DOLE Banana Night at Caribe Bistro and Pique Recipe

Are there more to banana's than breakfast and lunch? DOLE is on a nationwide tour to prove that there is. On May 26th I was invited to participate in a dinner put on by DOLE, Caribe Bistro and Food Blogger Shaina from Food For My Family.

Northwest Cherry Dutch Oven Stew

Each year our church does a Father and Sons camp out where we get to spend some time with just the boys. We typically cook our own dinner but it kind of ends up being a potluck where everyone shares whatever they brought. Of course there are the usual hotdogs and such but the last few years we've tried to do a few different things with our dutch oven. Last year my Father in Law was in town from Seattle and they suggested this Northwest Cherry Stew recipe that they had done a few times. We tried it out and and it was a huge hit with everyone.

Strawberry and Pastry Cream Tart

Last week we had a get together with some of our friends that like to cook where we each brought some of our "specialties" and spent an evening together with some pretty amazing food. Kids were involved too so we tried to get them fed and then banished to destroy the basement play room before we sat down and enjoyed some amazing appetizers and grilled meats. There was enough food for at least twice as many people so there was no excuse for anyone to go hungry. I was assigned the dessert but honestly I'm getting a little desserted out. I'm sure that's a real word right? And as soon as I wrote that, I almost deleted it. It's not that I don't want to eat dessert, just not make it again for awhile. At least for a day or two.

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

We moved to Mandeville, Louisiana (just outside of New Orleans) just a day before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. We were there for just a year but the experiences we had in helping to rebuild, the friendships we made and of course the food, will always be a part of us. So this month when the Daring Cooks announced the challenge was Gumbo, I was pretty excited. I had some great gumbo while we were in New Orleans but I've never tried to make it myself.

Fruit Pizza

For Mother's Day, my wife requested fresh fruit. Lot's of it. So we had crepes filled with strawberries and blueberries for breakfast and flank steak with grilled pineapple for dinner. Then for dessert we had the beauty pictured above; Fruit Pizza.

Deep-Fried Poached Eggs with Creamed Spinach and Crispy Prosciutto

Somehow I've made it through all these years of cooking with never making a poached egg. Not sure exactly how it happened. I've only begun to like runny eggs in the last few years so that's probably part of it. I've always love fried eggs but when I made them myself I would cook them all the way through and in a restaurant I'd also ensure that they knew I wanted no runny yoke. Now I love to have that yoke running over a piece of toast, and yet still never a poached egg. Until tonight that is. And now I'm in love.

Oatmeal Lace Cookie Bowls with Maple Mousse

This is my second month participating in the Daring Bakers, a monthly baking challenge and I guess I'm not in the swing of things quite yet. I knew about the challenge, thought a lot about it and was planning on completing it this weekend because I thought it was due next week. Then I go check out the website tonight and realize that it's due: TODAY! and it's already after 8:00pm. Do I give up? No. So here is my response to the challenge to create a Maple Mousse and an edible container.