Happy National Pancake Day!

Since there is no National Mancake Day (yet), I decided to use today’s National Pancake Day celebration as an excuse to repost this mucho macho variation. 

These bacon and cheddar corn pancakes were created as a Father’s Day brunch special, and have been very well received. I hope you give these “mancakes” a try soon, like tonight. Click here to see the original post. Enjoy!

What’s Your Foodie IQ?

My friends at Allrecipes.com have been working on some online food-related quizzes, and wanted me to check one out to see what I thought. I was hesitant at first, since I was obviously going to get all the questions right, and have to tell them their test was way too easy, thereby possibly hurting someone’s feelings.

However, much to my chagrin, I only scored a 15. Apparently, the quiz is not too easy. Do you think you could beat Chef John’s score? Find out here!

2015 Super Bowl Prediction Using Chicken Wing Bones

Once again, it’s time I let you cash in on my magical method for picking the Super Bowl winner, using the ancient art of chicken wing bone reading. I can't tell you how I learned this, or why anyone would take it seriously, but I can tell you the bones are NEVER WRONG.

As you’ll see, the Seattle Seahawks will beat the New England Patriots. It's a guaranteed lock. Bet the farm, the house, and the farmhouse. Many people are saying that the Pats are going to lose because of bad karma, but that can’t be the reason. Have you ever seen a Bill Belichick press conference? If that were true, they'd never win a game.

Anyway, good luck, and I’ll apologize in advance for all those relatives bothering you for loans after you collect your winnings. Good luck, and as always, enjoy!

Going Butternuts

I’m not sure when National Butternut Squash Day is, or if that’s even a thing, but if it is, I bet it’s right around this time of year. Things like sweet corn and vine-ripened tomatoes are now a distant memory (except in bad restaurants where they just serve that stuff all year anyway), but thankfully we have this delicious and nutritious winter alternative to tide us over.

My friend Carl Hanson has put together a great collection called, “One Winter Veggie, 11 Deliciously Inventive Recipes,” which I invite you to check out. You’ll see a few old Food Wishes favorites, as well as some new offerings. Enjoy!
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Culinary School in a Box, and Too-Good-to-Eat Christmas Cookies

My friends at Allrecipes.com have put together a series of online cooking classes, which could make a great gift for the foodies on your list. Whether they admit it or not, we all know your friends and family are envious of your culinary abilities, and secretly wish you’d teach them some of your skills.

Since that’s not going to happen anytime soon (hey, you’re busy, and they can’t afford your rates anyway), why not do the next best thing, and make them learn themselves? With any luck, they’ll practice their “homework” on you. Plus, think of all the time you’ll save wrapping a present.

In case you’re wondering, while I completely stand behind this offering, I'm not personally involved in the course instruction, nor do I directly profit from subscriptions to the school. For more info, head over to cookingschool.allrecipes.com. Enjoy!

Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas

I’m not much of a cookie guy, and even less of a decorating cookie guy; so, since I’m no help, I thought I’d pass along this great post by Karen Gaudette, called “21 Fun And Creative Cookie Decorating Ideas. Because Christmas.”

Ironically, the ultimate goal with this kind of thing is to make a cookie so amazing, so intricate, and so visually arresting, that no one would dare bite into it. “How were the cookies? No idea, they were too nice to eat.” Just imagine. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce Like a Boss

Just in case you’re still deciding on which of the roughly one million different cranberry sauces you’ll be going with this Thanksgiving, here are a few ideas. Technically, the Cumberland isn’t a cranberry sauce, but it’s close enough, and serves the same delicious purpose. If you're tempted, just click on the bold titles, and away you go. I hope you give one of these great sauce a try, and as always, enjoy!

	Tangerine Cherry Cranberry Sauce Could you just use orange, and call it "tangerine?" Sure, why not, it's only your family you'd be misleading.
	Ginger Pear Cranberry Sauce This one just sounds like it will be great with roast turkey. In fact, when you tell people what it is, they'll say, "Oh, that sounds great." Try it, and see.
	Cumberland Sauce Do you think they just name any old sauce after the Duke of Cumberland? Well, they don't
	Maple Walnut Cranberry Sauce As you'll read, there was a time when I didn't think putting nuts in a cranberry sauce was a good idea. I've evolved on the issue.

I Love New York

The recently posted Beef on Weck served as a reminder of just how many great regional recipes come from Upstate and Western New York. Here are a few of my favorites that you may have missed. To see the full post and recipe, just click on the title, and away you go. Enjoy!

	Chicken Riggies The pride of Utica! Easy and delicious, this is Italian-American comfort food at it's finest.
	Chicken Spiedies This sandwich hails from Binghamton, and besides learning a great, new chicken recipe, you'll also learn what "zuzu" is.
	Syracuse Salt Potatoes Not only is this Syracuse salt potatoes recipe one of the most delicious ways to cook baby spuds, it’s also one of the most interesting.
	Cornell Chicken Despite being invented by an Ivy League professor, this simple grilled chicken recipe is nothing short of amazing.

Does This Count?

As I recently mentioned, I'd really love to make it to Video 2,000, and I just thought of a way to do that a little quicker than seven years. I may start doing golf tips on off days. This is me demonstrating my famous backwards-between-the-legs shot. I couldn't take a normal stance with the ball so close to the edge of the sand trap, so this was the only option. My father-in-law Al is on the green, and my sister-in-law Jennifer is filming. We were playing the gorgeous, Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. I don't remember if I made the put. ;) Enjoy!

