I like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but Lord, I miss my mind!

When the iPad was first released, I was admitted one of those people that pshawed at the idea. What were those idiots doing, waiting in line to pay a high price for a piece of technology? Surely they were only paying to be beta testers. But I went to the Apple store a few times too many, read a few reviews and slowly thawed to the idea of owning one.

I had recently sold my Macbook laptop and have never ever considered owning an iPhone since my 4-year-old Treo worked just fine. But an iPad… that was something to consider. The thing that eventually sold me? It wasn’t just one. I liked the portability, and as a consumer of large amount of blogs and information only found online, the prospect of having it in a small portable device much lighter than my old laptop… I was sold. Plus, the Epicurious app looks so nifty! And after spending a pretty penny on the iPad, it was a relief to discover the application was free.

I won’t go into details about calling every Best Buy in the county (and in the greater Phoenix area) inquiring about the model with 3G and Wi-Fi, but when I finally got my hands on one, it was love. It fit perfectly with my habit of browsing recipes online and taking it into the kitchen without any fear or smudging the keyboard. Even with flour-drenched fingers, I could easily use my knuckle to nudge the recipe upward. The Epicurious application itself is intuitive, allowing you to search by main ingredient, cuisine, course, dietary consideration and season/occasion. When you see a dish you like, you can save for later by making it a Favorite.

My favorite dish so far is yogurt-marinated chicken kebabs with aleppo pepper. I made some minor adjustments, like substituting the aleppo pepper with a paprika/red pepper mix and using jarred minced garlic instead of fresh. It’s an easy dish you can prepare a day head.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kebabs with Aleppo Pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons Aleppo pepper

(or 2 teaspoons paprika combined with 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper)

1 cup (8 oz.) plain Greek-style yogurt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespooons tomato paste

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

6 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened

1 unpeeled lemon, thinly sliced into rounds

2 1/4 pounds chicken, skinless and boneless, cut into cubes

Place Aleppo pepper or paprika/red pepper mixture into large bowl and mix in 1 tablespoon warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes until thick paste forms. Add yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, coarse salt and black pepper to spice mixture in bowl. Whisk to blend. Stir in garlic and lemon slices and then chicken. Cover and chill at least one 1 hour or overnight.

Tread chicken pieces on metal skewers. Discard marinade in bowl. Grill chicken until golden brown and cooked through turning skewers. Serve with lemon wedges.