What's Cookin' Wednesday - Tasty Food

I had an epiphany over the weekend.

I really like to cook. And I like cooking for people.

Aimee spent Friday afternoon with the girls relaxing around the pool at our friends house. Actually it was too hot for the pool so they socialized around the basement bar.

Guys were allowed to show up after 5PM and it was my task to cook for the women, I volunteered. I bought all of the necessary ingredients to make four grilled pizzas. Scott picked up stuff to make one of his pizzas also.

I was ready to make:

• White Sauce Seafood pizza
• Chicken BBQ
• Mexican
• Traditional Pepperoni and Mushroom

Since Scott had a pizza to make so I only made the first two. His pizza being the third was enough for dinner. Scott's pizza was interesting to say the least. He used:

• White Sauce
• 1 can sauerkraut, drained.
• 1 can crushed pineapple, drained.
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled.
• Mozzarella cheese

Despite the odd ingredients it was very tasty.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to serve up my pizzas. They were quite tasty and everyone said they really enjoyed the flavors. Scott had never grilled pizza so I provided some instruction as he cooked his recipe. I think he is converted over to grilled pizza.

So my new mantra in the kitchen is


It really put a smile on my face seeing how much everyone enjoyed the food I prepared. There is comfort and friendship when we share a meal with those we love.

Of course I love cooking for or with Aimee. We make a good team in the kitchen. We aren't afraid of trying new things or changing up a recipe.

I made some great burgers Monday night for Aimee and I.

I shall call them: Ultimate Taco Burgers

I chopped up mushrooms, shallots and a seeded jalapeno. I used shallots because I didn't have a regular onion.

Saute the mixture until everything is softened. Combined the mixture with one pound ground beef and bread crumbs. I used Panko because...well...I didn't have any regular breadcrumbs.

I didn't measure any of the ingredients. Why bother? That's half the fun of cooking...being spontaneous.

I chopped until I thought I had enough.

I dumped in the Panko until I thought I had enough.

Then I added some homemade taco seasoning, recipe found at allrecipes.com. I used about half of the recipe and also coated the outside of the patties with the seasoning when I placed the burgers on the grill.

Over high heat I seared the burgers for 2 minutes. Of course the thickness of the burgers determines how long they should cook.

When I flipped the burgers I turned down the heat to medium-low and added raw spinach and cheddar cheese on top.

The lower heat would still cook the burger but also wilt the spinach/melt the cheese.

When I pulled the burgers from the grill we topped them with guacamole.

These were some tasty burgers. Honestly they were the best I have ever made.

So even in the kitchen I like to get my Game On.

Bon Appetit