I’ll admit it. I have a serious addiction to cheese. I have loved cheese ever since I took my first bite out of a slice of cheese pizza from the local pizzeria near where I grew up in Brooklyn. I was only a kid then, but I became a fan of cheese for life. For as long as I can remember, I loved anything with cheese. Pizza, pasta, cheese crackers, cheese puffs, cheddar and sour cream chips – I craved all of them all the time. My love for cheese led me to make macaroni and cheese out of the blue and orange box for years during my college years. Other than instant ramen and instant mashed potatoes, I had stockpiles of instant macaroni and cheese in my college dorm room. I used to think good macaroni and cheese came straight from a box until I had the macaroni and cheese at Sava’s in Ann Arbor. Sava’s macaroni and cheese had cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, and smoked gouda. The combination of cheeses was unlike any macaroni and cheese I ever had. It was salty, creamy, and smoky all at the same time. I kept going back to Sava’s almost monthly throughout college. After I graduated from college and no longer lived near Sava’s, I made my own version of three cheese macaroni and cheese. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally nailed the flavors of the macaroni and cheese I remembered so distinctly when eating at Sava’s. My three cheese macaroni and cheese became my go-to macaroni and cheese of choice until last weekend. Last Saturday, I had a sudden craving for macaroni and cheese. I checked my refrigerator and only had cheddar cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. I checked my pantry and only had elbow pasta. Instead of my usual three cheese macaroni and cheese using tortiglioni or cavatappi pasta, I made a two cheese version using the two cheeses I had on hand and some elbow pasta. I also seasoned the macaroni and cheese with garlic powder, paprika, and mustard powder. Suddenly, my seasoned two cheese macaroni and cheese was born. My seasoned two cheese macaroni and cheese had all of the flavors I loved in macaroni and cheese and more.

Ohio has been hit with quite a bit of rain over the last few days. Just this Saturday, there were major thunderstorms hitting the Southwest Ohio area. During these rainy days, I like to stay inside and test out new recipes. One of the recipes I am excited to share today is a variation on my sweet and sticky spare ribs inspired by my mom’s version. My mom’s sweet and sticky spare ribs will always be a favorite in the Pan household. My twist on the sweet and sticky spare ribs is my spiced BBQ spare ribs. I ended up making some spiced BBQ spare ribs after a few weeks of experimenting with a dry rub spice mixture. My dry rub spice mixture combines paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Once added to the spare ribs, the spice mixture infused such a wonderful smoky, sweet, and savory flavor to the spare ribs. Over the last month, I have been in recipe development mode in between work, class, and projects. Many of the recipes I’ve been working on this month are either variations on barbecued meats, or variations on my favorite sides usually served with barbecued meats. When the month of June rolls around, I always seem to crave barbecued or smoked meats and all of the fix-ins and sides. Part of the reason could be the endless advertisements for barbecue flashing across my television screen. Mostly, I just want foods infused with smoke flavor. My barbecue cravings this month led to the development of my spiced BBQ spare ribs. I have been experimenting with different spice mixtures to find the right balance of spicy, tangy, smoky, sweet, and savory flavor. I initially tested the spice rub mixture on chicken wings, but today, I had a rack of spare ribs and decided to test the spice rub mixture directly on the spare ribs. I started by rubbing a handful of the spice mixture all over the spare ribs. Then, I covered up the spare ribs and allowed the spare ribs to sit in the spice rub mixture for a couple hours in the fridge. When I was ready to cook the spare ribs, I whipped out my favorite barbecue sauce and brushed on a layer of barbecue sauce before placing the spare ribs in a foil lined baking pan and popping the ribs into the oven to cook away. Halfway through the cooking process, I removed the spare ribs from the oven, brushed on additional barbecue sauce, and placed the spare ribs back in the oven. One hour later, the spare ribs were ready for serving alongside some macaroni and cheese and tomato basil pasta salad. The spare ribs turned out fantastic. It had all of the flavors I was looking for in my favorite barbecued meats – sweet, spicy, smoky, and salty. I just needed to prepare some macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, side salad, and some s’mores to round out the rest of my meal.

Summer is in full swing. I know summer has arrived when the temperature at my office is adjusted to the coldest levels, people all around are wearing short sleeve shirts and pretty florals, and pesky mosquitoes seem to find their way to me. Even with spraying on tons of bug repellent, I can’t seem to hide from mosquitoes. When it comes to the frigid temperatures at my office, I always wear a cardigan or bring along a sweater because I always end up getting cold an hour into the work day. Over the weekend, I even started to take out all of my summer clothes (shirts, shorts, and swimsuits). The warmer weather has even encouraged me to cook lighter meals (featuring tons of colors), eat healthier, and hit the gym more often. The first two goals are easier to accomplish than the last, but I still try my absolute best to squeeze in more exercise over the summer. One of my favorite dishes to make during the summer months is pasta salad. Pasta salad is super easy to prepare, quick to assemble, and tastes amazing after chilling in the refrigerator for anywhere from half an hour to a few hours. I sometimes get impatient and serve myself a scoop or two of pasta salad after only letting it chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. If you have the will power, definitely let the pasta salad chill for a few hours to develop the best flavor. Instead of my usual  pasta salad with Italian dressing, I simplified the pasta salad to just cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced fresh basil. The dressing for the pasta salad was also simplified to only five ingredients – olive oil, vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. The only real cooking involved is cooking the tricolor penne pasta just shy of al dente. Once ready, the pasta is drained, tossed in a large bowl with tomatoes, basil, and a simple red wine vinaigrette. The entire bowl is then transferred over to the refrigerator to chill for a few hours. The chilling time not only cools the pasta salad, but also gives the pasta salad time to develop all of its flavors. Pasta salad is one of those dishes where the longer it sits, the better it gets.  The red wine vinaigrette seeps into the tomatoes and adds a delicious tanginess to the already sweet cherry tomatoes. The pasta salad is also stunning to look at and makes for a great summer picnic salad.