Video 1,000! Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

As I joke in the video, this little Q & A should serve as irrefutable proof that I’ve made the right decision to stay off camera. Talking while being filmed isn’t that hard; it’s the part about making sense that’s the real challenge.

And if you’re thinking I took the easy way out here, just sitting around, talking to the camera, think again. These things are like a hundred times harder than a regular recipe video, so you’ll have to pardon all the questionable editing techniques. Despite the challenges, I really did enjoy finally getting to solve some of these mysteries for you.

By the way, if I didn’t happen to get to your question in this video, I will be doing the same thing for video 2,000, so hold that thought.  A heartfelt thank you for all the support you gave during the first 1,000, and we’re on to the next one. Enjoy!

Chef John is on Vacation!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be on vacation this week, visiting family in New York (my last one this year, I promise). Of course, we’ll continue to publish your comments and questions while I’m away, but I won’t be around to answer them. That means you’ll have to rely on your fellow foodwishers, which I’m sure will work out just fine. 

By the way, many of you have been contacting me with suggestions for my 1,000th video, which is only a few uploads away. If you have an idea, please pass it along. Thanks, and we’ll see you next week!

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Tasty Blasts from Summers Past

Just a little warm weather reminder for a few of my personal favorite summer recipes. If I had to, I could survive exclusively on corn, tomatoes, BLT's, and strawberries...at least for 3 months. If something strikes your fancy, click on the title and away you go. Enjoy! 

	Tomato and “Dirt” Salad With a name like "dirt salad," you know it's going to be great!
	Homemade Strawberry Soda The video Big Soda doesn't want you to see.
	Mexican Grilled Corn aka “Elote” This is the best way to eat corn. Not one of the best. The best.
	B.L.T. Pasta I know, it sounds too good to be true.

I’ve Been Parodied!

This hilarious video comes from the lovely and talented, Helen Rennie, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Fellow YouTubers Laura Vitaleand ChefSteps are also given the business. Great job, Helen! 
 

Chef John is on Vacation!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be on vacation this week. We’ll continue to publish comments and questions while I’m gone, but I won’t be around to answer them. So yes, it will be very similar to when I’m not on vacation.

I can’t say for sure where I’m going, or what I’ll be doing, but I’m posting this beach picture to show one place I won’t be headed. I didn’t have any photos of me at the beach, but this one is very close to what you’d see (although, the giant cross would actually be a clock).

By the way, I have nothing against the beach, or walking around barely dressed, but the “Hey, who called a cab?” jokes get a little old. Hope you have a great week, and as always, enjoy!

- Photo courtesy of Flikr user Mr TGT. 

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This is Only a Test

While I was testing a crispy, Korean-fried chicken breast for a future blog post, the real test here was producing a video in 1080p HD. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we will be transitioning to this new format over the next few months, and to accomplish that, I have to learn Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.

I’ve been using an old, and relatively simple version of iMovie all these years, and so staring at all these new buttons and dials is a little intimidating. I’m hoping most of them don’t actually do anything, and are only there to fill out the interface, but we shall see. In the meantime, thank you for putting up with this test, and as always, enjoy!

Next Up: Blackberry Buckle

This is Only a Test

Please pardon this little experiment as we slowly doggy-paddle towards full 1080 HD video. I hear it's great, and all the cool kids are using it, so I figured what the hell. By the way, this is the Pacific Ocean, where it crashes into the ruins of the mysterious Sutro Baths. We think it may have been a sacred site for some long forgotten race of wealthy San Franciscans, but no one really knows for sure. Enjoy, and remember, this is only a test.

Phil Nails the Skewer Genome

A viewer named Phil shared this with me today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks, Phil!

Celebrating Memorial Day

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy Memorial Day, and as usual, ask you to take a few moments in between bites of whatever grilled goodness you’re enjoying to remember all the chefs and cooks that serve so bravely feeding our troops in times of war.

I’ve said this before, but it’s the thank-you emails I get from our servicemen and women stationed abroad that I find the most inspiring of all. To be able to provide these heroes with a few moments of entertainment makes my otherwise frivolous existence seem a little less so. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America!

Photo above is from our No-Bake Cheesecake Flag Cake video. 
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Chef John’s On Vacation!

Please Note: Photo is for metaphorical purposes only.
Chef John is not vacationing in the tropics.

There are many things I enjoy about my partnership with Allrecipes – amazing tech support, access to state-of-the-art equipment (I don’t know how to use it, but still), and being able to work with talented, like-minded foodies; but above and beyond that, I love that they actually make me take vacations.

At first, they had to force me to take them, since I was convinced that if I went a week without posting a video, the Internet would implode. After realizing that wasn’t the case, my ego and I relaxed, and now we actually look forward to these mandatory breaks.

Anyway, I’ll be off all this week, and while comments will be published, I’ll not be monitoring the blog, so when it comes to questions and comments, you’ll be at the mercy of fellow foodwishers. Good luck with that. Thanks, and see you next week!

Salsa Cruda de Nuevo

I wanted wish everyone a very happy Cinco de Mayo, or as I used to call it, "Mexican St. Patrick’s Day." I don’t anymore, since I heard about some college kids who now have to do a year of tolerance training, after planning a celebration called “Cinco de Drinko.” While funny, it is inappropriate, and so I’ve decided not do any more jokes like that...after this paragraph.

Anyway, in addition to large amounts of beer and tequila, the cornerstone of any great Cinco de Mayo party is the salsa, and this version we posted a few years ago is about a thousand times better than anything you’ll get from a jar. I hope you give it a try, if not today, sometime soon. Click here to view the original post, and get the ingredient amounts. Enjoy!