.NET Gurus Can Cook! Second Edition by Donald Williamson

Second Edition

.NET Gurus Can Cook!

DEC 9-12, 2012 &

APR 8-12, 2013 LAS VEGAS, NV

DevIntersection CONFERENCE

MGM GRAND

Visual Studio ASP.NET & Azure BONUS: Development Practices Track +3!.! Ĺ? 5Ĺ? % .+/+"0Ĺ?Ä&#x2018;Ĺ? !40 !*Ĺ?Ä&#x2018;Ĺ?Ä&#x2039; Ĺ? + '/Ä&#x201C;

Ĺ? !3Ĺ? . Ĺ?+"Ĺ? !2!(+,)!*0Ĺ? .%*#/Ĺ?0$!Ĺ?I*0!./! 0%+* +"Ĺ? 1(0%,(!Ĺ? ++(/Ä&#x152;Ĺ? ! $*+(+#%!/Ĺ? * Ĺ? ! )/Ĺ? +#!0$!.Ä&#x201C; With the game-changing new releases of Visual Studio 2012, ASP.NET 4.5 and Microsoft Windows 8, the barriers have been unlocked and creativity can flow like never before. DevIntersection is loaded with in-depth training sessions, Microsoft architects, industry experts, active debates, peer-to-peer networking and celebration!

RLY REGISTER EA EA V EI AND REC TION A ER NEXT GEN T! TABLE

KEYNOTES

Scott GUTHRIE CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, WINDOWS AZURE, MICROSOFT

Matt NUNN

SR. PRODUCT MANAGER, MICROSOFT

Scott HANSELMAN

PRINCIPAL COMMUNITY ARCHITECT FOR WEB PLATFORM AND TOOLS, MICROSOFT

Steve FOX

DIRECTOR MICROSOFT CONSULTING SERVICES, MICROSOFT

Tim HUCKABY

Richard

CEO, CAMPBELL INTERKNOWLOGY CO-HOST, .NET ROCKS!, CONFERENCE CHAIR

or call 203.264.8220 U Questions? info@DevIntersection.com Visual StudioĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;ASP.NETĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;HTML5Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;jQueryĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;C++Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;KinectĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;JavaScriptĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;ALM Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Windows 8Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Windows Store and more Windows AzureĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;CSSĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Mobile 2

Menu Board Welcome to the Second Edition of the .NET Gurus Can Cook Cookbook! The first edition was met with great success and distributed to thousands of developers across the country at industry trade shows, code camps, and .Net User Groups. The response has been overwhelming, including being awarded as a finalist in Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2011! Who knew developers could really cook? In this edition, the developer community has stepped up with even more great recipes. Whether you’re looking to start your meal off with Spinach Mushroom Quesadilla appetizers, followed by Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo and Southern Fried Green Tomatoes, then move on to Slow-Roasted Carnitas or Cape Cod Fresh Swordfish for the main course, and finish it off with a Dulce de Leche cheesecake and Blueberry Mojito, this book is definitely for you! Once again, I would really like to give a big ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone that contributed to this Second Edition. The cookbook includes a representation of our entire Microsoft .NET community - contributing to this project we have Speakers, Writers, MVP’s, User Group Leaders, Industry Influencers, Magazine and Site Publishers/Editors, and more. Bon Appetite!

Donald Williamson P.S. If you think you have what it takes to be included in the Third Edition, please email me at cookbook@componentone.com.

Want to watch several of the recipes actually being made? We filmed many of them being prepared; view them now at www.ComponentOne.com/Cookbook/. We even have guest-star appearances by some of the authors themselves!

Acknowledgements The most obvious question here is, “What does a cookbook have to do with .NET development?” To me, the answer was simple. While enjoying food and drinks, everyone seems to become just a bit closer together. Food instigates conversation and prompts profound expression – Food, is the ultimate aphrodisiac to awaken the ingenious mind. Let’s face it, everyone loves fine food and most of us think once we’ve mastered a dish or two, even if it’s something as simple as boiling water for the perfect hard-boiled egg or pouring the ultimate martini, we have arrived as culinary experts. Well, when looking back at our initial thought for working on this crazy endeavor, our original idea was that this could be a good way for everyone to get a kick out of what some of the most famous personalities in the dev world devour in the privacy of their own homes. Perhaps, they might just let us peak into their secret lives. Not that we were looking to catch them at their most clandestine indulgences but rather to find out a little more possibly, as to what fuels their cerebral impulses and that their unique delicacies could perhaps inspire us to create some of that greatness ourselves, if we simply change our diets. Now, let’s talk food! Once you thumb through the pages of this book you’ll realize there are some truly eccentric concoctions here. I was surprised that we would get such an enthusiastic reception to our idea and the dev celebrities who submitted their recipes, showed that they are indeed passionate about their culinary skills. The dishes that they contributed are interesting, unique and above all, exceptionally palatable! I am grateful to have worked with these ‘Gurus’ on the 2nd edition of our cookbook and observe first-hand their infectious personalities, the truly incredible work they do in the community and their overall good-nature. …enough of my ramblings, let’s not wait any further amid this chit chat …Let’s Eat!

--Kevin White

Head of Marketing, ComponentOne a division of GrapeCity Publisher ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, Inc. Publishing Director Kevin White Editor-in-Chief Donald Williamson

We would love to hear from you!

Graphic Design Shay Williamson

ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, Inc. Marketing Division 201 South Highland Avenue, Suite 300 Pittsburgh, PA 15028 (412) 681-4343 www.ComponentOne.com

Advertising Design David May Nicole Adams Video Roger Hobbs Tommy Hodges

“... Hows about cooking something up for me...”

Contents appetizers ______________________ 9 soups & salads ________________ 21 side dishes ____________________ 35 main courses __________________ 47 sweets _________________________ 93 drinks ________________________109

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

® word processing components

Rick’s Developer’s Roadmap to Vegas Buffets

My Top 10 Vegas Buffets 1) The Buffet at Bellagio 2) Wicked Spoon Buffet (Cosmopolitan) 3) Bacchanal Buffet (Caesars Palace) 4) The Buffet at Wynn 5) Studio B (M Resort) 6) The Buffet at Aria 7) Cravings at Mirage 8) Le Village Buffet (Paris) 9) Spice Market Buffet (Planet Hollywood) 10) Rio’s Carnival World Buffet

WINDOWS FORMS | WPF | ASP.NET | ACTIVEX

WORD PROCESSING

COMPONENTS RICHER THAN RICH TEXT

Word Processing Components for Windows Forms, WPF & ASP.NET

8 WWW.TEXTCONTROL.COM

US +1 877 - 462 - 4772 (toll-free) EU +49 421 - 4270671 - 0

“Our toaster has two settings: too soon or too late.” ~Sam Levenson

Behold the Power of Cheese

The Perfect Pimento Cheese 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 3

lb Sharp Cheddar cheese lb Monterey Jack cheese medium sized dill pickles or 3 cloves of garlic - 4 oz jar of pimentos drained small can of Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce Tbsp mayonnaise (I like Dukes or Hellman’s best)

Mark Dunn MCT, MCAD, MCDBA, MCSD .Net Microsoft Regional Director, SoutheastMicrosoft MVP, Visual Basic .Net President, DUNN Training, Inc. Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Pimento cheese is a true southern delicacy. Great pride is taken in its construction. Just attend the famed Masters’ Golf Tournament in Augusta each year and you’ll find the most popular item on the menu is the pimento cheese sandwich. As a southern gentleman, I’ve spent years perfecting my recipe and although it has a few odd ingredients, it’s so good it’ll make you want to slap your grandma!

Shred all the cheese into a large bowl. Don’t get pre-shredded cheese because it has some powder on it that makes it not mix so well. Cut the pickles in to chunks and add them in a food processor along with the garlic, pimentos, drained Rotel, and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse just long enough to finely chop and mix them. You don’t want to puree the ingredients, just make them pliable for the next step. Drain the ingredients before mixing. Put in the large bowl with your now shredded cheese and mix with 3 good tablespoons of mayonnaise. You can add more mayo to soften the consistency you wish. Don’t even think about using low calorie or cheap mayo. This is a key ingredient! Let the mixture set in the fridge for about 2 to 3 hours and enjoy! Once you have the ingredients, this takes about 15 mins to make. The worst part is cleaning the cheese shredder and blender after you finish. For the classic sandwich, you just need to spread it on some fresh white bread. I actually love to cut up some italian bread and toast it with the pimento and serve as an appetizer or snack for friends watching a good game on a Saturday afternoon.

Mark Dunn CEO of DUNN Training, RD, MVPMark has over 25 years of experience in the disciplines of software engineering, database administration, and project management. Software that Mark developed for the radio industry is still in use today. He was a lead developer on the team that created Tapscan, a well-known Arbritron ratings analysis package that has dominated that industry for many years. Since 2003, Mark has been awarded MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional) status for his contributions to the Visual Studio .Net community and he serves as Microsoft’s Regional Director covering the Southeast United States. Mark also co-founded .Net Rocks, an Internet radio program for .Net developers recognized in over 80 countries and now hosted by Microsoft on the MSDN site. Mark is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Application Developer, Solution Developer for .Net, and Database Administrator. Find out more about DUNN Training at http://www.dunntraining.com. 10

Dwight Schrute: Kevin, what are you doing? Kevin: I wanted to eat Pigs in a Blanket... in a blanket.” ~The Office

Little Hot Dogs 1 - 14 oz pack of Little Beef Hot Dogs (like Nathan’s® Beef

Cocktail Franks, not smoked sausage)

1 - 8 oz can of Pillsbury Crescent dough PAM® Cooking spray Reynolds® no-stick aluminum foil Baking sheet tin tray Russell Fustino Senior Developer Evangelist This is a great companion for my Wings in version one of .NET Gurus Can Cook. If you are looking to cook a special snack during a football game or event, this is it! It is a great appetizer for any party! Serve them hot right out of the oven. I like this recipe because it’s quick and easy and taste great! Also, I don’t think there is a better aroma of fresh baked bread! Smells great when cooking!

Makes approximately 40 Pigs in the Blanket. Time to create this dish = 20 minutes Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the baking sheet tray with Reynolds no-stick aluminum foil then spay with PAM. Cut each triangle of the dough into 5 smaller triangles. Wrap hot dogs with the dough. Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with toothpicks.

Russell Fustino Senior Developer Evangelist Russ Fustino heads up Developer Evangelism at GrapeCity PowerTools as a Senior Developer Evangelist. He is also a highly experienced Windows Phone 7 software developer with a passion for conveying relevant, current, and future software development technologies and tools through live seminars, teaching, and internet video productions. Russ has a new innovative blog and interview video series with influentials, about current technology, GrapeCity Products and developer community called ‘Russ Cam’! Check it out at http://www.gcpowertools. com/russcam … He has enlightened, entertained and educated over 200,000 developers nationwide as a former Developer Evangelist for Microsoft. Russ heads up 2 INETA user groups in the Tampa Florida area: Windows Phone 7 (www.wp7ug.com) and the Internet Media User Group (www.internetmug.com). Follow @RussCamTV on twitter. 11

“A hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg.” ~ Samuel Butler

Buffalo Chicken Dip 1 original rotisserie chicken, hand-pulled 4 oz cream cheese 1 cup ranch dressing ½ cup buffalo wing sauce 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 bag of tortilla chips Jay Harris

President, Arana Software Every Fourth of July, my brother Larry hosts a party at his home in Western New York. Each year, new appetizers, snacks, and dips appear for us to stuff our bellies with, and a few have stood the test of time. Buffalo Chicken Dip was introduced a few years ago by Brittny, my nephew’s better half, and has become not only a Harris Family staple, but a standing requirement at all gatherings with friends and neighbors.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium-size bowl, combine cream cheese, ranch dressing, and wing sauce. Mix in pulled chicken with sauce mixture until all pieces are thoroughly coated. Note: We use only the breast meat; we find that the rotisserie leg and thigh meat is too greasy. Mix in cheddar cheese. Place mixture in a casserole dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Jay Harris President, Arana Software Jay is a code wrangler, software consultant, and president of Arana Software (www.aranasoft. com). He has been developing on the web for over 15 years, since the Blink tag lured him away from Visual Basic 3 in 1995. With a career focus on user experience, his passions include mastery of chocolate chip pancakes and perfectly cooked bacon. In addition to being responsible for breakfast, Jay is a C# MVP, an ASPInsider, and an INETA Mentor. 12

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.” ~ Bette Davis in All About Eve

Parmesan Artichoke Dip, a.k.a. “Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa”

Michelle Smith Managing Director NimblePros LLC We refer to this appetizer as “cuppa, cuppa, cuppa.” It requires only 3 ingredients, 1 cup of each, and it is simple to make up ahead of time. A half an hour before the event, just pop it in the oven and you’ll have a great treat to serve when your guests arrive!

1 cup artichoke hearts (1 – 14 oz can) 1 cup light mayonnaise 1 cup grated parmesan cheese Use a food processor to chop up the drained artichoke hearts from the can. Mix the artichokes and mayonnaise, then add in ¾ cup of the parmesan cheese. Put in an oven safe bowl or small casserole, and top with the remaining cheese. (At this point, it can be covered and refrigerated overnight if necessary.) Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes or until it is hot and toasted on top. Serve with Triscuits.

Michelle Smith Managing Director, NimblePros LLC Michelle Smith is the former CEO of Lake Quincy Media and Managing Director of NimblePros. When not focusing on software quality, Michelle is a practicing veterinarian, Master Gardener, Girl Scout leader, and calendar keeper for her children. Occasionally, she finds time to cook too. 13

“Evolution created anchovies. Man’s ignorance put them on pizza.” ~ Unknown

Light-fried Anchovy Fillets 250g of anchovies Olive oil Wheat One slice of potato

Dino Esposito

Chief Technology Officer, Crionet, Microsoft ASP.NET MVP In the Mediterranean area, anchovies are historically considered a cheap type of fish. Easy to get, easy to cook, easy to eat: therefore not good for expensive restaurants and not impressive enough to qualify you as a great cook! Regardless of this reputation, anchovies are an extremely tasty food and healthy too as they contain a lot of Omega3 which aggressively fight cholesterol. Anchovies can be cooked in many ways, but they shine when fried in olive oil with only a thin layer of white flour.

The hardest part of the recipe is preparing anchovies. You need to clean them and remove the guts and bones. As anchovies are a small fish this may be an easy task. For the same reason, 250g of anchovies can be really boring to clean. Anyway, at some point you will have each anchovy headless and reduced to a couple of thin fillets. Pour olive oil in a pan and wait for it to become hot. Meanwhile, flour each fillet until it gets totally white. Finally, drop fillets in the pan and let them fry for a couple of minutes. As 250g of anchovies may produce several fillets, the entire cooking operation may require 10 to 15 minutes. Serve anchovies hot with slices of fresh onions and red tomato. What about the potato slice? Oh, sure! That’s only my mom’s tip to avoid squirts of hot oil when you drop fillets in the pan!

Dino Esposito Chief Technology Officer, Crionet, Microsoft ASP.NET MVP A long-time trainer, Dino is the CTO of Crionet (www.crionet.com), a company providing software and mobile services to professional sport. Dino is the author of many popular books for Microsoft Press that helped the professional growth of thousands of .NET developers. Latest book is “Architecting Mobile Solutions for the Enterprise”. Follow Dino as @despos. 14

“Life isn’t like a bowl of cherries or peaches... it’s more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.” ~ Garfield

Dragon Turds 1 dozen jalapenos 1 lb cream cheese ¼ cup of your favorite BBQ Rub 1 package bacon 12 toothpicks

Chris Kinsman

Microsoft Regional Director

I was at a BBQ class with a local championship pitmaster and we were killing time waiting for all the great Q that was already in the cooker to finish. Various attendees were coming up with recipes and this was one I captured and love to do at home. It is a great appetizer for folks who are also waiting for your Q to finish!

Cut tops off the Jalapenos and using a plastic spoon remove the seeds and membrane from the top. This is easier with larger jalapenos. With the small ones you may have to split them down the side. I try to avoid this as this can allow the stuffing to leak out as you smoke them. Cream the BBQ rub into the cream cheese. You will have to taste this for saltiness vs sweetness as every BBQ rub varies in this area. The goal is to season the cream cheese and give it a little punch with the same rub you put on your brisket or shoulder. Stuff the jalapenos with the cream cheese Wrap a strip of bacon around the jalapeno and secure with a toothpick. If the jalapenos are large go for two strips. No one ever complains about too much bacon. Throw completed dragon turds in your cooker with your Q. I typically place them around whatever I happen to be cooking. Cook time will depend on your particular cooker and temperature. At 225 I find they typically take 15-20 minutes in my cooker. You can tell they are done when the bacon looks cooked and the Jalapenos have started to soften up.

Chris Kinsman Microsoft Regional Director Chris is a .NET geek with a passion for ALM. You can follow his tweets @chriskinsman or his blog at http://www.vergentsoftware.com/blogs/ckinsman. When he isn’t playing with computers he enjoys cooking, grilling and smoking. 15

“ I shall be but a shrimp of an author. “ ~ Thomas Gray

Shrimp Wonton’s

Jim Vacca

ALM Solution Specialist, DPE Northeast District, Microsoft

My wife is a great cook and when she dabbles with new things for parties it’s easy to find great choices. She made this dish years ago from a Pampered Chef recipe book and it became a frequent request at poker night and pool parties. I have since made it a staple appetizer no matter where I go. It’s light, tasty and very easy to make. Plus, it’s not just another boring item on the table! J

Shrimp (frozen or fresh – frozen work great) 10 oz chopped 24 additional - not chopped 2 scallions 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1 package wonton shells 1 Tbsp butter 4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese ½ tsp Worstershire sauce 1 clove garlic 1 carrot The above ingredients are enough for 24 wontons, so just multiply to increase amount. I cook in a mini muffin or tart pan but any shallow pocket cooking pan would work. Three easy steps: 1. Prepare wonton wrappers Take cream cheese out of fridge to warm (will use in next step)

2. Melt butter in small bowl. 3. Brush wonton wrapper with melted butter and gently press into the mini muffin pan. Repeat for rest of wontons. Cook for 8 min in oven.

Shrimp Wonton’s (cont.) Add into mixing bowl the following ingredients and mix. 2 chopped scallions 1 clove garlic thru garlic press 1 grated carrot 1 cup shredded mozzarella 4 oz cream cheese ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce 10 oz chopped shrimp After wontons have cooked and cooled, add a spoonful of above mixture into each pocket and top with the additional shrimp. Keep in fridge until final step

Final heating: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook shrimp wontons for 5 min or until golden crisp brown on edges Let cool and then serve and enjoy!

Jim Vacca ALM Solution Specialist, DPE Northeast District, Microsoft 17 year MSFT vet focusing on application platform technology such as SQL Server, clustering, Commerce Server, Host Integration Server, BizTalk Server and for the last 7 years Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server. When I am not exposing the virtues of TFS I can be found letting my wife shop while I am hanging out with MSFT cronies at Patriots football games or playing with my 4 children! 17

“Any cowboy can carry a tune. The trouble comes when he tries to unload it.”

