Cooking Army

Gather round the yule log and we can regale you with the stories of a man named Jack, who jumped over a menorah for 8 straight days, until the Krampus came and was going to stuff him in his basket. but a bright red light from the nose of a reindeer startled him. Jack was able to slip away into a house full of indoor pine trees where he came upon three wise men who asked him questions three. Am I doing this holiday thing right? If not, well, we here at Cooking Army can at least feed you with a feast. We shall include the finest of ribs from a prime cow, melted and then re-frozen pie, and other delectable sides! This will be our last Cooking Army of the year before we go into a bit of hibernation, returning in late-ish January.

Details!
When: This Wednesday, December 10th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7:30pm-ish
What: Prime rib with a red wine reduction, savory bread pudding, garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, honey roasted carrots, peppermint ice cream pie

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

/Chris

Hello everyone!
The temperatures in Chicago have begun to wildly swing from false Summer to three inches of snow which can mean only one thing! We’re about to get that 2 weeks of Fall everyone talks about! Fall and cooler weather usually brings about sweaters and comfy blankets, but for me it reminds me of chili. So, we’re gonna cook up some chili for y’all. To make it interesting, I’m going to have a faux cookoff for everyone. It’s only faux because I’m picking all the recipes and going to dragoon Jason and Nick into cooking each of them. The real competition will be for your taste buds! Will you chose the gluten free cornbread n’ chili? The white chili? The vegetarian chili? Find out this Wednesday!

Details!
When: This Wednesday, November 19th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7:30pm-ish
What: Chili Cornbread Casserole, White Chicken Chili, Vegetarian Chili

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

/Chris

Hey Everybody!
Hold onto your hats and get ready for this tidal wave of lactose! For those that aren’t aware, my wife has a penchant for cheese. As this Wednesday is her birthday, I told her she could pick some of the recipes we do… Well, it’s cheese all the way down. We apologize to those who may be lactose intolerant, we will try to have Lactaid onhand as well.

Cheese!
When: This Wednesday, August 27th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7:30pm-ish
What: Saganaki, Loaded Cauliflower Casserole, Parmesan-&-Herb-Crusted Zucchini, Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach & Cheese

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

/Chris

Hey there Cooking Army patrons!
It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to host Cooking Army… If you’ve spoken to me in the past 9 months or so, I may have mentioned the all consuming project that has been our kitchen renovation. Well, it’s done! Uh, mostly. Regardless, it’s done enough where we’re gonna cook up some tasty vittles for ya’. Last time folks were in our kitchen, temperatures were in the single digits, now it’s been roasting hot the past few days! In that vein, we’re going to cook up some soothing summer grub that should tickle your taste buds after dealing with the heat!

Details!
When: This Wednesday, June 25th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7pm-ish
What: Lemon Butter Cheesy Zucchini Orzo, Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes, Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

/Chris

Howdy folks!
In these dire times of frigid cold, we all seem to be looking for something to warm our bellies and sooth our aching souls. While we might not be able to help with the whole soul thing other than perhaps some vigorous discussion on the topic, something we can certainly do is warm your belly! And do so by filling it with dense, upside-down mealtime goodness!

Details!
When: This Wednesday, January 22nd. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7pm-ish
What: Biscuits & Sausage Gravy, Gluten-free Biscuits & Gravy, Candied Bacon, Breakfast Skillet

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

/Chris

Ahoy Hoy Folks,

Now that the holidays are in full swing in our beloved frozen tundra again, it’s time for my favorite tradition.  That’s right, this coming Wednesday we will make a rib roast that can only be exactly divided by itself and the number 1.  In addition to the roast of champions, I’m going to straight up copy the rest of the menu from last year since I think that’s the best we’ve ever done for this particular meal.  And look, I know this is coming off a week that included the most gorge-tastic holiday of the US calendar, but I have faith that even the fullest of you can pull up your big-kid stretchy pants and put on a few more layers of insulation with me this week.

Items!

When: This Wednesday, December 4th.  Come as early as 6:30, food coming out in waves starting at around 7
What: Prime rib roast, vegetarian shepherd’s pie with Indian spices, garlic mashed potatoes, lemon parmesan asparagus, mac-n-cheeze and peppermint pie

I have a handful of good winter beers but as usual, bring whatever you’d like to pair with the meal.  Conventional wisdom would imply that red wine goes well with this, but, honestly, look at the horrible dystopia conventional wisdom gave us.  Bring whatever you want instead.  Also bring your friends and definitely bring your appetite.  It’s time to eat.

– Jeremy

Hello friends!
You all may have noticed that our summer is over, the weather is turning a little cooler occasionally, and spooky season is upon us! I’m feeling very Autumnal right about now and have been drinking cider by the gallon as of late. With that in mind, I want to break out some favorites of past Cooking Army’s while still trying something slightly new. Join us for some delicious fall foods!

Deets!

When: This Wednesday, Oct 9th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30pm, food should begin to roll out by 7pm-ish
What: Butternut squash soup, pork roast with apples, garlic butter sweet potatoes, bacon wrapped dates

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

Greetings Eaters!
We have a special treat for you folks this week! Jeremy and Jason decided to abscond off to Belgium, leaving me all by my lonesome to attempt to cook for y’all. But instead of wallow in trying to do this all by myself, I decided to do the logical thing. I brought in the big guns, the PROFESSIONALS. That’s right, I was able to bring in none other than Travis, who is a professional chef by trade, and his delightful partner Alisha, who also used to be a professional food & beverage person, to compose the menu for this week and let me tell you, it’s a banger! Ya’ ever been down to Taylor Street in Chicago? They call it “Little Italy” for a reason and this is gonna an ode to that area that is near and dear to my heart. I’m not sure if Travis and Alisha even knew that I lived on or near Taylor St. for ~4-7 years of my life, but I’m already drooling over this menu. Enough waffling, on to the details!

Deets!
When: This Wednesday, July 31st. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should begin to roll out by 7:30-ish.
What: Italian Salads (2 different kinds!), Roast Pork Loin with Puttanesca Sauce, Pomodori Al Riso, Rotini with Fontina Fonduta and Shaved Truffle, Roasted Broccolini with Piquillo Peppers. Alisha’s Famous Sourdough Foccacia

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

Hello Friends!
I write this to you after procrastinating for far too long because I was stuck scrolling on my phone… again. It is the plague of our generation that many of us have become addicted to our devices. Today, I strive to turn this addiction into an opportunity! You see, everybody’s feed is different, but for whatever reason, my feed contains a significant number of a category I like to call, “People finding wild recipes and trying them”. While I may not record myself trying some of these recipes, we will make them and see if they’re as delicious as they appear in my reels.

Details!
When: This Wednesday, April 3rd. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should begin to be ready by 7:15-ish.
What: Fried Kidney Beans, Garlic Bread Soup, Parmesan Duchess Potatoes, Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.

Comrades!
Winter is upon us and it’s icy grip can be felt all around. As we hunker down and dream of warmer times, I try to connect with my eastern European heritage as they generally have weathered these temperatures much better than I usually can. I’m wrapped in 3 blankets and still shivering as I type this. And not to get too political, but seeing as Russia has been at war with Ukraine for… checks notes 10 YEARS?! Our recipes inspired from the Motherland this week have a distinct Ukrainian lean to them. Get ready for some hearty fare!

Info!
When: This Wednesday, January 31st. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should begin to be ready by 7:15-ish.
What: Olivye (potato salad), Pork borscht, Beef kasha, Russian tea cakes

As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring a beverage of your choice and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.