Posted May 1st, 2023 by Chris
Hello friends!
While racking my brain for wonderful delicacies to bring to you within a colorful menu, I decided to make a 90 degree turn. I have often relied on using a single ingredient and taking it to it’s completely illogical conclusion in the form of an entire meal, but what if I were to instead rely on geometric shapes? Thus, this week, we bring you: Round and Flat! It’s like re-inventing the wheel all over again!
Deets!
When: This Wednesday, May 3rd. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should begin to be ready by 7:15-ish.
Where: Chris’ geometry class
What: Lemon blueberry pancakes, Homemade pizzas with various toppings, Norwegian cookies
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
Posted February 20th, 2023 by Chris
Hey Friends!
We’re without our fearless leader, Jeremy, this week as he goes to fight off the barbarians to the North in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, Jason and I will continue to serve you up dishes we believe to be delicious and you will probably at least respect our enthusiasm. This week, we delve into that delectable plant that has been used to enhance food around the world, garlic. We’re going to push the limits of what is possible by not only preparing an appetizer, but a main and side dish, along with a dessert, all with garlic. Join us to see if this madness is as good as the fever dream that concocted this plan!
Deets!
When: This Wednesday, February 22nd. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should begin to be ready by 7:15-ish.
Where: Chris’ garlic fields
What: Broccoli and Garlic-Ricotta Toasts With Hot Honey, Skillet Potatoes with Red Pepper and Whole Garlic Cloves, Garlic-Apple Pork Roast, Pineapple-garlic Upside Down Cake
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
Posted November 14th, 2022 by Chris
Hello friends!
We’ve past All Hallows Eve and Day, we’re barreling down to the next feasting and gorging holiday, but we would be remiss here at Cooking Army if we did not recognize the delights of the season: Fall. For this very special Fall edition of Cooking Army, we are going to delight you with the recipes old and new, with special attention to the season’s most focal item of harvest, the gourd!
Details!
When: This Wednesday, November 16th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, Soup should be ready right away, the rest of the food should be ready by 7:30.
Where: Chris’ pumpkin patch
What: Roasted butternut squash soup, Four-Bean & Pumpkin Chili, Eggplant Rollatini
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
Posted September 12th, 2022 by Chris
Welcome again folks!
This week’s menu is brought to you by the recent dinner we had with friends where they left an enormous amount of red wine as leftovers. To take advantage of this windfall, we are going to wine and dine you this Wednesday. With red wine in all the dishes. That’s right! I’m back to my “How many dishes can Chris make with a single ingredient?” ways. I tried to find dishes where the red wine wasn’t too overt, but lets face it, we may add extra in our attempts to imitate Keith Floyd. And with any luck, you’ll be too tipsy to notice!
Details!
When: This Wednesday, September 14th. Cooking/arrivals at 6:30, food should be ready by 7:30.
Where: Chris’ vineyards
What: 4 Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta, Red Wine–Braised Chicken With Chorizo and Chickpeas, Red Wine Chocolate Snack Cake
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
Posted June 20th, 2022 by Chris
Howdy folks!
Sorry for a little late notice, but Summer is finally here! With the Solstice upon us, I figured we should dance around the fire in honor of the Sun gods and lords of Summer. Or at least, sacrifice some meats upon the almighty grill. And so we shall. Join us in this celebration as we attempt to roast tender meats and vittles and not roast the sensitive skin of ourselves.
Deets!
When: This Wednesday, June 22nd. Cooking at 6:30, food should be ready by 7-7:30.
Where: Chris’ alter to the grill gods
What: Disappearing Pork, Grilled Pepper Boats, Roasted Potatoes and Kielbasa
As always, no need to RSVP, if you can show up, great! If not, that’s cool too. Everyone is encouraged to bring some beer (or wine if that’s your thing) and desserts are ALWAYS welcome, but again, not mandatory. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.
/Chris
Posted March 28th, 2022 by Chris
Hello there!