Cowboy Caviar

Howard Dierking

Microsoft Program Manager

1 can black beans, rinsed 1 can chickpeas, rinsed 1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed 1 ½ cups frozen corn 2 roma tomatoes, chopped 1 small red onion, chopped 3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped Juice from 1 lime 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp ground cumin 2 large avocadoes, diced Salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients except for avocado and stir well. Refrigerate until well chilled. Add avocadoes before serving. Serve with fritos scoops or other chips or crackers of your choice.

Howard Dierking Microsoft Program Manager Howard Dierking works at Microsoft on the AppFabric Developer Platform team. When not busy eating some of the great food described here, he enjoys working off all those calories on the snowboard or the hiking trail with his wife and 2 daughters. 18

/update/2012/10 /update/2012/10 /update/2012/10 www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER

ComponentOne ComponentOne ComponentOne Studio Studio Studio Enterprise Enterprise Enterprise .NET .NET Tools .NET Tools Tools forfor thefor the Smart the Smart Smart Developer: Developer: Developer: Windows, Windows, Windows, Web Web and Web and XAML. and XAML. XAML. • Hundreds • Hundreds • Hundreds of UI of UI controls ofcontrols UI controls forfor all for all .NET .NET allplatforms, .NET platforms, platforms, including including including grids, grids, grids, charts, charts, charts, reports reports reports & schedulers & schedulers & schedulers • Visual • Visual • Visual Studio Studio Studio 2012 2012 and 2012 and Windows and Windows Windows 8 Support 8 Support 8 Support • Live • Live demos • Live demos demos and and samples and samples samples with with full with full source full source source code code code • Royalty-free • Royalty-free • Royalty-free deployment deployment deployment and and distribution and distribution distribution • Free, • Free, •fully-functional Free, fully-functional fully-functional trial trial download trial download download available available available

Find Find Find our our latest our latest latest prices, prices, prices, purchase purchase purchase and and download and download download the the entire the entire entire ComponentOne ComponentOne ComponentOne product product product line lineline and and thousands and thousands thousands of of other other of other development development development tools tools tools and and components and components components 24/7 24/7 24/7 from from from our our Web our Web Web site: site: site:

www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com Customer Customer Customer service service service and and support and support support available available available toll-free toll-free toll-free 24/5 24/5 24/5 onon (888) on (888) (888) 850-9911 850-9911 850-9911 or or viavia orLive via Live Chat Live Chat Chat onon our on our Web our Web Web site sitesite FaxFax your Fax your your purchase purchase purchase order order order to to (888) (888) to (888) 850-9922 850-9922 850-9922

BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER

Spread.NET Spread.NET Spread.NET Add Add Excel-compatible Add Excel-compatible Excel-compatible spreadsheets spreadsheets spreadsheets to to WinForms WinForms to WinForms and and ASP.NET and ASP.NET ASP.NET apps. apps. apps. • Data • Data •visualization Data visualization visualization functionality functionality functionality including including including Sparklines Sparklines Sparklines and and Camera and Camera Camera Shapes Shapes Shapes • Excel • Excel • import/export Excel import/export import/export performance performance performance improved improved improved byby upup by to up to 50% 50% to 50% • Create • Create • Create full-featured full-featured full-featured 2D2D and 2D and 3D and 3D charts 3D charts charts within within within your your spreadsheets your spreadsheets spreadsheets • Import • Import • Import Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Excel Excel documents Excel documents documents and and preserve and preserve preserve complete complete complete formatting formatting formatting • Binds • Binds • Binds to to anyany to.NET any .NET data .NET data source data source source and and displays and displays displays relational relational relational datasets datasets datasets

BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER SELLER

ActiveReports ActiveReports ActiveReports 77 7 Fast Fast &Fast fl&exible fl& exible flexible reporting reporting reporting engine engine engine hashas gotten has gotten gotten even even better. even better. better. • Create • Create • Create form-based form-based form-based reports, reports, reports, transaction transaction transaction reports, reports, reports, and and analytical and analytical analytical reports reports reports • New • New •Page New Page Layout Page Layout Layout Designer Designer Designer forfor easy for easy report easy report report generation generation generation • More • More • More layout layout layout flexibility flexibility flexibility with with Tables, with Tables, Tables, Matrix, Matrix, Matrix, Banded Banded Banded Lists, Lists, and Lists, and Charts and Charts Charts • Extensive • Extensive • Extensive customization customization customization with with Flexible with Flexible Flexible .NET .NET API .NET APIAPI

© 1996-2012 © 1996-2012 © 1996-2012 ComponentSource. ComponentSource. ComponentSource. All Rights All Rights AllReserved. Rights Reserved. Reserved. All prices All prices Allcorrect prices correct at correct the at the time attime the of press. time of press. ofOnline press. Online prices Online prices may prices may vary may vary from vary from those from those shown those shown due shown due to daily due to daily fluctuations to daily fluctuations fluctuations & online & online &discounts. online discounts. discounts.

USUS Headquarters Headquarters US Headquarters ComponentSource ComponentSource ComponentSource 650650 Claremore 650 Claremore Claremore ProfProf Way Prof WayWay Suite Suite 100 Suite 100 100 Woodstock Woodstock Woodstock GAGA 30188-5188 GA 30188-5188 30188-5188 USA USAUSA

Sales Sales Sales Hotline Hotline Hotline - US - US -& US &Canada: & Canada: Canada:

(888) (888) (888) 850-9911 850-9911 850-9911

www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com www.componentsource.com

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ~Virginia Woolf

Caesar Salad Dressing 1 coddled egg* ¾ cup vegetable oil 1 tsp salt ¼ cup lemon juice 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (the good stuff, it’s worth it!)

Fritz Onion

Editor in Chief, Pluralsight (ASP.NET MVP) Once we discovered we could make Caesar salad dressing that tasted like the dressing served in a 5-star restaurant, we never looked back. It’s now on the menu at least twice a month at our house.

¼ tsp ground black pepper 1-2 cloves garlic chopped Serves 4 In a food processor add the coddled egg, vegetable oil, salt, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and chopped garlic cloves. If you were following that list closely, it was everything except the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I have found this to be key to getting the smooth texture you’re looking for. Mix on high until well blended and creamy, then add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and blend again. Serve on fresh Romaine lettuce with home-made croutons for the best Caesar salad you’ve ever tasted! * To coddle an egg, hold it snugly against your chest while rocking back and forth… kidding! Crack an egg into boiling water and remove with a slotted spoon after exactly 60 seconds (this is critical for the texture).

Fritz Onion Editor in Chief for Pluralsight Fritz is a co-founder and Editor in Chief of Pluralsight, a software developer training company specializing in on-demand web-based video training. As Editor in Chief, Fritz defines and directs Pluralsight’s content development plan, defines and enforces quality standards, and helps design and build the end-user training experience through www.pluralsight.com. Follow Fritz on twitter @fritzonion. 22

“I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That’s despair?” ~ Walker Percy

Crawfish and Corn Bisque (Quick and Easy)

Ryan Duclos (@rduclos)

Consultant and Community Influencer (http://about.me/rduclos) Everyone who has tried this recipe loves and wants it. If you don’t like crawfish or other ingredients you can easily make substitutions and make it your own. I normally substitute olive oil (4 Tbsp) for butter.

2 - 15¼ oz cans whole kernel sweet corn (drained) 2 - 14¾ oz cans creamy style sweet corn 2 - 10½ oz cans cream of mushroom 2 - 10¾ oz cans cream of potato 2 - 10 oz cans Rotel 2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese 4 cups half/half 1 - 8 oz stick butter 1½ cups celery (chopped) 2 cups onions (chopped) 1¼ cups bell peppers (chopped) 4 cloves garlic (minced) 2 lb crawfish tails (drained) 1 Tbsp Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning Sauté the butter, celery, onions, bell peppers, and garlic until the celery, peppers, and onions are tender and translucent. Add crawfish tails and Tony’s seasoning to the sauté mixture and simmer stirring occasionally until well blended and heated (if substituting shrimp for crawfish fully cook shrimp in the sauté mixture). While sautéing go ahead and mix the other ingredients into at least a two-gallon pot (I use a five-gallon stock pot). Cook over medium-heat stirring occasionally until well blended and heated. Then add the sauté mixture to the pot and stir until well blended. Simmer stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Ryan Duclos (@rduclos) Consultant and Community Influencer (http://about.me/rduclos) Ryan Duclos is a Senior Technical Consultant for Perficient, Inc. (PRFT), where he is passionate about development utilizing the .Net Framework, SQL Server, and Windows Azure technologies. Ryan is the President of the Lower Alabama .NET User Group and enjoys speaking at and attending nearby events. 23

“Tonight, I dine on turtle soup.: Shredder prepares to finish off the turtles with his ray gun.” ~Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Turtle Soup 2 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 lb turtle meat (or veal), diced ½ lb deer meat (or veal), ground Salt and pepper to taste

Daniel Lawrence

Lead Technical Consultant Perficient, Inc. When a friend mentioned this book, a couple of recipes came immediately to mind. This one stuck out for a few reasons: it’s regional, it’s yummy, and you probably won’t get it anywhere else.

1 large bell pepper, diced 3 stalks celery, diced ½ head of garlic, minced 1 medium sweet onion, diced 1 large box (32 oz) chicken stock ½ tsp crushed bay leaves 2 tsp dry oregano 2 tsp dry thyme 2

/3 cup flour /3 cup vegetable oil 1 /3 cup melted butter 1

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained 1 tsp habanero tobasco 2 Tbsp Worcestershire ¼ cup lemon juice ¾ cup good dry sherry Brown the meats in a heavy pot with butter. Season with salt and pepper and reduce by 2/3. Add vegetables, and caramelize well (stir to deglaze as the vegetables begin to release water). Add the stock and spices, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Turtle Soup (cont.) While it’s simmering, make an easy roux: whisk together flour, oil, and melted butter and microwave for 6 minutes. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon, and continue to cook at 15 second intervals until a medium-dark color is reached. Whisk some soup into the roux (this keeps it from clumping), then add the mixture into the soup, itself. Simmer for an hour (or so). Skim the soup, add the remaining ingredients, and return to a simmer. Cool and refrigerate for a day (this makes a big difference, actually). Skim if necessary. Heat and serve with additional sherry on the side.

Daniel Lawrence Lead Technical Consultant - Perficient, Inc. Daniel has more than 15 years of experience in the Energy, Pharmaceutical, and Defense industries. He’s married with two kids (and one on the way), and calls the Mississippi gulf coast home. He’s also overweight simply because he loves to cook and to eat. 25

“What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.” ~Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Yam Neua Yang

(Barbecued beef salad Thai style)

Kevin White Head of Marketing, ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCIty, inc., U.S.A.

2 cups round, rump or sirloin steak, grilled rare, sliced thin 3-4 lettuce leaves 1 mint leaf 1-2 scallions 10-20 hot chillies 10 garlic cloves 1 Tbsp sugar 3 Tbsp fish sauce 3 Tbsp lemon juice thinly sliced red spur chillies and cucumbers for garnishing

Mix garlic, hot chillies, fish sauce, lemon juice and sugar, seasoning to obtain a spicy and toss with meat, onions, and cucumber, place on serving platter, and garnish with coriander and sliced chillies. In another way, arrange the meat, onions and mint leaves seperately on the platter with the chilli saucer in a bowl in the center. The meat, vegetables, and sauce are then mixed at the table. I usually consider any salad always missing something and my typical take is I’m only going to decide on a salad entre if I’m either not too hungry to begin with or I really need to pay attention to my slow, unnecessary weight gain. This salad changes everything I just mentioned. I can never get enough of this dish. The ingredients, flavors and the entire sensory overload is out of this world. You’ll be wanting more!

Kevin White Head of Marketing, GrapeCIty, inc., U.S.A. Kevin White has been enjoyably working in the development industry for the past 8 years. Originally on the media side as Publisher of Visual Studio Magazine, he worked with a great team of dedicated and passionate professionals. There he developed many close friendships and quickly realized that this was a terrific community to be associated with. He soon moved into the marketing side of the industry and developed some of the community’s most attention-grabbing programs and promotions while helping bring recognition to the companies he’s worked for. He now heads the overall marketing operations for ComponentOne a division of GrapeCity. If he isn’t working on marketing campaigns, community events or the next off-the-wall idea, he’s likely to be seen polishing off a great meal at a local eatery and washing it down with a tasty beverage. 26

Q. What kind of tomato do you take with you to win big in Las Vegas? A. Diced Tomatoes.

Chicken & Tomato Florentine Soup 3 1 2 1 1 Beth York Wolf Cook, Artist, Pet Sitter and Mrs. ByteMaster (a.k.a. Kevin Wolf)

cups chicken broth cup shredded chicken (leftovers work great) - 14 to 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes with spices - 15 oz can of tomato sauce - 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1 large onion, chopped 1 ½ tsp minced garlic Salt and pepper to taste 1 Tbsp dried red peppers 1 package of refrigerated tortellini (chicken or cheese filled)

Garnish: several pieces of chicken, parmesan cheese and croutons Combine everything but the pasta, into a crock pot. Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, then turn heat to HIGH, add pasta and cook another 30 minutes. Garnish with chicken, cheese & croutons. Makes 10 to 14 cups. Serve with grilled ham and cheese, white wine.

Beth York Wolf Cook, Artist, Pet Sitter and Mrs. ByteMaster (a.k.a. Kevin Wolf) Beth maintains a happy home by serving up good food and keeping cold beer in the refrigerator. She understands that software developers think a little different than the average person, and she says “that’s alright by me, being average is not a good thing! Be you, be different!” 27

“Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it’s tuna, but it says ‘Chicken of the Sea.’ “ ~Jessica Simpson

Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo 1 lb Andouille sausage

(you can replace it with any smoked

sausage such as Kielbasa)

Shervin Shakibi

Chief Software Architect at comptuerways.com

1 ½ lbs boneless chicken 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped green pepper Fresh garlic to taste ¾ cup chopped okra (about 5) 1 can Rotel tomatoes (If your grocery store does not carry Rotel

tomatoes, you probably live somewhere with very cold winters) I love everything about New Orleans, especially the food. If I see Gumbo on the menu I will order it. I have read and made many different recipes. This recipe was influenced from all of my experiences. Some purist may disagree, but this is what I like. My gumbo will always include holy trinity (onion, celery and green pepper), Andouille sausage, some kind of meat (usually chicken) and Shrimp. Sometimes I add Ham if I have some. I may add some lump crab meat at the very end. My daughter loves Thanksgiving also because the day after I make turkey gumbo from the leftover turkey and homemade broth made with the carcass.

Filet gumbo (optional) 1 ¾ cups flour (¾ cup for the rue and the rest to coat the chicken) Cayenne pepper Olive oil ½ stick butter 2 cups cooked rice 3-4 cups chicken broth Lots of love and patience

I do have a large Dutch oven pot with a heavy lid that I use to make my gumbo. You can use any large pot that you have, but I like the thickness of cast iron because it holds the heat and distributes it evenly. Slice the sausage into bite size slices and sauté it with olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until its browned. Set it aside. Try to leave as much olive oil as possible since this oil is flavored with sausage now and we don’t want to waste it. Cut the chicken into good size chunks. If you are using dark and white meat, which I recommend, make sure the white meet chunks are larger than dark meat chunks because dark meat takes longer to cook. Add generous amount of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (to taste) to a cup of flour on a plate. Coat the chicken with this mixture and brown it for a few minutes in the same pot. You might have to add more olive oil. Don’t over cook the chicken, just brown it. Remove it from the pan and set it aside along with the Sausage. Do save the flour mixture for the okra.

Shervin Shakibi Chief Software Architect at comptuerways.com Shervin Shakibi is a Microsoft Regional Director and the lead Developer and Technologies Instructor. In addition to being an author and Technical editor on many .NET books he has been a popular speaker at events such as Microsoft Tech Ed, PDC and Developer Days. Shervin has been developing Enterprise applications since 1987 and a Microsoft Certified Trainer since 1994. Experienced in the delivery of scalable, stable and open enterpriselevel built on .NET and Microsoft SQL Server, Shervin is an industry recognized Consultant, trainer, speaker and writer on Business Intelligence and Microsoft .NET vision. 28

Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo (cont.) Cut the Okra into quarter inch slices, coat them in the leftover flour mixture and fry them in the pot for a few minutes. Then set them aside. Next add the onions, green peppers, celery and garlic to the pot , add more olive oil if necessary, season it with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. I love my gumbo a bit spicy. If you don’t like yours too spicy don’t add anymore cayenne pepper. The Andouille sausage is already quite spicy so be careful. Raise the heat a bit to get it going then go back to medium. Keep stirring the vegetables with a wooden spoon, making sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the flavors leftover in the pot from the sausage and chicken that we cooked earlier. Wait for the vegetables to start to brown, which could take anywhere between 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pot. The thicker/heavier your cooking pot is, the more heat it can hold which can reduce the cooking time. You want to make sure the vegetables are soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes stir and cook for another couple of minutes. It is very important to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot during this whole process. Transfer the vegetables to a temporary bowl. Now we are ready for the most important element of our Gumbo, The RUE. Make sure you have a whisk or wooden spoons handy. Reduce the heat to low, you don’t want to burn the flour. Add ½ stick of butter. After it is melted and before it is starting to burn, add ¾ cup of flour. Rue should be equal parts of oil/butter and flour. We should have enough oil left over in the pan from earlier, so keep that in mind in case the rue is too dry. Personally I add some cayenne pepper at this point, but that’s how I roll. Make sure you keep stirring and scraping. You might have to increase the heat if the butter is not bubbling. You want to do this until the rue turns into a dark tan. This should take anywhere from 10-15 minutes depending on your cooking pot, temperature, altitude and stars alignment. Next add the vegetables to the rue. Make sure you stir and scrape the button. You don’t want to burn the rue and make sure the vegetables are coated with the rue. Season it with more salt and pepper, hold off the cayenne for now. Add the sausage, chicken and fried Okra to the pot. Keep stirring. Make sure everything is coated with all the goodness. Add enough broth to cover everything plus ½ inch. Raise the heat, keep stirring until it reaches a boiling point, reduce the heat to simmer and put the cover the pot. You can relax now. You have worked hard for the last 30 minutes so enjoy a beverage of your choice (try the GrapeCity mojito, recipe in the drink section) . But don’t walk away, you need to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot, there are a lot of flavors there. Add the shrimp about 10 minutes before the cooking is done, when the chicken is tender. If you do have filet gumbo, which is ground sassafras leaves, add some to the gumbo before serving. Filet gumbo is a thickening agent, much like the rue and Okra. A good gumbo is based on good rue, and then you add either okra or filet gumbo or a combination of both to bring it to a consistency of your liking. I love to sprinkle some filet gumbo on my bowl right before I eat it. We are done now, “Laissez les bons temps rouler“ (bing it). Pour each portion over cooked rice and enjoy. 29

“A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.” ~ Abraham Maslow

BORSCH

Nikita Polyakov

Microsoft MVP, Windows Phone Dev, Nokia Developer Champ

1 small cabbage 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 beets, peeled and cut into 1 small onion, cut into 1 can of diced tomatoes (Alternately 2 Tbsp. Tomato paste) 2 Tbsp Canola oil 8 cups of water 2-3 Chicken Bouillon cubes (Alternately use a Vegetarian

Bouillon or add broth instead of 2/3 of water) For most Russians the word borsch is a universal reminder of home and family, something many have enjoyed since childhood. Borsch is a traditional Russian soup with main ingredients of beets, cabbage and potatoes at its core. The beets help develop the soup into its signature red color. As with many traditional family dishes, the recipes vary. There are two large debates –to use meat and which toping to eat it with. I encourage you and your family to adjust this recipe to your taste.

