Cookies

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand" –Unknown.

Chocolate, white chocolate, macadamia, peanut butter, sugar, oatmeal, M&M, cranberry, walnut, toffee, heath bit, marshmallow, butter, coconut, raisin, almond, cappuccino…hungry yet? There are so many different kinds of cookies and cookie recipes out there. From biscotti’s and cookie bars to plain old fashion chocolate chips here are some greatest places to find the best cookie recipes.

One of the best books I have found for cookie recipes is “The Cookie Bible.” It contains so many recipes for all types of cookies: drop cookies, no-bake cookies, bars and brownies, holiday and so much more. I love the recipes that add different ingredients to old traditions, such as adding toffee to oatmeal cookies and coconut to chocolate chip cookies.

There are also some great cookie ideas from our favorite chefs on food network. Paula Dean always has the best sweets on her show and her cookies are no exception.( Pictured on the left is her White Chocolate Coconut Cookies and on the lower right is a selection from Sandra Lee, her “Macadamia Coconut Cookie”). Sandra Lee also has a great selection of sweet recipes. Not only do many of her recipe books include sweet recipes but she even has a book based on sweets.

I love cookies and its fun to experiment with different ingredients.

Egg Rolls Across Cultures

When you think of egg rolls, you may think of Chinese egg rolls. However, egg rolls are not only part of the Chinese culture. Egg rolls have various names since it is a food eaten by individuals from various cultures. In the Philippine culture eggrolls are known as lumpia. However, there are different types of lumpia; one type made by some Filipinos is ‘Lumpia Shanghai’. Each lumpia is unique as is each egg roll.



Guy Fieri has a ‘Pulled Pork Egg Roll’ recipe (on left). These egg rolls are different in that they contain cole slaw. Barbecued pork with cole slaw sounds like an interesting combination! These egg rolls are sealed with an egg mixture. Filipino egg rolls are simply sealed with water.



If you want an egg roll, but also want dessert there are various recipes you can cook! You could simply put bananas in the egg roll wrapper and fry them. Then you could dip them in sugar. If you want something richer in flavor, you could follow Caprial Pence’s ‘Caramel-Apple Egg Rolls’ recipe (on right). It sounds amazing, especially if you add some vanilla ice cream on top!

CINCO DE MAYO!!!!!!!!

Ready for the fiestas? Get out your red, white, and green gear. Lets get ready to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. Let me give you a bit of background information before I demonstrate some absoulutely, mouth watering recipes.

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

I have informed you of why it is called Cinco de Mayo and why we should celebrate it, now lets get down to recipes.

First you will want to start off with some appetizers before your main course meal. Here are some couple of ideas. One of the recipes I am going to mention is really delicious and you would want to keep eating more and more of it. These nachos are really tasty.
In this recipe, you can either choose to have onions or not. The onions usually give the nachos more flavor. These nachos include chorizo, beans, and cheese. The one good thing about it, is that you can substitute the chorizo for either small chunks of meat, chkn, or ground beef.

Another appetizer you may want to try for your fiesta is chimichangas. They are absolutely tasteful. They would be great as an appetizer or a snack or even a meal. If you do decide to serve it as a meal you may want to have rice and beans on the side. Make sure to also have sour cream and salsa on the side in case someone at your fiesta may want a little more flavor or spice.

Last but not least the best, dessert!!!!

Dessert is the best part of the entire meal................no im only kidding but desserts are lusious....

Here is a scrumptious dessert that I am more than positive you are going to love. It is called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Here is a picture of it.

Don't you want some of that, of course you do.
I have provided some ideas for your HAPPY PAPPY FIESTA, ENJOY!!!!!

Asian Inspiration

Besides Mexican food one of the popular food choices is Chinese food. These two types of food are typically eaten in restaurants. If you are not Chinese or Mexican you most likely do not cook Chinese or Mexican food.

