101 Cooking For Two

Everyday Recipes for Two (with lots of leftovers)

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Holiday Giveaway 2016

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CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED.

Congratulations to the grand prize winner CH from Florida and second place winner KK from New Jersey.

Thanks to everybody for entering and Happy Holidays to all.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Time for a holiday giveaway. This year’s grand prize again sponsored by the fine folks at Thermoworks.

Time for a holiday giveaway. This year’s grand prize again sponsored by the fine folks at Thermoworks.

The grand prize is a Thermapen Mk4. The Thermapen is my one “MUST HAVE” cooking tool. This is as good as it gets folks. This one tool will make you, or a loved one a better cook immediately. While the original Thermopen is a fine instrument, the newer Mk4 has a backlight and the display rotates, making great even greater.

Thermopen

Second prize, sponsored by me, is the new Alton Brown cookbook Alton Brown: EveryDayCook from Amazon. I love me some Alton and you should too. A great holiday gift.
Alton Brown: EveryDayCook

I have provided an affiliate link where appropriate on this page. Affiliate links meaning I do make a small amount from your purchases to help support this blog. Your price is not affected by this commission.

Affiliate link to Amazon Alton Brown: EveryDayCook

Now a heads up. Almost nobody enters my contests. I have no idea why but that’s good for you. So you have an excellent chance to win this fine cooking tool or excellent cookbook.

HOLIDAY GIVING SUGGESTIONS

Here are a couple of holiday gift ideas. For more of my recommendations, please check The Shop.

Give a Themapen Mk4

While you are dreaming of winning one of these fine tools, why not give one away for the holiday. And maybe pick one for yourself while you’re at it in case you don’t win.

I have used a Thermapen for five years. Before that, I used the generic el cheapos. Now I can give you the “it’s so fast” discussion. It is. I can give you the “it’s so accurate” discussion. It is but does 1 degree really matter. I could tell you that it is always the pick at Cooks Illustrated. It is.

But it is “cheap” long term. First, I will argue that you must use a thermometer. It is a must or you over cook or under cook or even ruin many meals. Ruined meals add up fast. It is also a must if you want to get out of the minor leagues of cooking.

But also if you cook much, you will go through 2-3 of the $15 thermometers a year. They keep breaking or dying. My original Thermapen lives at my son’s house now, I used it for over four years and finally replace the battery (for the first time) and gave it to him. I expect another ten years on that thing. I moved up to the Mk4. So just in replacement costs along, it is a bargain.
Thermapen Mk4

 

The new Thermoworks Smoke

Do you have one of those guys that’s impossible to find something for? He won’t tell you what he wants? Does he love toys? This is a wonderful toy that he doesn’t even know he wants but will love (the best type of present…).

Guaranteed to bring a smile to that grill master’s face. Designed for competition BBQ teams and professional chefs,  Two channels to monitor surface temperature and the meat at the same time. And see that remote receiver, now that is a toy any guy would love. All for about $100. That sounds like something I would want.
Thermoworks Smoke

 

enter to win

How to Enter / The Rules

  1. There are two prizes. First prize is a Thermapen Mk4 and second prize is the new Alton Brown book EveryDayCook.
  2. First, go to Thermoworks and sign up for their email list. (That also gives you another chance to win a Thermopen from them.)
  3. Second, to win here, you must leave a comment below with holiday greeting to everybody. Now that is easy.
  4. Don’t forget to enter an email address in the comment form so I can reach you. Do not leave an email address in the body of your comment, but PLEASE be sure to enter contact information in the comment form.  If I can’t reach you, you can’t win, and I will consider the entry invalid.
  5. If you comment violates my comment policy, it will be deleted, and your entry will be invalid. Your email will not be used for anything else. If you want to be on my mail list please signup in the sidebar.
  6. The timing of the contest: starts immediately and ends Monday, December 12, 2016, at 8 AM Eastern time.
  7. USA shipping address only.
  8. Only one entry per person or email address or household.
  9. Shipping will be directly from ThermoWorks. You can request a color but not guaranteed. The second prize will be shipped from Amazon.com.
  10. I will be the final judge regarding any discrepancies, interpretations, grievances, etc. about this drawing.
  11. Your entry number is your position in the comment list of valid entries. My replies do not count. If you reply to another entry, it does not count as an entry. It is wonderful to have a discussion but to enter, you need a comment, not a reply to a comment.
  12. I will pick a random number and multiple backups at random.org. I will notify the winner via provided email, and you will have until  8 pm Eastern time on December 13, 2016, to respond. If no response, the winner is void and the first backup will be notified and have another 36 hours to respond. And so it will go until I get a response. One year it got to #4. Please respond.
  13. After the Thermopen winner is set, then I will award the second price to the next number in line using the same technique.
dogs in snow

Dogs in first snow

Last Updated
December 12, 2016

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Comments

  2. Merry Holidays to you, your family and your beautiful dogs. I so enjoy your posts and have tried many of your recipes. They are good, fairly healthy, and I appreciate that they are for two mostly. Now I am off to make the holiday fudge wreath, the five minute fudge, for my bridge group.

