Chefs
Hi, we are Bryan and Jessie - a recently married couple who enjoys cooking at home, eating at our favorite local restaurants, and trying new restaurants and recipes. We also have two pets - Brew, a black lab, and Alton Brown, a domestic shorthair.
Foods we couldn't live without: blue cheese, potatoes, gin, popcorn, garlic and butter
Number of cookbooks we own: 57 and counting
Favorite kitchen tools: Shun knives, Le Creuset cookware
cheese Archive
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Take that, Double Down.
I didn’t intend to cook a take on the KFC Double Down sandwich the other night, but about midway through I realized I was. One of the things I love most about cooking is that you can improvise as you go, as long as you know the basic techniques. This recipe is far from technique-intensive, but [...] -
Fear not the chorizo
I don’t know why Mexican chorizo isn’t a staple in the typical American household. After all, it’s a versatile protein that can add wonderful heat to any dish. Want to make great tacos without buying expensive (and generally tasteless) taco seasoning? Just saute up some Mexican chorizo. Want to replace ground beef in (some) recipes [...] -
Quick and Easy Sopa Noodles
Mexican food is one of my favorite kinds of food to eat and cook. How could I not like it when it typically combines spices, cheese, onions and various herbs? One of my standby dishes is sopa, which is a tasty and easy-to-make noodle dish. You’ll have to forgive the fact that I don’t have real [...] -
Shopping in Amish Country
Bryan and I went shopping in Amish Country today in Shipshewana (Indiana). I’ve heard about Shipshewana from one of my co-workers and, considering her drive to get there is around two hours (one-way), I figured it was well worth a trip, and it was. We took off mid-morning and went right to our planned stop at [...] -
A Variation of Chicken Saltimbocca and Jessie’s Vegetable Hash
We recently celebrated a milestone at the HouseOFoodies – Bryan turned 30. For this big birthday, he requested a quiet meal at home and I obliged. To start, I picked up a bottle of real champagne – Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Brut. It was delicious and made the other sparkling wines we’ve been sipping pale in comparison [...] -
Spicy, cheesy burger on a pretzel bun
It was 37 degrees here today, so I started thinking about summer. And of course thinking about summer leads to thinking about burgers. This recipe calls for a few "specialty" items, but you should be able to find pretzel rolls at your local grocery store, and you can order the special pickles I use online, or find another generic brand of spicy pickle if you can. -
Jalapeno Cornbread Recipe, Simple and Delicious
One of our readers asked that I post my recipe for jalapeno cornbread, so this is just for you, Jessica. 2 boxes Jiffy corn mix 1/2 C. corn (I use canned corn with peppers, drained) 3/4 C. shredded pepper jack cheese 1/4 C. diced canned jalapenos Make corn mix per instructions on box. Stir in corn, cheese and jalapenos. Lightly [...] -
Saturday Night Improv: Chorizo-stuffed chicken breast
I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making homemade butter and pickling kumquats, so when it came time for dinner, I wanted to improv something quick and tasty. The result was good enough that Jessie said I should blog it. That doesn’t happen very often with my improvisations. Here’s a hard and fast rule: If you have [...] -
Quick chicken tacos with salsa verde
Back from a great trip out to visit family in Montana (will post at least something from that trip soon), and decided to make something quick tonight. Jessie was thawing out a chicken breast when I got home, so I was pretty much stuck with using that protein (OK, not “stuck,” I actually like cooking [...] -
Our Fondue Tradition Continues
A little over two years ago, we attended a fondue party at my grandparents’ home and rediscovered our love for fondue, and yes, my grandparents are great entertainers and excellent hosts. We both remember fonduing when we were younger, but there was something about the pace and process that appealed to us as adults. Fondue [...] -
Mac ‘n cheese with bacon
Homemade macaroni and cheese is an easy, delicious dish. I made a great combination last night and thought I would share the recipe I created. Ingredients needed for four servings: Pasta (half box) 2 T. unsalted butter 2 T. all-purpose flour 1 C. milk 10-12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese Chives Bacon Parmesan cheese Bread crumbs Freshly ground black pepper PREP WORK: I like to microwave my bacon to [...] -
A night at Bellisio’s…
I’m continually impressed with Minnesota’s love of fine food, wine and cheese. Recently, Bryan and I went to Bellisio’s in Duluth for an evening of great food and service. Our first course was the artisan cheese platter. Our hands-down favorite was the St. Andre followed by the Cabrales bleu cheese and the Pecorino Toscano, which was [...]