As soon as the weekly forecast came out, telling us that the opening weekend of football would be perfect for spending some time outside, Joey announced we were going to invite some folks to watch the games and throw some food on the smoker. Of course, I had to stick my nose in and announce …
Continue reading “Kick football season off with a bang by making shotgun shells”
I’m of the opinion that any dish named using its French term immediately sounds 1,000 times fancier. Souffles (puffed up egg dishes) and fondue sovoyarde (cheese dip) and crème brulee (custard topped with burnt sugar) all sound infinitely luxurious. Even foie gras (duck liver pate) almost sounds appetizing. Shrimp etouffee is another of those dishes. …
Continue reading “Etouffee is easy to make and ‘shrimp’ly delicious”
An article by Eliana Rivero goes into great detail about some of the cultural dishes of Cuba, including a dish I decided to try for this week’s column, congri. According to Rivero, “The name comes from the Creole French words congo and ris (beans and rice) to produce what today is widely consumed by Cubans …
Continue reading “Everyone will want to ‘congri’gate around your table for this dish”
There is an in-depth article that appeared back in 2017 in Texas Monthly by John Nova Lomax about the origins of chili con carne in the United States. It’s a great read, if you get the chance, and apparently there’s a lot of controversy about the recipe’s origins from historians, but I did love a …
Continue reading “Seize the ‘carne’ with a summer-friendly chili recipe”
Quite a number of years ago, when we put our house on the market, our realtor gave us some tips for keeping our home ready for showings. In addition to keeping things clean and organized, he encouraged us to pin back the curtains for plenty of natural light and begged us to take a break …
Continue reading “Meat is ‘naan’ essential for this potato and chickpea curry”
I’ve written before that I have some random, mostly mild food allergies that make certain recipes difficult for me. Specifically, tomatoes cause me trouble, and I have to limit how often I include them in my diet, no matter how much I love them. Because of that, I’m sympathetic to readers who sometimes email me …
Continue reading “Customizable pasta dish is worth every ‘penne’”
We decided to have a few friends over for dinner this past week, and I decided it was finally time for me to try this amazing-looking recipe for a baked Italian dish. Joey was gracious enough to help me out by manning the saute pan. He was busy cooking the sausage and onion and asked, …
Continue reading “Make a ‘rigaton’ of food with this sausage pasta bake”
Awhile back, I stumbled on a Facebook group called “Good Ol’ Mennonite Recipes,” and of course, I had to join to see what kinds of great food people were sharing on there. I have jealously looked at delicious loaves of bread and mounds of verenike under ham gravy, but I recently stumbled on a post …
Continue reading “Save lots of time this week with some phony pierogi”
Last week, I knew I was going to be doing dinner on my own one evening, because Joey was going to be gone for a bowling tournament. I immediately combed through my saved recipes on Pinterest, trying to decide what new recipe I’d try while he was away. I originally chose something I knew he …
Continue reading “Cannellini beans and garlic make a soup that’s just ‘white’”
When my sister and I were growing up, my mom always joked she was going to open a restaurant called “I don’t care,” thanks to the number of times we uttered the phrase when the family was choosing where to eat. On the occasions when we did care, there were certain places that turned into …
Continue reading “Sprinkle in something new with peppered beef”
