I don’t know about you, but I love eating out at restaurants. The problem is that my budget doesn’t always support it since even a simple meal out at a restaurant can cost an arm and a leg. The good news is that rather than having to miss out on your favorite meals because you are on a limited budget you can use a “copycat recipe” to make your favorite restaurant dishes at home.

These recipes are reverse engineered to make a dish that tastes just like that one you have at the restaurant. The difference is that instead of having to pay the huge price tag for a restaurant meal, you just pick up the ingredients at the grocery store and make it yourself for a fraction of the cost. Not only that, but by making it yourself you get leftovers, too, which is always a good thing!

As an example, here’s a copycat recipe that I have for Applebee’s Cheese Chicken Tortilla Soup.

2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

1 cup chopped yellow onion

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 Cups chicken stock

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

1 can tomato puree (15 oz.)

1 Tbsp. finely minced jalapeño pepper (optional)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. hot sauce (optional)

1 tsp. chili powder (optional)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 Tbsp. flour

1/2 Cup water

1 lb. cooked chicken, cubed or pulled

1 Cup cream

1/4 Cup non-fat sour cream

8 oz. processed cheese, 1-inch cubes

10 (6-inch) colored or yellow corn tortillas, 1/4-inch strips, fried

Roughly chopped Fresh cilantro (optional)

Sauté oil, garlic and onions in large pan until soft. Add the vegetable oil, chicken stock, green pepper, tomato puree, jalapeño pepper, salt, pepper, sugar, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring to low boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Cut tortillas into 1/4-inch strips and fry in oil or spray with oil and bake at 400ºF (while soup is cooking). Sprinkle with salt if desired. Thoroughly mix flour and water, then whisk into soup. Bring to a low boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream and cheese (to taste). The soup should be served at 165ºF. After serving soup, pile tortilla strips into a “haystack” shape on top of the soup. Optional: garnish with freshly chopped cilantro. Makes 6-8 servings

This recipe is delicious and is really great for cold winter nights since soup is always a warm, filling meal. One of the great things about this recipe is that it makes enough to feed an entire family and is pretty cheap to make. Even if you just have one or two people to feed the leftovers can be easily stored and feed you for a few days. It’s a great way to get restaurant-style soup on an eat at home budget.

I make the omelettes at our house. The other day it was my wife’s birthday so I made her a cheese omelette. I did one thing different. I was watching a television show featuring an old diner that has been making omelettes the same way for many years. To make the omelette fluffy the cook mixed it on a regular drug-store-type malt mixer. I decided to give it a try and mixed our omelettes on our kitchen high-speed mixer.

How fluffy the omelette turned out depended somewhat on how much milk you added. The main thing is to get a lot of air into the mixture before you place it in the frying pan.

You can put about anything into an omelette. My wife is a purist and wants only cheese. But you can add leaks, bacon, ham, sausage, paprika, potatoes, shrimp or what have you. I have my preference. It is crabmeat.

I learned about crabmeat omelettes in York, Pennsylvania. We use to go down to the Roosevelt Tavern just to get a crabmeat omelette. Making a crabmeat omelette in Idaho is not like buying one at the Roosevelt Tavern in York, but it’s better than not having a crabmeat omelette.

A good site for omelettes is http://frenchfood.about.com/od/omelettes/ There you will find a wide variety to put you in “Omelette Heaven.” One that interested me is an egg recipe from France for Omelette Lyonnaise, an omelette made with caramelized onions and sprinkled with vinegar. I don’t know if that sounds good or not. I guess the only way to find out is to try it.

An omelette that would interest my English friends would be a recipe from France for an open faced omelette with smoked salmon.

Know that the English know little about cooking eggs. I had to teach the cook in my hotel in the Midlands how to make a cheese omelette. He put it on his menu and thereafter when you walked into his restaurant at breakfast time you would see that all the Americans and many Englishmen had settled on the cheese omelette.

That’s one thing I did for England.

What does a cow, a sheep, and a buffalo have in common? A pie!

