Using my older salsa recipe I changed it up a bit using canned San Marzano tomatoes. Yeah, canned tomatoes for salsa? Trust me. San Marzano.

So I used the other chicken from my Beer Can BBQ chicken recipe for these enchiladas. Great decision. If you don't want all that work, just go buy a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store - they're packed with flavor too.

So what you'll need:
Corn Tortillas
Shredded Chicken (use a food processor and pulse or just pick apart with your hands)
1lb Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 Avocado
1 Small container, Creme Fraiche

For the Avocado Creme Fraiche:
Add a soft, ripe avocado to a food processor
Add the Creme Fraiche
Good pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper.
Pulse until chunky-smooth. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.

To assemble Enchiladas:
Tortilla
Verde Sauce
Chicken
Cheese
Roll

Repeat.

Once all done, top off with the remaining cheese. Cook at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Green Sauce/Salsa Verde:

1 pounds green tomatillos
1 green pepper
1 or 2 jalapenos
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup water, more might be needed
1 tablespoon salt

For the sauce, clean the thin dry skins off the tomatillos. Broil all the peppers until the skins are charred. About 10 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes then, peel the skins, puree in a food processor. This should yield about 3 cups; if sauce seems too thick, thin with chicken stock or water. Set aside.

Beer can chicken. Boom! Looking for a super moist flavor packed chicken that's SUPER easy to prepare and cook? Here you go.

Considering you can buy whole all day roasted chicken from the store for near the same price as buying whole chickens, you might think, why bother? For pride! No seriously, those rotisserie chickens are great and packed with flavor but not BBW Beer Can Chicken Flavor! And this is super simple to make.

I used a Weber charcoal grill, since making the switch from gas. There's a little learning curve, but it's worth it, I think... So far, so good.

To start, I recommend these beer can holders which you can get from your local Bed, Bath & Beyond (I've seen them there). It's much easier to keep the chicken stable while cooking, as opposed to just popping a beer in the cavity and attempting to balance them yourself.

Technique:

Start up your gas grill on high heat and if you're using charcoal, fill up a chimney starter full of coal. Light it. When the charcoal has fired up about 60%, pour the coals in one side of the grill. You'll use the other side of the grill for indirect heat. Keep the lid off while you sear. I'll explain more in the instructions.

For the beer can, pop them up. Any kind of NON-LIGHT beer. Then poke some extra holes around the upper sides where the lip starts to bend. Why? My moisture to release!

For the rub:

1/2 Cup Lowry's seasoning

1/4 Cup Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)

1 Tbs Smoked Paprika

1 Tbs of Onion Powder

1 Tbs of White Pepper

1 Tbs Cracked Pepper

Good Pinch of Thyme

Good Pinch of Smoked Sea Salt. If you don't have this, I highly recommend it, but don't worry about it if you don't have it. It just has this awesome smokiness to it.

Soaked Mesquite Wood Chips if you've got them.

Other ingredients:

1 Cup Dry White Wine

2 Cans of non-light Beer

2 Chickens!

Technique:

1) Start the grill

2) Mix all ingredients with your fingers

3) Also with your fingers, separate as much of the skin from the breast and other areas as you can. Don't worry, you can be surprisingly strong attempt to separate. Slip your hand on the meat and separate the skin.

4) Season the chicken with the rub. Inside and out. Liberally.

5) 1 Cup Dry White Wine

Meanwhile, pour out the charcoal. About 60% of it should be fire up, leaving the remaining to ignite later. Put the grate on. Let it heat up. About 1-2 minutes. Clean your grates!

Sear the chicken, breast side down. Let it get crusty! About 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn, but if you, don't worry, it's just the skin. Flip, repeat.

Remove from the grill, put in an pan or something similar, pour the white wine over the chicken and in and out.

Set in the beer in the beer holders, and mount the chickens. Add a grill pan or something to catch the drippings on the side of the grill that doesn't have the charcoal (put the pan near the charcoal).

Pop in a mesquite wood ship, make sure the holes on the bottom AND top of the grill are open, and cover. Come back in 30-45 minutes to add more wood chips, etc... Let it cook for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Seriously.

Once done, it should look like the picture. Remove from grill, be careful, and let sit for about 15 minutes to retail all its moisture.

A pea sauce? Hey, when you've got kids and you're trying to get vegetables in them you try anything. And if you don't have kids, you probably think I'm crazy, and if you do, you probably know all too well what I'm talking about. The sauce was simple. Peas, some butter, some olive oil, and definitely a lot of salt and pepper to bring up the level of seasoning.

