honey mustard chicken wrap

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• good quality honey mustard dressing

Grill chicken until fully cooked, set aside to cool then chop into small pieces. Tear or chop lettuce into medium sized pieces, or just open a bag of mixed greens. Assemble wrap with lettuce and chicken and a pass of the honey mustard dressing.

The dish: I love making anything in a wrap because by virtue of Kim's aptitude, I get off the hook without doing too much work. It's like not knowing how to fix the photocopier at work; no one even bothers knocking on my door when the thing jams because they know I'm useless. I'm fairly certain that if I devoted a small amount of time to either that blasted machine or the flat sandwich holder, I could learn the skills necessary to master each, but why bother when those around me are so good at these things.

chocolate silk cake

• 1 box chocolate silk cake
• whip cream (dream whip is the favorite in our house)
• cocoa powder

Prepare cake according to instructions on the box. We used a Duncan Hines dessert selects cake, but any will work. Arrange slice of cake on plate and top with whip cream and garnish with cocoa powder.

The dish: I'm sure if you were to consult with any of my old teachers they would verify this, but I do not follow directions well at all. I am unable to prepare any instant dessert because I always feel that "maybe it could just use a pinch more of something". That attitude may fly in cooking, but it's a recipe for disaster in baking. If you're new to the party, then you should know that there are two absolutes here: 1. dessert tastes best when instant and 2. Kim is pretty much awesome (and not just for her taste in husbands). She can scratch bake like no one's business, but she can also make instant anything and achieve great results, something I am truly envious of. Along the same lines she also has an aptitude at assembling furniture from Ikea. If you've never had the pleasure of the Swedish furniture giant, you have no idea what you're missing out on. We bought a new 6 drawer dresser this week and it fit comfortably in the trunk of our car in a box that's smaller than what most people deem to be carry on luggage. When you get it home the instructions have no words at all on them and there are many more pieces than you would expect a dresser to have. Needless to say, Kim can navigate through that mess and within just a little while we have a dresser that's a much more solid piece of furniture than you would expect it to be. So I guess the moral is that whether it's furniture or cake, Kim can bring great things out of boxes.

flan with blackberries

• 1 box flan
• fresh blackberries

Prepare flan according to instructions on box. We used and loved the Dr. Oetker brand, but I'm sure any will work. Garnish with berries and serve.

The dish: Faithful readers know; dessert is best when instant. I'd put the taste and texture of this flan against any that I've ordered out; it was just that good. I'm not sure if it was difficult to make because I outsourced that to Kim (Chinese name and she has 3 jobs- coincidence?), but it was easy to eat. We had this as the finale to our Cinco De Mayo meal, but I'm confused because I've ordered flan in both Mexican and Italian restaurants, and this brand was made in Canada, so I have doubts about theme continuity, but what the hell- dessert is a common language among all cultures.

brownie with mango compote

• 2 fresh mangoes
• vanilla
• boxed brownies
• whip cream (we love dream whip)
• cocoa powder

Cut mangoes into bite sized cubes, drizzle with vanilla and set aside for 1-5 hours. Prepare brownies according to package. Top warm brownie with mango compote and whip cream, garnish with sprinkles of cocoa powder.

The dish: The red room has followed in the footsteps of corporate America: we've outsourced our brownie manufacturing and only do final assembly on site. Brownies are a peculiar thing in that the boxed version is far superior to anything homemade. Instant has that gooey texture that just screams "brownie", while the from scratch variety always is a little too much like cake. As you can clearly see in the above photo, Kim is great at presenting a dessert and the final mix of flavors tasted even better than it looked.

mango, pork and avocado wraps

• 1 cup cooked pork, cubed (I used some boneless pork chops that were on special)
• 2 large mangos, peeled and cubed
• 1 avocado, cubed
• your favorite sandwich wraps
• mayonnaise
• adobo (I've been rocking the light variety)
• fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• half of a lime

In a small bowl combine about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise with cilantro, a few shakes of adobo, and juice of half the lime. Stir together until fully combined. Assemble wrap by spreading mayo mixture on 1 side and placing equal amounts of avocado, mango and pork in center. Wrap it up and enjoy!

The dish: My wife is known for many things; her ravishing beauty, her sharp wit, her ivy league education, her irreproachable selection of husbands. One of her lesser known attributes is her ability to roll a wrap like nobody's business. This no doubt stems from her brief stint in the budding moments of the 1990s as a Taco Bell employee. She's a quick learner with great retention and here, many sunsets later, she can construct a wrap that is the envy of all. I am truly covetous of this, as I, someone who has some serious deli cred, can wrap about as well as I can play the accordion (read: not so hot). Working together is the foundation of any solid relationship and I'm proud to say that we get along as well as mango and pork (and avocado and cilantro lime mayo). The personalized plate was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and I find it fitting that it is showcased in this recipe which parades one of her daughter's greatest talents.