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Kale & Fennel Salad with Miso Dress...

I know, I know… Kale is so 2010. But you know what? Most people I run across still have a fairly quick hesitation to these toothsome bitter yet, glorious leaves. I don’t blame them. It was a tough nut for me to crack as well. I thought I would simply sauté it like I did Swiss chard. Except that it was wretched. I gave up. I didn’t want to. There was far too much foodie chatter waxing poetic about its superfood awesomeness. Then one day I had a small bowl of raw kale salad imposed on me at a local sandwich shop, and it suddenly made sense. The freshness took care of...
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Pop’s Ginger Snappy Cookies

I have a confession to make. I don’t really like cookies. I mean really – how excited can you get over a little disk of sweetened stale bread? So before I start getting hate comments, let me say that, yes, every now and then I’ll eat one and think “damn!” But it’s really pretty rare… and they’re always homemade (but you knew that). A well crafted white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, for example, can stop me in my tracks. My dear friend’s mom makes an ice box cookie that has no equal. She needs to have her own show. The...
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Orzo That Will Kill You in the Face

If ever there was a side dish that typifies this whole “Deal With This” cooking methodology, it’s this one. Mainly because this dish was literally born out of what I was hungry for that instant. The next night I then adapted it for a different kind of pasta with some slight variations. What kind of response did I get? Man am I glad you asked. Complete face melting OhMyGodness. Again – I’m not talking about some Iron Chef Beef Cheek with Stinging Nettles Laced with Saffron Foam on a Bed of Bone Marrow Harvested from Spotted Owls type thing....
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Sage-Roasted Chicken Thighs

It never fails. When I make this dish for my family, my wife always says that this is what she wants me to make for our friends whenever we entertain. She says this every time. Not kidding. I can’t blame her.  It’s delicious. It’s simple. Major bang for the buck. That what Deal With This is all about. This is a no fuss major payoff dish. I could eat this and Rice oh-toe several times a week. It’s darn near perfect. Do yourself a favor and get the best chicken thighs you can find. Don’t worry. Grocery store stuff will still be amazing. But if...
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“Legit” White Chocolate Ice ...

Okay, here it is folks. There’s many a food pietist out there (and you know who you are) that prattle on about “white chocolate’s not real chocolate, this…” and “I hate white chocolate, that…” If your only legitimate beef is that it’s technically NOT chocolate – well hey – you’re technically right. And guess what… a pineapple isn’t technically an apple. Who cares? White chocolate is it’s own thing. And it’s magical. Don’t be a hater. Some of my recipes also use coconuts....
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Pecan-smoked Salmon on the Halfshell

Not to be confused with traditional smoked salmon. This is more like BBQ. Necessity being the mother of invention, it’s only fitting that this mother of invention happened on Mother’s Day. We had a lot of moms over and we needed to love on them. I know my wife (an amazing mother to our 6 year old), and I know my mom (both of whom were in attendance), and they love seafood – especially salmon. But with 12 adults total, pan-searing or grilling individual fillets would be way too much work (not to mention maddening as dishes would be plated 2 at-a-time over...