Ingredients:

• Ground Pork (use whatever meat you want, finely chopped, or ground)
• Toasted Rice, ground rice
• Fish Sauce
• Chopped Onion or shallot
• Fresh Mint Leaves
• Thai Chili Peppers
• Lime Juice

The first thing I do is heat a skillet and add about 1/2 to 1 cup of white rice. That’s right, uncooked, white rice. What we are doing her is toasting the rice. You want to cook this rice, moving it ever couple of minutes, for about ten minutes. Careful not to burn the rice, so keep your eye on it. Once the rice is browned, place it into a bowl and off the skillet to prevent it from cooking further. Once cooled, you will want to grind this. You can do this a couple of ways, use a mortar and pestle, or use a coffee bean grinder. Grind to a medium to fine blend. Get ready to cook the meat and other ingredients.

Heat a large pan or wok. Once warmed up, add the ground pork and cook through. When the pork is almost done cooking, add about 2 TB of fish sauce, chopped onion, chopped up thai peppers (I use about 8 chopped up chilis as I love spicy food), and 1 TB of lime juice, and the crushed rice. Let this cook over medium for a minute or two. Add about 5 TB of chopped, fresh mint. Toss, place in a bowl and seriously, eat it from there, or serve with cooked white rice, or even better, sticky rice.

This proved to be really easy to make and overall takes about 30 minutes, from preparation to serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil, and more to brush the top
• Sea salt

To a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. With a spoon, or whisk, blend the dry ingredients. Make a well, or hole into the center of the mix, and into that put the water and oil. Start to mix until it forms a dough.

Now, remove the dough from the bowl and onto a board, knead the dough a few times, not too rough on this one. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In the meantime, seperate the dough into 3 sections. To each ball, roll out into a 8 to 10 inch circle, square, or other fun shape. The shape does not really matter here because you will break them into rustic chips/cracker when they are finished cooking. Once you have the dough rolled out (go thin), brush to the top of the dough and lightly sprinkle sea salt on it. Place on your baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. These are a great combination with cheese, especially a lighter cheese such as brie or camembert. Enjoy.

You have choices for your dough:

• Make mine
• buy store bought
• buy from italian grocery/bakery/restaraunt

Get your ingredients together for your pizza. You know how you like it. Your sauce can be a red sauce, olive oil based, or a cream sauce, hence the diversity. Your toppings will include cheeses, vegetables, and possibly meats. My kids love the simple cheese and pepperoni pizza, and as they typically run the house, I let them win on this one.

The grilling part is surprisingly simple, however you probably do not want to turn your back on it. Begin by heating your grill, on high. In the meantime, as the grill comes to temperature, roll out your dough. I prefer mine as a thin crust, however you can do a thicker crust on the grill. When the dough is rolled out, brush with a bit of olive oil, the flip onto a pizza board, lightly covered with finely ground corn meal. Adjust and form your dough to the shape you desire (rectangle, circle, etc).

Now, head outside to your grill and slide the dough onto the grill. Grill your crust uncovered on the grill, lifting gently with tongs. They dough typically does not stick, but I recommend that you initially lift the dough, carefully, with tongs after a few minutes on the grill. Once the dough has began to crisp on the underside, brush more olive oil on the top, then flip over and cook for a couple of minutes, monitoring it so it does not burn. Now, you have to move quick here as you want your ingredients (sauce, cheeses, and other toppings) to melt and come to temperature without burning your crust. Add you sauce, cheese, and toppings, lower the heat, cover the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pizza from the grill, slice, and enjoy.

The thing I really like about the smoothie is that you can put pretty much whatever fruit you want in it. My visit to the store this week, led me to the fact that blueberries were on sale, as well as strawberries. We grow fresh raspberries in the back so there is no problem there. Now, I simply add in the rest. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 cup of cleaned strawberries
• 1/2 cup of raspberries
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of plain non-fat yogurt
• pinch of sugar
• 5 ice cubes

Add these ingredients to a blender and if you have an option for smoothie, use it, otherwise, blend until, well you know, smooth. After drinking one of these, you will feel full of energy and ready to continue the day. Question to you is, how do you make your smoothie?

