When the Mexican American Fastpitch Softball Tournament rolls into Newton every summer, Joey and I try to make it out to watch a few hours of the action. The games are definitely entertaining, but if I’m being honest, I’m mostly there for the food. Trying to pick what to eat from the various vendors is …
Continue reading “There’s a kernel of summer flavor in this pasta salad”
In an interview with the Food Network, Chinese food expert Nadia Liu Spellman explained hoisin sauce, a condiment that is new to my refrigerator as of this week. “I would call it the ketchup of Chinese cuisine, because it’s used as an ingredient but also as a finishing sauce and condiment,” Liu Spellman said in …
Continue reading “‘Hoi’ can’t recommend these Mongolian noodles enough”
Something I probably haven’t mentioned often is that I have a constant helper in the kitchen when I try recipes for this column. Sometimes she gets to sample something, and sometimes she is informed that the particular creation at hand is “not good for puppies.” Regardless, our 15-year-old schnauzer, K.C., hopefully follows me around the …
Continue reading “Turn over a new leaf with basil lemon sugar cookies”
On most days, Joey and I work in the same newspaper office or together from home. Every once in awhile, though, we go our separate ways. Recently, when we had such a day, Joey shot me a text, “Hey, it’s been a really long day. Do you mind figuring out dinner for tonight?” Challenge accepted. …
Continue reading “Cheese, spinach are the stuff dinner dreams are made of”
One of the most popular questions I get from people when they find out I write a recipe column is whether I have had any food fails when trying new dishes. The answer is a resounding yes. And if you were to ask me what the biggest fail of all time was, I would, without …
Continue reading “Prepare a honey of a meal for dinner this week”
As soon as the weather starts to warm up, it’s time for Joey and me to start going through all the grilling recipes he sent me over the winter. The first one up is this week’s recipe, which features a Polynesian-inspired sauce over a spatchcock chicken. If you’re not familiar with spatchcocking, it’s a technique …
Continue reading “‘Lei’ the foundation for a delicious grilled chicken”
The Kansas Wheat Commission reports on its website that there are six varieties of wheat grown in the United States. Those include hard red winter, hard white, soft red winter, soft white, hard red spring and durum. Anyone who has been around wheat farmers in Kansas knows that most farms produce the hard red winter …
Continue reading “Using a softer flour is the ‘fluff’ dreams are made of”
“We’re in! What can I bring?” I texted my mom about Easter lunch. “A dessert of some kind,” she wrote back. “Make something easy!!!!” “Since when do I make complicated desserts?” I responded, punctuating it with a laughing emoji. So, in other words, here’s a slightly complicated (but amazingly decadent) dessert I made for Easter …
Continue reading “Creating a decadent cheesecake isn’t ‘cherry’ difficult”
Every once in awhile, I run across a food idea so dumb but so obviously delicious that I just have to try it. It happened when I made poutine tacos. It happened when I decided to try Mountain Dew and Doritos cupcakes. And it happened again this past week, when I saw a simple recipe …
Continue reading “Combining cookies and cinnamon rolls is totally friend‘chip’ goals”
It’s amazing what people will passionately debate about online. Recently, I watched a video that started with two Italians explaining that they were going to show people how to make real alfredo sauce. The rest of the video was another creator trying out the dish, and from his reaction, I knew I had to give …
Continue reading “Don’t be ‘alfredo’ trying from-scratch pasta sauce”
