"Channel your Inner Cooking Show Host"

If you are like me then sometimes you like to get out all of your ingredients, placing them neatly on the counter top or kitchen table and pretend like you are Rachael Ray or Martha Stewart as you prepare dinner or whip up a batch of cookies...so maybe no one else does that.

Either way, if you like to watch cooking videos or you have daydreamed about making one there is a great new forum for that. It's called flavorshare.com, a kind of YouTube for the culinarian. It's got all kinds of cooking videos done by amateurs, like you and me. Whether you want to post a video or not, it's fun to check out what others are doing.

It's a pretty new site so take some time to leave comments and build the content so it can really get rolling.

Rigatoni with Tomatoes and Mozzarella

This recipe is one of Matthew's favorites and I just made it for my parents at Lake Powell a couple of weeks ago and it was a hit so I thought I would share it. It's from Martha Stewart Everyday Food June 2004.

Ingredients

• Coarse salt
• 3/4 pound rigatoni, or other short tubular pasta
• 2 pounds plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside.
3. In a small skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to take on color, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in red-pepper flakes.
4. Stir garlic mixture into reserved tomato mixture. Add parsley, oregano, mozzarella, and pasta; toss.

My interpretation:
Grape or cherry tomatoes are usually more flavorful than plum tomatoes so use those if you can. I don't bother using fresh garlic since it is so easy to substitute garlic powder--then you don't have to worry about dirtying another pan. You can eat it hot or cold but I think it's yummy to mix everything in with the warm pasta and serve immediately.

The Point of this Blog

I have tried to keep our travel blog very focused on just traveling so it would be interesting not just to friends and family who are interested in our well being but other people out there who might be considering visiting some of the places that we've been. But, after looking at several of my friend's blogs I have decided that I need to create a new blog for myself because I enjoy reading so much about what you are doing and I thought that maybe you would enjoy doing the same beyond just what's happening in our traveling life (though that's probably the most interesting). I am hoping to use this blog to share general news from the William's household (currently a Toyota Camery :) and recipes, helpful tips, and anything else I can come up with. By the way, does anyone know what the number 565 on my template represents?