The Culinary Creativity at the Sperlein's

I like to eat. Most of you who actually know me (there could be some loyal reader out there who's never actually met me...you never know) probably have no problem believing that. What many may not know is that I also like to cook. Now, yes, I will stick with safe, tried and true recipes from your large, in-every-kitchen cookbook, but I will branch out from time to time.

I've decided to share a few of my culinary explorations and give you all another avenue into my deeply twisted mind. Where possible, I'll also share a link, in case you either want to make it yourself or if you want to know what websites to block on your computers so your spouses never see these creations and get the idea to attempt them themselves (or ask you to attempt them, if they are tragically inept in the kitchen).

I'm getting hungry already!

Death Star Meatball (yes...eating this entire meatball will kill you):

I was turned on to Epic Meal Time by my brother-in-law a couple thanksgivings ago, and I've been hooked ever since. I made a scaled down version of this for us once, but decided to make a larger version for the missionaries another time. Here's how it looked:
As the video shows, this is a meatball stuffed with tortellini and meat sauce, covered in sauce and cheese, and placed on top of garlic bread. This one happens to be about 2 pounds of meat, and it fed 4 people with plenty of food left over, plus some pasta left over as well. Epic!

Christmas Beef Wellington:

My parents came to visit us for Christmas this year. As such, we decided to pull out the good china and have a nice, formal dinner on Christmas Eve. The main dish? A Christmas Beef Wellington. Also, not beyond the ability of a person to make, but it definitely takes time and patience. My biggest challenge has always been getting the meat to be properly cooked without over-browning the pastry.

Bacon Explosion

This recipe is definitely a 'man' dish. It's ground sausage rolled up with bacon pieces, BBQ sauce, and dry rub, covered in dry rub, and wrapped in a bacon weave, then cooked slowly for a few hours (they recommend smoking it, but there's also a baking option for those of us without smokers [yet]), covered in more BBQ sauce and dry rub.

The permission to make this meat monstrosity was part of my birthday present from Em. Now, I should note that this dish is not a good idea for those who are trying to lose weight, keep a figure, or who are two french fries from keeling over from a massive heart attack. But, it tasted soooooo good.

Thus Sayeth Your Haus