As I was poking around our local grocery store’s clearance bin about a month ago, I stumbled on a box of “dumplings.” I was a bit confused, since they really just looked like really wide noodles, and it certainly didn’t fit my internal definition of what constitutes a dumpling. But they were cheap. So Joey …
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Brownies prove spices not ‘cinnamon’ous with fall
“It smells like fall in here,” Joey announced this weekend when he came home to the scent of fresh cinnamon brownies in our kitchen. I forget that cinnamon normally evokes a cold weather feeling from people. I’ll eat it any time of year. Find me some cinnamon ice cream, and I’d be all in. But …
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It’ll be tough to ‘leaf’ leftovers of basil sausage soup
I recently came across a photo of an adorable indoor herb garden and immediately became interested in having one myself. I’m not much of a gardener, and I’m enough of a nerd that I love research, so I have spent more time than I’d like to admit over the past few weeks looking at which …
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These cookies are a ‘cream’ come true
Early on in our marriage, Joey told me he loves Boston cream pie, and I kept that in the back of my mind for a long time as a recipe I should try to make for him. But then I didn’t. I think it’s probably because I often balk at making layer cakes, as though …
Gelatin pie will make you say ‘Jell-O, there’
With heat advisories peppering the weather reports this past week, I found myself in serious need of a cool, summer dessert that wouldn’t heat my kitchen past its breaking point. I guess I didn’t really “need” it, but when the heat index is pushing into the triple digits, I often search for something sweet to …
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Deciding to make enchiladas an open and shut ‘queso’
When I was in grade school, our family used to frequent a now defunct Mexican restaurant called Zaki’s. For some reason, at that age, I was particularly fond of making bets with my dad, and I can remember two challenges that centered on that restaurant in particular. The first was a bet I won. The …
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Expand your ‘chorizo’ns with potato tacos
My sister and I have a fundamental difference in opinion when it comes to potatoes in Mexican food. I’m in the “absolutely” camp, and she’s in the “never, ever” camp. I discovered this philosophical divergence one day when I recommended a local restaurant’s chorizo and potato fried tacos to her, and we were both shocked …
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Don’t leave dinner ‘scalloped’ to chance
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 …
You’ll love these caramel apple cookies to bits
While hunting for something in the freezer recently, I caused a bit of an avalanche of frozen food and discovered a bag of caramel bits tucked away on the bottom that I was gifted a few weeks ago by someone cleaning out their pantry. I’ve never used caramel bits in baking before, and although I …
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It’s tough to see one more empty seat at the table
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 …
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