As for the ravioli's, well, I have a lot to learn. I ended up making about 20 and these are the few that turned out OK. I really enjoy eating ravioli and now I have a great respect for anyone that can and/or has mastered making these from scratch. The pasta is simple. And actually when made all the ravioli's they looked great, but after cooking, that's when about 25% of them just fell apart. Why? Technique I assume. First time for everything and this time it's clear that I have a lot to learn! Oh well, practice, practice, practice, and the bottom line is? The kids devoured it and I should I found this BEFORE I attempted it on my own!

Score 1 for the parents trying to get some good stuff in their kids!

For the filling:
4 Large Mushrooms, sliced, chopped
7 Artichoke Hearts
2 Medium Italian Sausages (medium heat) about 1/2 lb
4 Scallions sliced thin
1 Garlic Clove, Crushed, Sliced
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1/2 fresh Mozzarella, chopped, into small chunks
Drab of Olive Oil to help the sausage cook
Salt
Pepper

1) Start with the sausage. Remove the casing, crumble and heat in a saute pan with a drab of olive oil. Once the browning occurs add the mushrooms and garlic with some salt (to draw out the moisture of the mushrooms), and then add a good amount of pepper.

2) Once the mushrooms start shrinking due to lose of moisture, add the scallions and wine. Reduce until the wine is gone. About 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Once the moisture seems so be gone (tilt the pan, any liquids?) remove from the heat and add to a food processor.

3) In the food processor, pulse the ingredients until consistency reduces into small bits - NOT a paste!

4) To assemble, mozzarella, and then spoon some of the mixture on top. Cook the ravioli's in boiling water for 3-5 minutes.


For the Pea Sauce:
1 small bag frozen peas
2 tbls Butter
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Cup of the Water that cooked the peas

1) I took 1 small bag of frozen peas and cooked them through, reserve some of the water, about a cup, that they're cooking in.

2) Add to a blender along with 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Add 1/2 the reserve water and blend. Check the consistency. Make it what you like. Add a lot of salt and pepper to taste.

Not the most complex sauce (lol) but my kids ate it - score!

So yesterday was a big day of cooking. Yeah, I know, on Father's Day. It started off with my new pasta rollers where proclaimed I'd never buy store bought pasta again, you know, the boxed stuff. Then I pulled out the TriTip and grilled it up, along with, you-gotta-have garlic bread and some grilled asparagus.

Now with asparagus, I've seen it done where they actually take out the peeler and use it on the outer skin of the asparagus. And I have to say, if you're going to be doing any sort of marinating of the asparagus - do this! It seems to hold more of the flavor of whatever you're trying to infuse as a result of the thicker skin being removed.

Ingredients:
Asparagus
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Fresh Lemon
1 Tablespoon of Mayo
Salt
and a Lot of Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Method:
Peel the Asparagus

Add all ingredients in a small mixing bowl except the olive oil, and then drizzle and whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning.

Pour over the asparagus, marinate for at least 30 minutes. Grill on Medium-High turning once for about 3-5 minutes.

So I was fortunate enough to get this pasta roller attachment set by KitchenAid for Father's Day, and wow, am I impressed at how easy it is to make and roll pasta, but even more amazed at how much better it taste than the hard, store bought stuff, no matter the brand. This stuff is amazing. The pasta itself is light and fluffy and you're not left over with a hearty heavy feeling. It's really the only way to enjoy a pasta, marinara, carbonara, fettuccine, etc., etc... The ONLY way. If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer that can take attachments, please give this a shot. You will not be dissapointed.

Total time until we ate was about 45 minutes, and that includes the 20 minutes you need to let the pasta dough rest.

Try Mario Batali's pasta recipe.

Just note, I did modify this every so slightly... I added about 1-2 tablspoons of water and about 1/2 tablespoon of salt.

The sauce is just San Marzano tomatoes (Canned), some ground beef and salt and pepper, and onions...

I also HIGHLY recommend this sauce, which can be bought at Kowalski's.

Bearnaise sauce with halibut? Yeah, it works. Trust me. The sauce, typically served along side a succulent piece of tender beef also seems to work with this meaty fish.

I'm not really a big fish eat and neither is my family, but we need to be. For one, the Omega 3 fatty acids it offers are great for our hearts and help prevent in heart disease and reduce cholesterol levels. Yeah, that piece of fish. The Bearnaise sauce on the other, probably offsets the benefits of the halibut just a little bit. ;)

I'm a big proponent of simple ingredients, namely because, I'm not a culinary educated person - but would love to be. Cooking fish can be intimidating and truth be told this was my second time. My first attempt was fresh salmon. This turned out great. It was juicy and the sauce added a great element.