I love cooking different recipes, that aren’t the “normal” meals. Have you ever heard of Asian Slaw? Well, Chef Guy Fieri, has a few recipes for 'Asian Slaw' (on right). It is basically a salad. However it isn’t just any salad. It has many vegetables, some of which are used often in Asian meals, like snap peas and bok choy.








If you are craving barbeque chicken and Asian food, what will you do? Well, you can make Emeril Lagasse’s ‘Asian Spicy Barbeque Chicken’(above). It is deliciously flavored with sesame oil, peanut oil and soy sauce.

With summer right around the corner, we have the perfect dish you can prepare! Robin Miller has a recipe called ‘Grilled Asian Kebabs over Rice’(on left). This dish is a complete meal with vegetables, meat and rice! The unsuspecting, but delicious ingredient is black bean sauce. Enjoy this dish anytime of the day.

These recipes are different, yet they still have a hint of Asian in them. Be inspired and learn some new recipes!

Going South!!!!

In the mood for trying something different? Out of the ordinary? Something you would think you would never try before? How about going South? They have delicious recipes nothing out of the ordinary. Something you can probably make in your own home.

To give a bit of a background on the history of Southern food. Southern Louisiana developed significant culinary traditions, Louisiana Creole cuisine in southeastern Louisiana centered on New Orleans, Louisiana. Cajun cuisine in central to Acadiana in southwestern Louisiana.

I have given you a bit of background information about the food history,now lets talk some recipes. Here are a couple of recipes that I found are delicious.

Here are some homemade buscuits that you would love to have for a special dinner, the holidays, or any other ocassion you might have. You can put jelly on them, jam, or butter. They are very good and fulfilling and will do great in any dinner.


Another great recipe that can be served as either a snack or an appetizer is Pita Chips. This chips are homemade and are might delicious. They can be followed by an dip of your choice.


I have showed you some great snacks that can go along with a great entree. This recipe is magnificent, it includes delicious pasta with chicken.

These recipes are made by the famous and well known chefs such as Paula Deen, Emeril, and many more.

Mexican Recipes

Mexican recipes are delicious to have. Most people love eating mexican cuisine, most people eat it because of the great taste, the spices, the salsas, and other authentic foods. I personally do not like spicy food but I tend to try it at times but usually I need a huge glass of water next to me. I cannot handle the hotness!

One of my favorite mexican foods is las enchiladas. They are really delicious. These mexican enchiladas can either have beans inside, cheese, chicken, or even meat. Of course you will need to cook the chicken and make sure to shred it into piece not to small and you will also need to fry the tortilla in oil for a little bit. The tortilla is either dipped into a red sauce or a green sauce. It is up to you, in which, salsa you can handle. Then you put either the chicken or the meat, fold the tortilla and you can either put them in the oven for a bit of more time with cheese on time, to make the cheese melt or you can also use mexican fresh cheese.


I will be providing you some of the recipes that are my personal favorites and will soon become yours too. You can find these recipes on

Like I mentioned before mexican cuisine is mmmmmmmmm good.
Ok so you like fondue right? well guess what there is a mexican fondue. Surprise!!! I bet. It is very good and you could eat it with chips or bread. You pick which one is best for you. This mexican fondue can be served at party, gathering, or a bar-b-que.


We talked about the main dish, so what about that hot summer day when you just feel like eating something fresh and fullfilling. I have the perfect recipe. It is called "Fajita" Torta It includes tomatoes and avocadoes....making your mouth watery huh. You could eat with french fries mexican chips or doritos or cheetos.


Mexican Cuisine is the way to go!

California meets France

Wolfgang Puck is one famous chef who has his own restaurant with multiple locations. He uses fresh California ingredients in his French style cooking. He is commended by Hollywood stars and world leaders. You can even purchase frozen pizzas, pastas and canned soups made by him! His company sells cookware and appliances and has catering services. In 1998 Puck won the Outstanding Chef Award from the James Beard Foundation.



