CookBook2

Second Edition 

.NET Gurus Can Cook!

DEC 9-12, 2012 

& 

APR 8-12, 2013 

LAS VEGAS, NV 

MGM GRAND 

DevIntersection 

CONFERENCE 

Visual Studio 

ASP.NET & Azure 

BONUS: Development Practices Track 

�� 

��I�� 

�� 

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 fl ow like never before. 

DevIntersection is loaded with 

in-depth training sessions, Microsoft architects, 

industry experts, active debates, 

peer-to-peer networking and celebration! 

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 

REGISTER EARLY 

AND RECEIVE A 

NEXT GENERATION 

TABLET! 

Tim HUCKABY Richard 

CEO, 

CAMPBELL 

INTERKNOWLOGY CO-HOST, 

.NET ROCKS!, 

CONFERENCE 

CHAIR 

REGISTER TODAY AT DevIntersection.com 

or call 203.264.8220 � Questions? info@DevIntersection.com 

Visual Studio��ASP.NET��HTML5��jQuery��C++��Kinect��JavaScript��ALM 

Windows Azure��CSS��Mobile��Windows 

2 

8��Windows Store and more

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! 

3

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! 

Publisher 

ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, Inc. 

Publishing Director 

Kevin White 

Editor-in-Chief 


Graphic Design 

Shay Williamson 

Advertising Design 

David May 

Nicole Adams 

Video 

Roger Hobbs 

Tommy Hodges 

--Kevin White 

Head of Marketing, ComponentOne a division of GrapeCity 

© 2012 by ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA. All rights reserved. Produced in U.S.A. 

For more great recipe ideas, visit: www.ComponentOne.com/CookBook 

4 

We would love to hear from you! 

ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, Inc. 

Marketing Division 

201 South Highland Avenue, Suite 300 

Pittsburgh, PA 15028 

(412) 681-4343 

www.ComponentOne.com

“... 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 

5

My Top 10 Vegas Bu�ets 

1) The Bu�et at Bellagio 

2) Wicked Spoon Bu�et 

(Cosmopolitan) 

3) Bacchanal Bu�et 

(Caesars Palace) 

4) The Bu�et at Wynn 

5) Studio B (M Resort) 

6) The Bu�et at Aria 

7) Cravings at Mirage 

8) Le Village Bu�et (Paris) 

9) Spice Market Bu�et 

(Planet Hollywood) 

10) Rio’s Carnival World Bu�et 

Rick’s Developer’s Roadmap 

to Vegas Buffets 

6

WINDOWS FORMS | WPF | ASP.NET | ACTIVEX 

WORD PROCESSING 

COMPONENTS 

RICHER THAN RICH TEXT 

Word Processing Components 

for Windows Forms, WPF & ASP.NET 

WWW.TEXTCONTROL.COM 

8 

US +1 877 - 462 - 4772 (toll-free) 

EU +49 421 - 4270671 - 0

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! 

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

Behold the Power of Cheese 

The Perfect Pimento Cheese 

1 lb Sharp Cheddar cheese 

1 lb Monterey Jack cheese 

2 medium sized dill pickles 

2 or 3 cloves of garlic 

1 - 4 oz jar of pimentos drained 

1 small can of Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies 

1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce 

3 Tbsp mayonnaise (I like Dukes or Hellman’s best) 

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

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! 



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 

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. 

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

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. 

Jay Harris 

President, Arana Software 

“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 


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 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

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! 

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.” 

~ Bette Davis in All About Eve 

Michelle Smith 

Managing Director 

NimblePros LLC 

Parmesan Artichoke Dip, 

a.k.a. “Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa” 

Michelle Smith 

Managing Director, NimblePros LLC 

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 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

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. 

“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 

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! 

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

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! 

