http://www.platinumchef.com Delightful (and Disastrous) Culinary Experiments! Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:26:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's been a while since I've posted.  Ever since I've moved to Boston, life's been a bit busy and I haven't found too much time to practice my favorite pass-time that is cooking.  So without further ado, here's a quick update... My girlfriend and I found some motivation to cook this ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2008/09/09/weekend-cooking/ Ladies and gentlemen, as you can tell from the long time lag between my posts, I've fallen off my 52-weeks challenge. Life's just been a bit busy lately. Even though I don't have time to cook a new dish every consecutive week, I do get in a new ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2008/03/23/dishes-7-and-8/ I've been MIA and it's time to catch up on postings for my 52 Weeks Challenge. Inspiration for week 5, Jalapeño Turkey Burger, came from a restaurant called Fatty's Cafe in Astoria, NY. While dining there with my girlfriend, I had one of the most amazing turkey burgers ever. ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2008/02/12/week-5-and-6/ During week 3, I had some buddies over for some warmth-inducing udon noodle bowls. I've been making udon noodles bowls quite often lately trying to get the soup base just right and the right mixture of extraneous "stuff" to accompany the udon. So that's not the new dish. ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/12/24/weeks-3-and-4/ Dishes for weeks 1 and 2 of my 52 weeks challenge (cooking a new dish every week) were of Japanese origin. Week 1 was chicken and egg on brown rice, where the sauce is a blend of mirin, soy sauce, onions, dashi, and sugar. Week 2 was all about ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/12/15/weeks-1-and-2/ In an effort to expand my culinary know-how, I'm going on a personal challenge.  I will be cooking a new dish every week for 1 year, which means that I'll be learning to cook 52 new dishes by the same time next year. Would you join in on this challenge as ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/12/15/52-weeks-challenge/ A quick post about a couple dishes from this past weekend. First up is the awesome casserole baked by my girlfriend. Loads of handmade potato hash browns, broccoli chunks, Italian sausages, eggs, soymilk, and cheese all come together for this fantastic Saturday morning brunch: Then comes a hearty and ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/12/12/awesome-casserole-and-moroccan-stew/ I've been snacking like crazy on these addictive dried sweet potato wedges that I get from the nearby Chinese supermarket. They're chewy, slightly sweet, filling, and apparently ranks #1 in vegetable nutrition. I'm sure they're way better than all the fatty potato chips and candy you'll find in ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/12/05/sweet-potato-as-a-snack/ Well, sort of. I came across the Tastebook website and thought that it was a very interesting idea. A way to compile all your favorite recipes into your own custom cookbook, talk about a great gift idea. The only problem is that you can't use your own recipes. But ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/11/09/write-your-own-cookbook/ In the past few weeks, I've been busy fiddling with a variety of pizza creations. I sort of cheated by using pre-made Pillsbury Pizza Crust stuff because I didn't have the time or the talent to make my own. First off, there's the classic Hawaiian pizza (pinapple and ham) that ... http://www.platinumchef.com/2007/10/25/pizza-pizza/