I'm back...

Sooooooo ... I haven't posted anything for 3 months. Awkward.

I wish I had a good excuse. But... I've got big news for the blogosphere. My lovely wife and I have started catering! So far we have had 3 jobs with several others in the hopper. And we are calling our new endeavor: e. No pics yet, but we'll be working on that. If you want to book us, shoot me a note.

Also, the peppers I've been growing have started coming in.

The first one was a little disappointing.


Yes, that's a penny.

Curried Stuffed Peppers

DSC_1975, originally uploaded by foodies4thought.

Madras curry powder, crispy beef and saffron rice. Mmmm.

Garden & Gun 100

Garden & Gun magazine put out their 100 Southern Foods You Absolutely, Positively Must Try Before You Die.  My foodie friends and I are making our way down the list.  Here's the latest I've knocked off the list:

McKinley's Bar-B-Q and Soul Food - Stewed Oxtail

(McKinley's isn't in the best part of town.  The food and company is great though.)

Parasol's - Roast Beef Po' Boys

Parasol's was right down the street from my friend Stew's place.

Trust me it lived up to the billing.

More to come...

...and we're back.

Sorry for the delay... I think the reality of not having a blog schedule overwhelmed me with relief.  I needed that few weeks off to recharge the urge to blog. 

We've been cooking a lot of curries and stir fries.

Curried Chick Peas with Chicken and Peas (oh the wordplay!)

Brassicae Stir Fry with fresh tomatoes and cilantro.  

With brussels and broccoli, it's a hit with kids.

The Standard:  Stir fry with anything (and everything) in the fridge.  

My new favorite breakfast.  Eggs over easy with goat cheese and pepper relish, hash browns & carrots, and bacon (of course).

Supper Club Contributions: 

I. Cheese Grits (Low Country Themed Palmetto Style)

II. Corn Muffins with green onions, red bell peppers and cilantro.

Oh and I'm on a diet now.  Woof. 

At least I'm not doomed to $5 footlongs.

A Food Blogger's Quandry

It has been pretty busy at work... thus the lack of posts! We'll get back into it soon enough.

We've been eating out a lot lately and I have a fear of/aversion to taking quality photos in a restaurant. I've tried using my trusty iPhone with terrible results...

These delicious looking dishes were from Hot and Hot Fish Club .

Is it just me or do these look like undercover police photos taken from a camera mounted on a tie clip? "Exhibit A is a picture of the grouper cooked in parchment. The picture was taken by officer Malarky at a sting operation in the Harpersville Motel at 1 AM on February 21st."

Moe's Barbeque. Good BBQ, bad picture.

Tortilla Soup at Las Poblanas in Childersburg, AL.

The soup was good but I think my wife got the flu here.

Surin's Curried Eggplant Noodle. My absolute favorite dish at Surin 280.

I don't know why I refuse to take "real" pictures in restaurants. Maybe I feel it makes the other patrons uncomfortable or distracts from the dining ritual. (I enjoy the act of dining as much as the act of eating. Yes, there is a difference.) Is it not insanely awkward to pull out an SLR and start a photo shoot in a restaurant? But I want to be able to share my dining out experiences with some degree of quality. Or do I? Do I really care to do all that it takes to get a good photo of some food at a restaurant? Am I just not as "hardcore" as I thought?

Maybe, just sometimes, I want to eat a meal like everyone else does, without writing my thoughts/criticisms down in a notebook and snapping 10 pics with different aperture settings.

A quick phone picture is enough, sometimes.

It is hard to discern between blog-worthy, un-blog-worthy, and experiences too good to ruin with over-documentation.

Log this one under lessons learned in my short time as a "food blogger". And until something changes, just expect crappy photos to accompany posts about restaurants.

The Well Rounded Blog: Snow Day!

"Oh my goodness!  There is snow everywhere!"  That is the phrase I woke up to on Sunday morning.

We NEVER get this much snow.  You know what that means... family pictures!

David did not like the snow and immediately tried to go back inside.  So we did what any good parents would do when they need family pictures.  

We forced him to participate.

Look at how much fun we are having!

Oh look at us playing in the snow!

Can we go inside now?  It's freezing.

This Week in Food!

Unclean! Unclean!  The WHOLE family was on quarantine this week.  Wife had the flu, I had a terrible cold, and Daveman, we feared, would get both.  It was really a crummy week.  Since I was "less" sick, I was on cooking duty.  Which gave me a chance to dive head first into this:

That is 10 lbs. of ground beef ladies and gents!  Patty melts for all!  Or spaghetti and meatballs!!

