In an everyday kitchen with an everyday kind of guy...

with a little VIRTUAL HELP FROM HIS friend and cooking guru, Tina.

Kitchen snobs may raise their pinkies at us but we cook the same recipes they do without the fuss and a lot faster in a regular kitchen without a crew of 50 and a lighting grid on the ceiling.

This is Cooking for the Everyday Guy.

Bob is a voice actor, editor and thespian.

When not in the audio booth, in front of a camera or in front of a computer, Bob is in the kitchen taking on new recipes and trying not to burn the house down!

To completely devastate his fragile self-image and rip from him the tenuous grip on his masculinity, send an email to bob@kitchenbob.com

I think a dish like this could have endless variations. You could infuse the milk, warming it, with a bay leaf or minced clove of garlic. You could stir chopped parsley into the sauce for color. If you don’t have dry mustard, you can add two teaspoons smooth Dijon or an English mustard to the sauce along with the cheese. You could sprinkle some plain breadcrumbs on top for extra crunch. Finally, I saw a version online in which the chefs had grilled pork sausages and sliced them up into the dish, baking them with the cheese sauce as well for more of a meal-in-one dish.

Serves 4 as a side

1          medium head (about 2 to 2 1/4 pounds) cauliflower

4          tablespoons unsalted butter

4          tablespoons all-purpose flour

2          teaspoons Colmans mustard powder (or Dijon works.)

            Salt, to taste

            Freshly ground black pepper or ground cayenne

½        teaspoon ground nutmeg for the béchamel

2          cups whole milk

1 1/4    cups plus 2 tablespoons (6 ounces) grated English or Irish cheddar, the sharper and nuttier the better.

4          tablespoons capers, drained of brine

4          slices thick, crisp country bacon, chopped

¼        cup Panko bread crumbs

1/3       cup Parmagiano Reggiano (optional)

            Chopped chives or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim cauliflower and remove tough core. Cut into 1 to 2-inch florets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. You want them firm, but tender. 

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk to combine and make a roux. Cook for one or two minutes-- just enough to get rid of the floury taste. Add mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne or few grinds of black pepper, and stir to combine.

Drizzle in milk in a thin, steady stream, whisking the whole time so that no lumps form. Season with salt and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring with a spoon; mixture should thicken to the point where it coats the spoon. Stir in 1 1/4 cups cheddar, a handful at a time, letting each handful melt before adding the next. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.

Spread cauliflower florets in a 2-quart baking ovenproof baking dish. Spoon sauce over florets and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese. 

Then spread a fine layer of the Panko bread crumps and a sprinkling of Parmesan on top of the assembled dish.

Bake until until bronzed and bubbly, about 30 – 35 minutes. Sprinkle with herbs, if desired. 

While the dish is “resting” sprinkle the bacon bits evenly on top.

Sit back and wait for the applause. 

Jim Overton
Santa Fe, NM2015

Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need for Rack of Lamb:

1 Frenched rack of lamb (I dunno what that means)
some Jasmine rice (cuz it sounds girly. they like that)
Some asparagus
2 shallots
Some white wine
Some vegetable oil
whole grain mustard
Dijon Mustard
Chicken broth
Some fresh thyme
and your salt and your pepper

Creme Brûlée

2 vanilla pods
150 ml heavy cream
150 ml light cream
200 ml of2 % milk
8 large eggs
a third of a cup of sugar
1 lemon for zesting
4 tablespoons really finely ground sugar

STICKY WINGS

14 Chicken Wings
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Tabasco Sauce

½ pint Barbecue Sauce
2 tsp Light Brown Sugar
4 Spring Onions

Do it:
You just take a bunch of wings, cover them with sea salt and pepper, add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, Soy sauce Red Wine Vinegar and Tabasco. Then let it marinate for an hour or maybe 3 in the fridge. Then you drain them, put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour. But watch them .

While you wait you can mix up a 1/2 pint of your favorite barbecue sauce, 2 teaspoons of LIGHT Brown sugar to really make them sticky and add about 4 spring onions.

When they're finished stage 1 of the Oven assault, dump them in the bowl with the glaze to coat them and put them back on the sheet and in the oven NOW at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or so but keep an eye on them so you don't burn them.