One of his easier recipes is ‘Straw and Hay Pasta' (on right). It only takes 15 minutes for preparation and 15 minutes for cooking. If you are a dairy lover, then this is a healthy recipe for you! It has heavy cream, butter and Parmesan cheese in it. Another easy recipe is ‘Couscous Salad' (below). The interesting ingredient in this recipe is cinammon. There are quite a few vegetables in this recipe from cucumbers to bell peppers.



Check out his website for recipes, restaurant locations, plus much more! http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/index.php

Going Vegetarian!

Not a big fan of meat? Want to lose that extra weight? Or maybe you just want to live a healthier lifestyle. Going vegetarian is not as hard as you think and many of our favorite chefs cater to the vegetarian lifestyle. I have found many great vegetarian recipes on foodnetwork.com's vegetarian cooking and even browsing around some of famous chef's websites including but not limited to: Sandra Lee's, Rachel Ray's, and Emeril's.

Of course the mark of the healthy eater is a salad. But there are so many different ingredients you can add to lettuce to make it tastier and more filling. First try adding fruits like apples, pears, apricots, and strawberries. These fruits go great with balsamic dressings and fruit based dressings. Other vegetarian ingredients include beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, snap-peas), corn, artichokes, avocados, tomatoes, barley, walnuts, almonds, pecans, to name a few. Salads don’t have to leave you starving at the end.

There are also some great ideas for appetizers like hummus, edamame beans, bruschetta, vegetarian pot stickers and spring rolls. Hummus, which is usually pureed garbanzo beans or chick peas, with olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, is easy to make and you can add different things to it to give it different flavors, like red pepper, roasted garlic, grilled onions, olives, tomato and more. It is a great appetizer and very healthy for you. Best served with bread, pita bread, or tortilla chips.

Meals are a breeze with vegetarian thinking. A sandwich tastes great with ingredients like grilled veggies, veggie burgers, black bean chili, Portobello mushrooms, and mouth watering cheeses like ricotta, feta, cheddar, and mozzarella. Pastas can easily be transformed into delicious vegetarian dishes in the same way. Some great pasta dishes include: potato gnocchi, cheese or spinach ravioli, and baked ziti.

All of these recipes and ideas can be found by your favorite chefs at foodnetwork.com. Or you can check out some of these books we found on amazon.com. Vegetarian living is healthy, simple, and can still be delicious.

Paula's Home Cooking

Paula Deen,owner of Lady and Sons, a famous Savannah restaurant, is Food Network's resident southern chef. Her delicious food is both uncomplicated and comforting.

She has a new show on FoodNetwork called Paula's Party. She loves to interact with her guest, have a great time, and make her audience laugh while she is cooking one of her famous recipes.

She has great recipes for the holidays, parties, an ordinary day dinner, and she also has her famous desserts.

Here is an episode of her show that is very entertaining and cooks up dinners and desserts and other yummy foods. She has a theme for this episode that she dresses up for different decades such as the 60s, 70s, 80s...




She also has other delicious meals that you can find on either or on her own website

Here are some of her recipes:

This recipe is Paula's Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie
This is a very delicious meal that can be served as an appetizer or as an entree. This recipe includes delicious vegetables and it's a great meal for all the chicken lovers.




Here is Paula's Special Pinini.
This is Paula's Special sandwich that includes varies cheeses that are delicious. She uses ciabatta loaf but you can substitute the loaf for your own favorite.


Paula is the type of chef that loves to cook and show her audience how to make her famous recipes and her favorites. On the other hand, she also loves to entertain her guest and make them feel at home and having a good time.

Paula also has her very own house seasoning for cooking that can be purchased through her website.

These are some of Paula's cookbooks that I suggest to help you in a meal that you may need.

