You know, we’d all love to change the world, but Ben and I think small when it comes to self-improvement. I think small because personal experience has taught me that saying I’m going to do something on January 1st usually results in my doing exactly the opposite that year. I guess it’s reverse psychology that…
Category: Chef Ben Cooks!
Cuckoo for Coq au Vin
Some time ago, I was relaying a story to Phil and I ended with the disclaimer, “But, you know, he’s cuckoo for cocoa…” Before I had the chance to finish, Ben supplied the word I had obviously intended, … “vin.” Those of you in my general age range who lived for Saturday mornings when you…
One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four
Over Thanksgiving, we were in Virginia helping my parents prepare for their big move to a retirement home. We were home in Pennsylvania for two days before Phil returned to help them finish the move. In that two-day window, Phil made a batch of mashed potatoes so large that Ben and I were nearly defeated…
Bentertaining
It feels like years since we last had friends over for dinner, but the last couple weeks have seen a nice return to conviviality. We hosted a revival of “book club” with a group of friends that first started meeting before Ben was even born. When the kids were little, we often hosted because it…
Lean In
Had the blue-sky warm summer weather held even one more day, we probably would have gone with the last of summer’s bounty to cook this week, but Sunday felt like fall in Williamsport, so we put on sweatshirts and steamed up the kitchen windows roasting pork with fall veggies. Ben had been hankering for a…
Sandwich Generation
We were driving home from my Aunt Wilma’s funeral in Virginia when Ben requested cheesesteak sandwiches for our BDW meal. As I was just opening my mouth to speak, he couldn’t take a chance on anything other than a yes, so he threw in tater tots. “Ah,” said Phil, “he’s gone for your Achilles heel.”…
The Soup Counts!
Is soup a meal? According to Kenny Bania and Ben, it is not. Whenever I suggest making soup for Ben’s Day Wednesday, Ben finagles a way to add items to the meal or to avoid it altogether. This week I made his suggested grilled chicken and veggie pitas one day and had him join me…
Reverse
We are on the cutting edge here at BDW. Most food bloggers attempt to create unique dishes that reflect original recipe ideas, but we are so ahead of our time that we instead tried to copy our favorite Lean Cuisine frozen dinner. I believe this is best known as the old “switcheroo” and can be…
Everybody’s Got a Hungry Heart
This week we made taco smash burgers, or at least that’s what we are calling them because they involve smashing a burger with a tortilla, and then flipping it over and folding it in half like a taco. When I saw it on a cooking show that I was watching when very hungry – dangerous…
Truth or Consequences
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, Ben is allowed to eat out for lunch once a week. Pizza with bowling doesn’t count, and he usually gets two lunches a week where he volunteers, so that takes him down to one day of packing a lunch per week, and one day of eating out. Sometimes, Ben decides…