“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 

Chris Kinsman 

Microsoft Regional Director 

Chris Kinsman 


Dragon Turds 

1 dozen jalapenos 

1 lb cream cheese 

¼ cup of your favorite BBQ Rub 

1 package bacon 

12 toothpicks 

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 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

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 

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

Shrimp Wonton’s 

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. 

16

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: 


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.” 

Howard Dierking 

Microsoft Program Manager 



Cowboy Caviar 

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 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 

BEST SELLER BEST SELLER BEST SELLER 

SELLER 

ComponentOne Studio Enterprise 

US US Headquarters 

US Headquarters 

ComponentSource 

650 650 Claremore 650 Claremore Prof Prof Way Prof Way Way 

Suite Suite 100 Suite 100 100 

Woodstock 

GA GA 30188-5188 GA 30188-5188 

USA USA USA 

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

(888) 850-9911 

www.componentsource.com 

.NET .NET Tools .NET Tools Tools for for the for the Smart the Smart Smart Developer: Windows, Web Web and Web and XAML. and XAML. XAML. 

• Hundreds • Hundreds • Hundreds of UI of UI controls of controls UI controls for for all for all .NET .NET all platforms, .NET platforms, including grids, grids, grids, charts, charts, reports reports & schedulers & schedulers & schedulers 

• Visual • Visual • Visual Studio Studio 2012 2012 and 2012 and Windows and Windows 8 Support 8 Support 8 Support 

• Live • Live demos • Live demos demos and and samples and samples with with full with full source full source source code code code 

• Royalty-free • Royalty-free • Royalty-free deployment and and distribution and distribution 

• Free, • Free, • fully-functional Free, fully-functional trial trial download trial download available 

Find Find Find our our latest our latest latest prices, prices, purchase and and download and download the the entire the entire entire ComponentOne product line line line 

and and thousands and thousands of of other of other development tools tools tools and and components and components 24/7 24/7 24/7 from from from our our Web our Web Web site: site: site: 

www.componentsource.com 

Customer service and and support and support available toll-free 24/5 24/5 24/5 on on (888) on (888) (888) 850-9911 or or via via or Live via Live Chat Live Chat Chat on on our on our Web our Web Web site site site 

Fax Fax your Fax your your purchase order order order to to (888) (888) to (888) 850-9922 

BEST BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER BEST SELLER 

Spread.NET 

BEST BEST SELLER BEST SELLER 

ActiveReports 7 7 7 

BEST SELLER 

Add Add Excel-compatible Add Excel-compatible spreadsheets to to WinForms to WinForms and and ASP.NET and ASP.NET apps. apps. apps. 

• Data • Data • visualization Data visualization functionality including Sparklines and and Camera and Camera Camera Shapes Shapes 

• Excel • Excel • import/export Excel import/export performance improved by by up up by to up to 50% 50% to 50% 

• Create • Create • Create full-featured 2D 2D and 2D and 3D and 3D charts 3D charts charts within within your your spreadsheets 

your spreadsheets 

• Import • Import • Import Microsoft Excel Excel documents Excel documents and and preserve and preserve complete formatting 

• Binds • Binds • Binds to to any any to .NET any .NET data .NET data source data source source and and displays and displays relational datasets 

Fast Fast & Fast � & exible � & exible � exible reporting engine engine has has gotten has gotten gotten even even better. even better. better. 

• Create • Create • Create form-based reports, reports, transaction reports, reports, and and analytical and analytical reports reports 

• New • New • Page New Page Layout Page Layout Layout Designer for for easy for easy report easy report report generation 

• More • More • More layout layout layout � exibility � exibility � exibility with with Tables, with Tables, Tables, Matrix, Matrix, Banded Banded Lists, Lists, and Lists, and Charts and Charts Charts 

• Extensive • Extensive • Extensive customization with with Flexible with Flexible Flexible .NET .NET API .NET API API 

© 1996-2012 © 1996-2012 © 1996-2012 ComponentSource. All Rights All Rights All Reserved. Rights Reserved. Reserved. All prices All prices All correct prices correct at correct the at the time at time the of press. time of press. of Online 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 & online & online & discounts. online discounts. discounts. 

www.componentsource.com

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

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. 