Spices and herbs: ½ cup chopped fresh parsley ¼ cup chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp of dry dill Salt, black pepper ground 3 whole black peppercorns 2 whole bay leaves 2 chopped garlic cloves Approximate Servings 4 - 8 Cut cabbage into thin slices and cut the rest of the vegetables into 1/3 inch cubes. Start boiling water in a 5-6 quart pot. If chosen to use broth, mix it in with 1/3 of needed water. Cook beets and carrots in Canola oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring until soft (about 5 min), then season with salt and pepper. Add onion to the skillet, cook stirring for 3 min. Add tomatoes/paste, cook stirring for 2 min. If too dry add some water from the pot. Set aside. Add cabbage and potatoes into pot with boiling water. Bring to boil again, then reduce heat to medium, cook for 7 - 10 min, stir a few times. Add ingredients from skillet. Cook for 3 min. Add bay leaves, peppercorn, chopped parsley, dill and garlic. And bouillon cubes, only if you have not alternately used broth earlier.

BORSCH (cont.) Simmer for about 2 minutes. Once the potatoes are ready, add salt and pepper to your taste and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re done! Now your borsch is ready to serve! Serving preferences also vary by family, as individuals can choose to add to borsch a selection of sour cream, mayonnaise or neither. Also choose to top with chopped fresh parsley or dill. Experiment to find the taste you prefer by starting with borsch by itself. Storage Note: Borsch can be chilled in your refrigerator for a week. Reheat over medium-low heat or microwave just the portion you will consume immediately. FAST AND EASY, TASTY AND BEAUTIFUL, VEGETARIAN OPTION You can make borsch with chicken or beef broth. To make your own broth, take 1 pound of bone-in beef shank cut into few pieces with 8 -9 cups water into 6-8-qt pot. Add 1 onion and 1 carrot peeled and cook over medium-high heat, until water starts to boil, then reduce heat. Start collecting the foam from the top of the broth until meat stops producing foam. Add 2 tsp salt. Simmer 1 to 1.5 hour. Discard vegetables. Remove meat, separate bone and discard, then cut meat into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes add back to the pot and cook borsch as described.

Nikita Polyakov Microsoft MVP, Windows Phone Dev, Nokia Developer Champ Nikita is a Windows Phone Development Microsoft MVP of the Year 2011, speaker, organizer and a community leader. In 2012 co-authored Sams Teach Yourself Windows Phone 7 Application Development in 24 Hours. Originally from Russia, Nikita calls Tampa, FL his home now. 31

“The chile, it seems to me, is one of the few foods that has its own goddess.” ~ Diana Kennedy

Bollywood Chili v.2.0

Supriyo “SB” Chatterjee

Microsoft MVP and CTDOTNET/ CTSPDG Dev Group Leader This is the Bollywood version of the traditional American chili - replacing beans with chick-peas & using Indian spices instead. All thrown in the Crock-Pot - just like a Bollywood movie! Version 1.0 of this recipe won prizes in chili cook-offs. Crock-Pot used is an electric 4-qt slow cooker.

1 lb ground lamb (or beef) 2 lb chick-peas (Garbanzos) cans 1 red onion (fist-size) - chopped 1 lb tomato (diced) 2 green peppers (3-4 inch long) - chopped ½ garlic (chopped) 2 inch ginger root (chopped) 4-6 clove sticks 2 Tbsp cooking oil Spices (one-half used in Crock-Pot) 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp red pepper powder 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin powder Prepare Crock-Pot (4-qt slow cooker) with 2 Tbsp cooking oil. In a medium-heated pan with cooking oil, sauté the ground meat with one-half teaspoon each of the spices (black pepper, red pepper powder, curry, garam masala, turmeric, coriander and cumin). Sauté till meat turns medium brown. Drain cooked meat through strainer (removing cooked fat). Thoroughly wash chick-peas with cold water and strain. Put chick-peas and sautéd meat into Crock-Pot. Put one-half teaspoon each of the spices (black pepper, red pepper powder, curry, garam masala, turmeric, coriander and cumin) into the Crock-Pot. Stir/mix contents of Crock-Pot. Put chopped garlic, chopped ginger root, chopped onions, chopped green peppers, cloves and diced tomatoes into the Crock-Pot. Stir/mix contents of Crock-Pot. Turn Crock-Pot on to high. Cook for 4-5 hours – stir contents no more than once or twice during cooking. Salt to taste when serving.

Supriyo “SB” Chatterjee Microsoft MVP and CTDOTNET/CTSPDG Dev Group Leader Entrepreneur & Developer in Hartford CT. Over 20 years IT experience for companies like Aetna, IBM, Microsoft, UNICEF, Mass Mutual & State of Connecticut. MVP Award and User Group Leader - Connecticut .NET Developers Group (CTDOTNET) and Connecticut SharePoint Developers Group (CTSPDG). Likes to fly when not computing. Twitter: @sbc111 32

“Cheese is milk’s leap toward immortality.” ~Cliff Fadiman

Kraft® Macaroni and Cheese 1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese 6 cups of water 4 Tbsp Margarine ¼ cup milk This is the crucial part - Follow the directions on the Box: Scott Guthrie

Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Server and Tools Business division Like you, my wife and I lead busy lives. My not so secret recipe for Macaroni and Cheese has been successfully prepared by millions of parents for 75 years. Frankly is there anything easier and faster to make that keeps your kids so happy and yet is so inexpensive? Since 1937 Kraft has been delighting kids, young and old with its Macaroni and Cheese. So it is with my expert guidance that I pass it on to you.

1. Boil Water; stir in Macaroni; cook 7 to 8 minutes or until Macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally. 2. Drain; do not rinse. Return to pan. 3. Add Margarine and Milk. Now this is the important part: Stir in cheese sauce mix. Mix well. Serve it to your kids.

Scott Guthrie Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Server and Tools Business division Scott Guthrie is a corporate vice president in Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business division, where he is responsible for delivering the development platform for Windows Azure, as well as the .NET Framework and Visual Studio technologies used in building Web and server applications. A founding member of the .NET project, Guthrie has played a key role in the Microsoft developer space since 1998. Today, Guthrie manages the development teams that build the developer platform for Windows Azure, Windows AppFabric Server, BizTalk Server, IIS, ASP. NET, WCF, WF and the Web, and Web Service and Workflow features of Visual Studio. Guthrie graduated with a degree in computer science from Duke University. 36

Rango: Uh...so, what’s your name? Beans: Beans. Rango: That’s a funny kinda name. Beans: What can I say, my daddy plum loved baked beans. ~From the Movie Rango

Paul and Rhonda Sheriff’s Burger Baked Beans

Paul D. Sheriff

Microsoft Regional Director

My wife and I took some of her baked bean recipe and some of mine and combined them to create this tasty take on the Texas Burger Baked Bean recipe. We hope you like it.

1½ lbs ground sirloin 1 lb bacon 1 large can Busch’s original baked beans (3.7lbs) 1 - 16 oz can Busch’s original baked beans 1 - 14 oz bottle ketchup 1 medium onion ½ cup brown sugar 1 tsp of pepper 1 tsp of salt 5 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce Cut bacon into cubes. Cook the bacon. Drain off the juice from bacon, but leave the bits. Brown the meat in the same pan used to cook the bacon. Slice up the onion. Put all ingredients into large crock pot. Stir well. Cook on high in crock pot for 3 hours (or until bubbly and hot), then turn down to low until ready to serve. Stir occasionally. Use Tostitos® Scoop chips and dig in, or just eat from a bowl.

Paul D Sheriff Microsoft Regional Director Paul D. Sheriff is the President of PDSA, Inc. (www.pdsa.com), a Microsoft Partner in Southern California. Paul has authored literally hundreds of books, webcasts, videos and articles on .NET, WPF, Silverlight, HTML 5, Windows Phone and SQL Server. Paul can be reached at PSheriff@pdsa.com, on twitter @pdsainc, and on facebook.com/pdsapaulsheriff 37

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nothing had changed in my routine, except that when I went down the chippy and got me special fried rice, it would be wrapped in a newspaper that had my picture all over it.â&#x20AC;? ~ Robbie Fowler

Fried Rice

David Giard

Sogeti Senior Manager Consultant, Microsoft MVP, Host of Technology and Friends

This Fried Rice recipe is easy and inexpensive and can be served either as a side or as a main dish.

5 eggs 1 cup Long grain rice 8 oz frozen peas 2 Tbsp soy sauce 3 tsp sesame oil 2 cloves crushed garlic 4-6 chopped scallions Boil the rice for 12 minutes; then drain and run under cold water to prevent it from cooking further. Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a frying pan; then scramble and cook the eggs until they are solid. Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a wok Add the garlic to the wok and stir fry 1 minute Add the peas to the wok and stir fry 1-2 minutes Add the cooked rice to the wok and mix well. Simmer for 2 minutes Thoroughly mix in the eggs, soy sauce, and scallions and simmer for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

David Giard Sogeti Senior Manager Consultant, Microsoft MVP, Host of Technology and Friends David Giard has been developing solutions using Microsoft technologies since 1993. He is a Microsoft MVP; a member of the INETA Board of Directors; and a past President of the Great Lakes Area .Net User Group. David has presented at many of the conferences and user groups around the Midwest. He is a recovering certification addict and holds an MCTS, MCSD, MCSE, and MCDBA, as well as a BS and an MBA. He is the host and producer of the mildly popular online TV show Technology and Friends. He is the co-author of the Wrox book Real World .NET, C#, and Silverlight. You can read his latest thoughts at www.DavidGiard. com. You can connect with him on Twitter at @DavidGiard. David lives in Michigan with his two teenage sons. 38

“I have no hostility to nature, but a child’s love to it. I expand and live in the warm day like corn and melons.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Easy Corn on the Cob! 6 Cobs of Corn with Husk Preheat the oven to 350° F. Leave the husk and silk around the cob of corn. Place the cobs in a casserole dish or on a baking-sheet. Place in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

Ryan Duclos (@rduclos)

Consultant and Community Influencer (http://about.me/rduclos)

The husk will trap in the moisture, which helps to create the juiciest most-tender corn. Once the corn is cooked you can easily remove the husk and silk.

This is the easiest way to cook the best Corn on the Cob! I’ve never been a fan of boiling corn on the cob, unless it is with my crawfish. A

“I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them sam I am.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Egg Casserole

Howard Dierking

Microsoft Program Manager

1 1 1 1 1 2 6 1

roll refrigerated crescent roll dough lb spicy ground pork sausage yellow onion red bell pepper green bell pepper slices of bread, torn large eggs ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown sausage and drain. Simmer browned sausage together with chopped vegetables until onions are translucent. While meat mixture cooks, roll out crescent roll dough to line the bottom of a 13x9x2 casserole dish. Spread torn bread pieces on top of the crescent roll dough. Whisk eggs and pour over bread pieces. Spoon meat mixture evenly in the casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 350° F for 40 minutes or until set. Note - a cookie sheet may be needed under the casserole dish to keep the crescent roll dough from browning too much before eggs are set.

“Over yonder. Down yonder. Up yonder. For months, I tried, tried, tried to figure out where Yonder was”.

Southern Fried Green Tomatoes 1 large egg, beaten ½ cup milk ½ cup corn meal ½ cup flour 1 tsp garlic salt ½ tsp pepper 3 medium green tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick Canola or Vegetable oil Michael Crump

Microsoft MVP & INETA Community Champion This southern staple was handed down several generations from my wife’s side of the family. It is excellent as a side, an appetizer, or even a substitute on a BLT.

Combine milk and egg and set aside. Combine corn meal, flour, garlic salt, and pepper. Dip green tomato slices in egg mixture then flour mixture then back in egg mixture and then a final dredge in the flour mixture. Pour vegetable oil into skillet to a depth of ¼ inch and heat to medium. Place tomato slices in small batches in preheated oil. Cook approximately 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with ranch dressing or dipping sauce. (Recipe below) Dipping Sauce: ½ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup ketchup ¼ tsp garlic powder ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Pepper to taste Mix all ingredients and chill.

Michael Crump Microsoft MVP & INETA Community Champion Michael Crump is a Microsoft MVP, INETA Community Champion, and an author of several .NET books. He has been seen speaking at a variety of conferences and has written dozens of articles on .NET development. You can follow Michael on Twitter at mbcrump or read his blog by visiting michaelcrump.net. 41

Asparagus is a member of the Lily family.

Grilled Ginger Asparagus 1 lb fresh asparagus 1 tsp ground ginger 2 Tbsp soy sauce

Steve Smith

Microsoft Regional Director and MVP A few years ago on vacation one of my brothers showed me this simple way to grill amazingly tasty asparagus. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

It’s best to marinate the asparagus for a few hours before grilling them, but if you’re pressed for time you can do the prep just before grilling. Prepare the asparagus by first rinsing in cold water and removing the dried ends by snapping the white part of the asparagus off with your fingers. Just bend near the stem and wherever it snaps should be good. Place the rinsed and snapped asparagus in a long, shallow glass dish. Mix the ginger and soy sauce. Add a little water or additional sauce to ensure the quantity is sufficient to coat the asparagus. Pour the mixture over the asparagus and ensure they’re well-coated. Let sit for a few hours before grilling, if possible. Preheat grill and grill the asparagus for about 10 minutes or until starting to blacken and flexible but not completely limp when held horizontally. You may wish to grill them inside a basket, so they don’t fall through into the flames. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Steve Smith Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Steve Smith is an international speaker and founder of NimblePros, an agile software studio focusing on software craftsmanship. You can find Steve via his blog at Ardalis.com or on twitter as @ardalis. Steve has also authored several courses for Pluralsight on topics ranging from OOP and Design Patterns to Kanban. 42

“How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?” ~ Julia Child

Whole Grain Beer Bread ¾ cup all-purpose whole wheat flour ¾ cup spelt flour (or another ¾ cup of whole wheat if

you don’t

have spelt)

Mary Jo Foley

Editor, ZDNet’s “All About Microsoft” blog My latest hobby (thanks to my sister who bought me a starter kit) is home brewing beer. I’ve brewed four one-gallon batches so far. (Starting small given my very small NYC kitchen). Each one gets a city codename – taking my inspiration from Microsoft here. I’ve done an Augusta maple porter; a Billings chestnut brown; a Cairo seasonal; and a Dakar IPA (so far).

1 ½ cups all purpose white flour 4 ½ tsp baking powder 1 ½ tsp salt 1 /3 cup brown sugar (can be light, dark or turbinado/natural sugar)

12 oz beer – can be bottle, canned or home brewed. As noted, I’ve found browns and trippels to work better than hoppier beers like IPAs

4 Tbsp of butter melted

(optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Pour in beer. Stir or mix with your hands until a stiff batter is formed. Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan. The melted butter (if using) can be mixed into the dough at the same time the beer is added. Or you can pour it over the top of the dough once it’s in the pan. Either works fine. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Mary Jo Foley Editor, ZDNet’s “All About Microsoft” Foley has been a technology reporter for more than 25 years. She currently is editor of ZDNet’s “All About Microsoft” blog, and is author of the book Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era. 43

When potato chips don’t sell fast enough, the maker knows it will soon be crunch time.

Special Potatoes Olive oil 2 Tbsp butter ½ onion 4 big Idaho potatoes Salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion salt Russ Fustino

Senior Developer Evangelist

This dish was invented by my Dad when I was a small boy. He cooked it up while we were on a vacation to Skyline Drive in the Appalachian Mountains. He took out his Coleman burner at a scenic roadside rest stop and cooked up the ingredients. He named it “Special Potatoes”. Looking back on it, it’s really the love and memories that is so “special” about it. He also cooked the dish every time my Mom had to work on weekends when I was growing up. My son, daughter, nieces and nephews now all have the recipe as well. We always cook it up at family gatherings and I love this dish because it’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Any combination of the following meats: 4 slices of ham (breakfast version) 4 hot dogs (dinner version) 4 slices of bologna (lunch version) 4 oz can of mushrooms pieces and stems, drained 4 slices of American Cheese 4 eggs 12 inch frying pan with cover Serves 4 Time to create this dish = 45 minutes. Put heat on Medium Coat bottom of a 12 inch frying pan with olive oil Dice ½ onion and fry until golden brown Peel and slice 4 potatoes thin using knife or slicer and add to frying pan, mixing it with the browned onions Add 2 Tbsp butter Add about 3 shakes each for: salt, garlic salt, onion salt and pepper. Raise heat to Medium-High Cook until potatoes are golden brown and are done to taste. This should be about 10-15 minutes, flipping with your kitchen spatula every few minutes. Add any combination of the following meats and cook for about 10 minutes with cover on, while flipping with kitchen spatula until the meat starts to brown: a) 4 thick slices of Ham diced up b) 4 Hot dogs cut up into thin slices c) 4 thick slices of Bologna diced up Drain fluid out of a 4 oz can of mushroom stems and pieces and add the mushrooms to pan. Cook for about 5 minutes flipping with kitchen spatula. Add 4 slices of America Cheese and cook until melted. Lower heat to low. Add 4 scrambled eggs and flip with kitchen spatula until eggs are done.

Russ Fustino Senior Developer Evangelist Russ Fustino heads up Developer Evangelism at GrapeCity PowerTools as a Senior Developer Evangelist. He is also a highly experienced Windows Phone 7 software developer with a passion for conveying relevant, current, and future software development technologies and tools through live seminars, teaching, and internet video productions. Russ has a new innovative blog and interview video series with influentials, about current technology, GrapeCity Products and developer community called ‘Russ Cam’! Check it out at http://www.gcpowertools. com/russcam … He has enlightened, entertained and educated over 200,000 developers nationwide as a former Developer Evangelist for Microsoft. Russ heads up 2 INETA user groups in the Tampa Florida area: Windows Phone 7 (www.wp7ug.com ) and the Internet Media User Group (www.internetmug.com ). Follow @RussCamTV on twitter. 44

“I just hate health food.” ~Julia Child

Huck-Carnitas A large cheap-ass piece of pork Pork shoulder is perfect and can frequently be found for under $2/pound. But any marbled cut of pork (not chops; not a tender loin) like a roast will work for carnitas as long as it can fit in your crock pot (or dutch oven).