If you have always been partial to white pizzas like myself, then you will agree that the perfect combination of the different cheeses melting on the pie can definitely make any tomato sauce devotee a believer in the power of the white sauce. The interesting thing about white pizzas however, is not the pie itself, but the union of the cheeses – usually an impressive trio of Due Latte, Fontina, and Buffala Mozzarella.

Pizza has become a staple in every home. It is one of America’s favorite dinners and has already saved thousands of people’s dinner problems. With such fast paced lives, being able to order pizza on the way home or while waiting for your kids to come home from school is the next best thing to water heaters.

Ask any chef, and you will get the same answer – the not-so-secret ingredient that makes pizza a pizza is the cheese.

Have you ever asked yourself how your favorite pizza would taste like if there was no cheese? Perhaps something close to tomato sauce on flatbread, yes?

Choosing the right cheese for your pizza is as important as making sure that the oven is heated at the right temperature. So in order for you to have only the best tasting pizza possible, make sure that you use only the best cheeses for your pizza.

Fontina (cow’s milk cheese)

Fontina cheese is a kind of Italian cheese that can both have semisoft and firm texture, depending on where it was made and how long it was aged. Its flavor can also vary, from mild and creamy flavors to intense and pungent ones. Fontina cheese is very popular in several Italian dishes.

All Fontina cheeses must be made from cow’s milk. The milk has to be raw, and be as fresh as possible. And because it melts extremely well without ruining its toothsome taste, it is a must in every pizza.

Due Latte or Robiola (sheep’s milk cheese)

Robiola Due Latte comes from the south of Alba in Northern Italy. Although Due Latte cheese are made today using a fine blend of cow’s and sheep’s milk, traditionally Due Latte cheese is made from unpasteurized sheep milk. Due Latte cheese is neither salty nor intense. It is creamy and mild, complimenting the incredible milky tone set by the other cheeses.

Buffala Mozzarella (buffalo’s milk cheese)

Buffala Mozzarella cheese will fill that intended spot of mozzarella in every pizza, while adding a more milky taste that cow’s milk mozzarella cheese sometimes lacks. Yes ordinary mozzarella cheese is creamy, but the buffalo mozzarella is higher in moisture. It is richer and is sweeter than cow mozzarella too!

The Robiola Due Latte, Fontina, and Buffala Mozzarella are the three best cheeses to use in your pizza. Perhaps they are all melt well, or perhaps they have varying fat content that creates a perfect balance. Either way, the combination of these three cheeses on a pizza is just plain heaven.

Scientists have identified more than 2,000 compounds that make up tastes and
smells. A whopping 400 of them – 20% – are found in coffee. That's why coffee is so
interesting to the palate. It's complex!

Gas spectrographs – devices that measure flavor profiles – have identified an
unmatched range of flavors in coffee, from Darjeeling tea, chocolate, vanilla and
violets to truffles, soup and cheese!

You may be surprised to learn that such a powerful flavor as coffee could be
described as "delicate." But that's the case with properly roasted Arabica bean
coffees.

Two beans, or not two beans

Coffee beans come in two varieties, hardy Robustas and lighter Arabicas. Arabica
beans are harder to grow, and hence more expensive to buy, but they yield less
acidic, more aromatic beverages. And they have almost half the caffeine and
stomach-upsetting oils of Robustas.

Different coffee beans want to be roasted differently. Delicate Arabica beans
may be used to produce an extremely dark, almost burnt French roast, but
the longer roasting period destroys the delicate compounds that give the beans
their intricate flavor notes of flowers, fruit and honey.

In the end, coffee is certainly demonstrating its chemistry with consumers. The
world's leading coffee retailer reports that 35 million customers plunked down US
$ 6.4 billion in the fiscal year ending October 2, 2005. If you're in the restaurant
business, those are numbers that are sure to quicken your pulse.

I have yet to meet a novice trader who doesn’t claim support and resistance (SAR) as one of the skills they employ a in their trading endeavors. Of course, the silence is usually deafening when I asked, “When price reaches support or resistance what do you do?” In general, most people wait to see which direction the price is going to move and wait for confirmation of the move. I shouldn’t have to mention that in e-mini scalping waiting for 8-10 ticks is getting a pretty late start on a trade, especially one that is only going 15 ticks. Doesn’t that always seem to happen?