Sandra Lee and Semi-Homemade Cooking

"Keep it simple, keep it sweet and keep it semi-homemade!"
Sandra Lee always ends her show with this friendly sign off and leaves you with great ideas for easy and delicious recipes including some great table scape decorations. She usually always has a theme to her show whether its a season, a holiday, special guests, a picnic, barbeque, or a kids day she always covers the basics of meals and entertaining.

In this episode she has a beach theme for an easy beach table scape, fish appetizers and a delicous themed meal.


I have a couple of her cook books and I just love her ideas because they are so easy. They taste like they really are made from scratch but she just gets groceries and has found a way to make them better into delicous semi-homemade meals. There are just so many delicious meal ideas. You can go check out her vast selection of meal and entertaining ideas at either foodnetwork.com or at her own website semihomemade.com. These sites also show her table scape and decoration ideas and the easiest and cheapest way to copy it.



One of the many great recipes I found from her is a healthier spin on a burger and fries meal. First she starts out with really good "sweet potato fries". Then she makes these great "apple maple turkey burgers with maple dijon mustard". I liked all of the ideas for this episode because I don't eat red meat and I try to eat healthy so these were great and tasted just as good as the real thing!

I have yet to find a bad recipe from her and I love how she makes such delicious meals and decorations so creative and accessible to anyone.

The Naked Chef

Jamie Oliver, also known as the "Naked Chef," cooks with simple easy to find ingredients. He has two shows on the Food Network; Jamie at Home and Jamie’s Kitchen. On one show he focuses on one main ingredient and cooks various home-style recipes.



Oliver has various books. In his Jamie’s Kitchen, he has a ‘Chargrilled Marinated Vegetables’ recipe (on left). This is perfect for the spring and summer months, when people barbecue. However this recipe can still be made when a barbecue is not available. Just use a griddle pan! Besides vegetables, the only ingredients used are: garlic, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.


Oliver has unique salad recipes. One delicious one is ‘Couscous with Grilled Summer Vegetables and Loadsa Herbs’(on right). This is a perfect recipe for the summer! Once again, besides the vegetables the other ingredients are: red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The couscous is prepared differently and thus has a "bite" to it.



Another great recipe is ‘Farfalle with Cabonara and Spring Peas'(on left). This delicious recipe is creamy and flavored with mint, bacon and Parmesan cheese. It is a great alternative to the classic cabonara.

If you want healthy and fresh meals, you can always rely on Jamie Oliver!

Chicken Lovers!

Tired of eating fried chicken or chicken parmigiano? But still craving chicken? Well, you have come to the right place! We have recommendations for alternative, yet easy to cook chicken recipes. Since chicken is one of the cheaper meats to purchase, and thus more likely to be in your freezer, it is a great idea to have various recipes on hand.


With the weather getting warm, you are more likely to eat a lighter meal. We have the perfect recipe in mind, ‘Grilled Chicken Pitas,’ which can be prepared for lunch or dinner (on right). With the mix of soy sauce, feta cheese and bacon among many other delicious ingredients, these pitas are flavorful. Its yogurt sauce is quite refreshing



A flavorful recipe made by Emeril Lagasse, is the ‘Lemon and Rosemary Marinated Grilled Chicken with Couscous and Sautéed Balsamic Cremini Mushrooms.’ (on left)Sounds like a gourmet meal! Your friends will be quite impressed when you cook them this easy dish. Everything, from the Creole seasoning to the couscous to the mushrooms is prepared from scratch, making the dish more delicious!

Another delicious recipe from one of our favorite chefs is Giada de Laurentiis’ ‘Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce.’ It only takes twenty minutes for prep time and thirty minutes for cook time. The majority of the ingredients are often used for cooking, which makes this dish great to prepare on any given day!

It is always refreshing to cook different, yet similar dishes. Chicken is one of the easier meats to cook and one of the most loved meats. There are over 5,000 chicken recipes on the Food Network! Everyone is bound to find a recipe that he or she likes. It is great to be a chicken lover!

