I was watching “Iron Chef America” the other night, and it really inspired me to try to eat more than just macaroni and cheese.

Just months after my 40-day recipe challenge, my eating is in a slump again. My general meals either come from a box or somehow incorporate tortillas and frozen vegetables. What can I say? I’m pretty tame in the kitchen. I never really venture outside my comfort zone of pizza-based foods. They’re good enough, so why try for something better?

But every time I watch "Iron Chef," I get to thinking that maybe there are better things out there. That’s why I decided to buy a pomegranate and a mango at the store the other day. That’s why I’m always intrigued to walk through the specialty item aisle. That’s why I’m excited to register for outlandish kitchen utensils when my fiancée Molly and I begin our wedding gift registry.

I’d even go so far as to say I’d love to one day be a judge on the kitchen competition, but I’d never be able to down that much raw meat (they serve raw meat a lot on the show).

So I have to limit my cooking adventures to my own humble kitchen. And I’m preparing for just such an adventure this Friday night. I’ll be in Jordan covering the Hubmen basketball game that night, so Molly has graciously accepted an invitation to sample some home-cooked experiments. I’m not sure what I’ll be making yet, but I know it’ll be outside my comfort zone. Any suggestions on weird ingredients I should try to incorporate, fun taste combinations you’ve had success with, or even bizarre foods you’ve eaten?