The Peanut Butter Boy » Peanut Butterless

Fresh Mozzarella Pizza

Nick — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:03:50 +0000

Living in Hoboken, New Jersey, you learn some useful lessons. The most recent one I learned was to avoid sidewalks in the downtown area since they are constantly clogged with picture-frenzy “Cake Boss” fans. Hoboken is also where I first learned what The Jersey Breakfast was. But more than anything else, I learned the importance of fresh mutz (the “u” is pronounced like the “oo” in “toots”). In fact, if you search Google for “fresh mutz” you’ll find that every result has the word “Hoboken” in it – that’s how much we love it. Fresh mutz is a way of life over here and once you’ve had pizza with it, you’ll never turn back.

Chocolate Covered Jelly Rings

Nick — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:41:46 +0000

One aspect about food I enjoy the most is the memories and sense of nostalgia it can induce simply by the look, smell or taste of it. I used to help my mother on her Meals on Wheels route when I was younger, and there was a very kind man who always had a box of chocolate covered jelly rings to share with us. These donut-shaped chocolate rings were filled with a raspberry jelly and that man not only introduced me to them, but I haven’t had them since. Yet I distinctly remember the flavor and texture of them, and how much I looked forward to delivering his meals in the hopes that I would be offered a jelly ring. When my coworker brought in some chocolate covered fruits one day, I bit into a chocolate covered prune and took a step back in time. Somehow, chocolate covered prunes tasted exactly like the jelly rings I remember, and the shape is surprisingly close too. If prunes aren’t appetizing to you, just call them dried plums and you’ll be fine. These are a great snack and excellent source of energy and antioxidants.

Peanut Coke

Nick — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:04:42 +0000

Everyone has an Uncle Bob. If not, they have a relative equivalent to my Uncle Bob. For example, my Uncle Bob recently acquired a few live chickens (don’t ask how) and decided to raise them on a diet consisting exclusively of cheeseballs. Needless to say, the egg yolks are suprisingly orange. Another tidbit of information Uncle Bob shared with me is what many of his coworkers have for snack. Here’s what he divulged: They go to the vending machine, get a bag of salted peanuts and a bottle of Coke, pour the peanuts into the Coke and drink it. Simple. Odd. Delicious? Yup. I don’t drink much soda but Coke Zero is my favorite. Regular Coke is too sweet, diet Coke tastes awful, but Coke Zero has the perfect level of sweetness with a good flavor and an almost salty undertone. Salted peanuts compliment it perfectly. I must admit, I was impressed. Thanks Uncle Bob.

Blueberry Vanilla Milkshake

Nick — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:30:05 +0000

Climate change, regardless of your stance, has a more dramatic impact than glacier melting or political agendas – it affects our appetites. Cold weather, warm foods. Warm weather, cold foods. It’s a vicious cycle, but one that us foodies embrace wholeheartedly. With the imminent onset of some seriously warm weather, it’s time for a cold refreshment that’s nutritious enough for dinner. I’ve made several variations of this recipe before: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Strawberry Banana Kiwi, but I usually called them “ice cream”. It comes out thick, rich and creamy, but I think the term “milkshake” is more applicable. Hence, I present to you a delicious and nutritious Blueberry Vanilla Milkshake:

Chile Verde Tacos

Nick — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:09:38 +0000

There are just too many red sauces out there. I equate the abundance of red sauce in the world to the amount of green in nature. The most intriguing plants in nature are the ones with exotic colors like bright blue, orange or purple. In similar fashion, chile verde sticks out with it’s light green, almost vomit-colored sauce. But don’t let that dissuade you. This gem of a sauce is made from tomatillos (mild green tomatoes) and jalapenos, and is full of wonderful flavors. If you don’t lick the pot clean when you make the chile verde, this is a great way to use the leftovers. As I always say: sauce is the sauce of life, and this is one sauce worth living for.

Strawberry Sangria

Nick — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:15:07 +0000

One of my all-time favorite drinks has to be sangria. And one of the best places to get sangria is Calle Ocho restaurant in Manhattan. On the weekend they serve brunch with unlimited sangria with your meal, offering 6 different varieties (3 red, 3 white) housed in large, self-serve glass barrels. It’s a phenomenal brunch but tends to ruin the rest of the day. Regardless, their different flavors of sangria are creative and delicious and that was all the influence I needed to create a strawberry sangria. At parties and potlucks I’m usually the designated sangria man and for a while I was afraid to deviate from the ever-popular Apple-Orange variety but Strawberry has since surpassed it in popularity. But you need to decide for yourself so I suggest you make both! For maximum flavor, make your sangria at least 8 hours ahead of time, preferably overnight.

Beef and Noodle Stew

Nick — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:21:54 +0000

It’s not the prettiest sight to behold but beef stew is just about the perfect winter meal. I mentioned that I had another use for slow cooker roast beef and this is it. As if the meat wasn’t tender enough after 9 hours of cooking, this recipe calls to shred the beef and soak it in the gravy making it even more juicy and tender. This meal requires very little prep or cook time (other than all-day slow cooking), will feed about a dozen people and freezes wonderfully. And this recipe also makes use of the leanest cut of beef you can get.

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Nick — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:09:07 +0000

I prefer not to try new dishes for food gatherings, but we were hosting a potluck on a Friday and that leaves little time to prepare anything fancy, so I turned to my brand-spankin’-new slow cooker for guidance! I figured the easiest way to satisfy a crowd was with a massive quantity of beef, so I bought an entire eye round roast weighing in at 5.8 lbs. I chose a few favorite beef-accompanying ingredients like mushrooms, sweet onions and red wine, and took some suggestions from others to create the all-around-perfect beef dish. It reminds me of an album from the group Infected Mushroom called “Converting Vegetarians”. Great album, although the name is better applied to this recipe – it’s that good. Since this is a very lean cut of meat (the leanest, in fact) it’s very tender but a little dry inside – which works in perfect harmony with the half gallon or so of gravy this recipe makes alongside. You can cut the recipe in half but I recommend preparing the full recipe and using the leftovers for another dish I’ll be sharing shortly.

Peanut Butter Super Bowl

Nick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:10:13 +0000

The best way to celebrate this wonderful upcoming food holiday (apparently there is a football game involved too) is with a boiling hot pot of chili. Throw down some cheese, sour cream and cilantro and eat it with homemade tortilla chips and you have a killer Sunday planned out. You must, of course, make your chili with peanut butter unless you want it to be sub-par. In addition, you’ll need plenty of other food alongside to help wash it down, like beer bread and butternut squash fries. And don’t forget about dessert! The pumpkin pie pudding and raspberry brownie will help keep you calm and cool after the chili or if your team loses. Read on for a whole bunch of culinary goodness.

Bacon Crusted Grilled Cheese

Nick — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:46:13 +0000

How many times have you craved beer, bacon and cheese at the same time? Perhaps never… but it sounds good, right? Perhaps not… in fact the mere thought of it might make your arteries harden. But put aside those preconceptions – I present a combination you’ve never seen before: a nonfat, vegetarian and even nutritious combination of these 3 ingredients. A full helping of crispy, crusty, gooey goodness in convenient sandwich form. In short, this is one phenomenal sandwich.