Fritz Onion 

Editor in Chief for Pluralsight 

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!) 

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 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

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. 

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

Crawfish and Corn Bisque 

(Quick and Easy) 

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. 


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

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. 

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

~Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 

Daniel Lawrence 

Lead Technical Consultant 

Perficient, Inc. 

Turtle Soup 

2 Tbsp unsalted butter 

1 lb turtle meat (or veal), diced 

½ lb deer meat (or veal), ground 


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 

1 /3 cup vegetable oil 

1 /3 cup melted butter 

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. 

24


Lead Technical Consultant - Perficient, Inc. 

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 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

Kevin White 

Head of Marketing, 

ComponentOne, a division of 

GrapeCIty, inc., U.S.A. 

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

Yam Neua Yang 

(Barbecued beef salad Thai style) 

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 

Beth York Wolf 

Cook, Artist, Pet Sitter and Mrs. 

ByteMaster (a.k.a. Kevin Wolf) 

3 cups chicken broth 

1 cup shredded chicken (leftovers work great) 

2 - 14 to 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes with spices 

1 - 15 oz can of tomato sauce 

1 - 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed 

and drained 

1 large onion, chopped 

1 ½ tsp minced garlic 


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 

Shervin Shakibi 

Chief Software Architect 

at comptuerways.com 

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. 

Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo 


Chief Software Architect at comptuerways.com 

1 lb Andouille sausage (you can replace it with any smoked 

sausage such as Kielbasa) 

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) 

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 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

Nikita Polyakov 

Microsoft MVP, Windows Phone Dev, 

Nokia Developer Champ 

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. 

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

BORSCH 

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) 

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. 

30

Simmer for about 2 minutes. 

BORSCH (cont.) 

Once the potatoes are ready, add salt and pepper to your taste and you’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 

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. 

Bollywood Chili v.2.0 

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 Share- 

Point Developers Group (CTSPDG). Likes to fly when not computing. Twitter: @sbc111 

32

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. 

“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: 

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

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. 

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 D. Sheriff 


Paul D Sheriff 


Paul and Rhonda Sheriff’s 

Burger Baked Beans 

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 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

“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.” ~ Robbie Fowler 

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. 

Fried Rice 

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




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 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. 

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. 



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. 

39



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



Egg Casserole 

1 roll refrigerated crescent roll dough 

1 lb spicy ground pork sausage 

1 yellow onion 

1 red bell pepper 

1 green bell pepper 

2 slices of bread, torn 

6 large eggs 

1 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. 




40

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. 

“Over yonder. Down yonder. Up yonder. 

For months, I tried, tried, tried to figure out where Yonder was”. 

Southern Fried Green Tomatoes 

Michael Crump 

Microsoft MVP & INETA 

Community Champion 

Michael Crump 

Microsoft MVP & INETA Community Champion 

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 

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 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

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! 

Steve Smith 

Microsoft Regional Director and MVP 

Asparagus is a member of the Lily family. 

Grilled Ginger Asparagus 

1 lb fresh asparagus 

1 tsp ground ginger 


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 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

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). 

“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) 

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. 

Mary Jo Foley 

Editor, ZDNet’s “All About Microsoft” 

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. 

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. 

Russ Fustino 


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! 

Russ Fustino 


Special Potatoes 

Olive oil 

2 Tbsp butter 

½ onion 

4 big Idaho potatoes 

Salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion salt 

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. 









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

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. 

“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 

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. 

48

“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

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! 

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

Kevin D. Wolf 

President - Software Logistics, LLC 

Windows Phone Development MVP 

Kevin’s Philly Delight 

7 oz package of Steak-umm ® (frozen) 

7 oz jar of Cheese Wiz 

½ medium onion chopped 


Banana peppers to taste 

Jalapeno peppers to taste 

Fresh hoagie buns 

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 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

I like this recipe, because it 

is quick and simple, and it 

doesn’t taste half bad. 

