Happy 1st Birthday, C3!

Hard to believe it, but this little rag of ours is one year old as of today! Yep, just one year ago I posted the recipe for my Texas Red Grilled Shrimp Tacos, and thus began this public culinary journey. Time certainly flies when you’re having fun … heck, a blast! And, I have all of you to thank for it. I don’t think I’d have the drive or determination to post as prolifically if it wasn’t for your warm and generous embraces.
As you probably know, this past year has been quite a challenge for my family and me. After nearly a year-long attempt, we finally sold our house and moved to an entirely new community. We’ve dealt with a couple of passings. And, we have been confronted by the massive stroke my mother-in-law suffered over the summer. But, when I produce something for the C3 site, I get a chance to leave the daily travails behind and revel in the creative process that exists here. For that, I am eternally thankful.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed the first year of this blog’s existence as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. I hope to continue with many more, filled with easy yet mouthwatering recipes, delectable dining experiences, ginormous giveaways, and the ridiculous ramblings of a modern Neanderthal. Thank you for indulging me in this grand epicurean quest … adventures like this are no fun alone! 😉
(Insert shameless self-promoting plug here) BTW, there are only a few days left to enter our Want Pasta? Giveaway – a $200 gift certificate for Florentyna’s Fresh Pasta Factory. Don’t miss it!

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Tag! You’re Eight!!

Well, you are one of eight if I have listed you at the end of this post. Actually, this is a fun blogger’s game that was just passed on to me by Kooky Girl from the ALWAYS TRI-ING MY BEST blog. The object is to answer 8 questions given to you by the blogger that tagged you, come up with 8 questions of your own, and then tag 8 bloggers to answer your questions and pass the game on to. So, without further ado, I’ll bare my soul and and reveal the Cave-truth. 😉

1. What do you most enjoy about blogging?
Leaving a footprint in the cyber-sand for the Cavekids. Sure, they’ll have a record of the family recipes. But, hopefully, they’ll also be able to glean a bit of what their “old man” was about when I’m not around anymore.

2. What is your personal acheivement or moment that sticks in your mind and why?
Other than my marriage and the birth of my kids, it would have to be winning the Los Angeles City League Softball Championship. Not for actually winning it, but for what it represented. About a month before we hoisted the championship trophy my step-father passed away. It was devastating to my family, my friends and, of course, me. “Little Joey” was loved by everyone. To say there was an air of depression over everyone is an understatement.
Additionally, our team literally backed into the championship tourney as we hadn’t been playing very good ball. Add in the incredible sense of loss felt by everyone and things weren’t looking good as we started post-season play.
But, something weird began to happen … we started winning in this single-elimination tournament. And, we were making miracle plays to make it happen – “angels in the outfield” is what we were calling it. In fact, the final play of the championship game came as we nursed a one run lead in the bottom of the last inning. There were two outs and they had runners at second and third, with their best hitter at the plate. He hit a rocket deep into the hole between shortstop and third base. Somehow, our shortstop made an improbable diving backhanded short-hop grab! He popped up, turned and fired towards me at first base. However, the throw was a bit errant. Incredibly, I stretched as far as I could to my right without taking my foot off the bag and made a backhanded dig out of the dirt to secure the win.
Suddenly, there was an air of joy over everyone! My mom, my girlfriend (the Cavewoman), my friends, and I, all celebrated with cheers and tears as we realized that Little Joey had a hand in this amazing Championship run. Even the team’s coach honored his influence by giving my Mom a player’s championship trophy in Joey’s name. This championship may be the single most healing act I have ever been a party to.

3. What is your favourite party drink?
Fruit Infused Tequila. The only problem with this stuff is that it goes down way too smoothly. Just serve it over ice and let the party begin!

4. If you could go on holiday tomorrow, where would you go?
Jamaica, mon! Put together incredible natural island beauty, pristine beaches, Caribbean cuisine, and a leisurely attitude, and you have a Caveman’s paradise.

5. What is the most unusual ingredient in your store cupboard right now?
Pink Salt. The Cavewoman just got it and said I have to make something with it because it’s supposed to be better for you than regular salt. Looks like I have some homework to do!

6. What do you do in your “free” time?
When I can actually acquaint myself with that rare commodity, I mostly go fishing. Though, I have been known to spend my spare time playing guitar, poker, golf, or going skiing.

7. What is the name of the last restaurant you went to?
Side Street Cafe in Newbury Park. I will be doing a post about them shortly.

8. What is your favourite style of cooking to eat out (rather than cook yourself)?
I’ve got three words for you: SUSHI! 😉 I could eat raw fish everyday. Especially when it is super fresh and prepared with some imagination.

Okay, now for the questions I will ask my taggees!

1. Why did you start your blog?
2. Where, and how, did you celebrate your 21st birthday?
3. What brings you the most joy from life, other than your family and friends?
4. What was the last sport you actually participated in?
5. What, and where, was the best meal you’ve ever had?
6. If you were given $1 million dollars that you had to give to someone else who would it be, and why?
7. What is your favorite “stranded on a deserted island” movie?
8. Have you told someone what they mean to you today?