As I came back for seconds, thirds, and fourths, my father-n-law and his brothers and cousins chuckled and laughed and asked ‘You like that?, Do you know what is in there?”. I had no idea what was in there and was hesitant to proceed in finding the answer.  As a cook, I wanted to know. I found out that it was made primarly of pig parts including the ear, tongue, brain, heart,  and liver.  I must admit that I did get a small sign of nauseousness, however I quickly wiped the image of ears and brain from my mind. What I really enjoyed was the overall flavor of sisig. It packed a punch with ginger, garlic, vinegar, peppers, and lemon juice. It was truly a delight in my mouth, something I compared to the flavors of a thai larb salad.

I informed my Filipino elders that I would go back and reinvent sisig, and that I did. I was able to invite some local Filipinos over for my Friday Fish Fry last night, and as an appetizer, I served the sisig with cold beer. Both Sonny, Jen, and Mark said the flavor was spot on, and nearly ate the entire plate of sisig!

Ingredients:

• Pork Roast with fat; marinated with a bit of soy sauce, salt and pepper
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup of water
• Juice of one lime
• Half of a large onion, minced
• 2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 4 thai peppers, minced
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 3 tbs vinegar
• 1 glove of garlic, minced

To prepare the pork, I simply heated a large pot and added the olive oil. Keep in mind that when I sliced the pork roast, I kept some of the fat from the top of the roast to help with the texture that would replace the ears, snout, and other pig items. I then seared each side, and added a cup of water and slow cooked the pork for roughly 45 minutes. Once the pork was cooked, I removed it from the pot and set aside to let cool. In the meantime, in a bowl, I added the lime juice, garlic, ginger, vinegar, peppers, onion, and pepper.  Once the pork is cooled, chop into very small pieces and mix into the bowl. I recommend you let this salad marinate overnight, or at least four hours. The outcome is a reinvented salad that packs a punch with fresh flavors. To my Filipino elders, thank you for the authentic sisig!

Ingredients:

• Grilled chicken breasts, marinated with sesame and garlic, cooled and chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, cleaned and diced
• Fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, seeded, diced
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• Lots of fresh ground pepper
• Great bread

Basically, once you have grilled your chicken breasts (I did this the night before during a family get together), chopped to the texture that you desire; I prefer mine a bit on the chunky side. Prepare all of your vegetables and combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Add your mayonnaise, to build a light maynonnaise consistency. Now, get whatever bread you love, and build your sandwich, laying a couple of scoops of the salad on your bread. Serve with cheese if you prefer. The flavors of the onion, mint, and bell pepper really bring this sandwich to life. How do you make your chicken salad?

Ingredients:

• Corn removed from 2 cobs of cooked corn
• 1/2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 large, ripened mango, sliced and cut into small pieces
• Juice of one lime
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 tbs fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 3 tbs fresh mint

Heat your oven to 425 degrees. After cutting the corn off the cob, toss this with the olive oil, and add the salt and pepper. Lay out the corn on a baking dish and cook for roughly 5 minutes or so, just to reheat and get the flavors from the corn going. Meanwhile, in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and wait patiently for the corn to be warmed. Remove the corn from the oven, let cool for roughly 5 minutes, then toss into the remaining mixture. Serve immediately or let the flavors marry for a couple of hours. This was so good and refreshing that it did not last very long. We simply ate the salsa with tortilla chips, however this would be really amazing with grilled fish or shrimp. Enjoy.

On one particular evening, I made grilled chicken, as well as assisted Michelle in making what I thought would be a salad. You know, the salad that contains mixed vegetables and tossed with dressing. I was soon wrong, however open to what Michelle was doing. I was learning how she preferred, as well as many Cameroonians, their dinners. Instead of tossing the vegetables with the lettuce, she simply kept those as a separate dish, which contained only cucumbers and tomatoes, tossed lightly with olive oil and sea salt.