“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) 

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 

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. 

Thin cut boneless pork chops, sometimes called 

breakfast chops (this is kinda important, thin and boneless). 

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. 

52

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

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. 

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






Cheater Thai Noodles 

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. 




54

“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 



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! 



The Sheriffs Meat Loaf 

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 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



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. 

“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 

(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) 

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 

56 

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 

Preheat oven to 375°. 

Russ’ Pot of Sauce (cont.) 

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. 











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

Grandpa Funkhouser produced 

some funky shaped & delicious 

eggplants from his organic garden, 

the rest is family history. 

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

~ Alexander Smith 

Alex Funkhouser 

IT Talent Agent 

Funky Eggplant Lasagna 

Bolognese Sauce: 

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. 

58

Alex Funkhouser 

IT Talent Agent 

“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 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 

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. 


Principal Developer Evangelist, Microsoft 

Homemade Pizza 

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 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

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. 

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

Working Parent’s Shepherd’s Pie 


Principal Developer Evangelist, 

Microsoft 


Principal Developer Evangelist, Microsoft 

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) 

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! 

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. 

61

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

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. 

Mike Benkovich 

Microsoft 

Mike Benkovich 

Microsoft 

Friday Pizza Night 

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 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

Jason Zander 

Corporate Vice President of 

Development for the Windows Azure 

team at Microsoft. 

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

Chicken Marsala 

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. 

63

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! 

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

Lucy’s Cuban Style 

Black Beans and Rice 

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. 

64

“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

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! 

100 Funny Ways to Order Pizza 

15. Stutter on the letter “p.” 

Zero-Carb Pizza 

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. 

66

Carl Franklin 

Producer, Pwop Studios. 

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! 

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

David Giard 




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. 

How much pot, could a pot roast roast, 

if a pot roast could roast pot. 

Pot Roast 

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 


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. 

David Giard 


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. 

68

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 

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

Espresso Steak Rub 

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 Medium- 

High 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. 

70

“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 

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 

Quick and Easy General Tsao’s 

Chicken Recipe 

Lance Wulfers 

HP Lead Technologist 

ABC Kecap Manis 

Sweet Soy Sauce - 21 oz bottle 

Lance Wulfers 

HP Lead Technologist 

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… 

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. 

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




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. 

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) 

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into strips) 


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. 







73

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

~ W. C. Fields 

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 

Rachel Reese 

ASPInsider, Software Dev at MyWebGrocer 

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 

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. 

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. 

74

“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. 

Julie Lerman 


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 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

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 

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

Samidip Basu 

Sogeti Mobility Lead | Passionate WPDev 

Chicken Rezala 

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 (@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

David Giard 




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. 

“Is your food spicy Sir? No, smoke always comes out of my ears!” ~ Unknown 

Spicy Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry 

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 


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 

sherry 

chicken stock 

brown sugar 

4 cloves garlic 

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 


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 

ginger root 

rice wine vinegar 

1 tsp sesame oil 


red chilies

“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. 

Nik Molnar 

Co-creator Glimpse 

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, 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 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. 

I eat this for breakfast almost 

every day, because it is so easy 

and healthy. 

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

John Sonmez 

Pluralsight Author and 

Software Developer 

Popeye’s Quick Breakfast 

What John Sonmez Eats for Breakfast Every Morning 

John Sonmez 

Pluralsight Author and Software Developer 

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 

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.) 

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

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. 

“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) 

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!! 

80

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 – 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. 

Beef Brisket (cont.) 

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 

Ted Bahr 

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. 

Ted Bahr 


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 

Preheat to 350°F. 

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 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 Leroux Bustamante 

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. 

Michele’s Vanity Diet Plan 

Michele Leroux Bustamante 

Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft MVP 

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: 

• 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. 

