Recipes for main dishes.
The debate about “authentic” food always fascinates me. I recently listened to an episode of NPR’s “The Splendid Table,” where the host and guest were discussing the different ways people make sauce in Italy, and some of the recipes sounded very different than what I’d always thought was uniquely Italian. The same debate seems to …
Continue reading “I’ll take all the Tex-Mex you can ‘chimi’”
Is it just me, or has it been particularly difficult to decide what to make for dinner lately? OK, so I know it’s definitely not just me—it’s Joey, too. If you’re not having this same “let’s stare at each other until one of us breaks and makes a decision” moment every evening, I envy you. …
Until I began this column, I had no idea how many variations of pasta there are. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable until I continued to discover new types that often were tough to find in small-town Kansas grocery stores. My recipe this week called for ziti, a tube-shaped pasta I’m definitely familiar …
Continue reading “Let’s embrace the ‘pasta’bilities this week”
I have a ton of amazing memories about my paternal grandma, who passed away in 2012. She was such an awesome person and a crazy good cook. Near the end of her life, she invited me over to her small apartment for dinner—just the two of us. She made a chicken and biscuits meal with …
Continue reading “You’ll have ‘fillings’ for this pot pie casserole”
Well, I did it to myself again. I noticed a lonely bag of 60-cent lentils sitting at my local grocery store, and I decided to bring them home and figure out what to make with them. I mean, 60 cents? Who can resist such a bargain? I’ve only made lentils once before, for a soup, …
Continue reading “Recipe proves you don’t know ‘lentil’ you try”
A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s socially distanced wedding, and in preparation for the big day, I did something I have never done before: get a manicure. I opted for French tips—a layer of very light pink on the bottom and white for the ends of each nail. It …
Continue reading “This will make you ‘patty’ yourself on the back for a dinner well done”
I was unloading some groceries a few evenings ago, and Joey came to inspect what I was pulling out of the bags. Noting that there was a salsa I don’t normally buy, a container of tomatoes and a box of pasta, he immediately asked what new recipe I was trying for dinner. After being the …
Continue reading “Making a cold version of tacos isn’t mission im’pasta’ble”
Over the course of our marriage, Joey and I have developed a special ritual, where each of us tries to be the first one to ask, “What do you want to eat?” before every meal, as though the person who asks first is absolved from having to do any choosing. I mean, the answer is …
Continue reading “Have dinner ‘tortellini’ figured out this week”
Over the years, I have to confess that I have tended to order off of the side dishes part of the menu for a lot of my meals. Particularly at Chinese restaurants, I’ve been known to just buy an order of fried rice for lunch and skip over the entrees completely. It’s one of my …
Continue reading “For dinner tonight, choose to go with the grain”
My normal mode for making dinner is to keep it simple. If I find a recipe that takes too many steps or too much waiting in between steps, I skip right over it. What I do tend to do to myself on a regular basis, though, is to make dinner more complicated than it should …
Continue reading “Orange chicken for dinner makes for happy ‘peelings’”