Ingredients:

2+ TBSPs White flour
1 Stick of Butter
1 bottle of Olive Oil
2 stalks of Thyme
2 lbs. of Chicken breasts or other tasty Yardbird parts
2 Leeks
2 Carrots
3 Celery Stalks
1 Wine glass of white wine plus however much for yourself
1 Wine glass of water (no religious allusion intended)
1 ¼ Cups of Milk or Cream or……
4 Links of Italian Sausage (Sweet or Hot - your choice)
1 sheet of Puff Pastry (Two if you screw up the first pie like I did)
1 Pie Plate
2 sheets of wax paper
1 Beer bottle to roll out the pastry dough

Now, the work:

Slice leeks in half in widths
Slice carrots into medallions
Finely chop the celery
Slice the chicken into small pieces

-Melt butter in a high sided pan with olive oil
-Dump vegetables and chicken into that pan.
-After a few minutes, add 2 tbsps of flour to thicken mixture.
stir for 2 minutes.
-Then, add one glass of white wine, one wine glass of water and 1 ¼ cups of milk or whatever white stuff you found.
-Stir it around and simmer over Medium heat for 30 minutes.

-Saute your sausage balls in olive oil until they are browned and set aside

-Lay out wax paper and cover with flour
-lay out Puff Pastry dough and roll out with your beer bottle

-Pour chicken and vegetables into pie pan-
-dab whisked egg around the edges
-cover with dough
-cut excess around edges
-roll out excess and cut into shapes, lay on top of pie
-press fork around edges to seal-
-dab top with more whisked egg

-Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 425º, checking often.

Enjoy

Ingredients:

1 Chicken
Kosher Salt

Lemon Thyme Sauce:

Juice of 1 Lemon
Fresh Thyme
⅓ cup Chicken Broth
¼ cup Chicken grease
Kosher Salt
2-4 tbsp cold Butter
Black Pepper
Red Pepper
and…...The Brown Bits 

Do it:

-Heat oven to 450º
-Rinse and thoroughly dry the whole chicken inside and out  (making sure all the internal organs have been removed and fed to your dogs. 

->>>>> Make sure you know which side of the chicken is UP!!!<<<<<<<<<

-tuck the wings under (under exactly what, I don’t know)
-liberally coat the whole chicken with as much Kosher salt as you can possibly stand both inside AND out
-Bake at 450º for 1 hour.

Lemon Thyme Sauce: 

-Pour ¼ cup Chicken grease (taken from the baking dish) into a pan
-Scrape that same chicken baking pan to empty the aptly named “Brown Bits” into the sauce pan
-Rip off the Thyme leaves from 2, 4 6 or however many sprigs you want and cook this mixture for 2 minutes
-At 2 minutes, pour in the juice of 1 lemon AND the Chicken Broth.
-Cook THAT for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
-Then, add the cold butter.
-When the butter melts, add in black pepper, red pepper, and even more salt.

Stir it all around for 2 more minutes and you’re done.

Make some rice and a vegetable, pour sauce over everything and enjoy.

Ingredients:

1-2  lbs Short Ribs
1-2  Garlic cloves
1     Onion 
1     Cup Beef Stock
4    TBSP All Purpose Flour
1     12oz  Stout beer
2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
1     TBSP  Butter
1     tsp Salt
1     tsp Pepper
1    "high-waisted" pan 
1     regular pot

Do it:

Rinse and pat dry the Ribs
Put flour in a dish / mix in salt and pepper
Dredge the Ribs through the flour
Heat olive oil and butter in the pan
Once the butter melts put in the Ribs
Brown them for 5 minutes per side
Then pull them out and set them aside
Put onions and garlic in until soft
Put ribs back in
Say goodbye to your beer as you now pour it into the pan
Scrape the bottom of the pan for a minute or two to mix in the legendary “Brown Bits” for flavor
Pour in the beef stock

Cover and simmer for about 2 hours but start checking it at 90 minutes.
Make your vegetables, put it all on your plate and eat your dinner.

Ingredients: 

4 Eggs
1 jar of hot sauce
1 Pepperoncini pepper
1 Bag Shredded Cheese of your choice
Old Bay Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Big Lob of Butter
1 Bent Fork
1 Metal Frying Pan
1 Bowl 

Do it.

--Crack 4 eggs into bowl
--Chop up Pepperoncini pepper into very small pieces
--Mix eggs, chopped pepper, Salt Pepper, Old Bay (to taste), and Hot Sauce (Not too much) in the bowl.
—Melt Butter in pan
—pour bowl into pan
—Stir, scrape and fluff like a madman until eggs are almost done, slightly runny.
—Put some more hot sauce on ‘em
—Put in a handful of Shredded Cheese
—Stir in the cheese until melted (just a few seconds) 

Pour out on your plate with toast (Makes a great sandwich) or hash browns.