1 ½ large onion chopped salt and pepper to taste Optional: any type of salsa or hot sauce Tim Huckaby

Chairman/Founder, InterKnowlogy & Actus, RD/MVP Having lived my entire life in Southern California, I can tell you that Baja style Mexican food is part of our culture. Even when I travel I crave Mexican food and cannot wait to get home to eat it. Well, the ultimate in Baja style Mexican food is Carnitas. Carnitas is nothing more than slow roasted, shredded pork that is made for tacos, burritos and tostadas (and many other Mexican dishes). The pork is super tender and somewhat crunchy on the outside. Although high fat and high calorie if you go portion savvy with carnitas you’ll prolong your life… slightly. Personally I am unable to do that because it is so good and I always end up in a carnitas food coma.

The Tacos, Tostadas, Burrito ingredients are whatever you prefer to make your tacos with: • Corn or Flour Tortillas soft shell or fried • Refried beans • Shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese • Chopped Onions, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Peppers, Lettuce • Avocado or Guacamole • Sour Cream • Hot Sauce or salsa If you have some salsa, liberally coat the bottom of the crock pot with it. Add enough water for about ½ inch of the salsa & water liquid mixture. It is not an issue at all to go overboard on the liquid because you’ll be frying it off at the end of the recipe anyways. If you don’t have salsa just do a half inch of water. The key to cooking the pork is always having some amount of liquid throughout the cooking process so the pork does not go dry. Place one chopped onion into the liquid mixture in the crockpot/slow cooker. Place a liberally salt and peppered piece of pork, frozen or fresh into the crock pot. Cover and Slow cook the pork on low for 10 hours (preferred way) or high for 4 hours. As long as there is some liquid at the bottom of the crock pot you cannot overcook the pork. After preparing all your taco/burrito/tostada ingredients and tortillas give yourself 20 minutes for the frying part of the recipe.

“I Good painting is like good cooking: it can be tasted, but not explained.” ~ Maurice de Vlaminck

Huck-Carnitas (cont.) Once the pork is done (8-10 hours), heat a large frying pan to high. Throw in the remaining chopped half of an onion. Then poor the entire contents of the crock pot into the frying pan. The pork will be “fall apart” tender just by the process of pouring it into the pan. Don’t worry about the fat because you will now fry off as much of it and evaporate the liquid on high, shredding as you go with a wooden spoon, constantly stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Serve… then thank me. Restaurants usually do the roasting in giant dutch ovens, but my recipe calls for a crock pot because it’s easier. The bullets: • My Carnitas recipe is brain dead simple to prepare, but you need to be willing to start the recipe 10 hours in advance because the only way to get good carnitas is to cook the hell out of the pork. • I don’t care what any pompous food network chef says, you can make awesome carnitas with a frozen piece of Pork in a crock pot / slow cooker. • When I see any pork roast on sale at the market I buy it whether I’m making carnitas or not. We are talking like $1.49 / lb meat. And you can keep it frozen until you plunk it into the crock pot.

Tim Huckaby Chairman/Founder, InterKnowlogy & Actus, RD/MVP Focused on the Natural User Interface (NUI) in Touch and Gesture, Tim Huckaby founded InterKnowlogy, experts in .NET and Microsoft Platforms in 1999 and Actus Interactive Software in 2011 and has over 30 years of experience including serving on a Microsoft product team as a development lead in architecture on a Server Product. 49

“A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz.” ~Humphrey Bogart

Kevin’s Philly Delight 7 oz package of Steak-umm® (frozen) 7 oz jar of Cheese Wiz ½ medium onion chopped Salt and pepper to taste Banana peppers to taste Jalapeno peppers to taste Fresh hoagie buns Kevin D. Wolf

Palm Harbor, FL President - Software Logistics, LLC Windows Phone Development MVP A quick and easy dish. Steak, cheese and veggies, serve with ice cold beer and chips. This covers all the food groups and taste great too!

Sauté Steak-umm (frozen) and vegetables until meat is no longer pink. Add salt and pepper if desired. Add cheese and allow to heat through. While mixture is heating, toast your buns. Spoon hot, cheesy mixture on top of toasted buns. Top with additional peppers and onions to taste.

Kevin D. Wolf President - Software Logistics, LLC Windows Phone Development MVP

Kevin has 20 years of development experience and can tackle the most complex problems with ease. But when it comes to cooking, he goes for the simple, easy foods…when he “cooks”, he usually makes pizza (order in) or Chinese (take out). However, he found this recipe and now it is a favorite in the Wolf household. 50

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” ~James Beard

Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast Tenderloin and sauteed veggies

Keidrick Pettaway

Marketing Director LANUG ( Lower Alabama .Net User Group) I like this recipe, because it is quick and simple, and it doesn’t taste half bad.

1 chopped purple onion 16 oz bag of cut and peeled baby carrots 1 yellow bell pepper sliced to desired thickness 1 green bell pepper sliced to desired thickness 1 organ bell pepper sliced to desired thickness 1 small head of broccoli 1 - 4 oz pre-seaoned turkey breast tenderloin Seasoning: 3 Tbsp Italian/ Vinaigrette salad dressing 1 Tbsp salt 1 Tbsp pepper 1 clove fresh garlic 1 oz of your favorite dry rub A dab of cinnamon for extra flavor 1 tbsp margarine After you have chopped your veggies, apply salad dressing and seasoning to tenderloin in a shallow baking pan. Refrigerate and let it marinate for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325°. Cover baking pan with aluminium foil and cook tenderloin and veggies for about 60-70 minutes. Remove baking pan from oven and let it stand for at least 10-15 minutes prior to slicing. Serve and Enjoy

Keidrick Pettaway Marketing Director LANUG (Lower Alabama .Net User Group). twitter: @kpett. I am a Software Developer and technophile residing in Lower Alabama (The Real LA). I enjoy the rigors Crossfit workouts. Currently I work for a privately held organization that specializes in Engineering and Technology. 51

Carol (to Mike): “Guess who’s coming to dinner?” Mike: “A psychiatrist, I hope.” Carol (as Peter walks in): “I think it’s Humphrey Bogart.” Peter tells Mike: “We’re having ‘porkchopsh and appleshaush.” Mike: “There’s only one Humphrey Bogart. Doubt there’ll ever be another one.” ~ The Brady Bunch

Brady Bunch Dinner, aka Pork Chops and Apple Sauce Thin cut boneless pork chops, sometimes called breakfast chops (this is kinda important, thin and boneless).

Julie Yack

Mom.Wife.Nerd.Frequent-flyer

I like to cook because I like to eat. I am also a pop-culture trivia fiend. So anytime we have this meal, I always think of Peter Brady and his pork chops and apple sauce scene. This particular meal happens to be gluten-free, but if that’s not important to you, just use regular wheat flour where I used rice flour; the results are essentially the same. Throw in some steamed fresh veggies and a glass of wine and the meal is just about perfect. I’ve written this from my project manager head, so the goal is to finish dinner all at once. If you want to just prepare part of this meal, you’ll just have to read around the parts you don’t want.

You’ll need 1-3 per person that you plan to feed. You also need a bowl of milk mixed with a couple of eggs and a bowl of rice flour for dipping the chops to prepare to fry. Hard to measure this, you need enough to cover the chops completely before frying. For the apple sauce you need about half dozen medium sized granny smith apples. I use granny smith because they already have a good flavor and that doesn’t change much when cooked. If you pick a different variety, you might have to experiment with the additional flavors for a good taste. You also need a sprinkling of cinnamon and a sprinkling of sugar. Complete the meal with fresh baby carrots and snap peas and a bottle of mild sauvignon blanc. Start by opening the wine and pouring a glass to drink while you cook. Then start heating up the oil for the pork chops. I use a large electric skillet with about a quarter-inch of oil evenly across the bottom of the pan, you don’t want to cover the chops, just come about half-way up the side when cooking. Heat it to around 325° F (stove-top would be set to medium/medium high). While oil is heating, prepare the batter. I use one bowl for the milk and egg mixture, then another for the rice flour. Once oil is heated (wait for this, putting chops in early will keep the batter from getting crispy and that’s why we fry things, no?) dip the chops one at a time; first fully coat in the milk/egg batter then immediately put in the flour, turning it over to thoroughly coat both sides of the chops. Once battered and floured, place them flat in the warm oil. Place several in the pan at once but don’t stack them, just make a single layer. Go wash your hands, they’re gross now.

Jan Brady: Well, all day long at school I hear how great Marcia is at this or how wonderful Marcia did that! Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Brady Bunch Dinner, aka Pork Chops and Apple Sauce (cont.) Once the chops are cooking, you need to start the apple sauce. Use a medium pot that has a lid, one that vents is best but not a deal-breaker. Peel and cut up the apples into bite sized pieces. Place them in the pan with a couple of sprinkles of cinnamon and a couple of sprinkles of sugar. Remember, we picked flavorful apples so don’t go overboard, you’ll regret it. Put a small amount of water in the pan (think maybe a shot glass or two worth of water). No need to stir or mix just put lid on the pan and set it on the stove (not turning it on just yet, go back to the pork chops now). Grab a fork and check the cooking side of the pork chops. They should be getting a little brown. Once the flour and batter have cooked into the chop, flip it over to cook the other side. Once all chops are on their last side, go back to the apples. Put the pot of apples, with the lid on it, on the stove at medium heat. Don’t go over this, you will just get burned apples faster. They need to steam with the lid on for around 10 minutes or so. Now is also a good time to turn on the pan of carrots and snap peas, I steam them for 10 minutes too. If either pan starts to shimmy, go ahead and open the lid for a second to vent then close it right back again. Your pork chops should be about done now, don’t overcook them, no one like dry pork chops. Don’t undercook them, no one likes food poisoning. You want them a golden brown on both sides. Once the apples have steamed for around 10 minutes (you have a couple minutes of leeway here, but set a timer anyway) remove from the heat and mash them by hand with a potato masher. Mash however long it takes you to get the consistency you want. If you used too much water, you’ll want to serve these with a slotted spoon. Get your next glass of wine when you fill your plate. After dinner, watch someone else do the dishes, you’ve made a bit of a mess. She who cooks doesn’t clean.

Julie Yack Mom.Wife.Nerd.Frequent-flyer @coloradojules MBA, MVP, MCP, BSBM, SMBS, CSM, PBA&PIA 53

“Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.” ~Julia Child

Cheater Thai Noodles

Daniel Lawrence

Lead Technical Consultant Perficient, Inc. After years of shamefully trying various “Thai in a Box” variants, my wife stumbled across a recipe on Pinterest. With some very minor modifications, it has become a staple in our home - not just because it’s easy, but because it’s AWESOME.

1 package linguine 1Tbsp sesame oil 1 lb chicken (or shrimp) 8 oz bag of frozen sugar snap peas 1 medium red bell pepper ½ cup sesame oil ½ cup soy sauce ½ cup honey Crushed red pepper to taste Optional: 2 Tbsp chopped peanuts 1 tsp chopped cilantro Infuse the sesame oil by warming with crushed red pepper in a sauce pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Cool and strain, discarding the used pepper. I use 3 Tbsp of pepper per cup of oil. (Note: I normally infuse a whole bottle at a time, storing it in the original bottle for later use.) Start the linguine per the package directions. While the linguine cooks, slice the chicken thinly and brown in a little oil. While the chicken is browning, slice the red bell pepper into strips. When the chicken has browned, add the red bell pepper and snap peas. Strain linguine, and add to chicken. Whisk together equal parts of oil, soy sauce, and honey, and pour over linguine. Mix and serve. If you like ‘em, add peanuts and/or cilantro.

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” ~ Calvin Trillin

The Sheriffs Meat Loaf

Paul D. Sheriff

Microsoft Regional Director

This recipe was handed down to me from an old girlfriend’s mom from high school. It is simply the best meat loaf recipe I have ever tasted. I have made my own special adjustments to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

1½ lbs Buffalo meat (or lean ground beef if you prefer) 1 cup townhouse crackers - beat into crumbs 1 medium onion 1 or 2 Tbsp butter 2 eggs 1 ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper 3 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce ½ cup water 3 Tbsp vinegar 3 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp prepared mustard 2 tsp Worcestershire Sautee onion in butter. Mix together beef, crumbs, sautéed onion, beaten egg, salt, pepper and 1 can tomato sauce. Form into a loaf and put into a 7”x10” pan or dish. Combine all other ingredients, pour over loaf. Bake in oven 350° F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baste occasionally.

Paul D. Sheriff Microsoft Regional Director Paul D. Sheriff is the President of PDSA, Inc. (www.pdsa.com), a Microsoft Partner in Southern California. Paul has authored literally hundreds of books, webcasts, videos and articles on .NET, WPF, Silverlight, HTML 5, Windows Phone and SQL Server. Paul can be reached at PSheriff@pdsa.com, on twitter @pdsainc, and on facebook.com/pdsapaulsheriff 55

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” ~Sophia Loren

Russ’ Pot of Sauce 2 Tbsp minced garlic in extra virgin olive oil – Spice World 2 oz extra virgin olive oil 1 lb mild Italian sausage (about 5 links) 2½ lbs meatballs (about 24) – meatballs can be freshly made at meat counter at Publix or make yourself Russell Fustino Senior Developer Evangelist

(mix up one slice of soaked white bread, ¼ cup of Italian bread crumbs, one egg and 2.5 lbs of ground beef, a little parmesan cheese and garlic salt)

This sauce is absolutely delicious. Behind every great pasta dish, is great sauce. So the pasta can be switched up to spegetti, ziti, rigatoni, or whatever.. I like Dreamfields brand as it tastes great and has only 5g digestible carbs per serving. This recipe is passed down from my Mom. My brother says it feels like home when I make it. Many folks love it where I live in New Port Richey and I have been asked quite a few times for the recipe and to make it for special occasions. The key ingredient to the sauce is the Italian Sausage; this is what really gives it the flavor.

3 - 29 oz cans of tomato sauce (Hunts or Contadina) 29 oz of water 24 oz jar of Classico Traditional flavor Tomato and Basil 6 - 12oz cans Hunts Tomato Paste with Basil, Garlic and Oregano (or Contadina Tomato paste with roasted garlic)

1 box (13.25 oz) Dreamfields Penne Rigate 1 loaf French Bread ½ stick (4 oz) butter Garlic Salt 1 large sauce pot with cover Reynolds no-stick aluminum foil Baking sheet tin tray Olive oil no-stick spray

Makes approximately 8 servings. Time to create this dish = 2 hours Note: Always using a tall wooden spoon to mix the sauce or you might burn your thumb stirring it up, like I did once last year. I really enjoy making this on a Saturday or Sunday and snitching meatballs while the sauce cooks. I am usually too full for the pasta on the first day from snitching, so I usually make that the next day.

“Sergio Leone was a big influence on me because of the spaghetti westerns.” ~Quentin Tarantino

Russ’ Pot of Sauce (cont.) Preheat oven to 375°. Line the baking sheet tray with Reynolds no-stick aluminum foil then spay with PAM Olive Oil no stick spray. Cook fresh (not frozen) meatballs and Italian sausage on same tray for 30 minutes Cook Italian sausage for an extra 10 minutes On a medium heat, while meat is cooking, add olive oil to bottom of large sauce pot and 2 Tbsp of minced garlic and brown Add 1 - 24 oz jar of Classico Tomato and Basil sauce Add 3 - 29 oz cans of Tomato Sauce Add 1 - 29 oz can of water Add 6 - 6 oz cans of Tomato Paste Cover and stir every 10-15 minutes After meatballs are cooked thru – usually 30 minutes, add to sauce along with the goop from the cooking tray Turn Italian sausage over and cook sausage for another 10 minutes until done Cut Italian sausage links in half and add to sauce On low heat stir every 15 minutes for an hour On simmer, cook as long as you like stirring every 15 minutes, the longer the better Serve with Garlic Bread – cut French loaf in half and butter up and sprinkle garlic salt on it. Cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown in oven or toaster oven. Boil Penne Rigate for 9 minutes, drain and mix some sauce in and serve with meat balls, sausage and extra sauce. I love to make a wine cooler with this recipe as well… add 1 part Carlo Rossi Pisano wine and one part Sprite over ice. Once the meat is gone, I usually have enough sauce left over to freeze for a second cooking.

Russell Fustino Senior Developer Evangelist Russ Fustino heads up Developer Evangelism at GrapeCity PowerTools as a Senior Developer Evangelist. He is also a highly experienced Windows Phone 7 software developer with a passion for conveying relevant, current, and future software development technologies and tools through live seminars, teaching, and internet video productions. Russ has a new innovative blog and interview video series with influentials, about current technology, GrapeCity Products and developer community called ‘Russ Cam’! Check it out at http://www.gcpowertools. com/russcam … He has enlightened, entertained and educated over 200,000 developers nationwide as a former Developer Evangelist for Microsoft. Russ heads up 2 INETA user groups in the Tampa Florida area: Windows Phone 7 (www.wp7ug.com ) and the Internet Media User Group (www.internetmug.com ). Follow @RussCamTV on twitter. 57

“How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening.” ~ Alexander Smith

Funky Eggplant Lasagna Bolognese Sauce:

Alex Funkhouser

IT Talent Agent

Grandpa Funkhouser produced some funky shaped & delicious eggplants from his organic garden, the rest is family history.

2 big onions or 4 small onions (diced) 1 lb ground beef 1 can diced tomatoes ¼ of a red pepper (diced or minced) A few parsley leaves A few bay leaves A few basil leaves Pinch of black pepper A dash of Worcestershire sauce Cube of beef bouillon (optional) Salt to taste (if needed) Olive oil Begin sautéing the onions in olive oil. Once clear, add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the red peppers, tomatoes, parsley, basil and bay leaves, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and beef bouillon.

Béchamel Sauce:

2 Tbsp flour 4 Tbsp margarine ¼ cup milk Cream cheese (optional) Once the margarine has melted, add the flour while constantly stirring. Start pouring in the milk little by little, keep stirring. If you choose to add the cream cheese do so after the milk and you guessed it, keep stirring.

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.” ~George Miller

Funky Eggplant Lasagna (cont.) Lasagna Ingredients:

2 or 3 funky shaped eggplants cut long ways (not too thick, not too thin) Butter ¾ lb sliced ham ¾ lb sliced cheese (muenster or mozzarella) Shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese Lasagna pasta Soak the eggplant slices in salted water for 30 minutes. Dry them well and butter both sides of each slice. Sautee them but be sure not to burn them. Once done, butter up a baking dish, make a layer of the pasta, eggplant, then ham and cheese. Another layer of pasta, eggplant then Bolognese sauce, ham cheese and béchamel sauce. Continue making alternate layers. Once the layers are complete, put a generous amount of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake the lasagna at 350° until the cheese melts, let it cool out of the oven before serving, and have a funky good time.

Alex Funkhouser IT Talent Agent Alex wrote his first lines of code on a TRS-80 in 1980. These days he leads multiple .NET and other technology groups and serves as president of SherlockTech Staffing. He holds an MBA from The Netherlands, and a Bachelor of Science from Washington University. His philosophy on IT Talent is “Know who is best at what, and know who needs the best!” 59

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.” ~Yogi Berra

Homemade Pizza

Jennifer Marsman Principal Developer Evangelist, Microsoft My mother made this amazing pizza, and it was one of my favorite dinners when I was young. (Plus, the aroma of the dough rising is wonderful!) In my current role, I participate in many evening user groups and therefore eat a lot of pizza. So when my husband or kids get a pizza craving and I’m feeling sick of pizza, I make this recipe…I never get tired of it! You can also freeze extra dough and pull it out for a quick meal on a work night.