First and foremost, it’s important to use proper technique when drawing your SAR lines. Personally, I generally chart swing points for each directional move and you can generally spot, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, where support and resistance are to be placed. One of my first mentors was even more succinct in saying “the market generally stops at the same points on the market index continuum” It may not always stop in the same place each day, but there will be areas where the resistance will not allow any upward movement and where strong support will not allow any downward movement.

Yes, it is one thing to know where SAR exists and quite another to understand how to effectively trade it. One fact that may help you understand futures SAR is to realize that the e-minis are a zero-sum game. For every winner there is a loser; that’s pretty simple.

There ought to be a way to determine whether or not price action is going to pierce a line of resistance or bounce off that line. Have you ever taken time to observe your volume indicator in and around these SAR lines? Volume and SAR are like ham and cheese in that they complement each other perfectly. Of course I may be a bit prejudiced because I am very fond of ham and cheese sandwiches and for my money you ought to be too. Okay, it doesn’t really matter if you like ham and cheese but I think you get the point. There is a strong relationship between volume and SAR.

In general, you can trade these lines as follows:

· When volume is substantially higher at an area of resistance the price will generally bounce off the line. Why does the volume increase in this situation? Quite simply, people are exiting their long trades and other traders are entering short trades; the net effect is higher volume since both the bid and ask are being worked pretty hard. Substantially higher volume generally indicates a bounce

· That being said, the exact opposite is true if price is going to continue through resistance. The volume stays low since most people are staying on one side of the contract. In short, there is no crossover buying or selling. Low volume generally indicates a continuation through SAR as there are very few sell orders at the point of resistance.

There you have it! When in doubt, look at your volume settings and you’ll have a good idea how to trade support and resistance.

I usually make a breakfast frittata with Sausages, Bacon & Thyme. Living in the Caribbean it is not always easy to get everything you want, especially fresh ingredients and when sailing around for a week at a time you sometimes have to learn to manage with what is left in your fridge or the few ingredients left on the shelves in some of the island stores. My fridge was looking pretty empty on my last day of charter this week but I had some tomatoes, goats cheese and some fresh basil I had managed to pick up from a local supplier that came around in a dinghy the day before so I decided these would be the perfect ingredients to this mornings frittata! It was delicious. I would also enjoy this for lunch with a nice salad and some freshly baked bread.

Ingredients (Makes 8 small or 6 large slices)

2 Beef or Vine Tomatoes, sliced

1 Cup Crumbled Goats Cheese

1 Bunch Basil Leaves

1 Red Onion, thinly sliced

1 TBSP dried Basil

8 Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Low Fat Tip – (if i was making this for myself i would use milk instead of cream, also a healthier way to make eggs a bit creamier be it scrambled, omelette or frittata is to add some low fat cream cheese to the mix)

Salt & Pepper

Whisk together the eggs and cream until combined adding Salt and Pepper to season and the dried basil. Mix 1/2 cup of the goats cheese into the egg mixture. Heat a heavy based sauce pan with a little olive oil or butter. Add the red onions and saute until translucent. Pour in the Egg and cream mixture. When the sides and bottom begin to set place the sliced tomatoes in the frittata. Continue to cook a medium to low heat. When most of the frittata is set but it is still a little liquidy on top place the basil leaves and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of goats cheese.

Turn on the grill in your oven and finish off the frittata under the grill until set and nicely golden brown in parts.

Divide the Frittata into slices and serve. It is nice served with Rosemary wrapped bacon (see below) and toast.

Rosemary Wrapped Bacon

Take a piece of rosemary and one piece of American style bacon and wrap the bacon around the rosemary stem. Repeat this for as many pieces of bacon and people you would like to serve.

Place on a tray and cook in a pre heated oven at 200C until nice and crispy.