Getting Ready for the Summer!!!

Summer is just around the corner, days are going to start getting hotter. People usually do not eat heavy meals throughout the day due to the hot weather. They usually go for the lenient type of meals or just fruits and vegetables. It is why I have the thing for you. I have found the most delicious sweet fruit desserts right for you. They include magnificent summer fruits and you cannot forget chocolate. These fruit desserts include a variety of mixing fruit with pastries or cakes or chocolate. A person may get as creative as they would like to.

These fruit desserts come from the famous chefs on television and easy to make. The desserts can be made for an ordinary day or for those special occasion days. I have found a delicate fruit dessert on LifeStyle Food. The recipe is called, "Almond Pannacotta on a Minestrone of Summer Fruits" (right side).

This recipe is a perfect snack before lunch or dinner. It has a mixture of different fruits, you can use the fruits that is suggested but can also add other fruits to it. This recipe can be eaten any time of day, it is very healthy and a great snack to have.



Another fruit dessert I found is from a chef by the name Tyler Florence. It is a dessert that you would just want eat every last piece of. This recipe is "Truffle Tarts with Raspberries"(left side). It is easy to make within 20 minutes. This one really looks amazing and is just right for that special dinner for two or for a family reunion. Your guest would just keep wanting more. This recipe is used with raspberries but the raspberries can be substituted for another fruit that fits right for you.

Fruits are delicious to have and enjoy to eat, but what about cakes. The different frostings it includes and other toppings you can add to it.Well guess what? I have the answer and the best recipes from the best chefs.




One of the recipes I highly recommend is made by Emeril Lagasse from Emeril Live It is a "Classic Black Forest Cake" (bottom right). This dessert includes cherries in heavy syrup which makes you want to lick your fingers, mmmmmmmm, great party dessert or for an anniversary or even as a birthday cake.

These recipes were some of the many desserts and sweets you can find to make during the Summer or even right now that it is still Spring. It does not matter if your doing a special dinner and having many guest over or even a night to just relax, these recipes can work out just fine. The good thing about these desserts is that you can change it up a bit. Whether its changing the type of fruit it has or adding more ingredients to it.

Fun-due!

Looking for that perfect fondue recipe? Never had it? Here are some super easy and delicious recipes and ideas for a great fondue night. Fondue is great as an appetizer before a meal or for a small party. It is also fun to have as a meal with a variety of different ones to choose from. Then, of course everyone's favorite, the dessert fondues! I have found many great fondue ideas over the years and some of the best ones are from our favorite T.V. chefs.

I love Sandra Lee, she always knows how to make things simple with her semi-homemade recipes. She has a great recipe for, "White Wine Fondue," and it only takes 10 minutes to make. This one is really good if you are just looking for an appetizer before dinner or for a party. It is really easy and tastes great with French bread.

For more hearty fondues, that are more likely to fill you up I would try Emeril Lagasse,“Chef Chris' Italian Fontina And Truffled Pecorino Romano Fondue.” This one really packs a punch! It has so many different flavors and there is more of a variety for dipping options (pictured on the right). Rachel Ray also makes a, “German Cheddar and Beer Fondue,” and has assorted meats, veggies and potatoes for dipping. Fondue isn’t just cheese. For other fondue ideas, you could use a marinara type of fondue, with a yummy tomato sauce mixed with different herbs and spices and dip meat balls, bread and other kinds of meat. Experiment with different kinds of cheeses and mix them up to make different tastes and thickness. To make it a meal dip shrimps, meats, potatoes and other vegetables.

Finally, for dessert there are so many different things, marshmallow fondue, chocolate, caramel, butterscotch fondue (pictured left from Emeril Lagasse), and even fruity flavors make for a sweet treat. You can never go wrong with a simple chocolate fondue. Chocolate fondue is one of my favorite desserts. It’s so simple to make! Melt chocolate, I would suggest semi-sweet, add some milk or heavy cream and your done. Many chefs add some type of liqueur, but this is optional. I found some great recipes from Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee for dessert fondue’s. Some are very rich and filling and others are very light, like the fruit based ones. Either way a dessert fondue is a great way to finish a meal.