1 stick margarine 1½ cups milk 1 tsp salt ½ cup oil 8 cups flour 2¼ cups warm water 1 package of yeast (don’t forget to check the expiration date) 1 tsp sugar Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and toppings (I like ham, mushroom, and green pepper)

This recipe makes enough dough for 4 pizzas. In a small bowl, combine sugar and ¼ cup of the warm water. Add yeast and stir once. Let it sit for a few minutes until it starts to foam. In the meantime, put the margarine and milk into a large bowl, and microwave them until they are warm. (Cold ingredients will kill the yeast.) Then add the rest of the ingredients (salt, oil, flour, and the remaining 2 cups of warm water) to the large bowl, and stir. Finally, add the foaming yeast mixture to the large bowl last. Mix well. The dough should be wet and sticky. Spray some cooking spray on the back of an old clean towel and drape it (sprayed side down) over the large bowl – the yeast needs to stay warm. Let the dough rise. Punch it down every couple of hours. My mother usually let it rise all day, but 4 hours is enough. When you are ready to make the pizzas, separate the dough into 4 portions (to make 4 pizzas). Pat extra flour on each portion of dough and stretch them into pizza shape, sprinkling on more flour as you stretch the dough to keep it from forming holes. Place dough on pizza pans or a baking stone, and top with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and your favorite toppings. Bake at 400° for ~20 minutes. Enjoy!

Jennifer Marsman Principal Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Jennifer Marsman is a Principal Developer Evangelist at Microsoft. In this role, Jennifer is a frequent speaker at software development conferences across the United States. Previously, Jennifer was a software developer in Microsoft’s Natural Interactive Services division, where she earned two patents for her work in search and data mining algorithms. Jennifer blogs at http://blogs.msdn.com/jennifer and tweets at http://twitter.com/jennifermarsman. 60

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” ~Ronald Reagan

Working Parent’s Shepherd’s Pie 2 cups (or less, to taste) shredded cheddar cheese Boxed mashed potato flakes – make 8 servings’ worth Butter, milk, salt for the boxed mashed potatoes 1 can cream of mushroom soup (don’t add milk) 1 ½ lbs ground beef 1 bag (16 oz/1 lb) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans)

Jennifer Marsman Principal Developer Evangelist, Microsoft The secret “quick” ingredient is mashed potatoes from a box, but you can use real mashed potatoes if you don’t have a presentation to deliver the next day, you still need to pack for your 6am flight the following morning, and you still want time to play “Princess” with your cute little daughters.

Prepare mashed potatoes as directed on box (with milk and butter). Thaw vegetables in microwave. Brown ground beef on the stovetop; drain the grease. Layer in 11x7 glass dish: beef and cream of mushroom soup (mixed together), then vegetables, then mashed potatoes. Bake in oven at 350° F for ~20 minutes, then sprinkle cheese on top and bake until melted. Enjoy!

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”~ Yogi Berra

Friday Pizza Night

Mike Benkovich Microsoft

Friday night is Pizza Night at the Benkovich’s – hand tossed goodness and a load family fun. In our house we look forward each week to the chance to make some great food, enjoy a movie and share time away from business of the work week. We’ve been doing that with Pizza night, which usually includes making a couple pizza’s to order, along with a salad, some popcorn and a good show. We’ve been doing this for a few years and after a couple hundred pizza’s here is what we’ve learned: Start with great dough (gluten is crucial), and top it with whatever you like. Cook it on the bottom rack to get the crust right, and use Pizza Stones if you have them.

Rule of 3 Pizza dough (enough for 2 x 14” pizzas) 2 cups warm water 3 tsp bread machine yeast 3 cups bread flour 1½ cups wheat flour (3 x ½ cup measures) 3 Tbsp gluten 1½ tsp salt 3 Tbsp olive oil 1½ tsp dried basil (if available) 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal Toppings Pizza Sauce (Pastorelli’s is good) Pepperoni Cheese Green Olives Mushrooms Artichokes Green Pepper (or Red or Yellow or whatever) If using a bread machine add the ingredients in the order listed. You can also mix it by hand, but make sure to mix together the dry ingredients minus 1 cup flour, then add the liquid and after forming the dough add in the remaining flour until you get to a good consistency. Allow to rise to double size, approximately 45 min to 1 hr. Preheat oven to 425 F. Split dough in half and roll into smooth round. Then on Pizza stone add a little Olive Oil to prevent sticking and roll out each pizza round to fit. Add sauce and toppings. If desired dust the top with onion powder and/or garlic powder. Bake for about 18 minutes rotating between bottom and middle rack of oven half way thru, or until top is browned.

Mike Benkovich Microsoft Mike is a geek who loves to try new things, on the computer and in the kitchen. When he’s not cutting code you can find him cutting ribs, having some coconut or making pizza. Follow him at @mbenko on Twitter! 62

“Which came first, the chicken or the egg” ~ Proverb

Chicken Marsala

Jason Zander

Corporate Vice President of Development for the Windows Azure team at Microsoft.

4 thin-sliced skinless chicken breasts ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup flour ½ tsp salt & ½ tsp pepper ¾ cup marsala cooking wine 1 cup chicken broth 1 Tbsp butter 4 thick cut slices of bacon, cut into thirds 1 bunch green onions cut to lengths 1/3 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced Pound chicken breasts to ¼ inch thickness. Combine flour and seasoning into a quart size zip lock bag. Coat each chicken breast with flour and seasoning until fully covered. Heat olive oil in stainless steel All Clad style pan on medium-high heat until oil is hot (but not smoking). Cook chicken in pan approximately 7 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Set cooked breasts aside for now. Nearly all of the oil will cook away. Place bacon in the pan with chicken drippings and cook for 3 minutes or so allowing grease to coat bottom of pan. Once bacon starts to brown, add sliced mushrooms and cook on all sides for several minutes until brown. Bacon should now be cooked. Lower heat to medium and add marsala cooking wine. Heat for approximately 2 minutes. Add butter, chicken broth, and green onions to the pan and continue to warm until bubbling. Continue cooking for 3 minutes to reduce the sauce. Return chicken breasts to the pan and heat for 2 minutes. Serve each breast over a side dish (like brown rice or pasta) adding vegetables, mushrooms, and bacon to each piece, drizzle remaining sauce

Jason Zander Jason Zander is Corporate Vice President of Development for the Windows Azure team at Microsoft.

“It’s important to begin a search on a full stomach.” ~ Henry Bromel

Lucy’s Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice

Richie Rump

dotNet Miami Community Caretaker

My wife Lucy, who is of Cuban descent, inherited the cooking gene from her mother. Mama Alfonso receives a lot of praise for her black beans and rice, arroz con pollo, and other Cuban dishes. She learned to cook these dishes from her mother-in-law. One of those recipes was for black beans and rice, which is a staple in every Cuban home. After ten years of marriage, Lucy embarked on the daunting task to recreate Mama Alfonso’s most awesome black beans and rice. Lucy had to watch her mom cook and measure what her mom was pouring into the pressure cooker. Mama Alfonso has prepared it for so many years, that she just eyeballed what to put in. Thank goodness, Lucy decided to document the recipe, which in my opinion, made Lucy’s beans even better than her mom’s!

Black Beans: 14 oz bag dry black beans, rinsed and picked 2 Bay Leaves ½ cup vino seco (Spanish cooking wine) ½ cup olive oil 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp cumin 1 ½ Tbsp garlic powder 1 ½ Tbsp onion powder 1 green pepper 2 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp salt Rice: 2 cups dry rice, rinsed 3 cups water 1 tsp salt 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Black Beans: Place black beans in a large pot of water and soak overnight. Drain the water and place beans in a pressure cooker. Fill the pressure cooker with water an inch above the beans and add 2 bay leaves. (If you desire beans with thicker consistency use less water.) Cover with lid and place on high heat. Once it starts boiling, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are soft. Before removing lid, make sure that pressure cooker is depressurized; place in sink under cold water if necessary. Remove bay leaves. Cut the top and bottoms off of the green peppers and remove the seeds. Cut peppers into 4 pieces. Stir in peppers, oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, and slowly bring to a boil uncovered. Once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer. Add sugar, olive oil, vino seco and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

“I like rice. Rice is great if you’re hungry and want 2000 of something.” ~ Mitch Hedberg

Lucy’s Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice (cont.) Rice: Place rice, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. (Add one cup of water to the amount of rice you are cooking. i.e. 3 cups of rice/4 cups of water.) Cover and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add vegetable oil and mix with spoon.

Richie Rump dotNet Miami Community Caretaker Richie Rump is a software developer, data architect and project manager. He is the founder of dotNet Miami, a community focused on enterprise development with .NET and SQL Server. He’s a lover of data and when he’s not writing code he’s defiling his wife’s excellent cooking with Mexican hot sauce. 65

100 Funny Ways to Order Pizza 15. Stutter on the letter “p.”

Zero-Carb Pizza

Carl Franklin

Producer, Pwop Studios

Many of us are watching our carbohydrate intake, and pizza is usually our Achilles’ heel. Now you can enjoy the best part of the pizza with a crispy cheese crust. Don’t knock it till you try it!

12” Skillet 1 Tbsp Butter 1 ½ cups Shredded or sliced Mozzarella cheese Optional: Parmesan, Asiago, Monterey Jack, or other cheese Optional Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, basil, rosemary, etc. Pre-cooked Toppings: Pepperoni, Sausage, Mush rooms, etc.. (onions have sugar, so watch out for them) Warm up the skillet over low to medium-low heat. Melt the butter in the bottom of the pan so it covers the surface of the skillet and up the sides. Sprinkle the cheese evenly so it completely covers the pan. If you have a bigger pan and want to use more cheese, have at it. Place your pre-cooked toppings on the pizza. Optionally add other kinds of cheese and/or seasonings Cover with tin foil and cook until cheese has visibly melted. 2-5 minutes. Remove foil. Turn up to Medium heat.

Remains of cheese have been found in Egyptian tombs over 4,000 years old.

Zero-Carb Pizza (cont.) Keep an eye on the bottom “crust” by lifting the edge with a spatula. When it’s a darkish crispy brown, it’s done. Remove the skillet from the burner. Remove the pizza by running the spatula around the edge under the pizza. Pick the entire thing up with the spatula and move to a cutting board. Slice with a pizza slicer or a large kitchen knife. The “crust” should crack slightly when you cut through it. Enjoy!

Carl Franklin Producer, Pwop Studios. After years of software development, Carl Franklin started .NET Rocks! in 2002 inspired by Public Radio infotainment shows like Car Talk. Before that he taught his own hands-on .NET classes for Franklins.Net. He is a Microsoft Regional Director and Most Valuable Professional. You may recall the first website for Visual Basic programmers: Carl & Gary’s VB Home Page. If you had a SoundBlaster back in the day, you may have already heard Carl’s music. He authored a few of the MIDI files that came with it. As if a career in the high-tech industry isn’t enough, Carl is also a talented songwriter, singer, guitarist, composer, arranger, audio engineer, and producer. He produced an as-yet-unrecognized first album for Ray Lamontagne which very few people have ever heard. He and his brother, Jay (an expert Java Developer and also a talented musician) produced their first CD, Strange Communication, in 1999. Another CD is in the works, and he is always working as a producer for local artists. You can read Carl’s Blog, Intellectual Hedonism, to keep up with his latest musical goings-on at http://www.intellectualhedonism.com 67

How much pot, could a pot roast roast, if a pot roast could roast pot.

Pot Roast

David Giard

Sogeti Senior Manager Consultant, Microsoft MVP, Host of Technology and Friends Here is a simple recipe for foolproof pot roast. The beauty of it is that you don’t need to buy the most expensive cut of meat. But you do need a large slow cooker. I own a 5-quart crock pot, which is perfect. In this recipe, you may substitute some of the potatoes for other root vegetables, such as turnips or sweet potatoes.

3 lb chuck roast or sirloin roast 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup sherry 2 large potatoes, chopped into ½” cubes 4 oz baby carrots 2 medium onions, chopped into ½” cubes 4 oz can button mushrooms 1 Tbsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1-2 bay leaves Rub salt, pepper and garlic into meat. Let stand in refrigerator for 1 hour. Add roast to 5-quart slow cooker. Add vegetables to slow cooker Pour soy sauce and sherry into slow cooker Add bay leaf Cook on low heat for 10 hours.

-At first in Europe the coffee was known as Arabian Wine.

Espresso Steak Rub

Rachel Reese

ASPInsider, Software Dev at MyWebGrocer

It’s espresso. It’s steak. Who doesn’t love espresso and steak?! I’ve made this steak rub a couple times, but I usually make it by sight and to taste, so it always varies a little. The rough proportions are there -- lots of your favorite chile and espresso; more garlic and ginger; some sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika; and a dash of mustardseed and coriander.

6 Tbsp ground pasilla (or ancho) chile powder 6 Tbsp freshly ground espresso 3 Tbsp powdered garlic 3 Tbsp powdered ginger 2 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp sea salt 2 Tbsp black and/or white pepper or peppercorns 2 Tbsp paprika 2 tsp mustard seeds (optional) 2 tsp coriander (optional) Combine all ingredients; Use mortar and pestle to crush larger ingredients into fine powder. Whisk to stir.

Rachel Reese ASPInsider, Software Dev at MyWebGrocer Rachel Reese is a .NET Software Engineer, ASPInsider, road-tripper extraordinaire, C# and math geek, community enthusiast, and fan of Oxford commas. You can find her online at @rachelreese or rachelree.se. 69

“The Smurfs are little blue people who live in magic mushrooms. Think about it.”

Shawn’s Simple Mushroom Alfredo Vegetarians welcome, Vegans won’t like it

Shawn Wildermuth

Microsoft MVP (Data), Author, Trainer and Speaker I learned this recipe from an old roommate who pined endlessly about how simple Alfredo really is.

2 Tbsp butter 16 oz sliced mushrooms 2 lbs pasta (preferably Linguine, Fusilli or Farfalle) 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp finely cut fresh garlic 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp basil 2 pints whipping cream (or just cream) 16 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese It is best if all ingredients are at room temperature (yes the cream too). First, place butter in sauté pan and heat on Medium-High heat until melted. Add sliced mushrooms and toss until coated with butter. Sauté until mushrooms are cooked but very firm. Remove from pan and drain (either in a strainer or on paper towels). Set aside. Take large pasta pan and boil water. Add pasta once boiling and cook till al dente. You can do this while making the sauce (below). (I am assuming you can make the pasta without extensive directions). In large sauce pan, place olive oil. Heat the oil on MediumHigh heat until hot. Place garlic, oregano and basil in pan and stir vigorously until the garlic is translucent. Immediately put in all cream and stir with a whisk. Keep stirring until the cream froths and *immediately* reduce temperature to low heat.

“Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Shawn’s Simple Mushroom Alfredo

Vegetarians welcome, Vegans won’t like it (cont.) IMPORTANT: You must continuously stir the cream mixture until done otherwise it will burn. Cook the cream mixture until the drops off the whisk are large (approximately 3-4mm) in size. This means it has thickened enough. This should take 10-15 minutes. Slowly whisk in the cheese, stirring vigorously to ensure the cheese does not clump. Do this until all the cheese has been added. Keep cooking the sauce until most of the cheese has been melted in. (Yes, you need to keep stirring with the whisk this entire time). Once it has thickened from the cheese, stir in the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms have warmed up to the temperature of the sauce, you can remove it from the heat and toss into the pasta. This sauce is served mixed into the pasta, not on top of it. Serve on plates and garnish.

Shawn Wildermuth Microsoft MVP (Data), Author, Trainer and Speaker Shawn Wildermuth is a nine-time Microsoft MVP (Data), member of the INETA Speaker’s Bureau and an author of seven books and dozens of articles on software development. He can be reached via his blog at http://wildermuth.com. 71

“‘You have no fortune.’ I didn’t need a cookie to tell me that.” ~ Sarah Jessica Parker

Quick and Easy General Tsao’s Chicken Recipe

Lance Wulfers

HP Lead Technologist My families favorite “Quick and Easy General Tsao’s Chicken Recipe” Want to be able to make your favorite General Tsao’s Chicken recipe at home in less than 30 minutes? If you do then this is the recipe for you. It has been kid tested and family approved from Texas to New York and several states in between

½ cup water 1 cup chicken broth ¼ cup rice wine vinegar ¼ cup cornstarch 1 cup sugar 2 - 3 Tbsp soy sauce (Kecap manis) 1 - 2 Tbsp sweet thai chili sauce (or more if you like it hot and spicy)

1 tsp crushed or minced garlic 1 tsp sesame seeds if you like to sprinkle on before serving (optional) 1 Fresh green onion diced as a garnish (optional) 1 – 2 lbs of chicken (Tempura battered), breaded chicken strips or nuggets The Chicken: Cook your breaded chicken (large or small strips or nuggets, any breaded or tempura chicken recipe will work). If you use chicken half breasts you can cut up before you serve. If you are using breaded chicken or nuggets - cook at 25 degrees hotter than chicken recipe to make it a little crispier.... Remember you will be coating the chicken. The Sauce: Mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a small pot and then turn on the heat (Medium) and slowly bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk continuously. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and keep at a simmer for 5 - 8 minutes until the sauce has turned a rich red/brown color and has thickened up nicely. Place the chicken on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or a small amount of diced green onion as a garnish. Serve the Chicken over rice. Enjoy…

ABC Kecap Manis Sweet Soy Sauce - 21 oz bottle

PS. The only place I could find the Sweet Soy (Kecap Manis) is at a local the oriental market or online. It is not something you will generally find on a supermarket shelf. This is an awesome sauce that can be used with a bunch of stir fry veggie dishes.

Lance Wulfers HP Lead Technologist Lead Technologist with HP in the Factory Automation side of the IT field. Speaker at Code Camps and User Group meetings. Board of Directors at the Harrisburg .Net user Group. Local User Group representative for INETA. 72

Peter: Yeah, I’d like 6,000 chicken fajitas, please? Yeah, 6,000 chicken fajitas. Brian: And a supersized McBiscuit, please? ~ Peter Griffin: Family Guy Quotes

Chicken Fajitas (Oven Baked)

Ryan Duclos (@rduclos)

Consultant and Community Influencer (http://about.me/rduclos) Sometimes I find it easier to use the oven to make a meal rather than constantly watching the stove. So here is a way to make Chicken Fajitas in the oven.

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into strips) 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp chili powder 2 tsp cumin ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp dried oregano ¼ tsp salt 10 oz Can RoTel Original -Tomatoes & Diced Green Chilies (drained) 1 medium onion (sliced) 1 large bell-pepper (seeded and sliced, any color) 12 flour tortillas Your choice of Toppings (cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Place the chicken strips into the casserole dish. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat evenly. Add the Ro*Tel, sliced onions, and bell-peppers to the casserole dish and stir to combine. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and the vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with your desired toppings.