I haven't cooked spaghetti and meatballs in years.  I think I felt it was too plain jane, too ordinary, too easy.  I know, I'm such a food snob :(.  But when you're sick and you don't feel like making a fancy dinner, you gotta go old school.  Spaghetti and meatballs is back baby!  (Oh, and sorry about the bad pics, didn't feel like takin' fancy photos either.)

Classic.

David thinks I've been holding out on him ... and I have.  Sorry, man.

Asian stir fry with ramen noodles.  Comfort for the sick.

This weekend we recovered and I figured out how to fix imitation cheap Mexican food.  You know, the Americanized Mexican food that is nothing like true Mexican cuisine.  Is it just me, or are there approximately 34 million Mexican restaurants in Alabama that serve the same food?  We have love the stuff for some reason and now we can make it ourselves!  Although, I think the ambiance is 75% of the reason we go.

First up: Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas

Ok, I had to snob it up a bit.  I can't help it, I have a problem.

So in other news, I am doing away with the blog schedule.  It was too much pressure to produce.  This is supposed to be fun and it was starting to get away from that.  So I'll be blogging more "free form" from now on ("free form" - phrase I stole from Alex.  Nice word choice, Al.).  So sorry if you dig the schedule, it's gotta go.

Speaking of... Alex and his wonderful wife treated us to some fabulous ox tail and polenta this evening.  Delicious!  I've never had ox tail before, but I must say "bravo".  Offal has been getting a lot of press lately... I'll probably jump on the bandwagon soon.

Hump Day Food Quote

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper" - Adelle Davis

The Well Rounded Blog: Weekend Off

The Well Rounded Blog is the weekly post dedicated to things other than food. It is my effort to avoid turning into "That Guy That Only Talks About Food."

Sorry about no post yesterday. We took a mini vacation to the Lake. I did a little bit of cooking, but took no pictures (of food) (vacation from blogging too).

I did take some great pics of the family...

This weekend really recharged my battery. We even got to play some golf.

Dave is about a 5 handicap.... from the tips.

Showing me how to putt....

He really liked driving the golf cart. I kid you not, he screamed "Weeee!" the whole time. I have no clue where he learned that.

Best round I've had this year. It didn't matter that I played really poorly.

P.S. This is my new favorite picture (nice shot, honey).

Top Ten: Food(ie) Sites

Of the top ten list of things to write about on a blog, number one has to be a Top Ten post. If it's not number one, then its in the top 3 (possibly being beaten out by a "favorite things" post (similar) or Obama posts.  

The big question is whether to count them down David Letterman style, or start with the best.  I think Top Ten style is more dramatic, don't you?  So here to present Food(ies) For Thought's Top Ten food sites is Joaquin Phoenix :

10)  Chez Pim - LA food blogger that has one of the most visited blogs on the internets!  Recipes, reviews, and other food(ie) knowledge flows forth.  Best Recent Post: Thai Fried Bananas

9)  FX Cuisine - Spectacular Recipes and Memorable Food Experiences ... 'nuff said.  Best Recent Post:  Japanese Bladesmiths

8)  Food & Wine / Epicurious - Tie - My two favorite places on the 'net for recipes on the fly.  Yeah Food Network is fine... if you love Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee!  Ohhhhhh!

7)  Delicious Days - The only food blog to crack the top 150 on Technorati's Top 100 blogs (you know its serious when it's on a top 100 list).  German Foodie Nicky Stitch mixes her own recipes with cookbook adaptations and German efficiency and a cool, clean Bavarian web design.  Best Recent Post: Roasted Red Pepper Risotto with Chorizo

6)  101 Cookbooks:  One of the most established food blogs on the planet (over 5 years!  can you say Live Journal?).  She's got an addiction to buying cook books and who doesn't like reading the mindless rantings of an addict?  Best Recent Post: Brussels Sprout Salad (Brussels are so hot right now)

5)  Not Quite Nigella - Australian food blogger.  Great photography.  Fantastic photography.  I probably follow this blog for the pictures more than anything.  The fact that this is #5 should tell you a lot about the photography... seriously good food photography.  Best Recent Post: Taste of Sydney Media Launch (great photography!)

