When I say Dan’s Food Diary, I mean it’s really my food diary. So this is a story about things I do to adapt to conditions in front of me when cooking. In this case I had to do brisket for 25 (16 pounds of meaty goodness), and my smoker craps out. What to do?…

I saw this on Guy’s Kitchen Ranch. This one is a two-day recipe, so allow for the time. We have succulent pork with Greek seasoning and a crispy skin. I slow smoked the pork, then cranked up the heat for cracklins. Of course I added traditional fixings: tzatziki, tomato, and onions all on a pita….

I was asked by Erin’s Elderberries to make a glaze out of Aronia jelly for pork and chicken. Challenge accepted. After trying the jelly, I thought sweet with a little heat and some acid. But I wanted simple, too, ingredients that most folks have in the kitchen. Well, you should add Aronia to your pantry….

Wow! This is another recipe I couldn’t find a crash test dummy for. Well, we shall start with nutrition; beef kidneys contain 1000% B13, 400% B6, protein, and other vitamins. The down side is they are loaded with cholesterol and sodium, so it’s an unhealthy food if you have high blood pressure or heart disease….

This last of my Tripple Crown baked goods. New York is famous for the Manhattan, thin crust pizza and bagels. So a cookie or a cake won’t work with a bagel or a pizza but I can use the bourbon, bitters and cherries from a Manhattan in a cookie. Now they use maricino cherries in…