I Light Things On Fire and I Like It

I went for an evening of fun and mischief with my fellow cookbook challengers and a few guinea pigs. I was in charge of the appetizer.  There were many things I could I could have made. Most of them involving filling a glass with various liquors, but I went for  the Grilled Pita Pizza instead  out of the The 30 Minute Cookbook cookbook.

Up until two week ago, I had never used a grill before. The male members of my family have dominated this cooking technique.  I have been more comfortable with uncorking the bottles. Armed with a glass of Moscato & Strawberry wine by Villa Jolanda, I decided that it was time to light things on fire.

Before the Grill!

I could not find regular pitas with out them having the pockets, so I used italian flat bread as a substitute.  Arming my friends with various condiments such as pesto sauce, pizza sauce, creamed corn, caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes and capers, I let them create their own culinary surprises. We topped it all off with mozzarella  and off to the grill it went.  I got to woman the grill and it was awesome. I did not die, nor did I set the garage on fire, as I am sure the menfolk were off to the side with buckets of water, just in case.

After the Grill!

The weirdest thing to put on the pita was the creamed corn, but those that were brave enough to try it reported that it was delightfully sweet and pared well with the saltiness of the capers. In hindsight and perhaps before I actually open the condiments, I will look at what I am buying. The glass of Moscato was a great pairing with this easy and delicious appetizer.

I am looking forward to making this again and will definitely be on the lookout for the wine, since it paired so well.

Cooking Challenge Accepted

My friends, Teresa and Beth have put forth a challenge to go through all of my cookbooks.  You can read about their challenges and triumphs on their blogs.  The whole idea behind it is insane. I love it. I joined in. To summarize, I have to use all of the cookbooks that I own at least once and do so by end of June 2015. I have a really bad habit of collecting more cookbooks, and while debating on this quest, I have managed to increase my collection by another four books.  This should be a very tasty year and possibly a very adventurous one.

I just hope that my parents, my coworkers and my friends realize that they will be my guinea pigs, and that I do so out of love, and not an attempt to kill them. If they are reading this, they have been warned, if they are not reading this, all is fair.   In addition to this challenge,  I really enjoy imbibing in spirits, and like to drink while cooking. This sometimes helps the cooking process and sometimes not so much.

In this blog, you will find the results of this misguided forays into the realms of the kitchen.  And sadly, my love of all things Ramen. You can't screw up Ramen, but everything else is up for debate.  Thank you for joining me and hopefully I can amuse you with my adventures and expand my culinary expertise.