While planning a snack menu for a recent get-together at our office, I decided the summer heat dictated some nice, cool appetizers. After settling on some dips to go with crackers, I decided I wanted something summery and full of fresh garden vegetable flavors, so I began researching bruschetta. According to “The International Kitchen” website, …
Continue reading “Bruschetta a nice slice of delicious summer living”
Joey and I received an amazing opportunity last week to speak at the Kentucky Press Association’s winter conference. We had a fabulous time with some really great people. My only complaint was the weather for our drive there and back heavily featured thick fog and switched between torrential downpours and drizzles. By the time we …
Continue reading “Italian comfort dish ‘gnocchi’ed dinner out of the park”
I know that most of the recipes I share with you in this space are “sometimes” foods. From pasta-laden, full-fat casseroles swimming in cheese to decadent desserts with more sugar than a bag of Pixy Stix, I know the temptation is real. But we all need some recipes that look and sound a bit sinful …
Continue reading “Lighten up and try a new lasagna recipe this week”
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”
With the weather finally warming up, it’s about the time of year when you begin meeting yourself coming and going, it seems. There are so many activities outdoors, and staying inside after the harsh winter on top of a pandemic makes me want to spend every moment I can out in the yard or taking …
Continue reading “Spring is time to come out of your shell”
Is it just me, or has it been particularly difficult to decide what to make for dinner lately? OK, so I know it’s definitely not just me—it’s Joey, too. If you’re not having this same “let’s stare at each other until one of us breaks and makes a decision” moment every evening, I envy you. …
Continue reading “‘Ciao’ down on Tuscan sausage pasta”
Until I began this column, I had no idea how many variations of pasta there are. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable until I continued to discover new types that often were tough to find in small-town Kansas grocery stores. My recipe this week called for ziti, a tube-shaped pasta I’m definitely familiar …
Continue reading “Let’s embrace the ‘pasta’bilities this week”
A quotation I saw online, attributed to Rob Fee, is one of the best explanations of the conversation Joey and I have every day: “Relationships are just two people constantly asking each other where they want to go eat, until one of them dies.” In our case, it’s not really asking where we want to …
Continue reading “Beef up your dinner menu with casserole”
On our honeymoon, Joey and I visited a great Italian restaurant in New York City. It was the most expensive meal of our vacation, with us spending a generous gift from a family member that was earmarked for just that purpose. The place wasn’t all that fancy to look at, but when your waiter is …
Continue reading “Mushrooms are easy ‘caprese’ for dinner”
This past week, we went north to Iowa and Minnesota for a newspaper conference and to visit some friends. One of my wonderful friends, who has inexplicably given up her Kansas roots for the big city of Minneapolis, assured us that Minnesota is generally pretty mild in October, so we were excited to experience some …
Continue reading “Ring in winter with bell pepper soup”