped chives or green onions
1 Tbsp of bacon fat

Start by cooking the bacon (obviously cook more than one strip for snack bacon) and chop it up into small bits.  If you try and sneak by and use bacon bits, may you fall on a fork at some point in your life.  USE REAL BACON.   After that is cut up, chop up the chives.  Now, add the butter into a mixing bowl of some sort and grab a fork.  Use the fork to mix in the chives, bacon, and the little bit of bacon fat.  The key is not to overdo it with the bacon.  You want a balance of bacon, chive and most important, keep the butter flavor alive.  After all is mixed, drop it into a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a roll.  Or, be lazy and keep it in a bowl, really doesn’t matter all that much.

Now, how to use it.  My favorite way, is to put some on top of the eggs before you poach them and serve over hash browns.  Use on the outside of a grilled cheese, put in cornbread, or just spread on a nice warm roll.  Either way, it never goes to waste.  This keeps a few days in the fridge, not because it goes bad but because you use it so much, there is none left.  Enjoy

Not many posts the last few months.  Can you say burnt out?  After a few months of serious cooking, drinking, and learning, we are back at it.  We have some new ideas and we are excited about what 2012 could bring.  Will you see some more episodes of the Cook Man Food Show?  Maybe.  Will events be continuing to grow? Absolutely.  Most of all, we want our blog to come back to life, full of great recipes, techniques, and more about what is going on with trends in the world of food.   Spent a lot of time increasing my skills as a cook, experimenting with different ingredients, and truely getting back to why Todd and I started this blog in the first place.  We are both refreshed, ready to get back into things and keep our company moving forward.  Here’s to an amazing 2012!!!

What is the eating season?  It is the time of year when we eat whatever we want, whenever we want, and how much we want to eat.  The eating season is about taking that 5th piece of pie when we shouldn’t.  The season runs from one week before thanksgiving to January 2nd.  The week before thanksgiving is put into place for training and stretching of the stomach so that maximum turkey consumption can take place on thanksgiving.  It is a great time to go to buffets for lunch and buy an extra tub of ice cream for dessert.  It is also a good time to double your stock of bacon in your fridge. Mmmm Bacon.

Thanksgiving marks the first major event of the eating season.  Some say this day has much to do with some pilgrims and some corn but really, we know it as football, appetizers, naps with our pants unbuttoned and lots of delicious food.  Some of our best side dishes come out on this day and they are sometimes so good, they overshadow the turkey or Turducken that is on your table.

Ahh, what is the best thing about Thanksgiving?  You got it. Leftovers and what you can do with them.  Turkey Soup, sammiches, mmmm.  The 3 days after thanksgiving are for continuing training for upcoming events.

What comes 2nd after Thanksgiving?  Christmas?  Holiday parties?  Nope, it is Repeal day.  Repeal day is December 5th and it is when prohibition was repealed so, to honor this day it is only fitting that you enjoy some good wine, beer, or some of the best scotch money can buy.  Well, that you can afford.  Drink well and with your good friends.

Christmas Parties are next on the agenda.  Just because thanksgiving is over does not mean that our eating season is downhill from here, no, we have lots of holiday parties to attend.  We also have training in between parties.  The last thing you need is to attend great parties with a small stomach again.  Keep eating like you want and enjoy.

Speaking of holiday parties and spending so much time with family and friends, I would like to take this time to talk about the importance of alcohol consumption.  For some, family is a wonderful thing, for others……….not so much.  I have been lucky enough to have an above average family but drinking still plays a large part at holiday parties.  Drinking plays a big role in parties with friends too. Hey it’s the holidays for crying out loud.  Live it up.  So far if you have a problem with drinking so much and not indulging yourself with so much food, click here.

Ahhhh. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Hopefully, most of you are not reliving thanksgiving again and having a

Turkey, mashed potatoes and the same old meal from a few weeks ago.  Christmas is a time to mix it up.  Again, alcohol is key here and home made egg nog is a necessity and you can check out drinks section for a great recipe.  Our most memorable Christmas as of late when referring to food came with a deep fried ham (again yummy – pig product), grilled salmon, a meat pie, and some roasted chicken.  Some of the usual sides did find its way to the table but who really has time for fillers when there is so much meat?  Another great part about the Christmas dinner is the desserts about an hour after dinner.  Although all three stomachs of ours have been filled (wouldn’t it be nice in that respect to be a cow?) we have to find room for dessert.  Check out our desserts section for some great holiday recipes.

The Grand Finale!!!.  New Years Eve and New Year’s Day.  Wow, much like St. Patrick’s Day is for drinking in the spring, New Years Eve takes us out of the current year with a bang.   It gives us one final night to forget about all of the grief, holiday debt we racked up and just flat out get plowed.  My New Years Eve tradition is….you guessed it…TEQUILA!!!! (and Car Bombs).  I like to have a few different kinds on hand and many shot glasses.  What fun is it to be the only one running around crazy?  Get the family and friends all fired up as well.

I hope you embrace the eating season as so many have before you.  It is a great time and a great excuse to eat like mad and enjoy food.  CookManFood is all about hanging with friends and family and even more so about drinking and eating delicious food, the holidays sort of embrace that philosophy naturally.  So, Happy Holidays and happy eating.

It has been a long time since I last posted, possibly the longest break since we started the blog.  Well, a lot has happened in that time.  I always get toasted in more ways the one at the Brewfest.  So much effort cranked into one week and then you feel obligated to try as many brews as possible during the event, well, you know what happens. 

After that, went away for a long weekend to be with friends and family for some off grid camping.  Got some hunting, fishing and solid days of drinking wine and cooking that it was one of my best weekend of the year.  From there, went off grid again bear hunting; only managed to get a few doves but again, a great weekend of wine and amazing food. 

 So, back to it after that right?  No,  The other half of Cook Man Food and Co-host of The Cookmanfood show got married and had to be there to support him, make sure he ate well and be part of the festivities.  One of the most amazing weddings I have ever been too and it was a great gathering of friends and family once more.   Really surprised that the wedding menu was not entirely bacon, I mean really surprised.  No sausage either.  However, the shrimp, crab, roasts, and green chili potatoes did my belly well.  Drank lots of wine and celebrated a great day.

Ok, that is three weekends down but what about the others.  Well, more hunting, a gunsmith course, more food and drinks with family and friends and here we are.  It is October 6th, it is snowing outside and I still love Colorado.  Todd and I have done lots of relaxing and decompressing and figuring out the best way to move CookManFood forward.  We have some good stuff in the works but for now, some more cooking and more writing about food.  We are still planning and working towards a full season of the Cookmanfood show and are really trying to line up all of the details in order to ensure success.  What network, sponsors, locations, lots to work out.  Stay tuned……

Wanted to post an update on this weekends event.  We have 25 Breweries from all across the country coming to this event, the most ever for the San Juan Brewfest.  We are excited about the amount of VIP’s in attendance as well and have a great menu planned for them both Friday Night and Saturday.  The stage is set for a great pre-party Friday night with the Brewers and VIP’s and the weather is looking good.   We are all hoping that this year is a record year for The United Way of Southwest Colorado in one of their largest fundraising event of the season.  We ask everyone to help pass the word and get your friends and family down to the event on Saturday.  See you all there!!!

We enjoy every San Juan Brewfest.  Last year, Todd and I were not only able to help organize the event which benefits our local community, not only got to drink awesome beer all day, but also got out to interview a couple of breweries who attended. In this interview, Todd is out talking with Erich from Boulder Beer. If you are in their area on August 27th, check them out as you will soon hear, they have been doing this for a long time.