Truly one of life's great pleasures, who doesn't like cheese. Stack it on your burger, add it to a sandwich, eat it plain, mix it in casseroles and that all-time favorite, mac and cheese, there is a type for every taste bud, age and budget. Dating back thousands of years BC cheese was first created by populations who haveded milk-producing animals. The art of cheese making was refined over the centuries until it became a staple of Western Europeans, from the poor to the royals and everyone in between. Whether you're an aficionado of fine gourmet cheeses, or an unapologetic fan of Velveeta, there's nothing quite like it. Pity the lactose intolerant who have to pass on cheese ..

Well, this time the Chinese were out of the loop. Cheese clearly was created in areas of Europe which are now Poland and its environs, possibly as far back as 7000 BC In all fairness, the Chinese did not use dairy and presumably did herd milk-producing animals, so they had no hand in creating cheese or milk products at all.

Ancient herders discovered that milk solids could be turned into a cheese-like substance, and since cheese lasted far longer than milk, which easily spoiled, it was a popular food for travelers and shepherds. But early cheeses were undoubtedly bland, liquidy and probably resembled our present day cottage cheese. As cheese making processes were refined and different varieties created, this wonderful food took on a whole new persona. Greeks embraced cheese, which they made with sheep and goat's milk, and their cheese tended to be crumbly, similar to present-day feta. Adding a few herbs to the milk mixture gave it flavor, and cheese traveled well, providing a good source of protein for their ancient armies.

Soon royalty had their chefs pursue the art of cheese making, and it spread through Western Europe, quickly embraced by the Roman Empire. Monks joined in, understanding that along with their staples of bread and wine, cheese provided a substantial meal in the monasteries. Once it reached France, a country synonymous with the word "cheese", the French took it to a whole new level, enjoying the creamy textures and creating cuisine around the various varieties they produced (think Camembert, Brie and Roquefort). Today, every region of France boasts their own particular cheese.

And speaking of Roquefort, how many of us get confused by the different varieties and the interchangeable term "blue cheese?" Let's clear this up. Blue cheese is basically a generic term. There are three major types: Roquefort (French), Gorgonzola (Italian) and Stilton (British). The US was kind of left out with this variety, (but don't tell that to people in Wisconsin). Roquefort and Gorgonzola are two variations of blue cheese. Roquefort is French, made from sheep's milk, and Gorgonzola is Italian, made from cow's milk. Roquefort has a sharpness, but not as strong and robust as Gorgonzola. And then there is Stilton. A popular British version, but considered to be a poor cousin in the eyes of cheese connoisseurs.

Originating in the village of Somerset, England, cheddar cheese is a hard, off-white, sharp-tasting natural cheese. (The orange color is added.) It is probably the most popular type in the US and is what the so-called American cheese (which isn't really cheese at all) is modeled after. Europeans enjoy cheddar in its natural white color and frequently end a meal with a plate of room temperature cheeses and fruits. Most foodies eschew American cheese, which adorns our fast food cheeseburgers and our beloved mac and cheese. And then there's Velveeta, considered the bottom of the barrel (but great for cooking).

Not to be slighted, Switzerland caught up with France and created their own wonderful versions. Their most popular are Gruyere and Emmental, which is called Swiss cheese in the US

With the popularity of wine these days, what better accompaniment than cheese? Whether you favor a sharp cheddar, a smooth Gouda, a tangy Swiss or a creamy Brie, there's just no getting around it: say cheese!

Many people joke about smelly cheeses. Yes there are many cheese which do not have a pleasant aroma to them. However do offer a wonderful texture and taste. If you can stand the smell, the cheeses are great to try.

Here are some suggestions.

Linberger cheese is probably one of the most well known smelly cheeses. Their odor has been likened to smelly feet.

But if you can ignore the smell, you’ll find that Linberger cheese has a wonderfully soft and creamy consistency. The flavor is strong and spicy and one which you’ll really enjoy.

Another smelly cheese comes from Italy and is called taleggio cheese. It is known to be one of the oldest types available. It is still produced the same way it was hundreds of years ago.

And yes this cheese does indeed have a strong and rather objectionable odor. But the flavor is sweet and smooth. It is quite mild and has fruity overtones. This one is used extensively in soups, crepes, and even pastas.

