Yum Yum

Earlier this month I went to Kabuto's Japanese Steakhouse for lunch.  Now, I've been there plenty of times but it seems each time, I fall more in love with the food.  Now, I love hibachi steak and chicken and the rice and vegetables aren't bad either.  But they aren't my favorite thing at the restaurant.  What keeps me going back is the white sauce that they serve with the food.  I absolutely love this sauce and could eat it on just about anything.  After my last visit, I decided to get on the internet and see if I could find the recipe for this delightful condiment.  After a couple of weeks of searching, I think I finally found it on Kitchen Cooking Recipes.  Apparently this sauce goes by many names:  yum yum sauce (hence the title of this post), yummy sauce, shrimp sauce (even though it contains no shrimp) and sakura sauce.  I don't care what you call it, I call it delicious.  After all, to borrow a quote from Shakespeare, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  So if you like this sauce like I do, read on for the recipe after the break.

Spice Up Your Life

So what kind of food blog would this be without including something about spices?  Not much of one, that's for sure.  Some may argue that this isn't much of a blog anyway but hey, they are entitled to their opinion. Now when we talk about spices, everyone has their favorites and the go-to spices that they use on a regular basis. I searched on the internet for what people considered to be their essential spices.  You know, the spices that you simply cannot due without and that everyone should have in their cabinet or spice rack.  While there is no consensus, everyone has different tastes after all, I did find some interesting articles on the subject.  After the break, I will share one of them that lists what the author believes to be the essential spices you should have on hand at all times.

Buffalo Wings or Egg Rolls?

Well, the SuperBowl is a couple of weeks away and it is time to start planning all the snacks for the big game.  It seems every year someone wants buffalo wings and somebody else wants egg rolls.  So this year I am thinking, "Why not combine the two?"  That's right, I am talking about Buffalo Chicken Rolls.  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.  And you can't have egg rolls or buffalo wings without a dipping sauce.  Since we are rolling with a spicy theme here, I decided to pair these with a Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce.  Hmmm, I wonder what these would taste like with fry sauce?  I may have to try that out too.  

Red Velvet Anyone?

So I was watching TV the other night and there was a show on The Food Network (Drive-Ins, Diners and Dives maybe?) and I saw a rather interesting food item.  It combined two foods that I love but would have never thought of combining.  Red velvet cake and pancakes.  That's right, red velvet pancakes.  Now when I heard it on TV I immediately turned into Scooby Doo and went, "HUH?"  But then as I watched the preparation of this odd combination, I was fascinated.  So I then went off in search of the recipe for this delectable dish.  Well, I found it and I decided to share it with you.

Well, I asked Aida

I was bouncing around the matrix (commonly known as the internet) looking for something to fix for dinner tonight and I came across a recipe from Aida Mollenkamp for Shoyu Chicken. I've had this once before back when I lived in Michigan but I haven't had it since I have lived here in Tennessee. I am debating whether or not to fix this for dinner tonight. I still haven't made up my mind but when and if I prepare this dish, I will update you on the results. Until then, check out the recipe after the break.

Blog Beat #1 - January 2011

Lately I have been checking out a lot of different blogs on my phone and have actually started following several of them. These wonderful people have taken the time to share their recipes and love of cooking with the world and because of that, I decided to create a monthly Blog Beat. Blog Beat will be my monthly post highlighting what I believe to be some of the most awesome food blogs out there in The Matrix we call the Internet. Remember, these selections are merely my opinion and are simply blogs that I have found (through one way or another) and have continued to follow or visit on a regular basis.

To start off with, I recently opened The Daily Buzz from Foodbuzz in my email and saw a recipe for Chicken Satay. After reading the recipe, I thought to myself that I needed to check out the blog hosting this wonderful sounding dish. So I headed over to Joelen's site and check it out. All I could say was wow! Her blog is wonderfully designed and very entertaining and that''s not even considering the recipes. They are out of this world. So if you get the chance, head over to What's Cookin, Chicago? and check out Joelen's culinary creations.

My next blog of note is Picky Palate. This blog is full of wonderful ideas and recipes and Jenny seems to put a lot of effort into it. Check out her Alotta Muffuletta which you can find here or visit her blog's home page here.

Do you want good food made from scratch? Then you need to check out Mel's blog Mel's Kitchen Cafe. 82000+ hits this week alone? She definitely has something going on over there. Check her out here and I guarantee you won't be sorry.

What do you get when you combine chow mein noodles with butterscotch and chocolate? You get Chocolate Haystacks which is just one of the delicious recipes that is being served up by Nikki on her blog Pennies on a Platter. Do yourself a favor and bookmark this one now.

Well, that wraps up this edition of Blog Beat and is just a small sampling of the many blogs that I check on a regular basis. For more blogs of interest, check out my links on the right or head over to Foodie Blogroll for many more interesting food-related blogs.

It's a new year so let's start new

Well, it has been a couple of months since I have posted anything on here and it is not because I haven't wanted to. I've just been that busy. But since this is the beginning of a new year (it's 2011 already?) I have decided to be more dedicated to posting on my blog. So I hope that all my readers (all three of you) will continue to support my blog and follow me throughout the year.

With that out of the way, let's talk about food. For those of you that have followed this blog from the beginning know that one of the first recipes I ever posted was for rum balls. Well, this holiday season, I decided to make them again for the folks I work with but decided to try a little something different. When I took my new concoction to work and my friends tried it, well, let's just say that the responses were very enthusiastic. So much so, that I have decided to share my newest recipe with you here. So I hope you enjoy my recipe for Kahlua Balls.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!