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Preparing copycat restaurant recipes is an excellent way to enjoy your restaurant favorites at home and a good way to save a little money. But, surprisingly, it can also make your future trips to your favorite restaurant even more enjoyable. Let me explain.

I love to go to Romano’s Macaroni Grill. From smell of the open fire grill as I open the front door to the music of the singing waiters as I set down at my table, I love it all. Unfortunately for me, on my very first visit I tried the Pasta Milano and fell so deeply in love with it that I cannot bring myself to order anything else. I try. It all looks so good. From the brick-oven-cooked Pizza Margherita and the Shrimp Portofino to the Vodka Rustica. From the Lobster Ravioli to the Boursin Filet, I am dying to try it all.

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Besides the bride’s dress, few things at a wedding receive more “ooohs” and “aaahs” than the wedding cake. On a day full of symbols and rituals, everybody, from Grandma Betsy to little Buddy, your ring bearer, will recall how lovely the cake looked – although Buddy may only remember if he got seconds!

What you want to avoid is choosing a wedding cake that might end up on YouTube as a wedding blooper. I once went to a wedding where the bride chose a stylishly elegant ice cream cake.

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Croatian cuisine is sometimes known as “the cuisine of regions”, since each part of Croatia has its own distinct culinary traditions, and influences from its neighbors. The cookery of coastal regions shows influences from Roman, Illyrian and Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, and even French cuisine, whereas inland areas get their influences from Viennese and Austrian cuisine, Hungarian cuisine and Turkish cuisine.

Some popular Croatian dishes include:

- Juha od Mahuna - A vegetable soup made from green beans, as well as carrots, lentils, onions and peas.

- Brudet - Fish stew, served with polenta (boiled cornmeal)

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In our never ending search for snacks, the grocery store offers a mind boggling array of pretty packages, most of them announcing that they have finally, after all of these years, discovered that trans fats are bad for you. They want you to know that their offerings now have "No Trans Fats" and are made using Sunflower Oil or some such other ‘healthy’ alternative to the evil trans fats. They conveniently don’t mention all of the other crap they put in there to give the stuff an unnatural shelf life.

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Fresh, green, loaded with vegetables and all our other favorite toppings, the salad has satisfied dieters and non-dieters alike for years. Dieters always turn to the salad as a clear indicator that their new “diet” has commenced. A newly dieting person sometimes will comment on how they are “trying to eat more salads and fresh vegetables” instead of their former fatty fares. They proudly order up these green, leafy bowls of goodness with all certainty that their health will improve and their waistlines will diminish. I see these seemingly proud types of people almost daily, yet usually it’s with some trepidation.

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Mardi Gras is a tradition of the French culture. In America we have made a large celebration out of the holiday by having street parties, drinking and plenty of food available. Here is just a sample:

In New Orleans were the biggest Mardi Gras party is held you will find Gumbo, Jambalaya, Seafood, and lots of Bloody Mary’s on the list. These will well and truly get the party underway.

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For those who love food and wish to indulge in the dessert treat to finish off a perfect meal, too we must watch what we eat. No sense in sending our diets over the edge. It is possible to make a dessert which is not fattening. So, taking this premise we scoured the Internet to find such desserts and we did. Actually we found many tasty treats and quality desserts which were simple to make and non-fattening too.

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Cooking a casserole is one of the fastest and simplest ways to serve a mouthwatering dinner. If you’re thinking what to make for a dinner party or social gathering I think that 1 of these excellent recipes would be perfect for such an occasion.

Below is a list of recipes for you to try:


Tuna Noodle Casserole – Made with fresh tuna, noodles, red onions, cream of mushroom soup, and mild cheddar cheese.

Green Bean Casserole – Made with long green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried white onions.

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Looking for a place to enjoy a good beer after a round of golf on your next Asheville, North Carolina golf vacation? If so, you will not have to search long or hard to find one. Head to downtown Asheville, pull up a barstool in one of the pubs we suggest and you will find a multitude of beers and beer styles to quench your thirst.

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Smoke is the ancient and time-honored way to add flavor to anything that is being cooked. In ancient times, smoke was used to preserve meat for long periods of time. It is an age-old process of cooking meats over a low smoke fire.

Smoking is one of the cooking processes of barbecue. Smoking a piece of meat will require temperatures ranging from 200 to 225 degrees F. Because of the temperature being so low, smoking would take long periods of time. For heavy cuts of meats like beef or pork the cooking time will be 45 minutes to one hour.

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