And the lucky eight are:

1. Bored Cook – Because I want a good laugh.
2. Vendela Vents – Because I love her sarcasm … and this will probably piss her off good! 😉
3. Mother Rimmy – Because you always need a mother’s perspective.
4. Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice – Just because.
5. What’s Cookin’ with Doc – Because, sometimes, you have to consult a doctor.
6. Nibble Me This – Because I want him to nibble on these questions for a while.
7. Ptsaldari – Because she hasn’t been writing much lately … and she should be!
8. Drick’s Rambling Cafe – Because I’m dying to see what he’ll ramble about.

There you go! Have fun with this, folks. I did!

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Want Pasta? Giveaway

We are extremely excited to announce our latest giveaway promotion on the C3 site. We have teamed up with Florentyna’s Fresh Pasta Factory, purveyors of the freshest all-natural pasta, to offer one lucky winner a $200 Florentyna’s gift certificate! They’ll be able to choose from any of their fresh pastas, made daily in their state of the art processing facility with 100% durum wheat (semolina), pasteurized eggs and purified water – NO PRESERVATIVES. NO ADDITIVES. NO COLORINGS. They also offer an array of fresh sauces to compliment any of Florentyna’s amazing Fettucini, Linguini, Spaghettini, Fusilli, Ravioli, Tortellini, or other pasta varieties.
Entering is easy-peasy, as all you have to do is reply to this post with the words “I Want Pasta” and you will receive one (1) entry into the grand prize drawing. Want more chances to win? We’ve got that for you, too! You can receive an additional single (1) entry by following Caution: Caveman Cooking on Twitter, and another single (1) entry by following Florentyna’s Fresh Pasta Factory on Twitter (you must have a Twitter account to follow and receive these entries). An additional two (2) entries are available for anyone who subscribes to the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog “Email Subscription” (NOT the comment/replies subscription). Another two (2) entries may be earned by browsing the Florentyna’s Fresh Pasta Factory online store, copying the URL/page address of your favorite pasta they offer, and pasting it in your comment/reply here. Finally, another two (2) additional entries may be earned if you join Florentyna’s Free Pasta Club, available only through their website.
A maximum of 9 entries are available to each visitor to the C3 website who choose to enter. Please, be sure to mention in your comment/reply which additional entries you are seeking to qualify for so that we may follow up and credit you accordingly! If you are seeking to qualify for any “Twitter” entries, you must also include your Twitter name in your comment/reply. You must put all of those entry methods into ONE single comment/reply … multiple comments/replies will not be accepted!
The entry deadline for this promotion is 11:59 PM PDT on Sunday 10/31/2010. At that time we will draw the winner at random from all verified entries received before the deadline. The winner will be announced within seven (7) days of the promotion’s end.
We hope everyone enjoys the “Want Pasta? Giveaway”, and we thank you for visiting C3!
Please, read the rules!

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

It’s Official!

We launch our new giveaway tomorrow, Wednesday 10/13/10, at 10am PDT! As you know, we don’t do things small around here. So, I hope you are hungry … and like Italian! 😉

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.net authored by Caveman. This may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Blameless Cinnamon Rolls

The Cavewoman is back! And you know what that means?!? Sweet treats for us all to eat!! Dough, butter, sugar, cinnamon … what could be bad, right? Well, except for the massive amounts of exercise you’ll need to work these off! If you need to blame someone after you polish off half a dozen of these, that’s what we’re here for. 😉

My daughter and I have a weekly “girls day” at Cinnabon. Yes, I know, not exactly a healthy date, but I’m addicted. When I walk into the mall I can smell them calling me. Anyone old enough to remember Fred Flintstone floating through the air following smells of food? That’s how I feel at malls with Cinnabons. It’s joyful and horrible all at the same time. So I got the idea of Googling the recipe and giving it a shot. I found the following at AllRecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 2 eggs, room temperature
* 1/3 cup margarine, melted
* 4 1/2 cups bread flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, very softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

RECIPE

Put the first seven ingredients (the one’s with an “*”) in your bread-making machine according to it’s directions. When the dough is ready role it into a rectangle shape on your counter top. I really really love the cinnamon buttery goodness that is in Cinnabon so I used a little extra brown sugar and doubled the cinnamon. After you have rolled out the dough, spread the very softened (almost melted) butter on the surface saving a little to put on the bottom of your pan.

Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread it evenly on the dough. I put some on the bottom of the pan as well. The recipe didn’t call for that either, but how can that be bad????

Here’s how my pan looked, I had to taste this a few more times than was likely necessary.

Then the fun part. Start rolling. I made the mistake of not putting enough flour on my surface so this was a bit stickier than it needed to be but it wasn’t bad.

Then start cutting …

… and placing in the pan

Cover pan and let rolls rise until they’ve doubled. Should take an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 400°. Bake rolls until they turn golden brown, usually about 15 minutes. In the meantime, make the frosting by beating together the last five ingredients. Spread the frosting on the rolls while they are still warm.
Mmmmmmm, they are good! We each had two … can you blame us? Plus, the kids had scrambled eggs and potatoes, as well. Pigs! 😉

Prep Time = 30 minutes
Dough Rising Time = 1-2 Hours
Cooking Time = 15 Minutes
Makes 20 Rolls

©2010 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at https://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.