Last week, I hosted my first official [housewarming] party of the year at my new home, the Humble Ranch. So many of my family & friends came out to celebrate this awesome life event with me.

It was a simple affair complete with excellent texture, color, design, drink, & food mixed with African flair.

Everybody knows that I'm all about a fun party flyer so for this occasion I decided to use a few vignettes from my home as a background to spread the word. With many of my friends not seeing my home before the party, the flyers offered a sneak peek into my life & design esthetic.

As you can see, the set was 4-8pm but things lasted much longer & it was all good. People love a good party, including me!

I'm so appreciative of the wonderful people that I have in my life, they really showed your boy some tremendous love!

I've been in my new home now for almost 4 months and it's honestly THE best home that I've ever lived as an adult for so many reasons.

As a matter of fact: The top image was taken with my Nikon DSLR, the last two were taken with my iPhone 6.

I was recently introduced to a new cheese the other day & I kinda fell in love with it. The cheese? Cheddar with caramelized onion from Trader Joe's!!! As I enjoyed it the other day with olives, peppers, & wine, I thought about how good the cheese would be in a mac & cheese. Yesterday, all I could do was think about that cheese and using it in a dish. So, after a long day, I picked up a few things from the store & then this happened. Mac & cheese with a black truffle bread crumble.  My thought about the cheese being great for this dish was right on the money! Very savory, creamy & cheesy! Ingredients:

• 2 cups pasta (I used cavatappi)
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar with caramelized onion
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup of butter milk
• 2 1/2 tbsp flour
• Salt, pepper, & smoked paprika to taste

The Jump Off:

• Cook your pasta for 8-9 minutes then drain.
• In the same pot you boiled your pasta, melt the butter & stir in the flour, which will make a roux. Add milks to roux slowly, while stirring constantly. Add in your premium cheeses to the mix and cook until the cheese has melted.
• As the mixture cooks, the sauce will start to thicken. Once it looks nice, thick, and creamy, turn off the heat then toss in your pasta & seasonings then give it a good stir.
• Add the pasta & sauce mixture into baking dish & place in the oven for 20 minutes at 350º.

Black Truffle Bread Crumble:

• 3 tbsp of black truffle oil
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Progresso Italian bread crumbs)
• In a pan, heat your oil on medium then toss in your breadcrumbs, which will sock up the oil. Cook until the crumbs start to brown.
• Add the crumbs to the top of your baked dish liberally and toss back into the over for a quick 10 minutes.  You could add the crumble before baking the dish but this worked for me. I didn't want to experience burnt/dried out crumbs.

I planned on making sangria to enjoy over this long holiday weekend but then something in my head went off and I decided to make rum punch instead. I love both drinks but the rum punch is a little more fun & certainly more boozy. Ingredients: 2 cups of Dark Rum 2 cups of Light Rum 1/4 cup Velvet Falernum 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters 3 cups of Pineapple Juice 1 cup Fresh Lime Juice 1 cup Fresh Orange Juice 1 Pomegranate The Jump Off: Cut your pomegranate in half and squeeze that mofo into a bowl getting as much juice from the arils as you can. It may me messy but it is worth it. When you have you juice, strain out any of the fruit skins and arils that make have dropped in. Combine the pomegranate juice with the rest of your liquid ingredients into a large pitcher & give a nice vigorous stir. I used Appleton Jamaican Rum and Bacardi Pineapple Fusion rum. Let the boozy concoction get a chill in the fridge before indulging then serve over a ton of crushed ice. Side note, many rum punch recipes call for grenadine but I hate grenadine. The taste makes me gag, so fresh pomegranate juice is the best and least sweet option. Not only that, it adds a richer color.

So… I saw these macaroni & cheese waffles on Pinterest a while ago and fell in love with the very idea. After savoring the thought for months, I decided to pull the trigger and make the waffles happen.  It was a success. The process is detailed here but I tried slightly different ingredients.

• 1/2 lb of macaroni (cooked al dente)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard power
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 6 ounces bacon, cooked until crisp, crumbled, plus 1 tablespoon
• reserved bacon fat
• 12 ounces freshly grated cheddar (mild and sharp) cheese
• 3 scallions
• Cracked pepper (to taste)

Lessons learned: The waffles were excellent but after this time around, I would add a little more salt, not include the macaroni. It was a fun additive but unnecessary and just plain over the top. And of course, I'd add more bacon. I also made a Sriracha & sour cream sauce to compliment the waffles and that was a win as well! On a related note, I think I wanted to try a salmon, blue cheese and chive waffle next and serve it with a caper & orange whipped cream. The possibilities seems endless... Holla

Pretty basic but super refreshing salad...