    Reply

  3. Happy Holidays to All,
    This is a contest I would like to win! The Thermopen could end the ongoing “is it done” debate in this house. YEA! And Alton Brown cookbook! He’s a fav here and has taught this whole family over the years. Thanks for the chance to win.
    Give those furbabies an extra holiday hug from us. It’s fun watching them grow up :)
    Ps- the hubby and I really enjoy your recipes;)

    Reply

  7. Merry Christmas to you and your family (of course the dogs are included)! Enjoying your emails and your Facebook posts very much. Please keep it up. ?

    Reply

  8. Happy holidays to you and your family. In our lifestyle as fulltime RVers, we use your recipes on a weekly basis. Thanks!

    Reply

  10. May everyone have a joyful holiday season, and may 2017 be a great year for you and all your followers.
    I enjoy the updates and the puppy pictures. They always make me smile!

    Reply

  11. Wishing everyone peace, love and joy this holiday season.
    Your recipes are great. The crockpot french onion soup was phenomenal!

    Reply

  13. “Merry Cooking to All, and to All a Good Casserole.”
    Merry Christmas, y’all! This site has made me a semi-pro chef to my family. Before finding this site I was queen of the box dinner. I can say with confidence today that I am looking forward to showing off my skills at Christmas. I enjoy cooking a whole lot more.

    Reply

  17. Merry Christmas to all! Your blog is one of my “go-to’s” and always recommended, especially to those new to cooking. I just stopped by today to review your “How to Cook Sausage In the Oven” recipe. I appreciate the simplicity and solid technique of your recipes. Have a beautiful holiday!

    Reply

  18. Happy Holidays to you and your family, Dr. Dan. I appreciate your ideas on cooking for two. Many recipes elsewhere are hard to scale back to two.

    Reply

  21. Dr Dan, I love your blog, recipes and pictures of your precious dogs. I always look forward to you see what you are cooking up and your tips. Hope you and your family have a great holiday!

    Reply

  23. Merry Christmas to one and all! This is one of the few emails that I look forward to getting. And, I can’t wait to do the beef barley soup. It’s been on my mind since I read the recipe. The beef is thawing now….

    Reply

  24. A very Merry Christmas to all! Enjoy the bountiful holidays…

    *******Eliminated – duplicate apparently by error. DrDan*********

    Reply

  25. I love that chicken spaghetti recipe! Thank you for your great recipes.
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!

    Reply

  29. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all! I love your dog pictures, your recipes have made me a great cook (my family’s opinion) and have saved us money (we don’t go out to eat as often). Thank you so much! Leslie

    Reply

  31. Merry Christmas Can’t enter becauseI’m Canadian. Imagine there being a downside to being Canadian,lol. One reader will be very happy, great grand prize. Love your blog, A Canuck

    Reply

    • Yep, I’m afraid you are probably used to it. Several years ago Thermoworks could ship from a Canadian warehouse, but they can’t do that now. So you have all that legal import/export stuff. But rest assured we in Michigan feel for all of Canada.

      Have a great holiday
      Dan

  39. Already left a merry Christmas message, so this doesn’t count. I was wondering when you are posting your Christmas menu?

    Reply

    • Nothing very special this year. We are home and only 3 people. I suspect fillet, some cheesy potato casserole and probably a chocolate chip cheesecake. Add some almond garlic green beans and we are probably done. But I need to make more of the chocolate peanut clusters for presents so they will be around also along with other snacks. Add a nice wine and I will be very happy and not work very hard.

  41. Merry Christmas to all!
    Thank for your time and your help. My husband and I both love and use your tips, recipes, and advice!

    Reply

  42. Happy Holidays to everyone! I’ve only been a reader for about a year now, but the recipes here have helped me to step out of my comfort zone and become a more experienced cook. So I am very grateful for what this site has helped me become! Keep doing what you are doing Dr. Dan!

    Reply

  43. Holiday greetings from Maine! Here’s wishing a very happy holiday season to all, and best wishes for an even better new year.

    This seems like the perfect chance to say thanks, Dr. Dan, for all your kitchen wisdom and for sharing the photos of your beautiful dogs. I often get inspiration from your recipes and tips, but even if you’re featuring a recipe I’m not interested in, I still click through from the email just to see what the pooches are up to. :-)

    Reply

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