Double cheese? Yes, Please!

This was a fantastic burger.

A double cheese burger with the cheese done different ways.

Mayo. Ketchup. Mustard

A golden, fried, crispy layer of cheese.

A giant, juicy burger.

A melted pile of cheesy goodness.

All in between a beautifully toasted bun

---My cousin Gregg made this for our lunch today. It definitely felt like a vacation type of burger!

Food Baby

FOOD BABY

Dictionary Definition:
a protruding stomach caused by eating a large quantity of food and supposedly resembling that of a woman in the early stages of pregnancy.

My Definition: 
When you have eaten so much your stomach literally stretches out and becomes hard/stiff like a pregnant woman's stomach (it also hurts)

      

thanksgiving day

Today, Thanksgiving, is the ultimate food baby day!

All day you eat delicious food and you can not stop yourself from overeating. At some point, usually for me it's when I stand up from the table, you realize there is way too much food in your stomach. Buuuuut you keep grazing throughout the day anyway.

There is a pretty standard procedure for how we consume food on thanksgiving day at our house.

1. Wonderful, filling breakfast in our pjs after we have slept in a bit (today it was breakfast burritos w/ eggs, bacon, cheese, sour cream, salsa verde)
2. Generally the adults make bloody marys
3. We then sit down to the long wooden table over flowing with steaming dishes at about 2:00pm (stuff ourselves silly with every single thing on the table and my dad has a rule that you have to at least try everything, even if you didn't like it last year. His philosophy is that it's been a year so maybe your taste buds have changed so you might like it this time)
4. About an hour later we break out the coffee, pie, ice cream, whip cream, and sometimes grammy's brownies
5. Almost any time after that people can make left over sandwiches or small plates warmed up or cold. Any which way you want it you can have it.

My Uncle Gunther always makes 2+ turkeys and they are prepared different ways.
Sweet potatoes are a must.
This year we had 2 types of mashed potatoes.
A variety of sides but i feel like veggies aren't always on our mind in the cooking process.

To me THANKSGIVING is about the abundance of faith, family, and good food!!

OATMEAL

My dad makes the best oatmeal ever!

I know most people would argue that oatmeal is very generic and boring. However, if you put the right stuff in it it's delicious.

Regular Quaker oatmeal with water goes into a bowl  then into a microwave. So simple yet the smell wafts throughout the house  and it seem glorious.

Once the steaming, and sometimes overflowing, bowl comes out of the microwave it ready to ravished with all sorts of sweet loveliness.

A dollop of butter. A swirl syrup. An extravagant sprinkle of brown sugar.

MIX

and

ENJOY EATING YOUR SWEET, WARM, FANTASTIC OATS

Comfort Food

My Favorite Comfort Food

Ooey gooey warm brownies with a little bit of crispy edges

Mashed Potatoes (skin or skinless) with loads of butter, garlic, salt, black pepper, and sometimes parsley

Coffee. Usually strong, sometimes with just cream, sometimes just sugar, occasionally BOTH

Sticky, golden, lovely cookie dough that has just been mixed. But not just the regular recipe! My great grandma's recipe is certainly the best

The Art of Roasting Marshmallows on an Open Flame

1. Put the end of your stick in the fire briefly before putting the marshmallow on it. It may be a wooden stick, an unfolded wire hanger, or and actual campfire stick. This serves two purposes: one is to get any gunk off the stick that may already be on it and the second reason is to warm up the end slightly.
2. Pierce the center of the flat side of the marshmallow until you can see the stick come through the other side. If you do not put the stick all the way through it will likely fall off in the roasting process.
3.  Place your marshmallow near the fire but not in any of the flames, near the bottom is preferable.  If it gets in any of the flames it will catch on fire and burn.
4. Once one side starts to bubble up and turn brown rotate it to another side that is not cooked yet.  This allows the marshmallow to become soft in the center and toasty on the outside.
5. Continue rotating the marshmallow until all sides are golden brown. It should now be completely soft in the middle and brown on the outside.
6. Slide the marshmallow off. Be careful it will be hot. Then start all over by putting the stick in the flame once again.

Cheap and Easy

A cheap, easy meal to prepare is delicious to me but may be repulsive to someone else.

White rice, a dippy (sunny side up) egg, and pan fried spam. It warms me up just thinking about it. Put all the ingredients into a bowl, stir it up, and enjoy. The saltiness of the spam it mellowed by the egg and the rice soaks up all the flavors. Based on the flavors you enjoy most you can season it any way you like. I usually put garlic and black pepper. However, a lot of the time I just look in the cabinet and pull out what ever calls my name at that moment; maybe hot sauce, or mayo, maybe I can add even some spinach.

I know this may turn people off but never judge a food solely on how it smells, looks, or how the ingredients sound together. JUST TRY IT!!!!

A Fun, Casual Joint

   ROOSTERS

This restaurant has a special place in my heart.

But not just anyone.

Specifically the Roosters on 161 and Cleveland Ave. 

I have been going there since I was a baby.

My brother worked there as a teenager and he is 18 years older than me, so it has been in my life for all 17 years of it.

My dad and I go every Tuesday night now.

We know almost everyone by name and see the same regulars every time.

My dad gets a double Jack on the rocks and I get a Shirly Temple.

Dad and I usually walk in and don't even have to ask for them.

I have seen bartenders and waitresses leave and I have seen others promote to mangers.

The atmosphere is always fun.

It's just a good place to be.