BUTTER MY CINNAMON TOAST

December 4, 2008
Spread it, sprinkle it, toast it, taste it

Spread it, sprinkle it, toast it, taste it

Ever have one of those mornings where you have someone in your bed who you’d like to keep there?  The problem is they are hungry, and, if you can get your mind off the next position you want to try, you’d realize you would eat a camel carcass and ask for hot sauce.  Making something impressive like pancakes would take forever and delay why you’re making the grub in the first place.  Plus your fridge is filled only with condiments, beer and ½ a loaf of half stale bread.  This is the perfect time to get your bread buttered.  Cinnamon toast to the rescue with 30 seconds of preparation, 3 minutes of toasting, 5 minutes of eating and 45 minutes of headboard banging.  Spread and sprinkle, baby!

cinnamon-toast-prep1Ingredients (for 2):
1. 2 slices of white or wheat bread
2. 1 tablespoon of sugar
3. 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
4. two knife spread of butter

Step 1
Spread butter across each slice of bread slice massage oil into taut shoulders.  Sprinkle enough cinnamon to leave its mark on the butter, then smother in shiny white sugar.
cinnamon-toast-spread-sprinkle
Step 2
Slide the ready-to-rock bread into the toaster oven and set to medium/brown and let it roll.  You’ll know you’re in the money when the sugar and cinnamon crystallize.  Serve that diamond up and enjoy the ride.
cinnamon-toast-toasting


FLAT ON YOUR BACK FLATBREAD PIZZA

October 24, 2008

Flatbread pizza + wine = boom-chicka-wa-wa

This recipe has been an old stand that never fails to make panties drop.  It also works great for parties because it’s fast, simple, aesthetically pleasing, low in carbs, and makes you look like America’s Next Top Chef.  For some reason, this deceivingly simple dish gets me more props than a high school drama student.  You can throw almost any combination of cheeses, meats and veggies to make your own masterpiece, but below is a classic crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:
1. 1 Lavash flatbread
2. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
3. 1 handful of spinach
4. 1 half a red pepper sliced thinly
5. ½ a chicken sausage link sliced thinly
6. 1 handful of mozzarella cheese
7. Thin slices of brie (1/4 of a triangle of brie)

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil over the lavash and spread it around evenly.

Step 2
Place the veggies, meat and cheese over the lavash.  It’s best to do veggies first, meat second and cheese last to hold your ingredient down.  Like a pizza crust, make sure to leave some room around the edges so it’s easy to hold onto.

Step 3
Place pizza in the oven and bake for about ten minutes.  The goal is to have the lavash crust golden brown.

Step 4
Remove from oven and chop into 6-8 pieces.  One cut long ways and either two or three cuts short ways then serve with a bottle of wine. Go get em, tiger!

Variations:
•    Fig jam, brie, thin pear slices, candied walnuts
•    Beets, goat cheese, artichoke hearts


CHEESY MEATY DATES

October 23, 2008
A Cheesy Meaty Date for your charming magical date.

A Cheesy Meaty Date for your charming magical date.

Appetizers and wine are usually all you need in the spirit of  “keeping it casual.”  This little ditty makes you look like a fancy French gourmand, ooh la la!  If this dish takes you any longer than 7 minutes to prepare then you probably too drunk, stupid, or both.  For an extra classy touch, have the dates cooking as your date walks in the door.  So impressed they will be, the fact these finger foods were an afterthought will be completely lost.

Ingredients:
1. 7 jellybean-sized chunks of goat cheese
2. 7 fresh medjoula dates split and de-pitted
3. 7 thin strips of bacon (turkey and veggie bacon work great)

Step 1
Stuff each split date with a piece of goat cheese and push them back together.   Wrap a bacon strip around each date.

Step 2
Place the dates on a section of tinfoil turned up on the sides so no grease runs.  Place in broiler (easy with a toaster oven) and cook until bacon browns.  Allow to cool and let them loose along with her animalistic attraction to you.
Variations:
•    Stuff with brie or bleu cheese
•    Wrap with prosciutto instead and serve cold


APPLETASTIC NIPPLERS

October 23, 2008
Sorry, babe.  This dish is the apple of my eye.

Sorry, babe. This dish is the apple of my eye.

Crisis mode!  You have been obsessing over your hair or possibly a microscopic zit and now your date is minutes away.  Dinner is nowhere in sight.  No problem.   You can have this simple recipe ready by the time they walk through the door ready to put something in their mouth!  This also kills at dinner parties and potlucks where you can dazzle the single hotties their with your prowess…in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
1. 1 apple sliced into slices the size of thick potato chips
2. slices of brie cheese equal in size to the apple
3. candied walnuts or pecans (found at most grocery stores)

Step 1
Take an apple slice and place a brie slice above and then a candied walnut on top.  Repeat until you have enough.

Step 2
Serve it up with some wine either before dinner or just say fuck it and drink the wine and get down to business.