tater tot "fusion" tacos

All I really wanted for dinner tonight was one of my favorite pairings: tater tots and sriracha sauce. Alas, I was not sure when I would have another chance to cook something blog-worthy, and I cannot leave my loyal Iron Stef readers hangin'. But I am also selfish. So I decided to have my tater tots and sriracha. I just put them in a taco! And you know what? Totally works. Brilliant, if I do say so my selfish self.


Toasted flour tortillas, black beans cooked with some cayenne, cumin, salt & pepper, crispy tater tots, red bell pepper & green onions all topped with a generous squirt of "cock sauce." That's it. That's the recipe.


ummmm..... soooooo... go make some. Perfect use for those tots in your zipper pocket.

curried chickpea salad

I try try try to cook something every week for this blog, but sometimes I am only able to cook at home once a week. The rest is all leftovers, dinners out, etc. So, if I try something and it fails.... I'm left with nothing to share. I'm resourceful, though. This last failed experiment left me with some perfectly good pitas, a can of chick peas, and some Greek yogurt. I decided to make a nice, simple salad. Simple as in... not really a recipe. But follow along, this is a great summer dish.

Cut a pita into wedges and toast them in the oven until they are crunchy.

Meanwhile drain the can of chickpeas, and heat them in a sauce pan, flavoring them with chopped garlic, chopped red onion, plenty of curry powder, some crushed red pepper, cumin, ginger... all your favorite curry spices. Add water as needed so they don't dry out... I cooked them for a good 10-15 minutes, making them quite soft.

Serve the chick peas over arugula that's been lightly dressed with olive oil, salt & pepper. Scatter some halved cherry tomatoes around. Put a nice dollop of Greek yogurt on the whole thing, and add the pita chips as croutons. I ate this salad 3 days in a row without tiring of it. I could go for one right now, in fact!