Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

These are too good to be called plain old Sloppy Joes - I want to call them Sloppy Josephines. The root beer gives them such an interesting flavor - yeah I know sounds disgusting - but it's not. It is a little on the sweet side but the root beer really gives them a depth of flavor. I don't think the great flavor was because I used my homemade ketchup either. They recommend using chili sauce and I think it might be good with that also. Hat off Sloppy Josephines (Adapted from Cooking Light ) 1T olive oil 1 c finely chopped onion 1 lb ground beef (I used 85% lean) 1/2 c homemade ketchup or tomato sauce 1/2 c root beer 1 T Worcestershire sauce (obvs homemade-which I know I still haven't posted the recipe - I will, I will) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 t dry mustard 1 t ancho (or to taste) 1T tomato paste salt/pepper 4-6 buns (depending on size and how much you want Josephine to ooze out) In a large skillet add oil, onions, and salt. Saute about 10-15 minutes u...

Since I've already offended a bunch of people with my entry on Irish Soda Bread, I figured why not offend some people from Cornwall too. Be careful how you pronounce Pasty-it's Pahs-TEE not pastey - that's another blog not mine. Cornish Pasties were supposedly created as lunches for miners.  They needed something that would fit in their lunch boxes and be easy to eat - guess they got tired of sandwiches. The first Cornish Pasty I ate was a few years ago at the West Cornwall Pasty Co in Covent Gardens in London. I know it's a chain and I generally don't like chain restaurants (if you can even call chain restaurants-restaurants) but in Europe they seem to have some good chain restaurants. After I came home, I was craving Cornish Pasties. I tried to find a recipe and could not find one that got the pastry right. I finally found one in Nigella Lawson's book . She doesn't call it a pasty, but that's what it tasted like to me. Here is where the off...