by Franklin on February 22, 2011
There is nothing better than a nice home cooked meal coming home after a hard days work. And nothing is easier and more efficient than something cooking away in a Crock-Pot. Place some seasoned meat into some broth. Set it on low, and forget about it. Go to work, go to the gym — do whatever you need to do, because that thing will cook for you all the while you are doing your own thing. My girlfriend loves her Crock-Pot, and I’m glad that she does because anything she makes in there is delicious.
As I entered the room, the aroma of cooked food was just intoxicating. Immediately I knew it was dinner time. The table, all set out with home cooked goodness made my eyes and stomach open for business. Home made chili and beans, steamed veggies, and brown rice. 
As for what was in the Crock-Pot? Ox tail with onion. Only two ingredients mixed in with some secret spices I don’t know about, and I was in food heaven.
Anything cooked for hours and hours will always be good. The meat fell off the bone and was so tender and juicy — it was seasoned perfectly. Believe it or not, the best part were the onions. Cutting the onions only in halves was genius. It was mushy (in a good way) and flavorful — the sweetness of the onions complimented the ox tail very nicely.
The Crock-Pot is an amazing cooking device. It saves time. It cooks frozen food nicely. Most importantly, it comes out delicious!
by Franklin on February 10, 2011
Making my own pizza was a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid. It could be how the cooks twirl the pizza dough around in the sky, or maybe the endless amount of toppings this food can hold. Whatever the reason is, I got to build my own pizza and my dreams finally came true!
I am a bit disappointed at myself. I had nothing but the highest quality of ingredients.
Fresh basil? Check. 
Fresh Mozzarella? Check.
Good quality prosciutto? Check!
Scratch made pizza dough???.. No comment.
Yes folks. I am guilty. I bought the pre-made pizza dough from the market. Some may say that I am a cop out. A true chef would make their own pizza dough right? Well, if you knew the process for making fresh pizza dough, you wouldn’t blame me. My new adult dream now is to make my own pizza dough…from scratch!
Nonetheless, I was excited to make my first pizza. I gathered my dough, cheese, veggie, and meat. I first drizzled the dough with some good olive oil (cold pressed always). I added some chopped garlic to the top of the dough. Then I cut up some slices of fresh mozzarella and put that on top. I spread out some prosciutto over evenly, and then sprinkled some chopped basil over. I then sprinkled some salt and pepper and put it in the oven. At 450 degrees, the pizza took only about 12 minutes.
The verdict? It could be better. I won’t lie. It would have been the perfect pizza if the dough was scratch made. The dough was just not good; it killed the dish. Although, the combination of the herby basil with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella was very tasty. I even snacked on them by themselves and it was better than the pizza itself. I guess it was foolish to have gotten such great ingredients and use them on such a sad sad pizza dough. Next time around, I will fulfill my new aforementioned dream; I will attempt to make my own pizza dough from scratch.