This weekend, I made the most amazing pizza topped with barbecue sauce, homemade crispy hot chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and pickles. I was first introduced to hot chicken several years ago when I moved to Ohio. Shortly after moving to Ohio, I spent one weekend exploring the area and traveled to the North Market on Spruce Street for some grocery shopping at the farmer’s market there. While browsing through the nifty shops both inside and outside of North Market, I wandered upstairs to a restaurant on the second floor with a long line of people waiting to purchase hot chicken. My curiosity got the better of me and I quickly googled the restaurant, Hot Chicken Takeover, on my phone. When I saw all of the positive reviews, I decided to join the line and give the place a try. Despite the amount of people, the line moved quickly. When it was my turn to order, I ordered some chicken breasts with a medium spice level and got my first introduction to hot chicken. The chicken was spicy, but not too spicy and the pickles added a nice contrast to the chicken. Each order came with a Styrofoam box filled with hot chicken, pickles, and white bread. The establishment also served free unsweetened and sweetened tea. I grabbed a cup, filled it almost to the rim with some unsweetened tea and sat on the tables on the second level to enjoy my lunch. The chicken along with the pickles and white bread made for the most satisfying hot chicken experience. Fast forward to this weekend, I suddenly had cravings for hot chicken and pickles. I was nowhere near Hot Chicken Takeover and instead of trekking all the way to get some hot chicken, I decided to make my own version of hot chicken at home. To accompany the hot chicken, I cut up some pickles, paired the combination with some barbecue sauce and Gorgonzola cheese and placed all of the ingredients on my homemade pizza dough. I popped the pizza on a sheet of parchment paper and placed the pizza on top of a pizza stone in my home oven. In thirteen minutes, I had the most amazing BBQ hot chicken, pickles, and Gorgonzola pizza. The pizza turned out fantastic. The hot chicken added a crispiness and spiciness. The pickles added a wonderful tangy crunch. The barbecue sauce added a sweetness and smokiness. The Gorgonzola cheese added a creaminess and bite.

I am finally back to my normal eating and sleeping schedule. It has been almost two weeks since Kevin and I returned back to Ohio from our honeymoon in Italy and we already miss the endless supply of carbs (mostly pasta and pizza). We had to run quite a bit of errands over the weekend and stopped just long enough to savor some chicken wing vermicelli bowls. Vermicelli bowls are one of my favorite bowls to order whenever I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant. Growing up in Brooklyn, I grew accustomed to the ease of access I had to the local Vietnamese restaurant right by where my family lived. Whenever I had a craving for Vietnamese food, I would stop by the local restaurant and order myself a chicken, pork, or shrimp vermicelli bowl. Oftentimes, I may even order some summer and/or spring rolls. When I moved to Ohio, I missed the easy access I had to Vietnamese food immensely. If I wanted a good vermicelli bowl, I had to either drive quite a bit to the nearest Vietnamese restaurant to get my fix or make my own at home. I opted to make my own vermicelli bowls over the weekend using some chicken wings I had in my refrigerator. I started by marinating some chicken wings in a blend of my favorite Asian sauces. While the chicken wings were marinating, I prepared the lettuce, carrot, cucumber, cilantro, and vermicelli noodles for adding to my bowl. The base of my favorite vermicelli bowls always includes a combination of these ingredients cut into small pieces. Most of the elements of the vermicelli bowl are served cold. The protein, in this case, chicken wings, are the only items served hot. Once I finished preparing the cold ingredients, I cooked the chicken wings until golden brown in color. Depending on my mood, I would alternate between picking chicken, pork, or shrimp as the protein of choice for my vermicelli bowls. I put my own spin this time around by adding chicken wings. Vermicelli bowls are typically served with a side of sweet vinegar sauce. Instead of the sweet vinegar sauce, I topped my bowls with some sriracha, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce.

The first time I ever had a dish with apricot preserves incorporated within the dish was when I ordered the Venetian apricot chicken from Olive Garden many years ago. I remember the flavor profile of the dish very well. It was a simple dish made with some apricot preserves, tomatoes, chicken broth, and some seasonings. Despite the simplicity of the dish, the flavors worked very well together. The apricot preserves provided a wonderful sweetness to the dish, while the tomatoes and chicken broth added a tang and a savory element. All of the flavors and ingredients worked very well together to form a simple chicken dish. A couple years ago, I started experimenting with apricot preserves in my own version of a chicken dish and came up with my apricot and chardonnay braised chicken with tomatoes. The wine in the dish reduced very well over medium heat and created a delicious glaze. I grew to love this simple yet satisfying dish. This week, I’ve been trying to make more quick meals because of the hot weather and summer classes I’m taking. The temperature has been hovering in the upper seventies and eighties and so I try to spend as little time as possible hovering over the stove. The two photography classes I’m taking require reading a lot of class material, watching demonstration videos, and completing assignments using photography software. During these busy times, I try to cook as many quick and easy meals as possible and steer clear of meals requiring prolong periods of time using the stove and oven. My apricot and chardonnay braised chicken with tomatoes is very easy to whip together and comes together in under 30 minutes. It has only been a week since Kevin and I returned back from our trip to Italy and we already miss the endless pasta, pizza, and gelato we’ve been consuming daily during our weeklong vacation. We had a great honeymoon in Italy visiting historical sites, eating amazing food, and truly immersing ourselves in the culture.