So last night we went out to the new Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) restaurant on Rt. 248 in Nazareth. I've been to a Buffalo Wild Wings before in Florida and it was awesome. This one was no exception. We had great service and tasty food. If you haven't been there before, the restaurant is basically a big sports bar with tvs covering every possible space on the wall, ranging in size. This isn't the type of place you would want to take a date to get to know them, because it's quite a loud atmosphere.

BWW has incredible wings and around a dozen or more wing flavors. I personally enjoy the Asian Zing and Mango Habanero sauces the best. I would also recommend a basket of Buffalo Chips as a side. To make the chips, they turn a potato on its side and slice it into discs of potato. Of course you have to get those covered in cheese as well. We ordered fifty wings and were able to split those up into five different sauces. By the way, they have a wing challenge as well. You have to eat twelve of their Blazin' wings (the hottest on the menu) in six minutes or less, without drinking anything or wiping your face during the time limit. We witnessed a kid accomplish it and he ended up getting the second best time since they opened. Honestly, I didn't really spend too much time looking at the rest of the menu, because let's face it, why get anything else but wings if the name of the place has the word wings in it. That would be like going to a place that specializes in hamburgers and ordering a buffalo chicken sandwich. (Right Shinsk?)

source: Stuff We Ate Today

It's a funny thing how food can work.  I think food can be one of the best memory triggers around.  What do you remember most about the last wedding you attended?  I'll bet the food wins over the center pieces (not that center pieces aren't nice).  One such food memory for me is the first meal Girl ever cooked for me all those years ago.  Sure, it comes from a cookbook by a famous author/non-chef, but we've made it our own and so she doesn't get credit for this one.  We call it... PRETEND FANCY CHICKEN.  When we're being fancy, we call it prosciutto and herbed goat cheese chicken breast roulade with a tarragon pan gravy.  Here's the recipe:

I was introduced to Vietnamese food by my sister who took me to this very location a few years back when it was called "Pho Vung Tao."  When it comes to authentic Asian foods, Americans are probably most familiar with Japanese foods such as sushi, tempura, udon, and ramen.  I don't even want to mention Chinese food, since what we know as Chinese food is probably more American than it is Chinese.

I find there's a certain stigma attached to Asian foods outside of Japan.  Of the Asian countries, Japan is looked at as the most well-developed and advanced when it comes not only to technology, but society as a whole.  Our impression of a country's culture often influences our impression of a country's cuisine.  There's a certain sophistication or refinement associated with Japanese food.  While some still find raw fish to be off-putting, it's gained acceptance and even popularity in the States.  The same cannot be said of other Asian foods, Vietnamese included.

Writing for SlowDayToday.com has inspired me to get out of the house and actually experience what's out there.  I'll admit that if life had a progress meter, I've probably only got one toe out the door, but that's not bad for a hermit like me.  Almost everything in life is more fun with other people and eating is no exception.  I assumed that most of my friends have never tried Vietnamese food before, so I thought I'd see if any of them were interested.  Not surprisingly, only one friend, big Shinsk, took me up on the offer.  He was a little hesitant after googling Vietnamese food, but that's to be expected.  The important thing is that he dipped his toes in the water, felt the chill after seeing something unpleasant show up in search, but still took the plunge.  I've only had four items on the menu so I'm still swimming in the kiddie pool myself.  Hopefully, next time our Vietnamese friend, MoD, can show us what the rest of the menu is all about.  My only experience with Vietnamese cuisine is with Pho, fried rice, and the two different types of rolls.

source: BD's personal blog @ blogspot.com

So for today, we've got a double dose.  Story/Recipe #1

Girl and I went grocery shopping today.  Normally, we'll plan out a week's worth of dinners, and shop for the necessary ingredients.  It makes for an uncluttered fridge, and it's nice to know what I'm having for dinner every night.  There are a few items, however, that get stocked and kept around for convenience (ie, the meat baby).  One of these items is frozen shrimp.  They keep very well, they thaw very quickly, and we love shrimp so why not have them on hand.

Well, we had our shopping list written out for the week and headed to the supermarket.  While we were there, Girl proclaimed "what's for lunch?"  So the ol' brains kicked in and we started bouncing ideas off of one another.  Then an epiphany occurred.  We had key ingredients at home to make one of our favorite Cooking Light recipes...crispy tofu pad thai.

Lunch

You want the recipe?  Click the link above...I'm trying to save space here.  The main difference with today's batch was the addition of the previously mentioned shrimp (about 1/2 lb) that I tossed in with the cornstarch and tofu.  The ketchup based sauce for this pad thai is a lot different than any other pad thai that I've had, but Alton Brown once said "there's a pad thai recipe for every cook in Thailand", so I feel ok with it.