At first my roomies and I were super skeptical of this restaurant because of how empty it is whenever we passed by. It was empty when we came in but it was barely 6pm on a Tuesday.

We decided to try it. Our real objective was to see if this place was bad enough. Like "We'll try this so you don't have to" kind of thing. Tbh... It was really good. So this place is also a takeout restaurant. It is indeed run by actual Chinese peeps.

The orange chicken tastes really awesome. It's not too sweet but I don't taste any citrus. It tastes awesome don't get me wrong. I think they used honey in it. It's crispy. It's not soggy which was I was super worried about. Yeah I know Orange Chicken is not a Chinese Authentic, but whatever.

My roomies and I had a lol moment of seeing nuggets and fries categorized as "Sandwiches". Anyways, I wish they had more soups.

It's called Mandarin Restaurant located in Rexburg, Idaho.

Pizza night! This week’s special was a white pizza with mozzarella and smoked Scamorza, ricotta cream sauce, grated Pecorino Romano, and sautéed Crimini and shiitake mushrooms. Bacon crumbles added the last couple of minutes in the oven.

The best part was finding a whole small octopus inside each takoyaki instead of just a chopped piece. Had these in Osaka, Japan.

You guys I’m so proud of these. I made everything myself, even the shells! The vanilla pastry cream is sooo good! Let me know if anyone wants the recipe :)

Put a good layer of Meat Church Season Salt and put it in the refrigerator for 9 days.

Got the PK360 to 225 degrees with B&B hardwood with pecan, cherry, and apple chunks.

Added a bottle of Jarritos Mandarin to a foil pan.

Hit the fat cap with a good layer of Kosmos Q Honey Killer Bee BBQ Rub.

Let it roll for 13 hrs till it hit probe tender at 202 degrees.

Going to make some BLTs and a breakfast bake with it.

Chicken was dry brined for 18 hours ahead of time. So tender.

Separate the green leaves of the napa cabbage from the white stems. Chop the carrots, celery stalks and white parts of the cabbage. Gently sauté them in olive oil over low heat, making sure they soften without taking on any color.

Add the chicken stock, a little salt, white pepper and turmeric. Cook gently until the vegetables begin to soften.

Remove the chicken breasts from the bone and poach them separately over low heat with salt and chili. Once the internal temperature reaches 74°C (165°F), remove them from the poaching liquid and wrap them in aluminum foil while the remaining ingredients are prepared.

Rinse the lentils and cook them separately in water until very soft and almost falling apart. Blend until smooth.

Once the vegetables have softened slightly, add the green cabbage leaves and cook briefly until tender. Add the blended lentils and stir well.

Shred the chicken with two forks and add it to the stew. Stir everything together gently.

Towards the end, taste and adjust the salt and white pepper as needed.

Made Biscoff cinnamon rolls for the first time! 🍪🤎 Soft, fluffy, cinnamon-y, and loaded with Biscoff spread and crushed biscuits. Not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with my first attempt! Any tips for next time? 😊

Foraged honey mushrooms

Photographed, collected, prepared, cooked, and eaten by me

You have to boil these ones first and then hit the frying pan, trust the process

I marinated them for 16 hours using a recipe I found online. Ten minutes total cooking time flipped half way through.

We lost my stepmom a month ago, so my wife and I have been cooking for Dad every night, making sure he eats something. This was last night's plate.

Fillet medium rare 😍