There were a few recipes within the past couple weeks that I’ve been wanting to do, but just my luck, the timing just hasn’t worked out. I had these Irish recipes that would have been perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, but that blew past us like a phantom L train. Well, you lucky Cooking Army folks get to enjoy them now instead! Muahaha! Err… they’ll be delicious!
Details!
When: This Wednesday, March 30th. Cooking at 6:30, food should be ready by 7-7:30.
Where: Chris’ public pub
What: Guinness Beef Stew, Roasted Asparagus, Irish Soda Bread
As always, no need to RSVP and feel free to bring any friends and/or beverages you prefer, any drinks or desserts are always appreciated! Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.
/Chris
Posted January 23rd, 2022 by Chris
Greetings Eaters!
It’s been some time, but we’re back! After our brief hibernation and recovery from the holidays, the Cooking Army is back to serve you some grub. Now that we’re in the throes of deep Chicago winter, it’s time to warm up those bellies with comfort food to raise that body temperature. I’m also going to try some recipes that should be relatively easy for those to try at home if they’d like.
Deets!
When: This Wednesday, January 26th. Cooking at 6:30, soup should be ready first, then the main course.
Where: Chris’ cozy cabin
What: Roasted Carrot Soup, Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower, Lemon Pine Nut Chicken
As always, no need to RSVP and feel free to bring any friends and/or beverages you prefer, any drinks or desserts are always appreciated! Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.
Posted November 16th, 2021 by Chris
Hello Eaters,
Pre-Covid we had an annual house party we call the Christmas Tree Burn where I cook ribs and pork butt and salmon and we pass out Christmas Tree branches to the small children to throw on the fire. We’ll be doing that this week! Minus the ribs, kids and Christmas Tree. Come and eat, we’ll have plenty of smoked pork butt and salmon.
Items!
When: This Wednesday, November 17th. Food ready by 7:30, come anytime after 6:30.
Where: Jeremy’s Imaginary Fire Pit
What: Pork Butt, Smoked Salmon, TBD third item that’s not smoked
We are all vaccinated and hope you are too. This will be indoors as always and that comes with all the usual warnings that go along with that in these auspicious times.
Yay, you survived through the clerical portion of the email. Aren’t you such a good reader! As usual, if you want anything in particular to drink, haul it alongside your friends.
Let’s eat!
Jason
Posted November 2nd, 2021 by Chris
All the recipes for this Cooking Army turned out really well. I’m actually planning to make more of the pork soon!
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup –
https://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-roasted-butternut-squash-soup-188978
One of our signature dishes, this turned out great as always. I personally add extra garlic and maple syrup to the base recipe and just doubling the recipe ended up with a good amount of leftovers after everyone ate too. A note for those who have not done this recipe before – the recipe says to roast the squash for 50 min. THAT IS A LIE. I roasted this for 3.5 hours before it was soft enough to scoop out.
Apple Cider Pulled Pork –
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apple-cider-pulled-pork/
This was my favorite of the night! And it mixed really well with the pumpkin mashed potatoes too. Gonna keep this on my list!
Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes –
https://steamykitchen.com/23787-pumpkin-mashed-potatoes-recipe.html
The pumpkin and the potatoes really melded well as flavors and complemented the pork too. Kept really well as leftovers.
Posted October 26th, 2021 by Chris
Hello Hello!
It’s finally gotten cold out, children are diving into piles of leaves and gaining bruises because those things are not nearly as cushioned as TV leads you to believe… People are carving pumpkins that will be prime for smashing in a week, which means it’s time for some fall food! We’re bringing back a fall classic like making a couple gallons of butternut squash soup, but trying some new items too. Come join us to try them out!
When: This Wednesday, October 27th. Cooking at 6:30, soup should be ready right away, while others will come out as they’re ready.
Where: Chris’ treehouse of horror
What: Butternut squash soup, Potato pumpkin mash, Apple cider pulled pork
As always, no need to RSVP and feel free to bring any friends and/or beverages you prefer, although an oktoberfest is always appreciated! Bring your friends, bring your bellies, it’s time to eat.
/Chris