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 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. 

84

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 tsp salt 

½ small onion diced 

1 cup mushrooms, sliced 

2 cups broccoli coarsely chopped 

1 cup chopped, cooked chicken 


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 

85

“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 


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. 

Finished Temperature Guide 

Rare to Medium Rare 125-130 degrees 

Medium 135 

Medium Well 145 

Well 145+ 

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 

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 *. 

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. 


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. 

Garry Brothers 

Owner 

Cape Cod Fresh, Brewster, MA 

From My Restaurant. 

ENJOY! 

Cape Cod Fresh Swordfish 

Garry Brothers 

Owner, Cape Cod Fresh, Brewster, MA 

Go to your fresh seafood market: 

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

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. 

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. 

87

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

Healthy Mushroom Swiss Burger 

John Papa 


Great for a quick and easy 

meal on the grill with friends 

and family that everyone 

enjoys. Always juicy, 

always delicious! 

John Papa 


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 


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 ( @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 

88





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

Lasagna 

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. 




89




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. 

“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 tsp garlic salt 


¼ cup grated parmesan cheese 

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. 







90

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

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. 

Chris Woodruff 

Podcaster, Microsoft MVP 

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

Woodruff Holiday Morning 

French Toast 

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 


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 (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 

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. 

Slobodan Stipic 

Windows Phone evangelist 

Crepes - Natural and Healthy 

Slobodan Stipic 

Windows Phone evangelist 

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. 

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! 

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. 

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. 

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. 

96

“Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!” ~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

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. 

Mr. Spock: “What is the formula for PI?” 

Chekov: “Er...apple or blueberry, sir?” 

Maine Code Camp Blueberry Cake 

Carolyn Smith 

AKA Silverlight Madam 

Graphic Artist 

Carolyn Smith 

AKA Silverlight Madam, Graphic Artist 

1 /3 cup butter, softened 

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar, divided 

2 eggs 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 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 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

Kevin White 




A visually intriguing dessert 

where a rich coconut-milk custard 

is steamed inside a small 

pumpkin or acorn squash. 

“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 

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! 

Kevin White 












99

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




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. 

Turtle Cheesecake 

Crust 

6 Tbsp unsalted butter 

1 package (½ box) graham crackers (typically 9) 

1 Tbsp sugar 

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

“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). 






101

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. 

“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 

Jim Duffy 

Microsoft Regional Developer and MVP 

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 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

Julie Lerman 


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! 

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

Julie Lerman 


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 

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. 

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. 

103

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. 

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

Sam’s Chocolate Cake 

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 


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

David Lyman 

Publisher SDTimes 

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. 

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 

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. 

Dr. Michelle Smith 

Managing Director NimblePros LLC 

Peanut Butter Pie 

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) 


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. 

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! 

SharePoint! 

What’s Happening 

and What It Means! 

Monthly 

Analysis 

Mobile 

Development! 

www.BZMedia.com 

www.sdtimes.com 

Big Data! 

www.SPTechCon.com www.AnDevCon.com www.BigDataTechCon.com

109

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. 

“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.” 

Ted Bahr 


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. 

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

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. 

Ted Bahr 


“Form follows function” 

The Manhattan 

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. 

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. 

111

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


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. 

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 

Tools 

Muddler 

Tall Glass (Pint Glass works great) 

Martini Shaker. 


Chief Software Architect at comptuerways.com 

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! 

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. 

112

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


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. 



Orange JuLUSHes 

1 can 5-Alive frozen drink mix 

1 orange sherbet push pop 

Ice 

Whipped Cream 

Everclear 

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. 




113

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

~Ernest Hemingway 

Kevin White 




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. 

Kevin White 


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• 

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. 











114

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

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. 

© 2012 GrapeCity, inc. All rights reserved. 

Other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 118 

$19.95 USD 

Visit us at: www.componentone.com

CookBook2

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?