We were enjoying some time with friends at the Kansas State Fair one year, when I told Joey I was in the mood for a blooming onion and was going to go around the corner to buy one. I asked if he wanted his own, and he looked at me like I had two heads. …
Continue reading “Get your snack game in full bloom this week”
Back when I started this column 10 years ago, I thought people would be coming out of the woodwork to offer up recipes for me to try. I signed off each week with a request for submissions. In that first year, I think I received about five or six. I learned quickly that people don’t …
Continue reading “Take a ‘leek’ at the recipe for some savory potato soup”
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”
Sometime last summer I found a huge bag of hatch green chiles that were on clearance in our local grocery store. I immediately threw them in my cart, visions of cheesy enchiladas with mild, roasted chiles dancing in my head. What I created was an abomination. I quickly realized how spicy the chiles were when …
Continue reading “Be ready for an enchi’little’ heat with jalapenos this week”
There is enough debate about black-eyed peas that there’s actually an article about them on the Library of Congress website. It starts out very simply, asking, “Are black-eyed peas really peas?” The answer is simple: “No.” The article then goes into a very technical, scientific explanation of how peas, beans and legumes are classified and …
Continue reading “‘Peas’ your tastebuds with a spicy crockpot soup”
Despite it being the week before Christmas, I have yet to make my normal pile of sweets. I generally bake at least a double batch of peppernuts, and there’s often something that requires melting almond bark in my double boiler and spreading waxed paper on every open counter space. I actually have a variety of …
Continue reading “You’ll be sweet on these roasted potatoes”