Happy Birthday Chili Cheese Fries!

Well what do you know? Old Chili has been doing this blog thing for an entire year. I started this thing mainly to catalog my culinary misadventures. Frequently when I would cook I would improvise or only use recipes as outlines. This works for me and usually with good results, but I could never remember exactly what I had done. Too often someone would say, “Chili, can you make that thing you did last time?” Unfortunately I couldn’t. But now, I can. I just dial it up from the website.

Please indulge me for a moment while we reflect back on CCF’s inaugural year and remember some the highs and a few of the lows.

Believe it or not, it’s not the chili cheese fries but rather BBQ Shrimp. Classic Creole. These shrimp are my favorite thing to eat when in New Orleans and the sauce is just as good sopped up with French bread.

Hands down, the Dr Pepper Ribs recipe was the most popular. I managed to replicate this recipe from a dish I had eaten the night before at a restaurant. Something I didn’t really think I could do.

I really like the way the photo of the Iceberg Lettuce Wedges came out. The contrast and colors are really cool. The photo part is the hardest for me because when the food is done, I want to eat. Not take pictures.

Well there were several to choose from but the Jamaican Black Beans picture just looked like a big blurry mess. One of my early efforts.

Not that it is particularly difficult but just a whole lot of work; the Perfect Paella has to be the winner here.

Over the past year I have met many wonderful cooks with awesome ideas to share. That alone has made this whole thing fun and interesting. That plus all the food! Happy Birthday Chili Cheese Fries!