Several months ago, I decided, for some reason, I needed to get ahold of a can of guava paste to bake with. I didn’t have a recipe picked out yet, but I’m sure I found some video about guava that convinced me I needed it in my life. I found a can while traveling and …
Continue reading “‘Guava’ your friends a tropical dessert to try”
Even though it seems to be billed as a fall fruit, I love a good apple all year round. In a lively discussion about favorite fruits this past week, I decided apples hold the number one spot for me right now, and if I’m eating one on its own, I like a sweet, red one. …
Continue reading “I have a good ‘peeling’ you’ll love these apple bars”
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”
Do you have those friends in your life where you have to try several times to plan a get-together before you can actually find a date on the calendar that works? This past weekend, the stars aligned for us to finally spend an evening with just such a pair. They were gracious enough to invite …
Continue reading “Roll through your cinnamon cravings with a simple cake”
It turns out, chocolate chip cookies are a much newer invention than I would have thought. An article on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website notes that the famous cookies were first invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield. Wakefield and her husband, Kenneth, ran the Toll House Restaurant in Massachusetts, hence the enduring “Toll House Chocolate …
“They have some gross cookies over here,” a gentleman said into his cell phone at a Hesston event we held this weekend, making sure to say it just loud enough for me to hear. Luckily, he was joking. Or at least I think he was. The cookies, made with lots of fresh raspberries ended up …
Continue reading “Chewy cookies can be a real ‘raspberry’ in blue”
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”
When I began writing this column over 10 years ago, I had grand illusions of people sending me their favorite recipes and me trying them. What I found was that people are normally pretty guarded with their best dishes, and even more so, everyone wanted me to tell them something new to try instead of …
Continue reading “Say ‘oui’ to this yummy overnight breakfast casserole”
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 was remarking to some friends the other day about how Joey and I are complete opposites when it comes to socializing. As an extroverted social butterfly, Joey draws his energy from being around people and generally loves a crowd. For me, while I love to socialize, I tend to be reenergized by some alone …
Continue reading “Don’t crumble under hosting pressure; make a quick and easy dessert”
