Watch out, Tom Douglas

Last night, Stephanie had Maddie and me over for dinner for this black bean tortilla pie. Delish! (P.S. When I googled black bean tortilla pie, I found this pic at a blog called "Stephanie's Kitchen" and totally thought Steph was hiding the fact that she blogs... but then I saw it wasn't her. How ironic though?!)

It comes from this amazing cookbook that I bought about 2 or 3 months ago, but still have yet to make anything from it. However, I thumbed through it the other night and realized that I have tried a lot of the recipes... but only because Maddie, Stephanie and (I think) Autumn have tested out its' recipes on me. I bring the wine, they cook me tasty goodness. (I realize that I totally have the better end of the deal...)

Then it got me thinking, those girls are amazing cooks! I've always known this (and my stomach knows best), but seriously? Homemade cheesecake? Slow-roasted pork tacos? Homemade gnocchi? Man, I am lucky to have such fantastic chefs as friends.

I should probably experiment a little more. I mean, my taco soup does bring all the girls to the yard, but I need to up the ante! (Editorial comment: One time, my cousin's daughter told her the day after we had a huge family dinner that my taco soup was better than the chocolate ice cream she had for dessert. That's right. Take that, Ben & Jerry!)

One thing I know for sure - I do like to bake! I once made banana cream chocolate chip whoopie pies with cinnamon cream cheese filling for my office. Man, they take awhile to make, but they turn out so pretty! And fairly tasty...