Fork and The Cork

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge #2 was a great success, thanks to a wonderful host, Mario Bosquez, and a fabulous recipe courtesy of Chef Andrew Wild, chef and instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.  The recipe chosen was: shrimp in a cilantro cream sauce.  Some of you are going:  " eeeeewww, cilantro ", and some of you are like: " that sounds divine "!  There has always been a great debate over cilantro, with very strong feelings one way or another.  Either it tastes like soap to you, or you love it!  Ironically, the New York Times published an article on this just last week.  You can read it online at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html?scp=2&sq=cilantro&st=cse . The good news for both lovers and haters of this contraversial herb is that it imparts such a mellow flavor in this dish, you hardly know it is there.  Of course, if you are so against it that you lie and tell people you are allergic to it to

The King , The Colonel , or The Clown . If you are having a Big Mac Attack , this could very well be your answer to the familiar question: What's for dinner? If you are, in fact, NOT having a Big Mac Attack (most likely the case), then forgo the drive thru, and make a fun, fresh, spicy, healthy, spring dinner at home! I've always been a fan of asian cuisine, but have never really been a fan of making it at home. There are unusual, expensive ingredients that in my own experience are not used often enough to justify the cost, and the end result is rarely as delectable as ordering out.   Because of this, I have been on a quest, researching asian recipes utitlizing everyday ingredients. My test kitchen ( that would be me ) has developed a delicious take on a restaurant favorite using everyday ingredients. This is part " trial and error ", and part " use what I have ". Necessity is the mother of all invention . If a recipe calls for an ingredient that I do