Recipes for snack foods, sweet and savory.
I love watching cooking shows when I have a free moment. One of my favorite TV chefs is Lidia Bastianich. She specializes in all kinds of Italian dishes that look positively amazing. Going to her restaurant in Kansas City someday is definitely on my bucket list. I have only tried making a couple of her …
Continue reading “Have a ball in the kitchen with a new potato dish”
While planning a snack menu for a recent get-together at our office, I decided the summer heat dictated some nice, cool appetizers. After settling on some dips to go with crackers, I decided I wanted something summery and full of fresh garden vegetable flavors, so I began researching bruschetta. According to “The International Kitchen” website, …
Continue reading “Bruschetta a nice slice of delicious summer living”
An article by UCLA Health explains that mushrooms are considered a healthy addition to one’s diet. In addition to being lower in fat and calories, there are studies that have linked them to decreased cancer risk, better brain health and even healthier immune systems, among other benefits. That’s pretty neat for a fungus that many …
Continue reading “Cap off your snack table with simple, air-fried mushrooms”
When we went on family vacations during childhood, we always packed plenty of snacks and a cooler with pop for the journey. I didn’t know until I was nearly an adult that people could actually buy the snacks and drinks at roadside convenience stores. What a world. One of our stand-by car trip snacks was …
On a recent free evening, Joey and I decided to watch a movie together, and I wanted popcorn. Of course, I couldn’t just toss a bag of microwave popcorn in to cook; I needed to make the real stuff on my stovetop. I melted a spoonful of coconut oil in a pot and waited for …
Continue reading “It’s good to have a fallback recipe for whatever pops up”
If you have read this column for any length of time, you know that I am, in no way, a gardener. Despite that, I still follow a Kansas gardening group on Facebook, and I love seeing the posts of beautiful gardens, weird plants and bugs that show up in people’s yards and discussions about how …
Continue reading “Pepper recipes abound for whatever might pop up”
I have made a lot of dishes over the years that are extremely recognizable to many Midwesterners. From cornbread and biscuits to casseroles and pies, I haven’t made too many recipes that scared folks off. This week, though, I’m afraid that I may have upped the fear factor for some of you who aren’t overly …
Continue reading “‘Eggs’plore a new treat with Mayak Gyeran”
At least 10 years ago, I first tried making homemade soft pretzels for this column. They were messy, extremely tricky to knot and delicious. Since that first foray into pretzel-making, I have made the recipe again several times, but I have always opted to make pretzel bites instead of going through the arduous process of …
Continue reading “No need to ‘Harp’ about this amazing pub cheese”
I have always loved British entertainment. Lately, my obsession has been with a British podcast called “Off Menu.” It features comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and the premise is really simple. They ask guests to join them in their fictitious “dream restaurant,” and then they go course by course through the guest’s dream meal. …
Continue reading “It’s time to pig out on rolls from across the pond”
Decades ago, a friend of mine introduced me to what my young brain was sure had to be one of the fanciest home-cooked meals one could create. He boiled some fettuccine noodles (far past al dente), added a jar of pre-made alfredo sauce and mixed in the coup de grâce: imitation crab. I know. I …
Continue reading “Scuttle your other snack plans in favor of this crispy crab”
