Recipes for side dishes.
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”
Despite all the craziness at the grocery store lately, I decided to head out to our local spot to get supplies for a new recipe I wanted to try. We were going to have some specialty German sausage for dinner, graciously shared with us by a friend, and I wanted to get something traditional to …
During a recent lazy weekend, we were getting a meal ready to eat in front of the television to watch a basketball game. As is often the case, Joey and I decided to share duties in the kitchen to get our meal prepared. Joey was going to cook a rack of ribs, and I told …
Despite it being the week before Christmas, I have yet to make my normal pile of sweets. I generally bake at least a double batch of peppernuts, and there’s often something that requires melting almond bark in my double boiler and spreading waxed paper on every open counter space. I actually have a variety of …
Continue reading “You’ll be sweet on these roasted potatoes”
This is the first year of major holidays our family will celebrate without my maternal grandparents. Thanksgiving was a tough transition to the new normal, and I know Christmas will be even more difficult. When my paternal grandmother passed away several years ago, I began taking solace in using her pie pans every holiday season. …
Continue reading “Recipe traditions can provide a ‘berry’ Christmas”
I recently found myself going on a whirlwind trip through the grocery store, quickly grabbing something to make for dinner on my way home from work. Joey and I were all geared up to watch a basketball game, and I (of course) ended up getting caught in the office far later than I wanted. And …
Continue reading “Sometimes speed is what cooking is all a’sprout’”
On our honeymoon, Joey and I visited a great Italian restaurant in New York City. It was the most expensive meal of our vacation, with us spending a generous gift from a family member that was earmarked for just that purpose. The place wasn’t all that fancy to look at, but when your waiter is …
I have apparently been misinformed about the difference between scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin for my entire life. I always thought they both had cheese involved. But after I decided recently to make scalloped potatoes, I discovered that the dish has no cheese at all, and it led me down a rabbit hole of …
A couple weeks ago, our family gathered around my maternal grandmother’s table, enjoying a meal with her along with all of the cousins and their children and spouses present. It was sometimes a bit loud and boisterous, and there was plenty of laughter as we all ate way too much while telling stories and catching …
Continue reading “It’s tough to see one more empty seat at the table”
I absolutely adore green beans. They’ve been near the top of my favorite veggies list since I was little. My normal ways of preparing them is to open a can, dump them in a microwave-safe container with some salt and pepper and heat them up or to fry up some bits of bacon in a …
Continue reading “I finally found the cooking method I’ve ‘bean’ looking for”
