I’m not gonna lie: one of the benefits of Breakup Cookbook is I get to taste-test all the meals filmed for the site. And my friend Aaron’s dinner scored high points with me for its speed, creativity and presentation. But the taste knocked it out of the park (even those die-hard East German judges gave it a 10). I normally prefer my tuna out of a can with tons of mayo; however, this has opened my eyes to the wonder that is tuna steak – you only need to sear it for about a minute on both sides, and it doesn’t taste nearly as fishy as Chicken of the Sea.
But the real star of this meal is the potatoes. We used Yukon gold, which Aaron boiled in cream instead of water. Once they were ready he added what looked to me like a homicidal amount of wasabi, but the cream and butter cut the sting while keeping the flavor. Though I’d had a feeling he was a good cook before I asked him to be filmed, I had no idea he was such a talent.
And speaking of talent, Aaron’s also an actor and comedian. Check out his site here and witness his star quality in the kitchen in the clip below:
This is a great recipe for finger lickin’ good chicken, courtesy of my friend Dave Caputo. (Who actually found it here.) As finger food I recommend it as a delicious and tangy alternative to buffalo wings, though you can just as easily nibble on several and call it a meal. I certainly did!
The video forthwith, followed by the recipe.
So let me let you in on a little secret. Every man over the age of 23 has a meal. It’s a prerequisite for getting through the first 5-10 dates. Or should be, if I had any say in it. Nothing beats some fresh herbs and spices, a glass of wine, and a warm oven to set the mood for some great conversation. There are a lot of men in this world who believe likewise.
I’m 35. My mother had me cooking by 7 or 8 years of age. She was blind, so I was her eyes in the kitchen. My first meal was lasagna. My second was meatloaf. I’ve had to reinvent my meals (or adopt new ones) with nearly every woman I’ve dated to fit her palette.
The recipe I’m sharing is my Brooklyn Chili Cook-Off Chili (2nd place). I started by comparing over 10 different recipes, just to get a handle on the breadth of ingredients. With each iteration (6), I logged audience reactions, and heat and sweet factors. The result is a chili that tastes sweet until it hits the back of your throat. Then the heat kicks in, and the only recourse is another spoonful of chili.
Sometimes the single life can get me down, but luckily, I happen to live two blocks from a gorgeous Italian. That’ll snap you out of it real quick. Rocco’s also charming and sweet AND makes a risotto that’ll knock your socks off. It didn’t take much convincing to get him to share his tricks from the Old Country, which interestingly doesn’t involve ancient Roman secrets, but instead a good old-fashioned Cuisinart. Watch the maestro at work. I was glad I did. I’d never heard food described as “beautiful” so much before, but when we sat down to eat I could understand the sentiment. It was also a great way to get me to eat my veggies (hear that, Mama Mia?). Great Italian dinner made for me by a smoking hot Italian? In Italy you might say che bella, but my country that’s known as a win-win. Thank you, Breakup Cookbook!
