While Charisse was in Arkansas we both ended up having soup on the same night. We all saw how Eric's turned out while Charisse on the other hand was eating out at a Mennonite restaurant in Gentry and enjoying a baked potato soup. We were talking later that night over Skype and Eric learned two things: Mennonites are people and therefore not edible and baked potato soup is the best thing since the baked potato. Actually, he learned 3 things that night, the third being that canned low sodium soup tastes terrible. Especially if its past its expiration date by a year and a half. So when Charisse came back this was near the top of the southern-cooking-to-die-for-and-may-actually-kill-you-too list and was promptly cooked up for lunch on the first really cold October day. It was actually a great Sunday afternoon food, it really fit our day. We've been having some

So Charisse came back from Arkansas last week and saved us all from Eric's Kraft Mac and Cheese from a box recipe (we should all praise the food gods for that). In fact, foodies@home almost came to an end when she walked in the door and announced "I am so full, I am never ever ever eating anything ever again". Thankfully that was a short lived sentiment and it was right back to business this weekend. One slight change in her was a strong desire to show off her newfound southern roots. Those roots are newfound because she is a 3rd or 4th generation Californian. Go figure. We talked a little bit about what southern inspired dishes we should try first and decided on (cue the banjos) Fried Chicken. According to Charisse the Arkansas family all agreed that cooking doesn't get any more Arkansas than sticking some battered chicken in

Welcome to the second of three posts dealing with Charisse's family vacation in Arkansas, leaving Eric to fend for himself. So far, he's still alive and so are the animals. Trust me, that's a good sign. This time of year in California the weather has started to turn colder which is always exciting because that means the Holidays are just around the corner. It also means its time for hot foods to make a comeback and what better than some chicken noodle soup to kick off the winter cooking season? It turns out that chicken noodle is also the perfect choice when it is the only canned soup in the house. It is also the same can I bought for Charisse the last time she wasn't feeling well. Guys, even if she doesn't use it, still a good call to bring one home. Now heres the really important part, when

This week's posts are dedicated to the married American Male when left alone for a period of time. Charisse has gone to Arkansas to visit family, and left me, Eric all alone for a week. I've decided to document what happens when even the most devoted foodie is left alone to fend for himself. The results? Not good. So this was a vacation that was on the books for over a year and was supposed to include the both of us but I couldn't make due to my new job. No vacation time is tough. Thankfully I got a lot of invites from our friends, so most of the time I wasn't at work, I was enjoying the cooking prowess of our friends and family but that left a few nights where I had to fend for myself, so I've decided to share that with you. The first night after Charisse left, my

Well, we didn't make it past the Fancy Dinner party in the Foodbuzz competition so we took a little break (nothing like take out Chinese Food to soothe the soul of defeat). THANK YOU all so much for your support though this contest and hopefully you'll all keep reading! Now that we're ready to get back on track, Charisse has taken off on a family vacation to Arkansas (pronounced Ark-en-saw - apparently it is offensive to call it Ark-Kansas or Ark an sauce =P) leaving Eric home alone for a week, so the next few posts will be me going solo. Since cooking for one is never fun, I've pulled out the old college cook book and will be showing everyone how the typical American Male survives when left alone for an extended period of time. You've been warned. Charisse's imminent departure meant we worked hard to spend as much time together

Mmmm Breakfast. What an overlooked, but truly outstanding meal. They say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Were not sure who "they" are but they do tend to be right. Theres something about having a big filling breakfast thats like filling the gas tank before a big road trip. Cruising past pit stops and snack bars knowing you don't need to stop... okay that analogy is just not working, but you get the point. Weekday breakfast is all too often sadly uneventful. Theres no such thing as happy breakfast hour or breakfast meetings. Nobody does a power breakfast. In today's world breakfast seems to either get woofed down on the drive into work or skipped entirely which is a real shame because some of the worlds best food is for breakfast. When we lived in San Francisco, the big thing to do was Sunday breakfast. We're talking

Voting is open now through Thursday! Help us get through to the next round! http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/3/view/1235

 It was a week ago and we were planing out what we would cook for round 3 of the Project Food Blog contest and Charisse had just asked what Eric's favorite ingredient was. This was followed by an impassioned argument that pepperoni pizza was not an ingredient but a meal into it's own and not suitable for a "luxury"dinner party. We were trying to set a menu for the evening (part of the challenge) and wanted all the courses to be tied together somehow. Usually when we go out to eat there's no cohesion in the menu, no flow between courses, its just 3 or 4 different dishes that we happen to like. Its a meal simply because all the plates happen to land on our table. When Foodbuzz announced this challenge we knew we wanted all of our courses tied together somehow and the idea of a common ingredient