I thought that the classic Italian meatball could not be improved upon. I mean, it’s got meat, it’s in the shape of a ball…. um, oh, it’s got garlic and oregano and stuff.

But recent advances in the culinary sciences have led me to dare the impossible. Stick a piece of mozzarella cheese inside the meatball.

The world has changed.

What wonders will we see in the amazing future. If meatballs full of cheese are possible to even the lowliest of home chefs, what culinary delights will be brought before us by the truly talented of this all too important endeavor.

Bon appetit.

Wines from around the world are becoming more and more popular as regional wineries have more and more access to international markets. Recently there has been a major influx of wines from such far flung countries as Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Maybe the grapes grow better upside down below the equator. Joining a monthly wine club gives you a variety of different types of wines to try everything from local California to international varieties in their wine of the month.

For Christmas my kids got a Nostalgia Electrics popcorn maker. Even though it took us over a month to get it out of the box and give it a try, it still managed to disappoint.

It is a nice-looking air-popped popcorn maker, but it is ineffective as a method of actually popping corn. Less than half of the kernels managed to pop. I know that all methods of popping corn are not 100% effective at getting every last kernel, but this is just ridiculous. Most of the kernels were ejected from the popping hole as the other kernels were popped.

It will look nice up on the shelf, but only useful for a single serving.

If you pronounce the above word as ‘PAY-la’, please find your nearest Spanish-speaking friend or relative for help. (Hint: 2 L’s = Y) If you already know what paella is and you’re looking for the best way to present the dish (or cook it), go find yourself a paella pan. While you’re at the site, also check out the variety of copper, ceramic, or even terra cotta dishes and cooking stuff. Very cool.

I’ve always been a fan of Sizzler. When I was a kid, I loved to get the All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp plate. For years I’ve not lived near a Sizzler (possible because of too many visits for the shrimp plate).

On a recent trip to California, my family and I stopped by the Sizzler in Barstow. I should have turned around as soon as I saw four tour buses in the parking lot, but we pushed in anyways.

At the intersection of I-40 and I-15, the Barstow Sizzler must specifically cater to tour buses headed from LA to Vegas and back. The restaurant started all of their customers in a line to order food and then brought the plates to the tables. I ordered shrimp (of course) but it turned out to be fishy, bland, and chewy. My kids got grilled cheese which was cold and disgusting.

Needless to say that on the way back through Barstow we didn’t even eat at a restaurant near that Sizzler.

Warning! Avoid at all costs.

For those of you in the Phoenix area looking for a good place to go get breakfast I have to highly recommend Over Easy. The prices are good, the food is good and they have REAL maple syrup sitting on the table – no extra charge! When they bring the food to your table it’s as if they cooked and brought it to you without setting it under warming lamps.

When you compare my pancakes to a regular restaurant’s pancakes, mine win because they’re less rubbery. But at Over Easy mine lose because you can actually cut their pancakes.

It’s on 40th st just south of Indian School. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember the place they’re in as an old Taco Bell. It can get busy so get there early if you want indoor seating (they open at 6:30 but I think you’d be safe even at 7:30).

Enjoy.

The British do have some strange food issues, but a recent court decision has declared that Pringles are not potato chips. Evidently they only contain 42% potato product, so they are not a potato chip and cannot be taxed as a potato chip.

I’m not sure which is the most amazing fact. That Pringles are less than half potato. that the company argued that these chips, which are marketed as less greasy and less crumbly potato chips, are not potato chips. Or that there is actually a British tax on potato chips. Those crazy Brits will tax anything. No wonder we fought for our independence.

My wife’s family has some strange traditions. Some, like the birthday parade, are cute and I quietly endure them, while others are just kind of weird.

Around the holidays my in-laws house is full to the rim with all sorts of strange sweets. Unfortunately, there are few that I find appetizing. The chocolate-covered orange peel is just a strange mixture of wonderful chocolate surrounding something that should have been thrown out. The maple sugar candy has a flavor better suited to breakfast, not dessert.

The worst is halva. A strange Middle Eastern dessert that combines crushed sesame seeds, honey, and chocolate. You may be saying to yourself that all of those ingredients sound good. It just goes to show that some things just shouldn’t be combined.

Recently, I posted a very embarrassing story that involved a candle. Here is the full text of that story.

Over the years as this story has spread from my small group of friends to a wider group of friends to the internet and now to video, I find it less and less embarrassing each time. Initially, I was beet red over it.

By “coming out of my shell” I’ve opened myself up to share an embarrassing, yet very funny, story with the world.

Next time you get a chance, come out of your shell and give Gulf oysters a try.

General Mills has a new promotion with their current boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Each piece of cereal has a fingerprint pattern on it, while the box gives you a fingerprint, and multiple suspect fingerprints to match it to.

I just wish that they would have talked to a fingerprint expert before printing up millions of boxes and billions of pieces of cereal. Most of the information on the box is correct, but there are some facts that they have listed that are incorrect or, at best, only partially correct.

But hey, if it sells more cereal, you cares.

If you’re interested in hunting, you know that having the proper equipment is essential to having a successful hunt.  Finding quality equipment is also essential.  That’s why the Hunting and Recreation Business Mall only sells the most modern tools for your use.  Whether you need a game feeder or a wildlife blind, you can visit their website to find the one for your next outing.

If you’re curious about how oysters can be made safe for even at risk groups like those with diabetes, cancer or liver disease, check out BeOysterAware.com. They have information on how Gulf oysters can be processed to be virtually free of the bacteria vibrio vulnificus which is the main culprit behind illnesses in at-risk people who have consumed raw oysters.

Oysters produce pearls when they get irritated. Wouldn’t it be great if they produced other, perhaps more useful items? What if you could put a piece of dirt in an oyster, wait a couple months and then open it to find a car? Or your anniversary is coming up, you put a piece of dirt in your pet oyster and on your anniversary open it up to find flowers, chocolates and a romantic sunset? I suppose in this case finding a pearl would work out just as well but it would be more amazing if she’s expecting a pearl and gets the other stuff instead.

But then what are you supposed to do with the Gulf oysters that produced the romantic sunset? You could get a recipe from BeOysterAware.com site and not have to worry that you might wreck the night by mispreparing this delicacy. You can make oyster cakes, oyster pizza or oyster alfredo and win your sweet over for at least one night. I will go ahead and caution you to save the recipes that contain garlic for another occasion.

Here’s my idea of how a sunset would look if an oyster could actually pull it off.

Yes, oysters are slimy.

Yes, oysters are weird.

Yes, oysters taste good.

I had my first oysters when I visited San Diego with my family when I was a kid. I was braver about food back then. Or maybe being away from home made me braver because it was on that same trip that I tried my first artichoke. Or did I do it on a dare? I can’t quite remember. But I was surprised by how good they tasted.

Gulf oysters are one of the kinds you are likely to run into if you choose to try this yumminess. I myself prefer them cooked but they can be safely consumed raw by healthy people. I say healthy because there is a risk of getting a specific bacteria that can cause problems for some with health problems like diabetes or compromised immune systems. Luckily, when the oysters are fully cooked, every one can partake.

If you really like your oysters raw but are in the at-risk group, take heart. There are new post-harvest processes that make the oysters safe to eat, though they can be hard to come by. According to the BeOysterAware.com site, less than 10% of oyster sales in the US are made up of mollusks that have been treated to make them safe.

All this talk of oysters makes me want some and I have NO IDEA where to get some around here…shoot.

And by the way, I was kidding about them being slimy and weird. (But just so we’re clear, I was serious about the yummy part.)