Microwave your Potatoes

R.D. loves infomercial... I mean LOVES infomercial! I must admit I love them too, and have fallen into a few traps. We just sitting around being our usual couch potatoes when an infomercial came on for the amazing MICRO- CHIP POTATO CHIP MAKER! And of course R.D. wanted to get this... but I said why can't you make your own. Let's see if the potatoes will really come crispy like chips.

So, R.D. went to work, found a brownie box and cut slits, then cut the potatoes. After a few minutes in the microwave... we had crispy chips... and they were pretty good!

Mussels

After going to a Thai restaurant and ordering mussels steamed in lemon grass, R.D. has found a new love... mussels. I decided to buy some at Shaws, they were only $5.00 for two dozen. R.D. was very happy and wanted to cook them right away. He wasn't sure how to start so we looked in the ultimate cookbook, the Joy of Cooking. It was very informative about cleaning and cook time, but not much on making a flavorful broth. So R.D. used some water and white wine. In the bamboo steamer, he put onions, garlic and fresh thyme. While cleaning the mussels R.D. found four casualties, which made the bag smell like low tide special. But, the rest were very healthy. Once they were done cooking, R.D. didn't want to share, but there were so many he didn't eat them all. He wants to try again, once we find a recipe for a better broth. I know that Bobby Flay had a throw down for mussels and fries in Maryland... we will have to do some searching or take a trip?!?!

Culinary Underground

Robbie spent two days at Culinary Underground, one of the days tuition was given to him by the instructor Lori Leinbach as a Christmas gift. The first day was all about pasta, but R.D. and his partner worked only on dessert. Unfortunately I didn't get to taste any of this, but I heard it was good. R.D. was so disappointed he did not get to work on the pasta he had to come home and try it. Tony and R.D. worked on the pasta, and I supervised (they both hated that). The pasta was great... I really wanted to taste its flavor so I had a bit of olive oil on mine, the boys had butter and cheese. Both were great!

Gordon Ramsay

I never really talked about why I named the blog What Would Ramsay Do... well the time has come. R.D. likes several celebrity chefs, but the one who tops the list... Gordon Ramsay. We all love and never miss Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, Kitchen Nightmares, and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. But, the main reason for the name, when we are in a resturant and see fingerprints on plates or the waitstaff not doing thier job. We look at each other and say, "what would Ramsay Do?"

We found that Chef Ramsay was doing a book signing in New York City. R.D, Tony and I played hooky and went to wait in line at Borders NYC! When Gordon arrived (now that we have met personal I can call him by his first name) the press was going crazy. The camera flashes were just like the movies and we held R.D. up in the air to see over the book shelves, not an easy task now that he is 11! The line went rather quickly and I started to get butterflies and so did R.D... even though I don't think he would admit it. R.D. really wanted to ask Gordon to sign his chef's coat, but he changed his mind at the last minute. It was all over so quickly and when I think back it really was like a dream... Gordon is really dreamy! I wanted a posed picture of the two of them, but we got what we got!

Tamales or Arepas?

It was Mama Dove's Birthday and I really wanted to cook with R.D. I used the good old mother's guilt and said, "for my birthday I want to cook tamales with you." This started out fine, but we had weekend of mishaps (every time we left the house something happened). We did not have the corn husks or the masa, so R.D. had the idea to make Arepas. We first saw arepas on Bobby Flay's Throw Down and they looked delicious!!! An arepa is basically an English muffin that is stuffed with savory or sweet fillings. So, we decided to use the recipe for the tamale meat along with a can of black beans to stuff the Arepas. R.D. seared the meat and chopped the onions this had to cook for several hours. There were several types of dried chili that had to be chopped and boiled (pasilla chilies, New Mexico chilies, & ancho chilies). This we did together, I was scared to touch my eyes, but R.D. just started cutting then put a piece his mouth! They were not crazy hot, R.D. thought they were quite good. After boiling the chilies and blending the mixture we had excellent sauce. The cooked meat, shredding easily with two forks, and R.D. added it to the sauce. Now onto the arepas, on the back of a package of corn meal was a recipe for the arepas, basically it was the corn meal and water. They were very easy to form, this was the part we were most worried about. R.D. managed the griddle and they came out just ok. Once we put it all together, the meat beans and cheese it was a great meal... and everyone was pretty impressed. We will definitely try this again, hopefully using the real recipe. If you ever get a chance to go Manhattan, it is a must to stop by Caracas Arepa Bar.

Award Winning Chili

In March 2008, R.D. entered our local chili competition run by the Boy Scouts. R.D. came in 2nd place... using a recipe from Tyler Florence of Food Network. Anyway.... R.D. was going on a camping trip (car camping) and decided to ask the troop leader if he could cook the chili. The answer was yes... however I took him to the store very late. By the time I we got home and R.D. went to the school dance... it would be very late to make chili, but there was no stopping R.D. So, we formed a plan I would be the good sus-chef and chop, measured and prep (which seemed to take hours). While at the dance, one of the mothers found R.D. and said "Mike is at home sick, but is still going on the camp out because of your chili." R.D. was all smiles with that compliment... soon there really will be no living with him! The camp out was a success, even in the and everyone loved the chili!

Super Bowl... go Steelers!

Super Bowl... go Steelers! For our super bowl party we each made a dish... appetizers. I made 7 layer taco dip.... but didn't count the layers who knows really how many there were! Tony made chicken skewers with a orange glaze from The Biggest Looser (recipe by Curtis Stone). Kelly made split pea soup... she is very famous around town for this recipe. R.D. made pizza fondue which he learned from Culinary Underground. The game was great, but the food was better.

Carnival Triumph

We have been on vacation (cruisin' the Caribbean) so R.D. has not been able to cook. We did however take a tour of the galley on the Carnival Triumph. The galley was VERY clean and all stainless steel, it is truly amazing all they do in that kitchen. I would say the food was OK on the boat... we have had better on other ships. R.D. did make himself known to our server, by ordering duck... our servers response, "In my 9 years on this boat, I have never had a child order duck". Now at every meal, our waiter would say something like, "Chef what's for dinner?"

Banana Bread

R.D. Made a quick banana bread, recipe from Food Network of course. In my house... banana hardly ever go bad.... so R.D. jumped at the chance to make the bread. It was a pretty easy recipe, but it was great to be in the kitchen together. I didn't taste this creation because I don't like bananas... but I hear it was good.

Smoothie or Infomercial?

R.D. spent a half hour watching of Jack LaLannne's infomercial on his amazing power juicer so of course he made juice. After squeezing a few oranges and not really getting that feeling of accomplishment, R.D. decided to make a smoothie. With some frozen fruit, orange and cranberry juices, R.D. went crazy on the blender. The smoothie came out OK, but to many seeds from the strawberries and raspberries, so he decide to strain the concoction. R.D. and Dad enjoyed the Smoothie, and I wonder if they feel younger.