“The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.” ~ W. C. Fields

Healthy Pancakes Liquid: 2 cups milk (almond or coconut preferred, soy or cow okay too) 2 Tbsp agave nectar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp vegetable oil Rachel Reese

ASPInsider, Software Dev at MyWebGrocer Breakfast is by far my favorite meal, but I’ve always preferred something denser, a little healthier, and less sweet than the average pancake. I modified these from a couple different online recipes to a version that is perfect for me, and (comparatively) healthy! In fairness, I will often still coat them in maple syrup (REAL ONLY), although they’re best frozen in packs of three, and reheated over a morning campfire. A

Dry: 2 cups whole wheat (or whole wheat pastry) flour 1 ½ Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon ½ cup brown sugar 2 cups oatmeal Add: 2 cups sliced almonds (or other nuts) 2 cups fruit I have used lots of different fruit in this recipe: blueberries, raspberries, apples, pears.. I even tried mango once. With the apples and pears, since they tend to be harder, I’ll usually sauté them in lots of butter and agave nectar first. (Totally healthy! *nods*) Depending on the fruit, adding in ½ tsp lemon zest, or a tsp of ginger, works really well, too. Combine liquid ingredients; mix. Whisk dry ingredients separately, then combine with liquid, and mix well. Lightly oil a frying pan, then cook ¼ cup batter per pancake over medium to medium-high heat. Pancakes are ready when they are medium-brown on each side.

“Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.” ~ Steven Wright

Baked Haddock with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Julie Lerman

Microsoft MVP, Author An easy to prepare fish main course that serves as comfort food but is also great for company. This is a recipe that has its origins from the classic Joy of Cooking. Like many of my favorite recipes, there is a lot of room for flexibility. Any white fish will do though we use haddock most often. And you can increase or decrease without worrying too much about the keeping the proportions relative. Measurements are just a guideline and you can get creative about what goes into the topping.

1½+ lb haddock or other white fish 3 Tbsp butter 1 cup bread crumbs ½ lb sliced mushrooms ½ cup chopped onion ¼ cup sliced almonds 3 sliced tomatoes or one 28 oz can of tomatoes Lemon juice Salt & pepper to taste Other seasonings suggestions: rosemary & tarragon Preheat the oven to 375° F Sauté mushrooms, onions and almonds in the butter for about 5 minutes. Stir the breadcrumbs and seasoning into the sauté and set aside. Lay the fish out flat in a non-stick baking dish. Sprinkle the fish with lemon juice. Spread the breadcrumb mix over the fish. Spread the tomatoes on top of the breadcrumb mix. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Julie Lerman Microsoft MVP, Author Julie Lerman is a Microsoft MVP, mentor and consultant who calls Vermont home and is quite fond of Vermont Maple Syrup. Julie blogs at thedatafarm.com/blog, tweets at twitter.com/julielerman, is the author of the “Programming Entity Framework” titles, the MSDN Magazine Data Points column and a slew of videos on Pluralsight.com. 75

“A hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg.” ~ Samuel Butler

Chicken Rezala

Samidip Basu

Sogeti Mobility Lead | Passionate WPDev

So, I’m going to talk about a delicacy called Chicken Rezala. Why is it special? Well, I spent the first 20 years of my life in Kolkata, India – a major metropolitan, potpourri of cultures & home to genuine food-loving people. While my taste buds gladly serve home to Western, Chinese & Italian palates, there is still a very special place for traditional Indian cuisine – the spices, the slow cooking & the deep aroma. Chicken Rezala has roots in North-West frontiers & dates back to Moghul days. Truly royal dish, prepared with care & finger-smacking good! Hope you enjoy S

1 lb chicken (boneless) 1 cup finely-chopped onion 1 cup plain yogurt 1 Tbsp ginger paste 2 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes 2 bay leaves 2 cloves 1 inch cinnamon sticks 5 - 6 black whole peppercorns 2 dry red chilies 1 Tbsp garlic paste 1 cup milk ½ cup coconut flakes ½ cup unsalted cashew Few Saffron Strands (optional) Salt, brown sugar & pepper – To taste 5 Tbsp vegetable oil Patience – It really pays A Cut chicken in bite-sized pieces or slightly bigger Mix chicken in yogurt, ginger paste & red chili flakes Marinade for an hour Heat oil in deep pan/wok Add cinnamon, bay leaves & dry red chilies and stir for 30 seconds Add cloves & garlic paste; continue frying for another 30 seconds Now add the onions and stir until they’re light brown Add chicken marinade to pan & mix well Add salt, sugar & pepper to taste Stir constantly until chicken looks cooked Take milk, cashew, coconut & saffron and puree in grinder Pour in chicken and stir gently for thorough mix Cover & simmer on medium heat till thick consistency Garnish with almonds/raisins & serve hot

Samidip Basu Sogeti Mobility Lead | Passionate WPDev Samidip Basu (@samidip) is a technologist & gadget-lover working as MSFT Mobility Solutions Lead for Sogeti USA out of the Columbus Unit. With a strong developer background in Microsoft technology stack, he now spends much of his time in spreading the word to discover the full potential of the Windows Phone/Windows 8 platforms & cloud-backed mobile solutions in general. He passionately runs the Central Ohio Windows Phone User Group (http://cowpug.org), labors in M3 Conf (http://m3conf.com/) organization and can be found with at-least a couple of hobbyist projects at any time. His spare times call for travel and culinary adventures with the wife. Find out more at http://samidipbasu.com. 76

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is your food spicy Sir? No, smoke always comes out of my ears!â&#x20AC;? ~ Unknown

Spicy Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry

David Giard

Sogeti Senior Manager Consultant, Microsoft MVP, Host of Technology and Friends

My kids love this dish with fried rice. You can vary the spice level by the amount of red chilies you add. I frequently vary the vegetables as well, sometimes adding fresh vegetables and sometimes using a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast 2 cups peanuts 1 Tbsp sherry 1 cup chicken stock 2 tsp brown sugar 6 cloves chopped garlic 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root 1 tsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp peanut oil 1 Tbsp soy sauce 4 dried red chilies 8 to 12 oz sliced bell peppers or other chopped vegetables In a food processor, mix the following ingredients until the peanuts are crushed, forming a thick paste: 1 cup peanuts ginger root sherry rice wine vinegar chicken stock 1 tsp sesame oil brown sugar 1 Tbsp soy sauce 4 cloves garlic red chilies Slice chicken as thinly as possible. This is easier if chicken is slightly frozen. Heat 1 Tbsp peanut oil in a large wok. Stir fry 2 cloves garlic for 1 minute. Stir Fry the chicken 3-5 minutes or until the pink just disappears. Add the vegetables and stir-fry another 5 minutes.s Add the sauce and 1 cup of peanuts and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Serve immediately with steamed rice or fried rice.

David Giard Sogeti Senior Manager Consultant, Microsoft MVP, Host of Technology and Friends David Giard has been developing solutions using Microsoft technologies since 1993. He is a Microsoft MVP; a member of the INETA Board of Directors; and a past President of the Great Lakes Area .Net User Group. David has presented at many of the conferences and user groups around the Midwest. He is a recovering certification addict and holds an MCTS, MCSD, MCSE, and MCDBA, as well as a BS and an MBA. He is the host and producer of the mildly popular online TV show Technology and Friends. He is the co-author of the Wrox book Real World .NET, C#, and Silverlight. You can read his latest thoughts at www.DavidGiard.com. You can connect with him on Twitter at @DavidGiard. David lives in Michigan with his two teenage sons. 77

“If I could be any flavor of ice cream, I would be spinach so no one would eat me.” ~ Josh Hufford

Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas Nik Molnar

Co-creator Glimpse

In college, while dating a girl named Katy, I decided to try to impress her by cooking an original dish. No cookbook, no calling my mom for help, just me putting myself on a plate. The dish, Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas, was delicious and Katy and I have now been married for over seven years. Together we have created over fifty original dishes and are working on a cookbook, but this dish will always be special to me since it was the first.

2 Tbsp cooking oil 10 oz crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced 4 Tbsp mojo criollo marinade (found in ethnic/Latin aisle) 1 Tbsp butter 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp adobo seasoning (found in ethnic/Latin aisle) 4 - 8 inch flour tortillas 2 cups shredded mozzarella ½ cup crumbled feta cheese 1 cup stemmed and julienned spinach ½ cup sour cream ¼ cup basil pesto

Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with half the cooking oil, over medium-high heat. Once hot, sauté half the mushrooms until they have turned golden brown and shrunk to about half size. Add a pinch of salt and pepper followed by 2 Tbsp of mojo to the pan. Stir until the mojo thickens and clings to the mushrooms before removing from the heat and placing in a small bowl. Repeat with the second batch of oil, mushrooms and mojo. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Brush melted butter on one side of each of the 4 tortillas and sprinkle with ¼ tsp cumin and 1/8 tsp adobo. Heat a large griddle or frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, place the tortilla, buttered side down, onto the griddle. Working in layers, add ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, followed by a quarter of the feta, a quarter of the spinach, a quarter of mojo glazed mushrooms and finally an additional ¼ cup mozzarella cheese. With a spatula, fold the tortilla in half, pressing down on it like a Panini sandwich. Cook both sides until lightly browned and the mozzarella is melted throughout, about 4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining three tortillas. Cut each quesadilla into thirds. Serve six pieces per plate along with a

¼ cup sour cream and 1/8 cup basil pesto.

Nik Molnar Co-creator Glimpse Nik Molnar, a NYC resident, fully embraces the web and the technologies that it enables, and enjoys pushing the boundaries of what can be delivered in the browser. He is one of the founders of the open source Glimpse project, is a huge Florida Marlins fan, avid foodie and husband. He blogs at nikCodes.com and tweets @nikmd23 78

“I have met a lot of hardboiled eggs in my time, but you’re twenty minutes.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Popeye’s Quick Breakfast What John Sonmez Eats for Breakfast Every Morning ½ cup Egg Beaters or egg white substitute (I prefer the southwestern style)

2 large eggs 1 cup frozen spinach ¼ cup salsa ¼ cup low fat cheddar cheese

John Sonmez

Pluralsight Author and Software Developer I often am very busy and have to get a jump start on the day. I don’t have much time to cook, but I want to stay healthy and get plenty of protein. I developed this pretty simple recipe that I could cook in the microwave so that I could eat a healthy breakfast and get on with my day.

Put the frozen spinach into a microwave container and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Add the egg white substitute and large eggs and mix with a fork. Microwave for an additional 1.5 minutes. Remove and stir with fork. Microwave for 1 more minute. Add cheese and mix around. Finally add salsa on top and salt and pepper to taste. (I also like to throw in a bit of tobasco sauce.)

I eat this for breakfast almost every day, because it is so easy and healthy.

John Sonmez Pluralsight Author and Software Developer John is a frequent blogger at http://simpleprogrammer.com and author for many Pluralsight courses. He has a wide range of experience with many different languages, platforms and technologies and is often programming in C#, Objective-C, Java and more all in the same day. He is also a fitness advocate that usually short on time. 79

“Mustard’s no good without roast beef.” ~ Chico Marx

Beef Brisket 10 quart Pressure Cooker (sizes range from as small as 6 quarts)

3 lb beef brisket (no bone, trim excess fat) 3 - 4 slices of bacon, chopped 4 cups beef broth (I use 6 bouillon cubes and microwave in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup to mix)

Dave Noderer

Microsoft MVP, CEO/President Computer Ways, Inc. Some number of years ago I was visiting friends in NJ and had my first beef brisket. How did I miss this?? After investigating I ran across pressure cooking and I like the idea of sub hour cooking times while keeping the meet juicy and tender. It is very flexible. If spouse (Bobbi) is out of town I add sauerkraut, otherwise boiled dinner vegetables.

2 lb package of sauerkraut, drained 2 - 3 lb red potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed and quartered. Other potato types and peeled works too. 1 lb bag of baby carrots These are nice because they are ready to go after a rinse.

1 chopped onion 1 Tbsp caraway seeds (I use fennel sometimes) Salt and pepper but these can always be added later 1 Tbsp olive oil (or Vegetable oil for non-Italian households) 3 - 4 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled and chopped My pressure cooker has a metal trivet in the bottom I take out to do the sauté and browning. You can also do this in a separate pan but add back all the drippings and onion / garlic bits. In uncovered pressure cooker pot, sauté a bit of oil, the bacon, garlic and onion. Remove the cooked bacon, garlic and onions. Add more oil and brown the beef brisket on each side for a few minutes. Remove brisket and replace the trivet. Now lay in the brisket, bacon bits, garlic and onions and cover with sauerkraut. It is ok to bend the brisket to make it fit in the pot but it will shrink during cooking. If really big you might have to cut it in half. Add the beef broth and add water to completely cover the brisket and sauerkraut but don’t exceed the maximum liquid level marked on your pressure cooker. Cover and bring up to full pressure at high heat then reduce heat. Consult your pressure cooker directions if you have questions. Cook at full pressure for 45 min then remove from heat and allow 15 min of “natural” cool down. Release the rest of the pressure (most pressure cookers have a safe way to do this). Be very careful, especially if you are not experienced with pressure cooking. Superheated steam is most amazingly hot!!

Beef Brisket (cont.) Open the pot and insert a fork to make sure the beef is tender. If you feel it is too tough, put it back under pressure for another 10 min. If you go too far it will all fall apart but will still be delicious. Remove the brisket and set it aside leaving the sauerkraut in the pot. Add the potatoes, carrots and caraway seeds, lock the lid and bring to full pressure over high heat then reduce heat and cook for 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 min. Follow your pressure cookers directions for a quick release of the pressure. Transfer the vegetable and sauerkraut to a serving bowl along with some of the broth and fill a gravy boat (I use the Pyrex cup) with more of the broth. Slice the brisket onto a serving platter and drizzle broth over it to make it moist. Enjoy!

Dave Noderer Microsoft MVP, CEO/President Computer Ways, Inc.

Dave is a software developer living near the beach in South Florida (it could be a state!). He started Computer Ways, Inc. in 1994 and has been doing software development using Microsoft Technologies ever since. He is also very active in the developer community as cofounder of www.fladotnet.com user groups, runs the South Florida Code Camp and was an early organizer of INETA. 81

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day. What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?” ~ S. Parkes Cadman

In-Law Chicken 3 Tbsp milk 3 Tbsp melted butter ¼ cup brown mustard (i.e Gulden’s, but not Grey Poupon) ¼ cup honey 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp salt 4 boneless chicken breasts Ted Bahr

Preheat to 350°F.

President BZ Media This easy-to make chicken dish got it’s name based on the fact that it is foolproof and always considered to be delicious no matter how threatening the visitors might be. Plus, it’s super-easy to make.

Lightly coat shallow baking dish (large enough for the four breasts to lie flat) with vegetable cooking spray. Put the chicken breast in the baking dish. Mix all the ingredients together. Pour over the chicken. Bake for 45-60 minutes (depending on size of chickens). Serve over rice.

Ted Bahr President BZ Media Ted Bahr is President and co-founder of BZ Media, publishers of Software Development Times, and producers of SPTechCon, the SharePoint Technology Conference. Ted began his career in high-tech media on PC Magazine in 1982. He and his wife, three kids, two rabbits and a fish live in Laurel Hollow, NY. 82

“The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day you’re off it.” ~Jackie Gleason

Michele’s Vanity Diet Plan This is a diet plan that is very simple, a little (ok a lot) routine, but the two important meals per day don’t suck and that is what counts in my book. There are three simple parts to the diet plan:

Michele Leroux Bustamante

• A shake in the morning, and optionally you can repeat that a few times a day if you hate the warm broth approach between meals.

• Vegetable broth, home-made and fresh, for those between meal pains of hunger, or before bedtime. I prefer this to the shake because I like warm food.

• Brown rice with veggies and some form of protein twice per day at lunch and dinner. This is where you get your “yum” on.

Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft MVP

Nobody likes to diet – yours truly included. It sucks. I love REALLY yummy (bad for you) food. But, when you work hard and travel it is incredibly difficult to keep those calories under control or work out. I am always in search of ways to eat well when I have control, working from home or office, so that I can have fun weekends and survive the caloric impact of restaurant meals when I’m on travel. Eating well for me also has to taste good. My Pilates instructor kicked me off on this diet plan – credit where it is due (thanks Anna!) and I have put my own spin on it. I could tell you this is my “stay healthy diet plan” – because the truth is this is a really healthy way to eat in general…but that would be bullshit. This is my “I want to look good over 40 diet plan” and I share it with you out of pure vanity – my favorite sin.

As for beverages, stick to green tea (any variety) with fresh lemon, and water – lots of it. If you are going to waste calories on other beverages make it a good one! A It is SO easy once you get the hang of each recipe, you have a hard time not following the plan daily (or, on those days you want to be good). If you stick to this religiously, you can maintain or even lose weight. If you like your glass of wine at night or a treat here and there, results will vary – but I definitely find this plan grounds your day and reduces temptation for the bad stuff. That’s because the brown rice is really the only carb – and it doesn’t tend to open up the flood gates of “give me more carbs” like other simple carbs do. Side benefit of this diet plan – it can work for those that have glutton intolerance…that’s cool too.

Michele Leroux Bustamante Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft MVP Michele Leroux Bustamante is Chief Architect at IDesign (www.idesign.net), a Microsoft Regional Director and MVP. Michele specializes in scalable and secure architecture design, identity federation, and cloud computing. She is a frequent conference presenter; published author, and wrote the best-selling book Learning WCF (www.learningwcf.com). Blog:www. michelelerouxbustamante.com. Twitter: @michelebusta 83

Michele’s Vanity Diet Plan (cont.) The Shake

8 oz water 1 banana ¾ cup berries (blueberries are a great choice) 1 Tbsp almond butter

(can substitute with other nut butters but this is the one I like best)

4 Tbsp rice protein powder

(I like the organic vanilla rice protein, and you can substitute for other protein powders but many of them have fake sugar and that defeats the purpose, plus it tastes bad)

2 Tbsp flax seed meal

(because, er, we need that as we get older, works wonders and I won’t say why)

4 large cubes of ice to thicken

Put all of this into a blender and blend on high speed until it is well mixed. Beware of adding too much ice as the mixture will thicken quickly and become like gelatin. You want it to be drinkable, don’t make it too thick. When to have a shake: Have this for breakfast, before or after some green tea. Optionally, have another shake when the broth isn’t enough between meals or before bed.

The Broth

12 - 16 cups of water 3 tsp salt (or, to taste) 1 turnip, quartered 1 rutabaga, quartered 3 celery sticks, chopped ½ green cabbage, chopped 1 white onion, quartered 1 leek (optional), diced large 1 piece of peeled ginger, ½ inch cubed, diced 5 full size leaves Swiss chard, chopped 5 full size leaves kale, chopped 2 carrots, diced large 2 parsnip, diced large No need to peel the veggies, since we won’t be using them after straining the broth. Just scrub them lightly to clean them off and chop as mentioned in ingredients. Put all the veggies in a large pot with the water and add the salt. Put the burner on high, cover the pot and place on the burner, and wait for the pot to start boiling. At that point you can reduce heat to medium or medium-low to avoid the pot boiling over. Usually best to leave the lid on but allow some room for steam to escape. After 2 hours, taste the broth and add more salt if needed (not too much, easy tiger). If you see the water getting low, add more. Try to let the broth boil for 3 hours to really infuse the flavor of the veggies.