In a separate bowl she had tossed greens mixed with a vinaigrette. While sitting down and eating with Michelle, she ate her cucumber and tomato mix first, then chicken, and lastly the green salad. I followed suit, and must say I was generally pleased, especially with the freshness and punch of the flavors of balsamic vinegar, garlic, and olive oil at the end. It was as though the green salad cleaned and cleansed the pallet. Upon arrival back to Wisconsin, I made my version of green salad with vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

• Green leaf lettuce, cleaned, dried, and torn into bite size pieces
• Romaine lettuce, cleaned, dried, and torn into bite size pieces
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 2 tbs Balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine your garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and olive oil. You want to whisk in the olive oil, enough to make a dressing. You will notice the olive oil blend into the ingredients. Now, add your greens to the top of the dressing. When you are ready, simply toss the lettuce gently and lightly coat each lettuce piece. The flavors are so great as you get the tartness from the vinegar and mustard and the punch of the garlic. It creates a circus in your mouth, not only that but it is healthy.

Beef Marinade: (mix the amounts you prefer, it does not have to be precise)

• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 6 tbs sherry cooking wine
• lots of fresh ground pepper
• 2 tbs finely chopped ginger
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Combine these ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Vegetable and Shrimp Marinade:

• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh basil, finely chopped

Kebab Ingredients (you chose yours, but here is how I put them together)

• Top Sirloin, cut into large cubes
• Green Bell Pepper
• Red Bell Pepper
• Pineapple, cut into large cubes
• Zucchini
• Medium Shrimp, shell on for fun
• Red Onion, large cubes
• Portabella Mushrooms, dirt and stemmed removed
• Wooden Skewers, soaked in water for more than one hour

Begin by preparing all of your kebab ingredients. In a large ziplock bag add the cubed beef and massage in the marinade. Let this set overnight, or for more than two hours. In a separate ziplock bag, add the vegetables and shrimp, and mix in the vegetable and shrimp marinade.

Now we are ready to skewer. After you have gone through the marinating process, take a skewer and begin arranging them how you like; this is the fun part. Think of your guests, and allow them to chose different skewers. Maybe you have a vegetarian friend, or a meat lover buddy; think of them. I arranged mine a few different ways; meat and shrimp, meat, shrimp, vegetables, and fruit, and finally all vegetables and fruit. Set the skewers on a large baking tray and let them stack up. I yielded around 14 skewers and this was a perfect amount for six adults and a handful of kids.

Now, get your grill ready, to a medium to high heat and cook away. Your vegetables and fruit will be done sooner than your meat, so pay attention to how you are cooking. Trust me, your friends will love these. The great asian-induced flavors of ginger, soy, and garlic on the meat, and the simple flavors of olive oil and salt and pepper on the vegetables are something out of this world.

Question is, is how do you make your kebabs?

Serves 5

Ingredients:

• Half a head of Romain lettuce, cleaned and chopped
• 1/2 box of bow tie noodles, cooked al dente
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, more if you prefer
• Salt and Pepper
• Homemade Croutons (see below)
• 2 chicken breasts, marinated in olive oil and garlic, grilled and sliced
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped
• Caesar salad dressing, or you could provide ranch or another creamy blend

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil, and begin cooking the noodles. During this time, you can practice your multitasking skills by cooking chicken on the grill, as well as washing and chopping your vegetables. Once the noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water. You want the noodles to be cooled, not warm when you add them to the rest of the ingredients, this goes the same with the chicken.  Remove the cooked chicken from the grill, and set aside to cool, roughly 10 minutes, then thinly slice. Now, to a large bowl, add all of the ingredients with the exception of the salad dressing. Toss all of your ingredients and mix well. Serve in a large salad bowl and top with your favorite creamy dressing. Enjoy!

Homemade Croutons:

• 1 loaf of 3 day old french bread
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
• 6 tbs of olive oil
• 2 tbs of dried basil
• 1 tbs garlic salt
• 3 tbs parmesan cheese
• Fresh ground black pepper

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. With a bread knife, remove all of the outer crusts. Cut the bread into sections and into cubes, to whatever size you prefer. I like them larger. Melt the butter, then add the olive oil and herbs to the butter. With a pastry brush, begin by coating all bread cubes with the herbed butter mixture. Place these on a baking sheet and cooked for roughly 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Place in a bowl and toss with the parmesan cheese.