a bark worthy of your bite - white chocolate peanut pretzel

here's a simple recipe that wins everyone over and is way too easy to make. i've made this white chocolate bark several times now and each person who tries it pretty much goes crazy over them. i love making it for the sheer reaction they get and the lack of time it takes on my part.

it's even abbu approved... yup, my father (who's spoiled by my 'chef de i-have-never-made-anything-that-tastes-bad' mom's cooking) said he could eat it all day, everyday. i always make him fist pound me when i'm really excited over something and he reluctantly participates to make me happy but this time around - after trying the white chocolate bark - he initiated the fist pound and i was off to writing this post. you can't deny the power a parent has on their child and i'm fortunate to say that my dad (who we call abbu) falls somewhere between 'heart of gold, funny, hardworking, honest and super intelligent.' he's a family guy and a constant source of strength and determination in my life. this one's for him!

b is for burgers

before my love for food grew into exploring exotic cuisines, eating at fancy restaurants and appreciating hole in the wall joints - it was always simple for me - "i'll have the burger."

it's the most ideal thing to eat - a warm patty usually made out of beef, slice of melted cheese, whatever toppings you desire, dollop of ketchup - all nestled into a bun...yum. i've had great ones at places like shake shack, in-and-out, houston's, primanti's, etc. over the past year or so they've become the trendy item to order - just like good ol' cupcakes - and restaurant's are either updating the traditional cheeseburger with unique creations or opening with the entire concept based around the burger. trendy or not, i'll always love a burger and there are two burgers that i recently tried that cannot go without recognition.

rok brgr in ft. lauderdale

rok brgr and the peggy burger

http://www.rokbrgr.com


mike o'donnell makes his smooth return to the blog and appropriately so on a burger post. when the two of us aren't bantering about movies, music or just mocking one another - we are usually talking about how great american food is. as mike is trying to expose me to more music he loves (and sports - but that's going to take much longer), i am trying to expose him to eating different types of eats and especially break down his aversion to spicy food. we had been talking about the best burgers we've had for quite some time and when the new rok brgr on himmershee street in ft. lauderdale was getting rave reviews, i knew that's where i wanted to take him during his visit to south florida. it’s a very laid back scene with good music playing and adding to the bar scene in downtown ft. lauderdale,  except here they offer super quality food and lots of burgers.

he was so giddy over all the options and was struggling to decide on one. we happily compromised with ordering two different burgers and splitting them. he got the rok brgr which came with hickory smoked bacon and a winning bourbon bbq sauce and i got the peggy – topped with pulled short rib, same bbq sauce and a horseradish cheddar cheese. both burgers were served with handcut fries – perfect to stuff into your burger for that one really good bite.

photo courtesy of daily.likeme.net