I've created, modified and mangled a few recipes over the years. Here you'll find the few I'm taken the time to write up the recipes for.

• Glop aka Spicy Brie Dip - a hit at parties.
• Crab cakes make a reasonably simple to prepare appetizer that seems more impressive, especially when served with this equally simple variation on a remoulade sauce.
• Something I make fairly regularly is chili. There's also a vegetarian variant.
• Broken Potatoes by the Naked Chef
• Green Beans + Walnuts
• Mashed Potato Casserole
• Pork with Peaches by the Naked Chef
• Banana bread - A great way to use up those blackened bananas you meant to eat because the doctor said you needed the potasium.
• Chocolate Bread Pudding - a variation on a fairly standard recipe.
• Warm Soft Chocolate Cake 24-Dec-2001

This is a combination of sites I visit looking for recipes or info and sites with products I like or want to own.

Recipe sites

• Epicurious Food - a great site with tons of info, recipes and definitions.
• Williams-Sonoma recipes.
• Emeril's online recipe database from Chef Emeril Lagase. Some really interesting recipes on file and a neat recipe wizard to help you find a recipe based on what's in your pantry. Note - you need to register with the site before you can access the recipe database.
• The Food Network has an extensive recipe section that's just a click away. Be warned though, some of their content disappears after a while so if there's a recipe you like (or think you'll like) save it or it might be gone the next time you go looking.
• My dad found a copy of Saveur magazine at his dentist office. He thought it was interesting, I agreed and we've shared a subscription since. They only keep a few recipes online. If you are interested in a variety of food styles I highly recommend a subscription. I don't think you'll regret it.

Kitchen Equipment

• I can't decide if I want a Thermador Kitchen Appliances or Viking Range when I build my new kitchen. 4 burners and 1 oven is never enough when I'm playing in the kitchen.
• Sub-Zero Freezer - way cool.
• KitchenAid - appliances large and small

Food Vendor sites

• Coffee + Caffine FAQ - everything you wanted to know and more
• Ben + Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream - you actually have to ask what this is?
• Godiva Chocolatier
• King Arthur Flour - get their catalog.
• Tabasco - goes with everything, really!
• Salsas, Etc! - some like it hot. Try the Ass-kickin' Corn Bread.
• Coca-Cola - accept no substitues.
• Viansa Winery - I visited this winery in 1999 when I visited San Francisco. The wines were excellent and they also have a marketplace with food stuff and winery related items. It was a nice place to visit at lunch time.
• Boston Beer Company - makers of Sam Adams.
• Guinness - straight from Ireland.

Restaurants

These are places I've visited and had a good time. That doesn't necessarily mean it's gourmet food or the place to be seen. They're simply establishments I enjoyed patronizing.

• I visited Emeril's in December 2000 while in New Orleans for a conference. A Imagine, if you will, 10 computer geeks all dressed up and having a fancy dinner. Shocking, I know. Excellent food, presentation and service.
• Escargot, Marlboro, MA. This store front restaurant at the edge of Main Street offers pleasant mix of Thai and French cuisine. Last time I visited we enjoyed a wonderful meal of pad thai + masamann curry and followed it up with a superb chocolate shouffle. A wonderful way to spend a quiet evening.

• O'Connor's, Rt. 12, Worcester, MA. Think of the Irish Pub straight out of the movies and make it twice as good. A popular place, busy late into the evening. Bring your appetite and plan on having dessert.
• My friend Kathy introduced me to the wine dinners at the Stonehedge Inn - Located in Tyngsboro, MA. Each month a different winery is featured and the executive chef prepares a meal to enhance that winery's offerings. The dinners have introduced me to wines and dishes I probably would never have tried on my own.
• Tatnuck Bookseller Restaurant, Chandler Street, Worcester. They've got books, they've got coffee, they've got great food. How can you go wrong? Located inside the Tantuck Bookseller's building the menu is a mix of traditional items and things you just don't expect to find (try the seafood rissoto, you won't be sorry.)