4)  Eat Drink or Die - Food video instructional website co-founded and frequently posted on by Tom Colicchio.  It is really fun to watch this guy cook.  He really does have the right to rip apart the contestants on Top Chef.  Fantastic cook.  Best Recent Post: Roasted Tomato Risotto

3)  Coconut & Lime - Another blog with fantastic photography.  This site is geared more towards recipes, fantastic all 100% original recipes.  Most of them are ethnic food recipes too.  Big plus for me.  Yes, there are bigger, more polished blogs out there, but this is an up-and-comer.  Best Recent Post: Hawaiian Pulled Chicken

2)  jamieoliver.com - If I could switch lives with one chef it would be Jamie Oliver.  He lives on an organic vegetable farm and has a house with 3 kitchens and an outside wood burning oven.  He has several award winning restaurants and television shows AND he dresses wacky and pulls it off.  I'd rather not have his teeth, he's British.  

1)  Serious Eats - Hundreds of updates a week.  Dozens of contributers.  Top Chef commentary.  Batali and Bourdain rappin' about food.  Burger reviews.  It is my one stop shop for food(ie) updates.  Best Recent Post: Too many to count... but if I have to choose, The McNuggetini HA!

There you have it folks!  Go forth, cook, eat, and enjoy!

Hump Day Food Quote

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." - James Beard

The Well Rounded Blog: Shaggy Dog

The Well Rounded Blog is the weekly post dedicated to things other than food. It is my effort to avoid turning into "That Guy That Only Talks About Food."

This is Marley.  He is our dog.  He needs a haircut.

In true man fashion, he asked me to chronicle his haircut, noting the different styles along the way.  Enjoy!

The Simba. 

a.k.a. The Lion King, 

a.k.a. The Ghost in the Darkness

The Simba required a lot of hair to be shaved.  Most of it in one big sheet... like a sheep.

Yes, that's his tail at the bottom.

Later we made a blanket.

The Anti-Pedro.

a.k.a. My Body was so hot I shaved it.

a.k.a. My head is to big for my body.

The Lumberjack.

a.k.a. The Zac Brown Band

a.k.a.  Pitt

The Fu Manchu.

a.k.a. Dog Quixote

a.k.a. Splinter

The Final Product

Looking good dog!

One last pic....

The Aftermath.

a.k.a.   A pile of hair.

a.k.a.  A mess.

Monday Morsels: Apple Pandowdy

Monday Morsels is my weekly recipe post. It will not have exact measurements nor will it have exact cooking times. So if you are looking for that kind of recipe, go raid your grandma's recipe rolodex.

I am not a big baker.  It's too precise.  Too many measuring instruments.  Too many mixing bowls and other stuff.  It just doesn't float my boat.  

I'd love to get into it but i just never do.  Thats why I was surprised at how easy this Apple Pandowdy was.

It was one pan the whole time, minimal measurements, and just a few ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 pounds apples (half tart, half sweet) cut into slices

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup apple cider

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsps. lemon juice

2 tsps. cornstarch

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 sheet puff pastry

1 egg white

3 tbsp. white sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.  Saute apples with the butter until they are soft (10 min).  Mix cider, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and cornstarch.  Add to apples and cook for 5 more minutes.  Cover with puff pastry, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 for 20 mins.  Let it stand for 10 minutes after baking (hardest part).  

Serve with vanilla ice cream and thank me later.

This Week in Food!

We've been cooking so much at home the blog hasn't had time to catch up.  So many meals, so little time to blog.  So without further ado, "This Week in Food":

This week in food started off with an amazing creation from my wife.  Cauliflower Mac'n'cheese is my new favorite side dish.  Thanks love, it was a wonderful start to the week!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese: 6 types of cheese and grapes with honey mustard.  This was a snack made for my lady.  I may have overdone it.

Valentine's Day Meal: Asian Apps

We are not big Valentine's Day people.  We do, however, use the day as an excuse to cook a nice meal or go to a really nice restaurant.  This year, we cooked.  Appetizers are great because you can eat 5 different mini meals and not feel like a tub of lard afterwards (definitely a must on V-Day). 

Assembling pork pot stickers.

Cooking said pot stickers.

Grilled Chicken Satay.  I know, they look delicious.  Even better with peanut sauce.

Rounding out the finished plate are egg rolls (homemade!) and chicken stir fry spinach salad.

I'm not big on making desserts, but that may change.  This is an Apple Pandowdy.  It's cooked in a skillet and it is as tasty as it is beautiful.  Recipe coming soon.