Men In The Kitchen: The Family Guy

Meet Joe.  He’s our next subject in the Men in the Kitchen Series.  Joe is a typical suburban dad busy with the challenges of making a living and keeping two teenagers fed on a daily basis.  When he’s not doing that he works on song writing, recording and perfecting his impressive skill set on the guitar.  Joe’s other half has varied interests including a full time job in which she’s more often designing kitchens than cooking in them.  In addition, since Joe gets home from work first,  the task frequently falls to him.  Here’s what he had to say about being in the kitchen:The Superman apron was a gift from Joe's son, Jake. Joe's a superhero fan and strives to achieve that Superman physiqueKFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty? Joe: I usually end up cooking 3-4 times a week.  I don’t mind the cooking, it’s the meal planning that’s the real challenge.  With two picky teenagers who, naturally, don’t enjoy the same cuisine, it’s rough.  Thankfully my wife will usually sit down at some point during the weekend and put together our menu for the coming week.  She uses the internet, old tried and true recipes and our favorite go to source, Cooking Light Magazine.  From this we make our shopping list ..  She usually cooks on the weekend but it falls to me on weekdays.  As far as specialties, I’m pretty good at whipping up a stir-fry with whatever happens to be around and I've been told my eggplant Parmesan is pretty awesome! Chicken and bean burritos courtesy of Cooking LightKFL:  What are the top 3 tools you can't live without in the kitchen?Joe: I would say a large cutting board, a large skillet and that really good quality sharp knife that everyone seems to be mentioning.  I can prepare most things I cook with those three things.skilletKFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be? Joe:  That’s and easy one, counter space!  When the wife and I cook together we do the dance, shifting back and forth to allow one another access to drawers, spices etc.  It’s difficult but I think we've gotten it down to a fine art.KFL:  How did you learn to cook?Joe:  I hate to say it, but I didn’t learn to cook until I got divorced.  My whole world changed in many ways including this one.  This is a good case of necessity being the mother of invention.KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?Joe:  Cooking can be a chore but I love to cook with my wife. As long as my better half handles the meal planning it’s not bad at all. Next up: An Astonishing Kitchen Transformation, I’ll Show You How We Did It.