• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine stock, butter, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add flour and cheeses to thicken. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir to combine. Set aside or freeze for later use. We make a huge batch of this cheese sauce and freeze it. Every time we want mac & cheese all we have to do is boil the noodles, add the sauce, and bake.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add noodles; cook until al dente, according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in sauce and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
• Lightly coat a 9-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
• Cover with aluminum foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top. Serve immediately.

I talk to him every day.

Twice, usually.

His voice calms me down in times of chaos. His smile encourages me to be better. His song brings tears to my eyes, every single time. 32 years later and his words teach me still.

My father. My pops, my padre, my papa, my dad.

There is no one in the world like him. He has shown me strength in the darkest of times and showed me faith when I had none. His eyes sparkle when the mini’s come into sight, all his pain and sorrow from hardships that forever changed him, disappear almost instantaneously.  In times of anger and pain, he reminds me of love.

My father. My pops, my padre, my papa, my dad.

Without him I would not be here. They would not be here. He teaches me what family really means. For a long time, he was my only family. My only rock. My only support. His support led me to find my own happiness in a family I never knew I so desperately wanted.I am grateful to him forever.

My father. My pops, my padre, my papa, my dad. My heart.

Happy Birthday Old Man. I love ya.

I have pink hair now. Actually just pink highlights, but still, my hair be pink.

The winter has been mild here in the CLE and the seasonal depression has yet to set it. As I write this is it 60 degrees in Cleveland. The sun is shining and everyone I have seen today has had the joker smile plastered across their faces. I think it must be my pink hair.

Valentine’s Day is in 15 days. While the Chef & I don’t shove chocolates down each others throats we do celebrate our love. Normally the Chef is in the kitchen and this year is no different. Except it is!!! The night before Valentine’s Day is something so special and never before seen in Cleveland. Chef Cory Barrett of Lola notoriety is doing an all dessert dinner as a Brick and Mortar Popup. I have been a HUGE Cory fan ever since I first tasted his 3am special and I have been running 5 miles a day in preparation for what is sure to go down as a memorable evening.

I would LOVE it if you could join me so I’m gonna giveaway a couple of tickets ($150 value) to this DELECTABLY DELICIOUS DINNER. To win leave me a comment telling me the MOST ROMANTIC thing that has ever happened to you or that you have done for someone else.

I will announce a winner on February 6th, which gives you a week to ask that special someone to be your dessert dinner date.

Good luck bitches.

On Sunday morning I woke up to unbelievable amounts of support. Having organized a Tweetup / Watch party for that evening’s Iron Chef I really didn’t have a clue as to how it was going to be perceived. Sure, I knew my foodie peeps like JoeG and LisaZ would be tweeting up a storm however my 6th grade self at my 12th birthday party wondered if anyone would even show up.

Show up they did! Hell, they almost broke the internet. All day Sunday I sat by my tweetdeck and watched the #teamsawyer hashtags  flow. First 5 tweets an hour, then 10, the 30, then fifty! The show hadn’t even begun and #teamsawyer was on FIRE yo. My nervous stomach started to get the best of me as I drove downtown to the restaurant to watch the Chef compete on Iron Chef America.

When I arrived at the tavern the Chef was waiting with a glass of bubbly knowing my nervousness was growing. I downed the bubbly and waited in heightened anticipation with mah boys:

#teamsawyer

For what seemed like hours (in actuality it was only 1) I bounced around the room and ran back and forth between both restaurants. Both were packed with droves of people, all there to support the Chef and his team. Moments before Iron Chef began I took it all in. The Chef and I held hands on the stairs of our restaurant as we watched him in battle for the next 60 minutes.

The final outcome was one I could have gone without. Who woulda ever thought crudite would be a winning Iron Chef dish? Nevertheless, I know The Chef gave it his all and I couldn’t be prouder. Like always, he put his heart and passion into the battle. He was loud and boisterous, personable and funny, and I wouldn’t have wanted him to be any other way. He showed the entire world that he is a fierce competitor and more importantly, an extremely talented chef. We had an unbelievable night together with our friends and family and I am forever grateful that I live in such a close knit city. Happy in CLE:

Me & @kakaty

Birthday boy @lasher216 and me cheering for #teamsawyer

A huge thanks goes out to all the #teamsawyer tweeps! You guys made a huge moment in our life, monumental.

We’ll get em next tho’ and we’ll be sure to bring a shitload of cut veggies…

Heh. Heh.

But really, I would LOVE to know what you thought of the Chef’s Iron Chef America episode? Did you enjoy?