Roquefort cheese is another smelly cheese to consider. Yes it has a strong odor as well but it tastes terrific on salads and melted in sauces. It also makes for a terrific salad dressing.

This cheese has a sharp and distinctive flavor which will enhance the flavor of many items you use it with.

Other cheeses may offer subtle smells. But they often lack the character and taste of these smelly cheeses. So try to ignore the smell and enjoy the flavor. They are well worth wrinkling your nose at.

I’m a big fan of cottage cheese! Why? To start with, you really don’t have got to plan anything. Whenever you get hungry you just open up the lid and start eating! In addition, I think its great because it’s an excellent source of casein protein and therefore keeps you filled but doesn’t have a very large amount of fats.

Why is cottage cheese good for you and what is it? I don’t want to bore you with all of the information about the creation of this protein-bomb. For that reason let’s don’t make it hard and let’s only point out it’s a fabulous cheese curd product and you’ll typically find it between the yogurt and the chocolate milk in the supermarket.

Like most of the other items in the contemporary world it comes as either no-fat, low-fat or even regular-fat variation. It is important to know that the majority of the low-fat cottage cheeses include additional sugar. The reason is, low-fat items typically lose plenty of their particular taste (fat is a flavour carrier) and then to fight the occurring tastelessness the sugar comes into play. And so take a look at the number of ingredients before deciding to get a certain brand name.

One more difference is the curd size. Usually you may pick from small-curded as well as large-curded cheese. The difference is actually the large-curded cheese comes with an added enzyme which will help build curds better and therefore the cheese doesn’t contain all the acid the other version has. The actual distinction in flavor though is minor.

According to the degree of fat in it, half of a cup of cottage cheese has got about hundred calories as well as 14 grams of protein. This is a whole lot when compared with other dairy products! As mentioned before this protein comes as casein. Considering that the body demands more time to absorb this kind of proteins it keeps you full longer than for instance whey protein concentrate.

If you don’t want it plain, you could consume cottage cheese together with fruits and veggies like peaches, strawberries, celery, or maybe you can also add a few pecans and/or honey (add some cinnamon: tastes like Holidays!). It is additionally a great choice for salads as well as desserts or maybe as a possible ingredient for pasta sauces.

So why is cottage cheese good for you? It includes a great deal of protein and consequently may help you lose fat, it tastes good and it is uncomplicated to prepare. Give it a shot!

The love for cheese, that is what you have. And you have been so in love with cheese that not a day will pass by without you eating some cheese. You do have your own cheese favorites but yet you have not closed your heart on those. In fact, you love discovering new types of cheese and you are so adventurous that you want to try all the different types of cheese in the world. You find this food to be so endearing to your taste buds that you even use it as dessert.

If you are this type of person, then there is a type of cheese that you should try for yourself. This is known as San Pietro. San Pietro is made in the Veneto region in Italy. It is made from cow’s milk that has been aged. Those who have tried it out say that it can be compared to a cheese that has the flavors of Parmigiano-Reggiano and of Piave. If you have tasted the two types of cheese, then you more or less know what the taste of San Pietro is. See, this Italian cheese even comes with the kind of sweet flavor that Piave has. Piave, of course, as you all know, also comes from Italy’s Veneto area. As for the Parmigiano-Reggiano, San Pietro gets the crumbly part and the scent that would remind you of orange peels.

So how do you find this San Pietro? Well, see, if you are already in Italy, you may want to start looking for Latteria Perenzin. It is actually a dairy that is small. It is run by a family and has been in the business for several generations already. With that, you will know that this dairy product has been tested and has been made to be what it is with the trials and triumphs of the years.

What you will definitely love about the San Pietro is that it is not your usual kind of cheese and it sure will be one that you will be looking for every time. It can be used in and with various types of food. It is also natural that you can light some natural candles to make the whole experience even more organic. Natural wax candles will make your cheese dining experience really romantic especially if you are with a loved one. You sure may be heading towards Italy now to look for San Pietro.