Sit back and enjoy the compliments (unless you’re alone, then pat yourself on the back)

Ingredients

2-4 heads of Garlic
Linguine
1 Bag of Shrimp (Half cooked, deveined, frozen)
Fresh Parsley
1 Block of Parmesan Cheese
1 Small loaf of baguette-style bread
Olive Oil
Salt 
Pepper 

      Do it  (read it first. It’s not really that much or that difficult.
      Even I did it, for Pete’s sake.)

      Slice the tops off 2 or 3 heads of Garlic

Place garlic heads in a Garlic Roaster or a similar shape made out of foil. Drizzle olive oil if desired over the garlic

Put in a cold oven and turn heat to 325º - 350º 

Leave it in there for 50 minutes
Slice lengthwise any baguette type of bread
Slide your bread into the oven for the last 10 minutes of the garlic roasting

Peel shrimp (tails on, tails off - it’s up to you)
Boil water for Linguine. Dump some olive oil and salt in the water.
When ready, cook your Linguine. this will give you about 9 minutes
Chop a few cloves of garlic 
Chop up some Parsley
Grate some Parmesan cheese
Pour a “lug” or two of olive oil in a pan.
Dump the garlic and parsley in there for a minute
Dump your shrimp into the pan and cook until they turn pink.
Strain the linguine but not so much that it cries, pour in a bowl, dump the shrimp/parsley/garlic combo on top and cover with your grated Parmesan cheese.

Take the heads of garlic and squeeze the stuff out of there onto a plate, smash the garlic and put it right on the bread. Nothing else is required on the bread. It will taste magnificent.

Ingredients

2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 onion
1 orange
1 brick of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 32oz box of chicken stock
1 pint half & half
2 cups plain bread crumbs
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped turkey leftovers
2 cups mashed potato leftovers

fresh parsley
1 egg
1tbsp water
1 orange
salt
pepper

Due to the Holiday, I have been relieved of the responsibility of posting the directions. Any question, refer to the video.

The tortilla as a meal? You bet. This is a Spanish Tortilla. Simple, filling and deeee-lishusssss!! And, it'll last you for days!

Ingredients-

7 or 8 Eggs
5 Potatoes
1 Onion
1 Lg bottle of Olive Oil

Do it-

-Peel your potatoes and slice them into thin pieces
-Peel your onions and chop into small pieces
-Pour 1/4 inch of olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat
-Crack your eggs into a bowl
-Place one potato slice into olive oil
-When it swims, pour the onions and potatoes into the pan and cook and stir for about 15-20 minutes
-When potatoes bend, strain the onions and potatoes into the bowl with the eggs and stir
-Drain olive oil from pan
-Pour eggs, onions and potatoes into pan and cook for a few minutes, like an omelet
-Then, Dar una Vuelta that baby! (Flip the budding tortilla as high into the air as humanly possible and don't forget to catch it on the way down as long as the top is now the bottom. Or you can simply put a plate over the pan, turn it over and slide it back into the pan)
-Cook until you think it's done. Slide it onto a plate and enjoy this tasty treat between two pieces of bread, on a toothpick or in any number of ways.

Ingredients--

28 oz canned Peeled Plum tomatoes
28 oz canned Crushed tomatoes
6 oz can Tomato Paste
1.5 lbs lean ground beef
1 carrot
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1 lg yellow onion
1 handful of Rosemary leaves
2 or 3 lugs of Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Grate Parmesan cheese for later
2 tbsp Butter

Do it--

Chop onion and garlic (Don't be like me. Peel them first)
Drop Butter and pour 2 or 3 lugs of Olive Oil into high-sided sauce pan
When butter melts put onions and garlic into pan. When soft, add rosemary, carrots.
When everything is soft add the ground beef, crumbling it in your hands.
Cook for 5 min over medium heat or until beef is browned. 
Stir in 1 tbsp of tomato paste.
Add all cans of tomatoes, break up the plum tomatoes in pan.
Add salt and pepper (whatever amounts you feel comfortable with)
Stir, cover, and let simmer for 1 1/12 to 2 hours (if you dare)

Pasta-
If you can't figure out how to cook pasta, then forget this and order out.

Ingredients--

1 Pork Tenderloin
Olive Oil
Fresh Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
(Onions if you like)
(Garlic if you like)

Do it--

Wash and dry tenderloin
Place in cooking dish or zip-lock bag
Add 2 lugs of olive oil, handful of fresh rosemary leaves, 1 tbsp garlic pwdr, pinch of salt and pepper.

Coat tenderloin with mixture 
Slice up onions and garlic cloves (if you like)
Pour all mixture over tenderloin in baking dish.

Bake in oven at 400º for about 45 minutes.