• Watermelon
• Cucumber
• Kalamata Olives
• Jalapeño
• Basil
• Feta Cheese
• Pink Peppercorns
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar

I was inspired by a similar dish found on the New York Times page. I decided to do balsamic for that wonderful sweet tangy taste vs the lime. Very delicious! Served tonight with garlic fried chicken and potatoes with onions! Southern fixins done for the modern Negro.

I had a lot of time and ingredients on my hands the other day so I made this monster of a sandwich for dinner. It was the business! And the cole slaw??? So damn good & basic. Dole bagged coleslaw mix, cilantro, green onion and Marzetti Original Slaw Dressing.

Yesterday, I attended my first BBQ of the short season aKa spring/summer or is it still winter.  It was last minute and typically, I like taking salads to cook outs but yesterday, I decided to do a quick and fun lemonade using what I already had on hand. - English cucumber - Basil - Orange (for fun) - Lemon (for fun) - Simply Lemonade - Tanqueray Rangpur - West Indian Orange bitters I really didn’t measure out anything just chopped, poured, & stirred. After mixing everything together, & let it sit in the freezer for 2 hours to give it a good chill. The basil gave this concoction life. The cucumber mellowed it out and made it super refreshing. It turned out great & it was gone before I knew it.

Everybody knows that I love course sea salt. It makes everything so much better, especially baked goods. It's my secret little weapon. Now... I'm on black lava Hawaiian sea salt. Today I made a few deviled eggs with Montgomery cheddar, dill, smoked paprika, a pinch of black salt for a fun garnish. So good! My next adventure will be to use the black salt in a fish dish that I have been wanting to try thanks to the Barefoot Contessa. As a side note, I also love using pink Himalayan sea salt. It's all about diversity!

Had some good friends over for brunch today and made some peppered buttermilk biscuits. Everybody loves buttery biscuits....

I posted this recipe about 5 years ago here. Last time, I photographed the end result with my DSLR. This time around, I used my iPhone 5 & Camera+, my favorite camera app for the iPhone. I randomly found myself at a Mexican grocery store over the weekend in Detroit and found some AWESOME bargains on fresh produce so I went nuts and got a serious load of tomatillos for only 2 bucks and made this delicious sauce for my chicken enchiladas that I planned for dinner on Sunday. Perfection all the way around! Ingredients: – 2 lbs Tomatillos (roasted) – 5 Cloves of garlic (minced) – 2 Jalapeño peppers (halved & seeded) – Lime (Juice) – Cilantro (handful) – Tequila (teaspoon) - ½ Vidalia or sweet white onion Roasted Tomatillos: – Cut each tomatillo in half and place cut side down baking sheet – (Optional) Drizzle a little olive oil (very little) & salt over your tomatillos – Place your tray in the oven on broil for about 4-6 minutes or until the skins get a light/golden brown - Once down broiling drain most of the juice & allow your roasted tomatillos time to cool Back to the Salsa: – In a food processor (or blender) add your roasted tomatillos & other ingredients then pulse until you get your desired texture – Take a sip of the teaspoon of tequila then add the rest to your fresh ingredients – Once you are satisfied with your salsa texture, salt & pepper to taste - Allow your concoction to chill then serve with your favorite tortilla chips

If you're looking for an easy Sunday brunch sandwich that combines the best of all worlds... well, you have to try this. Have to! Ingredients: - Applewood smoked bacon - Creamy Brie - Fig butter - Pumpernickel The jump Off: Spread the fig butter (available at Trader Joe's) on your bread. Cut the brie and layer it on your bread. Add your pre-cook bacon...... and BAM, you're basically done. Butter & heat a skillet then toast each side of your sandwich. Once toasted, slice as desired then fall into decadent sandwich heaven! The saltiness from the bacon is totally complimented by the sweetness of the fig butter. And every body knows that figs and brie are everything you need in life.

I’ve been celebrating myself with no shame at all this week. Why, because I am free to do so and I love it. My birthday was all that I wanted it to be and more. I was able to get my fresh hot shave, the breakfast that I wanted, attend a Tigers baseball game with my friends and have the Tigers win.  That was enough right…. No…. When I got home, I was surprised by my boo who had a massage therapist set up to give me a full body massage, one of my favorite bottles of champagne etc. etc. etc. This was the best ever. The night wrapped with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants followed by a nightcap with friends. Some really great surprises! It feels so good to be sounded by warm love. Tonight, I’ll be hosting a birthday celebration. I don’t know why I’m sitting here writing this when I should be preparing food. On that note, I’m out!