***And if you missed Sunday night’s episode, it is on YouTube and The Food Network will be playing it this Saturday at 5pm. Feel free to watch and tweet with #teamsawyer! 

Yesterday when my friend Mike posted this on facebook the wheels started turning…I had to write a post about ‘kid’s menus’.

I think about my children’s diet every single day of my life. I plan menus, I shop, I market, I cook. Alongside their health and happiness their diet is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to the Chef & I. We decided a long time ago that nothing bad would go into thier bodies, probably as a reaction to all the bad shit we have put in our own as well as a reaction to our son’s kidney disease.

So when Mike posted yesterday, my first thought was this: How do parents not get/care/understand that what they are allowing to go into their children’s body affects their children LIVES? How does a mother or father convince themselves that it is ok that her four year child eats this on a daily basis? HOW?

When you order off of the kids menu, you are most likely ordering the most UNHEALTHY thing you could ever order for your child. Kids menus are the antithesis of healthy. They are made up of foods that parents have programmed themselves and their children into thinking that they are good for your children. Well, guess what? They’re not good for your children, they are not got for you, they are not good for your dog,   hell, they are not good for anyone.

Check out these kids menu nutritional info. I dare you not to throw up in your mouth:

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE:

Outback Steakhouse Kookaburra Chicken Fingers meal with Aussie Fries

1,030 calories

60 g fat (21 g saturated)

2,052 mg sodium

Fat equivalent: 12 Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts!

OLIVE GARDEN

Olive Garden Fettuccini Alfredo meal

800 calories
48 g fat (30 g saturated)
810 mg sodium

Saturated fat equivalent: 1.5 full jars of Nutella!

APPLEBEE’S

Applebee’s Grilled Cheese with French fries

1,020 calories
54 g fat (17 g saturated)
2,170 mg sodium

Calorie equivalent: 400 Cheddar Goldfish Crackers. (That’s 1.3 full bags!)

Here’s the crazy part: You can make a grilled cheese sandwich in your own house — using real cheese and toasting it with real butter — and still manage to slide in at about 300 calories. This one has 620 calories, and the fries account for the extra 400

DENNY’S

Denny’s Slap Shot Sliders (2) meal with Finish Line Fries

1070 calories
53 g fat (16 g saturated, 2 g trans)
1180 mg sodium

Calorie equivalent: 505 Jujubes (That’s just over 2 full boxes!)

FRIENDLY’S

Friendly’s Mac & Cheese Quesadilla meal with Friendly Frank, Shirley Temple and Friend-z Peanut Butter Cup

2,270 calories
109 g fat (45 g saturated)
3,320 sodium

Calorie equivalent: 45.5 Glazed Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts!

UMMMMMMM….CAN YOU SAY BARF???? I dare any one of you to eat one meal that contains 2,270 calories & 109g of saturated fat!!!

Just reading this data ignites my hatred for chain restaurants. It also makes me sad for the kids who eat this garbage not knowing any better. As parents it is our job, I believe, to give our children a better life than our own. That doesn’t mean, give them a bunch a toys and call it a day. It means that we make sure whatever path we have chosen for our kids lives, it is the longest path possible. Make choices that will enhance and enrich your child’s life, not choices that will cause your child harm or sickness.

Starting at home is the key to eliminating ‘the kids menu’ from your childrens’ lives. Feed your kids real food, real fruits and vegetables, and cook with them. Make food in a pan, not out of a box. Use your oven. THROW OUT YOUR MICROWAVE!! Respect your children’s bodies by respecting what you put in them. When you make dinner, encourage your kids to try something new. Don’t force them to eat it, just try a bite. You’d be surprised how many times they end up liking it. Make dinner for your family, not for individual members. I make one dinner for my family. If my kids don’t want to eat it, they don’t. They can pick a fruit of veggie to compensate or they can save their dinner for later.  It may sound harsh, but I totally believe this is the reason the mini’s eat asparagus, pork, artichokes, sunchokes, squash, apples, carrots, lettuce, grapes, bananas, strawberries, broccoli, KALE, celery, and more!! Introducing these foods at home makes it possible to completely ignore the kids menu the next time you and your family go out to eat!

As adults we focus so much on our own health. Every time I turn on thee TV I am inundated by workout infomercials, anti-aging beauty secrets, diet pills, diet plans, and drug commercials. As a society we are constantly looking for our own fountain of youth, while ignoring our children. I wonder what would happen if we focused all that energy we waste on our own vanity and redirect it towards our children? First thing, I’m guessing is all those dreaded ‘kids menus’ would be a thing of the past.