When Life Gives You Lemons

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy needpix

You're no doubt familiar with the  adage, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  Well, I'd like to make an amendment to that sad old saw.  Because when I have a half dozen lemons, what I like to do is make something much tastier than lemonade.  What I'm going to show you below is how to use both the rind and the juice from six lemons to make a creamy Italian liqueur and a fabulous icebox pie that's guaranteed to keep you cool when it's hot outside.

Is One the Loneliest Number When it Comes to Cooking

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy Man Cave Munchies

I started Man Cave Munchies to help teach my bachelor buddies how to cook some tasty, basic meals that didn't require a lot of exotic ingredients.  Most of their refrigerator were either stuffed with half-eaten takeout containers or their freezers looked like the frozen food aisle at the Wynn Dixie.  In short, their idea of cooking was to nuke something out of a box when they came home from work.  When I asked them why they did this, their usual excuse was that it was too much trouble to cook for one.  My response was always, "Well, do you plan on eating for one?"

Who Says There's No Substitute for Success?

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy Man Cave Munchies

While I've pointed out in past episodes that no recipe is chiseled in stone, what foils many chefs is coming to the realization that they don't have the necessary ingredients to complete a dish.  While there might be time enough to hop on down to the grocery store or spice shop if you've yet to begin cooking, when you're smack in the middle of preparing a meal only to realize that you're missing a vital ingredient, many chefs tend to panic.  Having been a man cave man all my adult life, I've learned that when push comes to shove, you can sometimes substitute one ingredient for another without anyone being the wiser.  Hell, improvisation is part and parcel of the man cave mantra.  Below you'll find my down and dirty list of substitutes that can save the day when you're midway through food preparation only to realize that you forgot something.

What's Cooking at Man Cave Munchies?

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy Man Cave Munchies

After taking a 2-year hiatus from the show, I thought it was high time to finish what I started.  When I began production 7-years ago, I wanted to provide viewers with the one thing that I couldn't find on TV: a cooking show for guys.  With that in mind, I came up with a format that every guy could get behind.  Each episode would demonstrate how to prepare meals that were easy to make and that didn't require a lot of expensive equipment.  The other rule was that at least a quarter of the episodes were required to use the one thing that every guy has in his fridge: Beer.  Since the start of the show back in 2013, I've produced 70 webisodes that ran the gamut from burgers and barbecue, to Cajun, Italian and all-American favorites, including homemade liqueurs and mouth watering desserts.

Do Real Men Bake Quiche?

By Carl Weiss

It used to be said that real men don't eat quiche.  At least that was Bruce Feinstein's opinion back in 1982 when he penned a satirical book with that title.  It was written to poke fun at American macho stereotypes.  Bruce's definition of a quiche-eater referred to a male that might enjoy eating a piece of quiche, but would never think of making one, since that would be considered "women's work."  How the times have changed during the past 35 years.  Not only do real men now unabashedly eat quiche, they bake it with gusto.

Stew Crazy

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy of Man Cave Munchies

You're familiar with the term Stir Crazy.  This week I went a little stew crazy when I decided to make 3 different kinds of stews: fish, beef and chicken.  The good news about stews is that they are not only real crowd pleasers, but they are extremely easy to prepare.  They can be made in a stockpot or a crockpot.  Last but not least, they can feed an army.  With winter right around the corner, you might want to bone up on some of these recipes that will keep you warm when it is cold outside.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

by Carl Weiss

Image courtesy of flickr

Thanksgiving isn't really over until you can't stand the site of turkey for another year.  At least, that's my opinion.  That being said, you want to come up with a few creative ways to doctor up those leftovers so you won't be forced to eat the same thing a half dozen times.  In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I would devote this week's blog to giving you some creative ways to convert those leftovers into something you will love to gobble up.