Michele’s Vanity Diet Plan (cont.) The Broth (cont.)

Take the pot off the burner and let cool for 30 minutes with the lid off. Once cool enough to strain, get a fine mesh strainer and place it over another large pot, or any container that can catch the liquid. Scoop the broth and veggies little by little into the strainer – pressing the veggies down into the strainer to extract any liquid. You’ll need to do this little by little and toss out the veggies as you finish with each batch. What you want is just the broth left in the container. When you are done move the broth to a pitcher, or a glass or thick plastic container of your choice for storage in the fridge. It will keep for about a week, ready for you to heat up and consume when you are in need of a little hunger quencher.

When to have a cup of broth:

Have broth between meals any time you are a little hungry. Prefer bringing it to a boil on the stove to kill any bacteria. Put it in a coffee cup and sip away as you work – that nagging hunger should subside a little.

The Rice Dish

2 cups brown basmati rice 5 cups water 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt ½ small onion diced 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 2 cups broccoli coarsely chopped 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken Salt and pepper to taste Crushed red pepper to taste (optional) Heat up a sauce pan with olive oil on high heat until it begins to sizzle, then add the garlic and stir for 1 minute before adding the rice to the mixture. Continue stirring the garlic and rice for another minute or two and then add the water, salt and cover the saucepan until it boils. Once it boils reduce heat to medium-low and move the lid to allow steam to escape. The rice will be ready when the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy in texture. Add water as needed if the rice is not cooking quickly. It can take approximately 20 minutes. When the rice is ready, you can put it in the fridge for up to 1 week and reheat with the other ingredients as the next instructions indicate.

Alternative Mixtures

The beauty of this dish is that really anything goes with the brown rice. You can skip the mushrooms (but, they really make it great if you like them), you can swap out broccoli for other veggies, and you can swap out chicken for other proteins.

Alternate veggies:

• Spinach • Swiss chard or kale, chopped

• Asparagus • Sliced bell peppers

Alternate protein:

• Fry an egg separately with salt and pepper, chop it up and put it on top of the rice • Fry some extra firm tofu separately with vegetable oil, salt and pepper, until crispy, and put it on top of the rice • Fry some shrimp in olive oil with salt for taste and optionally some crushed red pepper (not so diet but very yum) • Any white fish, cooked to taste and served with the rice

“Cows are my passion. What I have ever sighed for has been to retreat to a Swiss farm, and live entirely surrounded by cows - and china.” ~ Charles Dickens

Perfect Prime Rib 10 lb Choice grade Rib Roast (preferred bone-in) ½ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup dry mustard 2 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp each of: freshly ground black pepper, chili powder, granulated garlic, paprika, parsley ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce Donald Williamson

GrapeCity, inc.

When looking for an impressive main course, who doesn’t love a great Prime Rib dinner. The rub produces a light crust that helps seal in the juices while providing maximum flavor with a subtle kick from the spices. While the oven cooking method is fine, this only gets better if you can cook it over the grill (wood, charcoal, or gas) using hickory wood to infuse the maximum flavor of the meat.

Serves ~10-12 adults Truss the meat or ask your butcher to do it. Bring roast to room temperature (~45 min - 1 hour). This is key to getting that perfectly cooked prime rib. Mix the flour, mustard and spices in a bowl. Combine the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce together in another small bowl. Rub the flour mixture thoroughly into the meat. Place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Gently pour and pat the Worcestershire/soy sauce mixture on the roast, covering sides and top. Cook at 325°F with fat side up: - Preferred cooking method – if you have a good grill that can accu rately maintain the temperature at 325, then cook the roast directly on the grill with Hickory Chunks using the Indirect cooking method (turn on half your grill’s burners and place the meat on the other side of the grill - no flame underneath it). You can’t beat the flavor! - Or preheat the oven and cook in roasting pan in the oven. For a great rare/med rare prime rib, remove when it reaches 120°F *.

Finished Temperature Guide Rare to Medium Rare Medium Medium Well Well

125-130 degrees 135 145 145+

Let the meat rest at least 15 minutes. If cooking with the bone-in, slice the bones off the roast (reserve these for yourself!). Then carve and serve the roast with an au-jus and/or a horseradish sauce.

Cooking Notes:

For time estimation, a good general rule is to cook the room temperature roast for ~20 minutes/lb (6 lb roast takes approximately 2 hours to cook, 9 lb=~3 hours, etc) * Remember the roast will continue to cook when pulled out of the oven by up to 5-10 degrees. Keep this in mind when cooking.

Donald Williamson GrapeCity, inc. KCBS Certified Judge (Kansas City Barbeque Society)

Donald started working for FarPoint back in 1993 (FarPoint was recently acquired by GrapeCity). When he isn’t busy help getting the word out about their award-winning ActiveReports and Spread product lines, he likes to spend his free time firing up the grills and pig cooker trying out new recipes. Next time you’re in town, ask to be invited to a pig pickin’! 86

“What the ears hear and the eyes see, the mind believes.” ~ John Travolta in Swordfish.

Cape Cod Fresh Swordfish Go to your fresh seafood market:

(fresh fish is the only way to go with this, not frozen)

Garry Brothers

Owner Cape Cod Fresh, Brewster, MA From My Restaurant. ENJOY!

Four 8 oz pieces of fresh swordfish (cut 1 ½ inches thick) 8 medium size plum tomatoes ½ stick of butter 12 oz jar of sundried tomatoes in virgin olive oil ¾ cup of coarsely grated parmesan cheese ¼ cup virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon of pepper Pre-heat oven to 350°F Trim any skin off the ends of the swordfish and rinse with cold water. Use a glass baking dish and baste the bottom with virgin olive oil. Pepper one side of swordfish and place pepper side down in prepared baking dish. Cut into quarters the plum tomatoes and place around swordfish in the baking dish. Baste top of each piece of swordfish with virgin olive oil, add pad of butter to top of each piece. Sprinkle some olive oil over tomatoes in pan and pepper to taste. Bake 15 – 18 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven then remove dish from oven and set oven rack to second shelf position and turn on broiler. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the swordfish and spoon on the sundried tomatoes. Place baking dish back in oven till cheese melts and sundried tomatoes get slightly browned. You need to watch this last step carefully so you do not burn the tomatoes. Place swordfish on plates and spoon all the remaining plum tomatoes on it. Serve with lemon wedges.

Garry Brothers Owner, Cape Cod Fresh, Brewster, MA Gary Brothers started his career with United Technologies and after 15 years in management his “techie” wife persuaded him to join her in starting up a conference production company focused on the tech space. Those events proved very successful working closely with many Tech companies like Borland, Lotus, IBM and Microsoft. In 2001 he sold the last event he co-created “DevConnections” and remained with that show until this year. His entrepreneurial spirit prevailed and he is now teaming up with Richard Campbell of .NET Rocks and Microsoft to co-create a new and exciting developer event in Las Vegas Dec 9 – 12, 2012 and April 9 – 12, 2013 “DevIntersection” Gary has a passion for cooking as well as creating events in the IT world. He owns a restaurant in Cape Cod, MA but is on the road too often to cook there. His restaurant location affords him the opportunity to demand the fish is brought in daily straight from the daily catch. He travels all over the world and brings back new ideas to share with his chefs. When it comes to fish his only advice is never overcook it and be sure it’s fresh.

“I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then.” ~ John Ford

Healthy Mushroom Swiss Burger

John Papa

Microsoft Regional Director Great for a quick and easy meal on the grill with friends and family that everyone enjoys. Always juicy, always delicious!

1 ½ lb lean ground beef (I prefer 94% or higher) 1 Tbsp extra light olive oil 1 tsp garlic powder 4 slices of swiss cheese 1 cup fresh white mushrooms 1 premium tomato 1 Tbsp soy sauce Salt and pepper 4 premium hamburger buns Serves 4 people Mushroom cook time about 8 minutes:

Heat a 10 inch frying pan on the stove at a low temperature Clean the white mushrooms and slice them Place the mushrooms in the frying pan Pour ½ Tbsp of olive oil in the frying pan Pour 1 Tbsp of soy sauce in the frying pan Occasionally stir the mushrooms so they cook evenly

Burgers Preheat the grill to 600°F. The key is to sear the meat to lock in the juices. Place the ground beef on a cooking board Put a small amount of salt and pepper into the ground beef and mix Put 1 tsp of garlic powder into the ground beef and mix Put ½ Tbsp of olive oil into the ground beef and mix Split in 4 equal sized patties (slightly larger than 1/3 lb each) Cup your hands to form the edges of the patties Make them each about 4 inches wide with a uniform thickness through out the patty Note: the patty will shrink when cooked When the grill reaches 600 degrees, toss the patties and close the lid Flip after 4 minutes and close the lid After 7 minutes place swiss cheese slice on each burger, wait 1 minute the take burgers off the grill Total cook time is about 8 minutes for medium well to well done Put each burger on a bun, pour on some mushrooms, and apply a tomato slice. Then enjoy!

John Papa Microsoft Regional Director John Papa ( @john_papa ) is a former Evangelist for Microsoft on the Silverlight and Windows 8 teams, where he hosted the popular “Silverlight TV” show. He has presented globally at keynotes and sessions for the BUILD, MIX, PDC, TechEd, Visual Studio Live! and DevConnections events. Papa is also a columnist for MSDN Magazine (Client Insights), Visual Studio Magazine (Papa’s Perspective) and an author of several training videos with Pluralsight

“I never met a lasagna I didn’t like” ~ Garfield

Lasagna

Howard Dierking

Microsoft Program Manager

1 lb ground Italian sausage 1 clove garlic, minced 1 Tbsp whole basil leaves 16 oz can tomatoes 2 - 6 oz cans tomato paste 2 ½ tsp salt, divided 10 oz lasagna noodles 2 eggs 3 cups fresh ricotta or cream-style cottage cheese ½ cup grated parmesan or romano cheese 2 Tbsp parsley flakes ½ tsp pepper 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced very thin Brown sausage slowly, spooning off excess fat occasionally. Once browned, add garlic, basil leaves, tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook noodles in large amount of boiling salted water until tender. Drain and rinse. Beat eggs, add ricotta cheese, parmesan, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Layer half the noodles in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish; spread with half the ricotta filling; add half the mozzarella cheese and half the meat mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate; bake 45 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Chicken Rotel 10 oz can Rotel 2 lb chicken breast (skinless/boneless) 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp garlic salt 1 tsp black pepper ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese Ryan Duclos (@rduclos)

Consultant and Community Influencer (http://about.me/rduclos) I was in the grocery store and wanted to come up with something new to try. So this is what I came up with one spring night in 2012.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 9”x13” casserole dish with the olive oil. Place the chicken breasts into the casserole dish, trying not to overlay the chicken. Sprinkle the garlic salt and black pepper over the chicken evenly. Pour the un-drained can of Rotel over the chicken spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese over the chicken evenly. Place in pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes or until chicken reaches at least 165° F. I highly recommend changing up the seasoning to see what works best for your taste.

Embed 100% Web-based, rich, self-service reporting for your business users. Provide secure, scalable storage, scheduling and distribution Integrate via the ASP.NET components and Web Services Save with royalty-free perpetual server-based licensing

Experience ActiveReports Server for yourself! ActiveReportsServer.com/Trial 92

“The apple does not fall far from the tree” ~ Proverb

Woodruff Holiday Morning French Toast

Chris Woodruff

Podcaster, Microsoft MVP My family and especially my wife Tracy really go 110% for the Holiday Season. We love having extended family and friends visit and stay with us for Christmas Eve. My wife started when we had our first child to make a great Christmas morning breakfast. This dish has become the center of the breakfast and our kids love it. It fills the house with apple, cinnamon and vanilla all day. We love this dish so much we have started making it whenever we want to enjoy a festive breakfast anytime throughout the calendar.

1 cup brown sugar ½ cup butter, melted 3 tsp ground cinnamon (divided) 3 tart apples (like Granny Smiths), peeled, cored and thinly sliced ½ cup dried cranberries 1 loaf French Bread, cut into 1 inch slices 6 large eggs 1 ½ cups milk 1 Tbsp vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 375°F. Combine brown sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a 9” x 13” baking dish and mix. Add apples and cranberries to baking dish. Spread mixture evenly in bottom of baking dish. Arrange slices of bread on top of mixture. Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon in bowl until well blended. Pour mixture in bowl over bread in baking dish and saturate bread well. Cover baking dish and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours. Bake in oven for 40 minutes with cover on baking dish. Uncover baking dish and bake for additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings

Chris Woodruff Podcaster, Microsoft MVP Chris Woodruff (or Woody as he is commonly known as) has a degree in Computer Science from Michigan State University’s College of Engineering. Woody has been developing and architecting software solutions for almost 15 years and has worked in many different platforms and tools. Woody is the co-host of the popular podcast “Deep Fried Bytes” and blogs at www.chriswoodruff.com. 94

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright

Crepes - Natural and Healthy

Slobodan Stipic

Windows Phone evangelist I enjoyed my mom’s crepes growing up. After I got married, crepes became the traditional Saturday breakfast in our family. It is my wife’s favorite breakfast that she looks forward to every week. The recipe I use is a slightly modified and healthier version of my mom’s original recipe.

3 very ripened bananas 2 eggs 1 cup milk ½ cup buttermilk (regular water or any fruit juice would work) ½ tsp salt 1½ tsp baking powder 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour) Topping: 10 tsp Nutella ½ banana thinly sliced Put bananas in the blender and blend them until smooth. Add eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, flour. Blend until smooth. Add buttermilk. Blend until smooth. Preheat frying pan on medium heat. Add ½ tsp oil and spread around frying pan. Ladle the batter into the frying pan spreading it around evenly. After 2-3 min or until edges become brown turn it over and fry it for another minute. Put it onto the plate and spread 2 tsp Nutella and thinly sliced bananas. Roll the crepe. Repeat until there is no more batter.

Slobodan Stipic Windows Phone evangelist I am a passionate Software developer with a substantial experience in developing distributed and centralized solutions for small businesses and large corporations. Focused on cutting edge technologies such as Windows Phone and Windows 8. Twitter: @slobo80 Blog: kulaid.blogspot.com 95

“When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.” ~Laiko Bahrs

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with Caramel Butterscotch Topping

Michele Guido

Advertising Account Executive, Neudesic Media Group It’s really good!

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted 3 cups graham crackers 2 ¾ cups sugar Salt 2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature ¼ cup sour cream 16 oz jar Williams Sanoma Dulce De Leche 6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten 1 Tbsp vanilla extract Mrs. Richard’s butterscotch caramel 2 cups sweetened whipped cream Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F.

Neudesic Media Group manages online advertising across some of the largest websites within the Software Developer, Information Technology and Consumer Electronics verticals. We help advertisers reach over 110 million monthly visitors and our network generates more than 500 million impressions each month. These properties include Microsoft owned sites such as ASP.NET and IIS.NET as well as privately owned niche properties like EggHeadCafe.com, Cisco Support Community and W3Schools.com. We bring a solid stable of advertising clients and 4A agency relationships right to the doors of our publishers.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil (use long roll of aluminum foil so that it covers the pan completely) and place in a roasting pan. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 ½ cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the duce de leche, eggs, vanilla and 1 tsp of salt and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust. Swirl mixture with knife to prevent bubbles and cracking.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!â&#x20AC;? ~Author Unknown

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with Caramel Butterscotch Topping (cont.) Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Gently place roasting pan in the oven. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock the springform ring. To finish, heat caramel butterscotch and pour over the top. Place a dollop of whipped cream on each slice when serving.

Michele Guido Advertising Account Executive, Neudesic Media Group Michele Guido represents the Microsoft Community Sites (ASP.NET, IIS.net, MSDN, Silverlight.net, TechNet and Windows Client) for Neudesic Media Group. Based in Atlanta, Michele has been working in the high-tech space for most of her career and most of all enjoys all of the people she has met. 97

Mr. Spock: “What is the formula for PI?” Chekov: “Er...apple or blueberry, sir?”

Maine Code Camp Blueberry Cake /3 cup butter, softened

1 2 2 1 1 Carolyn Smith

AKA Silverlight Madam Graphic Artist

Maine has the distinction of having the only Code Camp where we actually camp. Held each summer at Weld State Park, blueberry cake is a constant favorite and a real Maine tradition.

cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar, divided eggs cups all-purpose flour tsp salt tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ cup buttermilk 1½ cups blueberries In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Gently fold in blueberries. Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking pan; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 9 servings.

Carolyn Smith AKA Silverlight Madam, Graphic Artist

Carolyn Smith is well known in the community as an award winning watercolor artist. With the arrival of the 21st century Carolyn has focused on computer arts and graphic design. She can help you with logos and artwork for your business and website. You can view her watercolor portfolio at: http://pixycolors.com/gallery.aspx And her learning site for Microsoft Silverlight at: http://www.silverlightmadam.com/ Her business and online bio is located at: http://www.mainelysites.com 98

“The movies were custard compared to politics.” ~ Nancy Reagan

Steamed Pumpkin Custard 5 eggs (2 of them duck eggs if possible) 1 cup coconut cream 1 cup chopped palm sugar or dark brown sugar 1 small pumpkin, about 8 in in diameter, or 2 acorn squashs

Kevin White Head of Marketing, ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCIty, inc., U.S.A. A visually intriguing dessert where a rich coconut-milk custard is steamed inside a small pumpkin or acorn squash.

Beat the eggs with coconut cream and sugar until the mixture is frothy. Cut the top off the pumpkin or acorn squashes and carefully scoop out the seeds and any fibers. Pour in the coconut cream mixture, cover with the top of the pumpkin or squashes and place in a steamer. Cover the steamer and place over boiling water. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the mixture has set. Leave to cool (preferably refrigerate) and cut in thick slices to serve.

Note: Duck eggs add richness and a firmer texture to the custard. If using palm sugar, strain the custard through a sieve before pouring into the pumpkin to remove any impurities. Are you looking for something a bit different? Perhaps you want to prepare a great looking dessert for a special occasion? Well you have got to try this tasty treat. It is truly a visually intriguing dessert where rich coconut-milk custard is steamed inside a small pumpkin or acorn squash. Not only does it taste delicious, but you can also really command attention with a great presentation!

“Why do people order a piece of turtle cheesecake along with a diet Coke?” ~ Funny Cat quotes

Turtle Cheesecake Crust 6 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 package (½ box) graham crackers 1 Tbsp sugar

Daniel Lawrence

Lead Technical Consultant Perficient, Inc. As food is concerned, I’m lazy. General Tso’s sauce from a bottle? Sure. Frozen Tollhouse cookies? You betcha. But some things just can’t be faked. Cheesecake is one of those things that isn’t the same without the perfect texture, and you can only get it one way.

