YES, CHEF!

Recently, the boyfriend and I had our weekly "cheat meal" at a local soul-food homestyle restaurant.  We had been looking forward to this the entire week and especially towards the Macaroni and Cheese that we knew would make an appearance at our table.  Gluttonous desires took hold as we downed chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, fried pork chops, candied yams, mustard greens, creamed spinach, and of course -- Mac'n'Cheese.  Nothing even remotely Paleo grazed our table.  Afterward, we satisfied the sweet tooth with Tres Leches cake and chocolate covered honeycomb.  Finding ourselves truly fat and sassy, we wandered home in a daze.  The cumulative effect of this dinner sent us both into blood sugar orbit, and while he had made some other plans for the evening, we wound up hitting the hay early; flat on our backs to aid in the digestion of our feast.  I'm serious.  We didn't even snuggle.

Laying nearly comatose, we began to question why we looked forward to the "cheat day" if it made us feel so poorly. Upon reflection, our meals from the past week had been of better quality, better ingredients, and left us with zero side-effects.  Each meal we prepared together was Paleo, and each was so thoroughly enjoyable that we took photographs and savored every bite.  Neither of us have been to culinary school, but that's okay because we have an amazing teacher:  Gordon Ramsay.

St. Gordon: Pray for Us

If you are only vaguely aware of Chef Ramsay, you are probably only familiar with his expletive-spewing, table slamming, pan throwing television personality.  I'm here to tell you that, despite his rough exterior, this man knows what he's talking about.  Boyfriend and I have watched a lot of his shows (and there are many: Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, Hotel Hell, Master Chef) but our favorite is BBC's The F Word - "F" here meaning Food, of course.  We have learned so much from watching this show it's uncanny.  Listening to Chef Ramsay has helped to stretch our creativity in the kitchen and has certainly done a lot for the presentation of our dishes.  It's so pleasing to create something from the (often sparse) contents of my fridge and pantry, then look at it in awe.  Often, when we've compared the homemade dishes to restaurants, we find we like ours better -- or at least that they have a chance in a competition!  Most importantly though, Chef Ramsay has inspired us to care more about our food.  If you're paying attention, you'll find that he really only gets upset and angry at Chefs that are careless.  If you're careless in your preparation, or in your cleanliness, or in your presentation -- the food and the experience ultimately suffers.  Frankly, that's also true for life!  So, Boyfriend and I have started caring a whole lot more, and it shows.  Check out our recent menu items:

Appetizer: Tomato Basil Avocado Soup

Roasted Chicken drumsticks on a bed of pine nuts, sweet potatoes, capers, olives, tomatoes, and celery.

The left overs proved a marvelous addition to our (very fluffy!) omelet the next morning.

Dessert: Bananas Foster with coconut on a coconut meal quick bread.  Flames were involved with a  cointreu glaze, and while I have a photograph of Boyfriend's singed hair, I think I'll leave him his dignity here.  Be careful with fire, kids!

Appetizer: Scallops on a bed of leeks, onions, and garlic; served with a dijon vinaigrette reduction.  And can I just say, MAD PROPS to the boyfriend for this phenomenal dish.  I am *still* thinking about this dish!

Beef Tar tar with egg, steamed kale, and homemade sweet potato fries

Dessert of Triple Yum: a base level of coconut milk ice cream, topped with mangoes and strawberries, drizzled with local honey, with a homemade coconut meringue nesting on top.  We also set this thing ablaze with some cointreu and a lighter.  No singed hair this time...

So there you have it!  Delicious, home cooked meals that are Paleo friendly.  And the best part?  It got Boyfriend and I in the kitchen creating something together.  Food is more appetizing when you take the time to make it beautiful both inside and out.  And you know what?  I think food even tastes better when you have someone with which to share of your meal.   More on that later.

Love!