Your Easter Celebration

Easter is a great time to get together with family and share a delicious meal. We found some great recipes from some of our favorite chefs to make your Easter celebration an all-day event full of delicious meals.

After digging into the Easter baskets and/or enjoying your other Easter traditions, why not gather your family together to start the day with a hearty Easter brunch? We found some great recipe ideas from Paula Dean’s, ‘Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup’(featured in the picture on the right), to Tyler Florence’s creamy, ‘Eggs Benedict with Canadian Bacon and Spinach’. Yummy! There are also some great ideas for side dishes and appetizers including no-fuss menu options from Rachel Ray, like her ‘Almond-Orange-Apricot Crescent Rolls’ or a simple ‘Fruit Tart’.

If you are still hungry at dinner time we found a great feast from Tyler Florence, who is known for teaching everyday people how to cook. This menu includes three
recipes: ‘Tangerine-Glazed Easter Ham with Baby Carrots’,(featured in the picture on the left), ‘Buttered Peas and Pearl Onions’, and ‘Mashed New Potatoes with Fresh Mint’. These recipes are simple to follow and are even featured on his television show Food 911.

To top off your Easter celebration, don’t forget dessert! Our advice, stick with the theme. Go with desserts that are fruity and colorful. Be creative and have fun with shapes. Whether it’s Sandra Lee’s ‘Bunny Cut-out Cookie Bouquet’ or one of Paula’s refreshing ‘Lemon Cakes’, you really can’t go wrong. For more ideas or to get the full recipe, check out foodnetwork.com or any of the chef’s own personal websites. If Easter is an important holiday to you and your family, why not follow chefs who know how to communicate simple recipes?

Everyday Italian with Giada de Laurentiis

Who do we admire when it comes to Italian cooking? That chef would be Giada de Laurentiiis. She was born in Italy and grew up with a great appreciation for food. She was professionally trained at Le Cordon Bleu.
Do you ever cook something only to realize that you made too much food? Well, on Giada’s Everyday Italian show she teaches you how to cook for a party or for two people. Many of her recipes are for entertaining and everyday meals.
Giada gives tips on what to look for in the grocery store as well as alternatives to what you can use if the items cannot be found. Surprisingly, her Italian recipes are very healthy! From her 'Mediterranean Bruschetta' to her 'Lentil Soup', Giada makes Italian food healthy for all.

30 minute Meals with Rachael Ray

Whether you are a full time student with a job or a working parent with mouths to feed, we have found that Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals are perfect for any living situation. They are fast, easy and help maintain a well balanced diet.

If you decide to watch 30 minute meals and follow along, Rachael Ray's bubbly personality makes cooking fun and entertaining. She also has a variety of different 30 minute meal cookbooks.

These are some of the cookbooks that we recommend:

*30 minute meals (1999)
*Rachael Ray 30 min meal:Cookin' Round the clock (2004)
*Rachael Ray 30 min mealfor kids (2004)
*Rachael Ray 30 min meal get real meals:Eat Healthy (2005)
*Rachael Ray Express Lane meals (2006)
*30 minute meals Volume 4: Entertaining Made Easy

Welcome!!!!

Hello Everyone,

We would like to welcome each and everyone of you to our blog Great Chef Recipes.

We are Cal State Fullerton students who are food fanatics. Our purpose for this blog is to provide the best recipes a person can find and provide a bit of help for those speical occasions or on a daily basis. We will also be providing information on how to go about purchasing recipe books and related kitchenware.

Our recipes will include the most delicious food a person can cook. These recipes will come from the best chefs in the world and most famous ones too. These chefs will include from Rachael Ray to Emeril to Wolfgang Puck, and many others.