Filling Five 8 oz packages cream cheese ¼ tsp salt 1 ½ cups sugar ¼ cup sour cream 3 tsp lemon juice 3 tsp vanilla extract 8 large eggs Topping ½ cup finely chopped pecans Hershey’s Syrup Caramel Ice-Cream topping

100

(typically 9)

“I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert.” ~Jason Love

Turtle Cheesecake (cont.) Crust Preheat the oven to 325°. Pre-cut parchment paper to line the sides of a springform. Melt the butter, and brush the sides and bottom of a 9 inch springform. Line the sides of the springform while the butter is still warm (or it won’t stick). Crumble the graham crackers into a food processor, and blend until fine. Mix the crumbs, remaining butter, and sugar. Press into the bottom of the springform and bake for 13 minutes. Allow to cool. Filling Turn oven up to 475°. Beat cream cheese, salt, and sugar until the cream cheese is soft and the sugar evenly distributed (this is key). Use a scraper blade in a stand mixer, scrape by hand, or prepare for a sore arm. (Really, I’ve done it by hand once… ONCE, and I bought a kitchen-aid; lazy, remember?) Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla on low speed. Add 6 eggs, one at a time. Separate the last two eggs, and add the two yolks. Make sure it’s completely blended – again, this is very important. Pour the filling onto the crust (it’ll be very full), and bake on the lower-middle rack. After 12 minutes at 475°, turn the oven down to 200 – don’t open the door, just drop the temperature. Continue to cook for 90 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool for at least 3 hours before refrigerating overnight (use plastic wrap to keep it from picking up any odors). Serving Remove from springform and cut with a salmon knife (or long bread knife); this is easiest if you freeze it first. If you don’t want to freeze it, let it warm to room temperature before cutting. After cutting, top with finely chopped pecans, Hershey’s Syrup, and caramel ice-cream sauce (otherwise, the pecans make cutting a nightmare).

“A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking” ~ Helen Rice

Ma Duffy’s Chocolate No Bake Coconut Cookies

Jim Duffy

Microsoft Regional Developer and MVP This is one of my all-time favorite cookies. My mom used to make them for us. She’s with God now and these cookies are a wonderful reminder of her. I think it was her secret ingredient that made them so good.

½ cup shortening ½ cup milk 2 cups granulated sugar 3 cups oatmeal 1 cup coconut (mmmmm coconut is yummy!) 6 Tbsp cocoa 1 tsp vanilla 6 tsp of Mom’s love (her secret ingredient, 1 tsp for each of her children. I’m number 5!)

Bring to boil shortening, milk, and sugar. Remove from heat and then add other ingredients. Cool slightly and drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper.

Jim Duffy Microsoft Regional Developer and MVP Jim is the CEO/Principal of TakeNote Technologies. TakeNote is a Raleigh, NC based training, consulting, and software development firm specializing in helping clients design, develop and deploy business solutions with Microsoft enterprise technologies including ASP. NET MVC ( HTML5/CSS3/jQuery), Silverlight , SQL Server and Windows Phone. 102

“A scone and tea at half past three, makes the day a little brighter.” ~ Victor, Still Game

Breakfast Scones with Berries & Walnuts 2 cups flour 1 /4 cup sugar (optional or adjust to your liking) 2 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 4 Tbsp chilled butter cut into pats 2 eggs 1 /3 cup heavy cream Julie Lerman

Microsoft MVP, Author We love scones and it’s fun to make them from scratch, then add in whatever goodies we have in the house — fresh berries, nuts or maple syrup. My choice of add-ins usually turns them into a mess, but a delicious mess so it’s all good!

Add-In Suggestions: Messy: 1 cup blueberries and ½ cup almonds Sticky: ¼ c Vermont Maple Syrup (exclude the 1/3 cup sugar) and ½ cup walnuts

Safer: Dried cranberries and walnuts Heat the oven to 450°F. Mix dry ingredients. Add in butter and mix in using a pastry blender or two butter knives until its crumbly. Add in eggs, one at a time and mix. Mix in cream. Knead the dough with your hands until dry ingredients are thoroughly absorbed (but for no longer). Break the dough up into small bits which will make it easier to mix in the add-ins. Add in the add-ins and knead again. Spoon blobs of dough onto a baking sheet. Alternate: Flatten or even roll the dough (not advised for messy add-ins) and cut into 8 triangles then place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

“I owe it all to little chocolate donuts.” ~ John Belushi

Sam’s Chocolate Cake

David Lyman

Publisher SD Times I made this cake for my son’s birthday with some slight modifications from the original recipe (Beatty’s Chocolate Cake) and it was simply the best chocolate cake ever. Just the right amount of moistness and the frosting has more butter flavor than most for those of us that don’t like too much confectioner’s sugar.

Butter, for greasing the pans 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, plus more for pans 2 cups sugar ¾ cup of the best cocoa powder you can find 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt 1 cup buttermilk, shaken ½ cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack and cool completely. Place 1 layer, flat side up and with a knife or spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

104

Sam’s Chocolate Cake (cont.)

Chocolate Frosting:

6 oz good semisweet chocolate (I used 60% Callebaut) ½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip. Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

David Lyman Publisher SDTimes My name is David Lyman. As the publisher of SD Times, I spend my days spreading the word about SD Times, and helping Software companies market their products. Sailing and skiing are the seasonal hobbies for me in New England. 105

“Is there any problem that a bottle of wine and peanut butter can’t solve?” ~ Unknown quotes

Peanut Butter Pie Dr. Michelle Smith

Managing Director NimblePros LLC

This is an easy, delicious dessert – the perfect ending to a family celebration or a romantic dinner. A little grated chocolate on top, and it becomes an indulgent luxury.

4 oz cream cheese (softened) 1 cup powdered sugar ½ cup creamy peanut butter ½ cup milk 8 oz heavy whipping cream 9 inch Oreo pie crust Hershey’s bar (optional) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whip the heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer on medium until it forms soft peaks. Then refrigerate while you mix the other ingredients. (You can substitute an 8 oz container of whipped topping instead of the heavy cream. I also recommend whipping the cream in a metal mixing bowl – it helps to keep the consistency better in the refrigerator.) In a separate mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until it is soft and fluffy. Next, add the peanut butter and powdered sugar to the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Slowly whip in the milk. Now fold in the refrigerated whipped cream (or whipped topping). Do this carefully to maintain the fluffy consistency. Pour the mix into the pie shell, cover and freeze until firm. Prior to serving, you may grate the Hershey bar over the top of the pie. A room temperature bar will give you nice curls of chocolate, but a frozen bar will give you an elegant dusting.

Dr. Michelle Smith Managing Director NimblePros LLC

Michelle Smith is the former CEO of Lake Quincy Media and Managing Director of NimblePros. When not focusing on software quality, Michelle is a practicing veterinarian, Master Gardener, Girl Scout leader, and calendar keeper for her children. Occasionally, she finds time to cook too. 106

107

BZ Media is... Software Development!

www.sdtimes.com

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Happening and What It Means!

Monthly Analysis

SharePoint!

Mobile Development!

www.SPTechCon.com

www.AnDevCon.com

www.BZMedia.com

Big Data!

www.BigDataTechCon.com

109

“Why don’t we get you out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini.” ~ Charles Butterworth in the 1937 movie, “Every Day’s a Holiday.”

The Extra Dry Martini 3 oz Gin (Bombay Sapphire or your favorite) 1 drop Dry Vermouth Chill a martini glass. Place an olive or lemon twist in the glass. Shake up the gin and vermouth and pour. Admire it’s clear shining beauty, and toast the night. Ted Bahr President BZ Media

Ah, the martini, where shall we start? First of all, a martini is made with gin. A martini made with vodka is called a “vodka martini.” Real martinis are “shaken, not stirred,” hopefully with enough aggression to send forth tiny ice crystals into the perfect drink. The “dry” refers to an inverse relationship between the amount of vermouth versus gin in the martini. Less vermouth is more dry.

Martini’s in the 1920’s had more vermouth - a standard martini might be 4 parts gin to 1 part vermouth but tastes have changed over time and certainly one could guess that the quality of the bathtub gin being made during Prohibition (1919-1933) needed to be heavily masked. In any case, today the Dry Martini carries a ratio of about 8-1, and the Extra Dry Martini, 16-1. For many extra dry martini drinkers that amount of vermouth still overpowers the gin and so, we have developed Our Ways. The simplest is to take a tiny bit of vermouth, swirl it around in the shaker and pour it out. The vermouth coating on the inside of the shaker is surely enough. Others have perfume-like atomizers specially made for the bar, where one tiny sprits is ENOUGH. The one drop of vermouth - however secured - changes the chemistry of the gin, resulting in a shimmering, silvery taste of crystalline perfection. That old lady gin taken back to the days of her tender youth and fulsome beauty. Truly a wondrous thing.

110

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Form follows functionâ&#x20AC;?

The Manhattan This dark amber beauty is like the rich warm panelling of an old time lounge, perhaps the Redwood Room in the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, or at the Blue Bar the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. It has that comforting feel of a winter drink, with the warming heads-up of the base Bourbon or Rye properly dressed and balanced by sweet vermouth and garnished about the nape with a hint of perfume from the fragrant bitters. It goes down smooth and wakes you up quick.

2 oz Bourbon or Rye 1 oz Sweet Vermouth a few dashes Angostura Bitters Pour the ingredients into a pint glass with ice. Gently stir the mixture so as not to bruise the bourbon (Manhattans are never shaken). Strain into a martini glass, or over the rocks with a maraschino cherry for garnish.

“To alcohol! The cause of - and solution - to all of life’s problems.” ~ Homer Simpson

Blueberry Mojito 1 oz Simple syrup (See instructions) 2 - 3 oz Rum, the more the merrier, if you know what I mean ;-). About 5 - 7 mint leaves 5 - 8 Blueberries 2 - 3 lime wedges 2 oz of club Soda Ice Shervin Shakibi Chief Software Architect at comptuerways.com Why a blueberry mojito? When I was younger, being the alpha male that I was, scotch was the drink of choice for me. Sometimes I would have a few beers WHILE I was drinking scotch. I always drank Scotch and hung around people who only drank scotch. Those days, I would have punched any guy (ladies got a pass) in the mouth if they ordered what “I” considered a foofoo drink. But now that I’m older and I have matured somewhat, my attitude towards drinking has changed quite a bit. Nowadays, occasionally, I do enjoy a refreshing cocktail, and nothing is better poolside than a GrapeCity blueberry mojito.

Tools

Muddler Tall Glass (Pint Glass works great) Martini Shaker. To make simple syrup just bring equal parts of sugar and water to a boil. I always have some in my fridge. Add the simple syrup and mint to the glass and muddle it a bit, then add the blueberries and muddle the hell out of it until the mixture turns into a beautiful GrapeCity Purple color, squeeze the lime, muddle it a little more, pour it into the martini shaker over half a glass of ice. Next pour the rum in the glass. Twirl it to make sure you get all that goodness, then pour it in the shaker and Shake it. Pour it back in the glass over the remaining ice and then pour in the soda, stir and enjoy!

“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” ~ Humphrey Bogart

Orange JuLUSHes 1 can 5-Alive frozen drink mix 1 orange sherbet push pop Ice Whipped Cream Everclear Daniel Lawrence Lead Technical Consultant - Perficient, Inc. “Back in the day” (i.e. before kids), these used to be a staple summer drink. These days, we still make them, but they’re missing a key ingredient.

Put the can of 5-Alive, the orange push pop, and equal parts ice and whipped cream into a blender, blend, and top with 1/4 inch of everclear. Resist the urge to use more than 1/4 inch. Blend again and serve.

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” ~Ernest Hemingway

Muay Thai 2 thin jalapeno slices 2 basil sprigs 2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin

¾ oz fresh lime juice ½ oz cream of coconut ½ oz ginger syrup• Kevin White Head of Marketing, ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCIty, inc., U.S.A. If you’re anything like me, I’m usually interested in something that will give me a bit of a kick. This cocktail’s name comes from the Thai Kickboxing sport that is popular in Thailand and is catching on here in America and around the world. This drink not only gives you a real kick as you might imagine with its spicy ingredients featuring ground jalapeno slices, but it will definitely also kick you right in the head if you decide to a down few too many. Don’t let the sweet taste fool you…You’ll be kicking yourself in the morning.

Muddle 1 japapeno slice and 1 basil sprig in a mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients, fill with ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with the remaining jalapeno slice and basil sprig. * Add ¼ cup chopped ginger to ½ quart of water and boil. Add 2 cups of sugar and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and refrigerate.

Index by Author Bahr, Ted - In-Law Chicken........................................................................................82 Bahr, Ted - The Extra Dry Martini ............................................................................110 Bahr, Ted - The Manhattan ......................................................................................111 Basu, Samidip - Chicken Rezala................................................................................76 Benkovich, Mike - Friday Pizza Night.........................................................................62 Brothers, Gary - Cape Cod Fresh Swordfish ..............................................................87 Bustamante, Michele Leroux - Michele’s Vanity Diet Plan .........................................83 Chatterjee, Supriyo “SB” - Bollywood Chili ................................................................32 Crump, Michael - Southern Fried Green Tomatoes .....................................................41 Dierking, Howard - Lasagna ......................................................................................89 Dierking, Howard - Cowboy “Caviar” .........................................................................18 Dierking, Howard - Egg Casserole .............................................................................40 Duclos, Ryan - Crawfish and Corn Bisque (Quick and Easy) .......................................23 Duclos, Ryan - Chicken Rotel ....................................................................................90 Duclos, Ryan - Chicken Fajitas ..................................................................................73 Duclos, Ryan - Corn on the Cobb ..............................................................................39 Duffy, Jim - Ma Duffy’s Chocolate No Bake Coconut Cookies ...................................102 Dunn, Mark - Behold the Power of Cheese - The Perfect Pimento Cheese...................10 Esposito, Dino - Light-fried Anchovy Fillets ................................................................14 Foley, Mary Jo - Whole Grain Beer Bread ...................................................................43 Franklin, Carl - Zero-Carb Pizza ................................................................................66 Funkhouser, Alex - Funky Eggplant Lasagna ..............................................................58 Fustino, Russ - Little Hot Dogs..................................................................................11 Fustino, Russ - Special Potatoes ...............................................................................44 Fustino, Russ - Russ’ Pot of Sauce............................................................................56 Giard, David - Spicy Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry..............................................................77 Giard, David - Fried Rice ...........................................................................................38 Giard, David - Pot Roast............................................................................................68 Guido, Michele - Dulce de Leche cheesecake .............................................................96 Guthrie, Scott - Macaroni and Cheese .......................................................................36 Harris, Jay - Buffalo Chicken Dip ..............................................................................12 Huckaby, Tim - Huck-Carnitas...................................................................................48 Kinsman, Chris - Dragon Turds (stuffed jalapenos) ....................................................15 Lawrence, Daniel - Turtle Soup .................................................................................24 Lawrence, Daniel - Turtle Cheesecake .....................................................................100 Lawrence, Daniel - Cheater Thai Noodles ..................................................................54 Lawrence, Daniel - Orange JuLUSHes ......................................................................113 Lerman, Julie - Breakfast Scones with Berries & Walnuts ........................................103 Lerman, Julie - Baked Haddock with Tomatoes and Mushrooms ................................75 Lyman, David - Sam’s Chocolate Cake ....................................................................104 Marsman, Jennifer - Working Parent’s Shepherd’s Pie ...............................................61 Marsman, Jennifer - Homemade Pizza ......................................................................60 MolnarNik - Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas .............................................................78

115

Index by Author

(cont.)

Noderer, Dave - Beef Brisket (Pressure Cooker)........................................................ 80 Onion, Fritz - Caesar Salad Dressing .........................................................................22 Papa, John - Healthy Mushroom Swiss Burger ..........................................................88 Pettaway, Keidrick-Applewood Smoked Turkey Breast Tenderloin and sauteed veggies ............................51 Polyakov, Nikita - Russian Borsch .............................................................................30 Reese, Rachel - Healthy Pancakes .............................................................................74 Reese, Rachel - Espresso Steak Rubb ........................................................................69 Rump, Richie - Lucy’s Cuban Style Black Beans and Rice ..........................................64 Shakibi, Shervin - Blueberry Mojito .........................................................................112 Shakibi, Shervin - Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo .........................................................28 Sheriff, Paul -The Sheriffs Meat Loaf .........................................................................55 Sheriff, Paul - Paul and Rhonda Sheriff’s Burger Baked Beans ...................................37 Smith, Carolyn - Maine Code Camp Blueberry Cake ..................................................98 Smith,Michelle - Parmesan Artichoke Dip, a.k.a. “Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa” ....................13 Smith, Michelle - Peanut Butter Pie ........................................................................106 Smith, Steve - Grilled Ginger Asparagus ....................................................................42 Sonmez, John - Popeye’s Quick Breakfast .................................................................79 Stipic, Slobodan - Crepes - Natural and Healthy ........................................................95 Vacca, Jim - Shrimp Wonton’s ..................................................................................16 White, Kevin - Yam Neua Yang ...................................................................................26 White, Kevin -Steamed Pumpkin Custard ..................................................................99 White, Kevin - Muay Thai.........................................................................................114 Wildermuth, Shawn - Shawn’s Simple Mushroom Alfredo .........................................70 Williamson, Donald - Perfect Prime Rib .....................................................................86 Williamson, Rick - Rick’s Developer Roadmap to Vegas Buffets ....................................6 Wolf, Beth York - Chicken and Tomato Florentine Soup ..............................................27 Wolf, Kevin - Kevin’s Philly Delight ............................................................................50 Woodruff, Chris - Woodruff Holiday Morning French Toast .........................................94 Wulfers, Lance - Quick and Easy General Tsao’s Chicken ..........................................72 Yack, Julie - Brady Bunch Dinner, aka Pork Chops and Apple Sauce...........................52 Zander, Jason - Chicken Marsala...............................................................................63

116

117

$19.95 USD

Second Edition

.NET Gurus Can Cook!

You’ve heard them speak at the major industry events. You’ve read their articles in the top industry publications. You’ve searched their sites and perused their magazines for programming tips. You’ve met them at .NET User’s Groups and they’ve helped answer your toughest questions online.

"Life is too short for cheap margaritas." - Tim Huckaby “With recipes from rockstars like these, no garbage collection needed!” – Mary Jo Foley "Grilled lamb with an attitude" – Carl Franklin "Hope you enjoy the recipes I loved as a kid and still enjoy these days." -– Chris Woodruff “Nobody will ever blame you for mixing spaghetti and code.” – Dino Esposito "Hope you enjoy my mouth watering and healthy recipes as much as my family does!" – John Papa “Developers don’t just code, some can cook up an amazing meal!” – Doug Barney "Hope you enjoy my recipes - bonus points (and calories) if you can serve all 5 in one day!" – Steve Smith “My best product yet! Some products include an easter egg. My product “is” the easter egg.” – Phil Haack "I feel my blood sugar rising just reading the back cover of this book!" – Scott Hanselman “I never met a puff pastry I didn’t like ☺” – Michele Leroux Bustamante

Printed in U.S.A.

Visit us at: www.componentone.com