Smoked Shotgun Shells Kick football season off with a bang by making shotgun shells

As soon as the weekly forecast came out, telling us that the opening weekend of football would be perfect for spending some time outside, Joey announced we were going to invite some folks to watch the games and throw some food on the smoker. Of course, I had to stick my nose in and announce …

Hushpuppies You won’t want to hush about this week’s southern dish

This summer, we have had the privilege of welcoming an intern from the University of Kansas into our newsroom. It’s amazing how quickly someone can go from being a stranger to being part of the family, and that’s definitely been the case with Will. So, with his final day looming this week, Joey and I …

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 …

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 …

Air Fryer Crab Rangoon Air fryer rangoon can keep you from ‘wonton’ eating

An article on the website “Atlas Obscura” called “What the Heck Is Crab Rangoon Anyway?” lays out the history of the crispy little Chinese restaurant staple. The article notes that while crab rangoon are not from China, they’re an invention by Chinese-Americans, who began serving Chinese dishes to Americans of other backgrounds when they came …

Ratatouille Want to be a French chef? You can d’ouille’ it!

In an online article, author Ossiana Tepfenhart explains that there are lots of foods we now consider “fancy” that were once “poor man’s food.” Dishes that fit the bill include lobster, oysters and even caviar.  Another dish that she could have included? Ratatouille.  The summer stew, native to Nice, France, was once considered a humble …