So give it a shot and don't let the Bearnaise sauce scare you.

Recipe for the bearnaise sauce, follow Tyler Florence's direction. It turned out great. I even minced up a couple cloves of garlic for some added punch.

Ingredients:
4 Pieces of Fresh Halibut, or as fresh as you can get. Avoid the frozen fish.
1lb baby potatoes (sometimes referred to as "new potatoes.")
Juice of 1 Lemon and the Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Large cucumber, sliced thin (like circles). I used a mandolin.
Olive Oil to coat the potatoes
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1) Combine some olive oil (to coat all the potatos), the juice of 1 lemon and the zest of one lemon, add salt and pepper and toss. Cut the potatoes length wise in half. Add to a baking tray. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and roast for 45-60 minutes. Roast.

2) Start the bearnaise

3) Season the fish, both sides, salt and pepper. Start a skillet on medium high heat, add some olive oil and cook approximately 4-5 minutes on each side. Just watch the fish. You'll start to see it cook. It's going to turn more white than it already is. Flip and do the same. If you stop hearing the sizzle, this is bad, add a little more olive oil - or worst case, you dried it out. ;)

4) Set the fish aside when cooked, plate however you wish! Just pay close attention to that bearnaise sauce!!!

So I'm on a carbonara streak and I can't help it. I like the stuff. Check that, love the stuff. It's just a different type of pasta most probably aren't accustom to and the idea of putting eggs in a pasta dish may not seem all that appetite-appealing. Last week I made a pancetta carbonara dish that turned out pretty good, and I learned a couple lessons while making that version of a carbonara. This one was a little different, no heating and continously beating eggs. And instead of milk or cream, I used some of the oil that the artichoke is stored in - that was a great decision.

Ingredients:
1lb Spaghetti cooked Al Dente
2 Cups of Artichoke Hearts
6 Cloves of Garlic, Sliced
Zest of 1 Lemon and 1/4 of it for the juice
1/3lb Good Bacon, cubed
1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
1/2 Cup Oil used to store Arichokes
4 Egg Yolks
1 Cup Finely Grated Parmesan
Salt and Pepper
Italian Parsely, Finely Chopped for Garnish

1) Start a pot boiling, add about 2tbls of Salt. The water should be salty, like the sea. Trust me. That's the difference between good pasta and great pasta.

2) Start the bacon rendering in a saute pan over medium. When the fat starts melting add the onion and garlic. Continue to cook until the onions are wilted and even a little brown and the bacon and garlic is crispy. Don't burn the garlic. It can be light brown. Burning it will make it bitter, but the light brown will add a nice texture and crunch to the dish.

3) Once done, get a plate, cover it with a couple sheets of paper towel and dump the mixture from the saute pan over.

4) Separate the yolks from 4 eggs. Add to a bowl and whisk.

5) Add the parmesan in with the eggs and wisk some more. Then add the artichoke oil and stir to combine well. It will be thick. Don't worry. Now add the lemon zest and the juice of about 1/4 lemon, stir again.

6) Once the pasta is near done, start tempering in some of the pasta water into the egg and parmesan mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time to a total of 1 to 1.5 cups. The hot water will help to melt the cheese. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and go crazy with the peppermill. Seriously, add a nice amount of pepper

7) Now add the artichoke to the saute pan with the garlic, onion and bacon. Stir to combine. Add the drained pasta. Now pour over the egg, artichoke oil and parmesan mixture.

8) Combine well. Finish with more finely grated parmesan and some italian parsely for garnish

So I really don't have much to add here. This is Pancetta Carbonara and it's GOOD! Very good. Ok, very, very good! I found the recipe from my buddy, Tyler Florence. Check out his picture. Yeah, my photo depicts a family style dish and as you can see, my sabayon was slightly overdone, but it still tasted great (sabayon can turn into a custard and be used in a lot of desserts). The reason it was over done? I didn't trust what Tyler wrote in the instructions for sabayon. He said, "It should be frothy and creamy when done." But I couldn't get it out of my head thinking, there's no way, it's not thick, it needs to be thick. Follow the instructions and learn from my mistake!

I used freshly made spinach noodles. Why? Since the kids are having a difficult time eating vegetables - now they're embedded in the noodles! And man were they better than the stuff out of the box. The pancetta adds a saltiness to the dish, but not enough for my taste, so I added some to the sabayon, to taste. Also, keep in mind that the parmesan will add salt too to the dish.


Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Yield: serves 4

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

2 recipes of fresh pasta dough, rolled out and cut as spaghetti

extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 lb pancetta, cut into thin strips

7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 bag (about 3 cups) baby spinach

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Parmesan Sabayon:

6 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan

plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Begin by rolling and cutting the fresh pasta into spaghetti. Toss in a little flour to stop the noodles from sticking together and spread out on a sheet tray to dry while you prepare the dish.

Set a large pan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta, stirring occasionally until crispy. About halfway through, add the thinly sliced garlic and cook until golden. Drain pancetta and garlic on a paper towel. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm (“al dente”, as they say in Italian) 2 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta. Drain, and put the pasta into a big pasta bowl.

Make the parmesan sabayon. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, milk and cream. Set over a double boiler and vigorously mix with an immersion blender until it just starts to thicken and suspends a little – about 7-8 minutes. It should be frothy and creamy when done. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper and parmesan and mix once more to combine. Pour the sabayon over the noodles and mix gently with tongs so the pasta is well coated. Portion out amongst bowls, top with a spoonful of crispy pancetta and garlic and a small handful of baby spinach. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a few turns of freshly ground black pepper and some grated parmesan.

So here's version II of the Master Sandwich but this one is actually by a master, Thomas Keller. Now, if you claim to be a "foodie" and don't know who Thomas Keller is - well - you don't know all that much - I'm just sayin... (kidding, relax)

The sandwich is very rich due to the runny egg, rich smoked bacon, and crazy awesome havarti cheese. The cheese is actually a Horseradish Dill Havarti that I bought from the local gourmet grocery store, Kowalskis.

The title should really be called, The Ultimate Bacon Lettuce Tomato Cheese sandwich, but I'm sticking with, The Master Sandwich II. Because if you could taste it, you would definitely know what I mean. I combined that with a tangy garlic-lemon vinaigrette with frisse greens - the seemingly perfect combination because the frisse tends to be a tad bitter whereas the acid and salt seem, at least to me, to balance it out.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3-4 Slices Thick Smoked Bacon (good stuff, go to the butcher)
2 Slices of Peppered Havarti Cheese (Keller used Monterry Jack - both rock)
2 Slices of great bread. Seriously. Not Wonder bread.
1 Tablespoon of Mayo
4 Slices of Thick Tomatoes
1 Slice of Red Onion
Butter Lettuce
1 Teaspoon of Butter (I used European Butter, seriously, try it. Insanely good!)
1 Egg

Method:

1) Start the bacon crisping on medium heat turning as needed. Be careful not to burn.

2) Spread the butter on one side of both pieces of bread. Toast the buttered side until golden brown

3) Slice up the Tomatoes. Slice the Red Onion

4) Once the bread is browned, flip it, add the cheese, and melt. Cheese should ooze.

5) Remove the bacon when done set on a papertowel

6) Remove the bread, buttered side down now and spread the mayo

7) Fry the egg, crack it whole, and cook until the whites appear solid, then flip. Cook a little more. You don't want the yolk cooked through.

8) Add the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper

9) Add the bacon, butter lettuce, onions, and add the egg.

10) Slice it down the middle and enjoy!

As you can see, there are some changes coming... And some kinx to be worked out. :)

So here’s a recipe I saw on TV by Giada De Laurentiis, Chicken Burgers with Garlic-Rosemary Mayonnaise, but the thought of combing Mayo and Rosemary didn’t do it for me that evening. It is a good combination but at the time, I wasn’t in the mood for the powerfulness that is Rosemary, so I thought, change it up and combine Garlic, Basil, Mayo, and some scallions in addition to the chicken mixture – now we’re talking. The recipe itself seemed a little boring, lacking texture so I change it up by adding the white parts of scallions and some celery, which you really couldn’t taste, but it added a nice crunch.

So my recipe evolved from hers. Still her recipe, but change is good!

Ingredients

Mayonnaise:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced, crushed
• 2 Scallions, just the green parts (slice up the white parts for the burgers)
• salt and pepper to taste – very important!
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (seriously awesome stuff)

Burgers:

• 1 pound ground chicken. I actually took whole chicken breasts and put them in the food processor. Worked great.
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ciabatta rolls or burger buns
• 2 scallions, white parts, sliced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup arugula, divided

Directions

For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, combing the mayonnaise ingredients and fold; set aside.

For the burgers: Preheat a gas or charcoal grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, celery, scallion whites, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture. Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 4 patties. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.

Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly golden.

To assemble the burgers: Spread a dollop of the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Place the chicken burgers on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each with 1/4 cup of arugula and finish with the top half of the bun