Sean D. Francis

I grew up in Montana with a big garden.  In one corner of the garden was a patch of rhubarb.  Honestly, if I wasn’t raised with it, I would have just considered it a big overgrown weed.  I would eat it raw, dipping it into sugar to counteract the bitter taste.  My mom would make [...]

While eating at one of Chicago’s many hot dog places with a friend who was enjoying a hot dog with the works I had an idea for something different.  In Chicago a hot dog with everything on it is something special.  It is a unique masterpiece that has its origins in lore.  Vienna Beef provides [...]

What if I told you that you could learn culinary skills from some of the best chefs available? You’d be pleased. And if I told you that you didn’t need to pay for the opportunity, you’d be pleasantly pleased.

I’m going on week two of a diet and I can honestly say that one of the things that is making it easier on me is finding a creamy dressing that I can eat with my salad at night.  I’m a ranch dressing fanatic (I think all Montanans are) but I also like creamy garlic [...]

What to do with a bottle of Effen vodka? Make cocktails of course. Duh! Sean’s Effen Lemon Drop Martini1 Ingredients: 1 medium sized lemon 1 oz of simple syrup 1 1/2 oz Effen vodka 2 tbsp sugar Ice your martini glass, fill the martini shaker with ice, pour in the vodka, simple syrup, and fresh [...]

I wish I could take credit for this, but really it came to me one day sitting around doing absolutely nothing but watching cooking shows on TV.  Alton Brown did a show on Spaghetti and Meatballs and America’s Test Kitchen had an episode on spaghetti sauce.  I was fated to make this. As much as [...]