A Serving of Life

Last night we headed to Omro’s Colonial Cheese House to get some Parmesan cheese for the top of Jeff’s soup recipe.

Even though this particular shop is only about a 12 minute drive from our house, we had never been there. And boy were we missing out. I should mention that the reason Jeff decided to get his cheese from there was because they sent us a coupon. The Colonial Cheese House generously gave each of the Men Who Cook men a discount on cheese. So we took full advantage and got all five pounds we were allotted. Get this: For $11.

We will definitely show our appreciation for the discount by going back. Plus, they have quality products. We also purchased some sharp cheddar, cheese curds, tomato and basil cheddar and hot pepper muenster. They also have take and bake pizzas, ice cream and other Wisconsin-themed specialty items.

The shop is located on Main Street in Omro. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by.

I must admit, I’ve never purchased so much garlic at one time in my whole life. And trust me, this amount of garlic is impressive when people open your fridge.

Jeff has most of the ingredient for his recipe for Saturday’s Men Who Cook for Christine Ann. His parents are coming, my parents are coming, I found the perfect Birthday Dress, which means it should be a really good night.

Tonight, Jeff and I plan to head out to the cheese shop and we also need a crap load of stock, which hopefully we’ll also accomplish tonight. And we’ll wait until the last possible minute to purchase all the zucchini so that it’s as fresh as possible. I guess that means, tomorrow is zucchini day because JEFF COOKS TOMORROW. Eeeee. His cooking slot is in the late afternoon.

I know I’ve already mentioned it until I’m blue in the face, but don’t forget, I’ll be Live Tweeting during the event, which runs form 6 - 10 p.m. @CADASI. Follow the chatter at #menwhocook.

We didn’t turn our air conditioning on (hello, 90!) until after dinner last night. And because it was already as hot as the oven in my house, I decided to cook with it.

I was craving something summer-ish, so here is what I came up with. I admit, this is sort of a rip off from a pizza dinner party I went to one time.

I basically used up everything I had in the fridge to make this beauty. I started with pre-made pizza dough, added a thin layer of olive oil and chopped fresh garlic. I then threw on all the extra spinach from the farmers market. I then topped the pizza with a combination of Gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses.

On the side, I sauteed pears and red onion until tender and sweet, which I seasoned with a little black pepper.

I cooked the pizza in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes before adding the onion and pear mixture. After adding the onion pear mixture, I cooked for another 8-10 minutes. Upon pulling the pizza out of the oven, I added toasted walnuts.

I brought Jeff two large pieces of the finished pizza and I think he was skeptical, at first.

“No meat?” he asked.

Nope. No meat. Vegetarian-friendly. And honestly, I can’t even think of a meat that would go best on this pizza. It was perfect how it was. (I think this would be equally as good with green apples, so if that’s what you have in the house, try this out.)

Turns out, Jeff was the one going back to the fridge for leftovers two hours later. I guess he didn’t miss the meat. Success!

How to make: Saute onions and garlic with a little olive oil. Add zucchini and squash. Cooked noodles, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp.

Serve.

Here is Jeff’s debut YouTube video.

And there you have it - the recipe he’ll be making for Men Who Cook. We’ve made it several times before and thought it’d be the perfect recipe for the event. Plus, it is easy to duplicate.

Don’t forget to follow @CADASI on Twitter. The night of the event I’ll of course be live Tweeting. I’ve also been granted some pre-event access to the kitchen and am hoping to sneak a camera in to snap a few photos to share with all who are interested. Since Jeff’s cooking slot is on Friday, I might send him with a camera also. Plus, he’ll come home with lots of details, I’m sure. Also, as soon as I have my hands on a cookbook for the event, which should be anytime now, I’ll be offering some sneak peaks on Twitter. So, start following now!

His name is Jeff. And he’s a man who cooks.

And last night he was the subject of a little mini video (I will pass along as soon as it’s done) that will serve as a little promo for the upcoming Men Who Cook. (No, I won’t stop talking about it. And yes, it’s taking over all my blog content for the time being!)

Alex, who used to be a reporter with Jeff and I at the paper, but is now with the Christine Ann Center came over last night to shoot that video. We had a blast. And drank yummy Mojitos.

Jeff’s a pro on camera, really. He’s also an ex radio guy so he’s good at BS-ing on the spot. Or maybe that’s a “I used to be a reporter” trait. He said it was harder than he thought to cook and constantly talk at the same time like they do on TV. But I think he did well.

The soup (recipe is still kind of a secret) turned out wonderful, as always. I think his dish is really going to be a hit at this year’s event. Jeff found out today that his cooking time is actually on Friday afternoon, which I think is a really good thing for a soup. There will be a lot of time for the flavors to come together to create general awesomeness (yes that’s a culinary term).

I am just so proud of him for doing this. I think I’ll keep him.

Oh, and if you haven’t got your tickets yet. Go here and save $10 by registering early. Tickets are still available.

Brought to you by ME. Me!

Remember that event I told you about? Men Who Cook. On June 27.

Well, I’ve been asked to Live Tweet for the event. (Happy Birthday to me!) All you have to do to get the inside scoop on the chefs, dishes and highlights of the night (and if I can convince them, maybe a sneak peak into the kitchen while the men are prepping) is follow  Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services aka the Christine Ann Center in Oshkosh @CADASI on Twitter.

Or www.twitter.com/CADASI (Please RT and tell your friends.)

As far as a Men Who Cook update: We started purchasing ingredients for Jeff’s dish this weekend. It’s a little overwhelming to have to make so much of one thing, but he’s excited. Jeff received all of his info in the mail and will soon get his cooking time slot. I guess he’ll even get a Men Who Cook apron, which I am totally stealing.

Because Jeff needs a good amount of pork sausage for his dish, he’ll be calling one of the local butchers this week. He’s also been given coupons for two discounts at area stores (note: community event :)) to help with the cost of ingredients. Cooking for that many people is expensive. But again, GOOD CAUSE.