Congri Everyone will want to ‘congri’gate around your table for this dish

An article by Eliana Rivero goes into great detail about some of the cultural dishes of Cuba, including a dish I decided to try for this week’s column, congri. According to Rivero, “The name comes from the Creole French words congo and ris (beans and rice) to produce what today is widely consumed by Cubans …

Strawberry Rhubarb Galettes ‘Galette’ yourself enjoy some tasty, fruit-filled pastry

I had a great dinner night with my family over the weekend. After going out for some greasy food, topped off with ice cream and helping my niece extract every last quarter from my purse so she could eventually win a tiny stuffed turtle from a claw machine, I headed back to my parents’ house, …

Coconut Brownies Make ’em go ‘coco’nuts for fudgy, layered brownies

This weekend, I stumbled on an article by Gabrielle Drolet called, “In Defence of Garlic in a Jar: How Food Snobs Almost Ruined My Love of Cooking.” It’s a long read, but Drolet makes the point that cooking shortcuts are a great way to make the kitchen more accessible to people who have disabilities. She …

Handheld Apple Pies This summer, let’s come together and give ‘pies’ a chance

When I was growing up, my mom’s specialty, which was required at every family get together, was her deviled eggs. I remember my uncle jokingly blocking the door, looking for her tell-tale Tupperware box before we were allowed to come inside. I also remember one fateful day when I accidentally dropped the box, creating havoc …

Buffalo Chicken Casserole Spicy, wing-inspired casserole is ‘Buffalo’-key delicious

I was gone for a few days last week, and while Joey and I were catching up on our respective adventures from when we were apart, I learned that he made homemade Buffalo wings. Without me. Now, I’ll forgive him his betrayal, because in his defense, I am normally not a huge fan of eating …

Chili Con Carne Seize the ‘carne’ with a summer-friendly chili recipe

There is an in-depth article that appeared back in 2017 in Texas Monthly by John Nova Lomax about the origins of chili con carne in the United States. It’s a great read, if you get the chance, and apparently there’s a lot of controversy about the recipe’s origins from historians, but I did love a …

Brown Sugar Peach Cake Stone fruit and brown sugar are truly made for ‘peach’ other

Last summer, we ended up with a large box of peaches, and when they started to get soft before we could finish them, I sliced them up, tossed them in a bag, and stored them away in the freezer. Well, rather than using them up sometime last fall…or winter…or spring…they’ve just been hanging out in …

Southwest Potatoes Roasted vegetables will be the ‘bell’ of the ball this summer

Even though I try not to heat up the house with my oven too often in the summer, I am definitely willing to make an exception for the right recipe. Last week, that exception came when I decided I didn’t want one of the typical cold summer sides like coleslaw, potato salad or a green …