My wife found 12 pounds of vine ripe tomatoes and decided we need to make some tomato soup. But that's for tomorrow. Today is some mac and cheese and a perogadilla. Both topped with a bit of fresh made pico de gallo.

I remember when I was a teenager and I actually read the box of mac and cheese. It suggested putting one tablespoon salsa in a batch. It seemed like not enough but I followed the directions and it was amazing.

Cost per person: $1.60 per person.

I scored the duck breast skin and roasted it (started with a cold pan) until golden crispy. I then flipped it and continued to cook until the inside reached 66° (C). It had about 5 minutes rest before slicing. It still looks a bit too pink for my taste, but it was tasty.

The rice is sushi rice, boiled, and then mixed with a bit of mirin, sake, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, msg and chives.

The teriyaki is 4 spoons of soy sauce, 2 of mirin, 2 of sake, 2 of sugar, 2 cloves of garlic, same amount of fresh ginger, a splash of sesame oil. Simmered it down in a bit of duck fat.

Also, the very first time I've tried cooking game 😅 But by sheere dumb luck it came out really soft and awesome:

Loads of onions, parsnip, carrots and celery root and half a bottle of good red wine. Simmered for three hours. Steamed pears with lingonberry, roasted asperagus and croquettes (not shown) for sides. Then some crème brûlée with freshly plucked strawberries and mint leaves and finally a chair to pass out in.

Pizza. Leftover birria, smoked mozzarella, serrano, jarred sauce and hand made crust.

Probably too much serrano.

Cost per person, $2.79? New category? "Can you buy this anywhere?" No. No you can't.

My wife and I have started making this for late breakfast/brunch on shared days off (doesn’t happen often since we both work shifts). The white drizzle on top is a homemade lime crema I made specifically for these wraps.

Filling: eggs, onion, garlic, mushroom, peppers, feta, spinach, tomato, sun-dried tomato, parsley, basil, ham, spices (cracked black pepper and smoked paprika). I melted some havarti on the wraps too just before adding the filling.

This was more of a “oh shit we need to use up some of this fresh produce before it goes bad” kind of meal but it turned out great so we added it to the rotation. Some of the flavours definitely do blend together so you could absolutely remove some ingredients and it would still work well, possibly better, but I think it’s still very good. I think next time I’ll cook some bacon, fry everything in the bacon fat, and omit the ham.

Today’s Memorial Day special was USDA Prime Ribeye from Costco, homemade potato salad, and sautéed cauliflower.

Steak was cooked on a Weber grill at 225 till internal temp of 105, then seared in blazing coals for one minute per side. Came out a perfect medium rare!

We love making Flammkuchen. It's easy and delicious and - most importantly - my daughter loves it.

Ingredients:

for the dough:

• 250 g flour
• 120 g very warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 g butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

for the topping:

• 150 g creme fraiche
• 200 g thick-cut bacon
• 1 small/medium onion
• 100 g gruyère cheese (optional)
• chives to garnish

Directions:

Start with preheating the oven to its highest setting (about 500°F/250°C).

Make the dough:

In a medium/large mixing bowl stir the flour with salt. Add the olive oil, butter and very warm water (from the tap). Stir with a wooden spoon until roughly combined. Knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment for a couple of minutes until the dough is soft and smooth.

Wrap the dough in plastic foil and set it aside to rest for 20-30 minutes (on the counter).

Assemble the tart:

Prepare the ingredients: cut bacon into small cubes. Cut onions into thin slices and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt (they will soften and not burn in a hot oven). Add the creme fraiche into a small bowl, season it with salt and pepper, and stir until combined.

Roll out the dough very thinly into an oval or rectangular shape and place it on a baking sheet lightly greased with olive oil.

Spread the creme fraiche over the dough leaving some border. Top with bacon and onion slices (if they released some water, squeeze it out). Add the gruyère cheese on top (optional).

Bake the Flammkuchen for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Baking time may vary depending on the oven.

Original source: https://www.everyday-delicious.com/flammkuchen/

What's your favorite kitchen tool that you use for more than it's intended purpose?

• avocado oil
• lemon juice
• water
• dijon mustard
• garlic powder
• sea salt
• parmesan cheese
• black pepper
• tamari
• vinegar
• xantham gum
• thyme

Thats the actual order of ingredients and presumably from most to least

It is the King of salad dressings and marinades

Potato and cheese Perogies? Quesadillas? Perogadillas? Someone in one of my cooking groups posted something like this and I had to try it. It blended my need for Mexican with my wife's need for perogies. San Diego meets Pennsylvania.

Made a Mexican lime slaw and bought a can of charro beans. Made some guajillo sauce too.

I have no idea how much this cost per person because there are so many parts but other than that can of fancy beans for $2 and a head of cabbage that I only used a quarter of every part of this was stuff I already keep on hand as staples. I can make the mashed potatoes in advance and freeze them. The mashed potatoes need to be a little on the dry side like you are making a bubble and squeak which works better for freezing anyway. The guajillo can also be made ahead of time to shorten cooking day time. I can can my own charro beans for way cheaper.

It's been decided to put this into regular rotation.

Made a spinach, ham, onion, tomato pizza recently. It got me thinking.

Do yall typically sautée onions if you're putting it on pizza? Just curious what others prefer. I don't really have a preference. I like both.

Also I've been meaning to try it but does brushing the crust with olive oil or some kind of fat affect the presentation/flavor enough to be worth it?

(Asking about cooking in a typical household oven, not sure if it would be different with an actual high heat pizza oven)