Back before my married days, one of my favorite dishes to make for myself was a big nine-by-13-inch pan of good, old-fashioned tater tot casserole. Of course, being one person, that also meant I was dedicating one meal a day for the next week to eating plenty of leftovers. I’m a sucker for leftovers, though, …
Continue reading “This classic casserole is entering a new school of ‘tot’”
Sometimes I feel like I must try a recipe, just because it sounds too ridiculous or strange to ignore. In this case, it was finding a guy online making a “Mexican Dutch baby.” If you’re not familiar with a traditional Dutch baby, it’s basically a large, puffy pancake made in an already preheated pan in …
Continue reading “Oh, baby, are you going to love this Mexican-Dutch fusion”
Editing for the newspaper leads me into strange rabbit holes sometimes. This week, it was a fair amount of research on hash browns. I have always spelled it as one word “hashbrowns,” but it turns out that I’m wrong. Also, apparently it’s not “hash brown,” although you can have “hash brown potatoes.” If it’s on …
Continue reading “Hashing out language isn’t always an easy task”
Throughout the winter months, Joey and I make a lot of soups, chowders and chilis, which I still firmly believe are perfectly great recipes to pull out of the box any time of the year. But sometimes I find myself in the mood for a casserole—something with a ton of flavorful ingredients, all nestled beneath …
Continue reading “Put some pep(per) in your step with a tasty, cheesy casserole”
One of my favorite parts of Christmas, now that my sister and I are adults, is our annual pilgrimage to my parents’ house, where my mom treats us to a delicious spread for breakfast before we retire to the living room, coffee cups in hand, to exchange gifts and watch my niece enjoy the spoils …
Continue reading “‘Role’ into Christmas with a tasty breakfast dish”
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”
Last weekend, Joey attended a day-long bowling tournament. The day before he left, he lamented that he didn’t think he would have time to throw a whole chicken we bought on the smoker and may have to toss it back in the freezer. Instead, I offered to put it in the oven on my day …
Continue reading “You can cook a whole chicken—even under pressure”
I was so glad this week that the smoke detector in my kitchen isn’t particularly sensitive. As I sauteed thin slices of steak on my stovetop, the room filled with a fine smoke that my exhaust fan just couldn’t keep up with. I am normally really nervous about cooking anything on high heat. I think …
Continue reading “Make a great Asian dish like you’ve never had ‘beef’ore”
I inadvertently jumped into the middle of a food controversy this week. Well, really, it was Joey’s fault. He found a video recently of someone making a sandwich called a “chopped cheese,” and because it looked delicious, we decided we needed to give it a try in our own kitchen. Upon doing some digging, I …
Continue reading “Stop, chop and (hoagie) roll into this week’s fabulous sandwich”
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 …
Continue reading “Roasted vegetables will be the ‘bell’ of the ball this summer”
