I married into a seafood-loving family. Apparently it’s weird that I am not nearly as excited about eating non-fried fish as the rest of them are. I maintain that it’s perfectly logical for a lifelong Kansan to want everything with gills to be dropped into a vat of oil and fried to a crisp. My …
Continue reading “Add more than a pinch of flavor with crab cakes for dinner”
My allergies are totally angry at me right now. I don’t know what kind of plant is surviving well enough in this late-July heat to attack my sinuses, but something certainly has been. So when I told you I was immediately attracted to a soup recipe, you’ll forgive my stuffy nose for wanting a hot …
Continue reading “Don’t leaf through your cookbooks for ideas, make this instead”
On Jan. 23, 1940, the United States awarded a patent to inventor Irving Nachumsohn’s newest creation: the crock pot. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, it was originally marketed as the “Naxon Beanery,” with its name coming from a shortened version of Nachumsohn’s last name. With the public’s opinions of German last names during the mid-1940s, …
Continue reading “Easy recipe proves the crock pot is no has-‘bean’”
There are a few dishes that feel specifically American. Meatloaf is one of those, despite it also being the butt of many sitcom jokes over the years. According to an article by Erica Martinez for “Food Republic,” meatloaf has been on recipe cards since the 1870s, but it may be even older than that. “[F]ood …
Continue reading “You’ll ‘loaf’ this lightened-up classic dish for dinner”
There is a museum in Key West, Florida, that claims to house a haunted doll named Robert. According to the museum’s website, thousands of people take the trip to see this supposedly haunted toy every year. Part of the local legend is that being disrespectful to the doll can lead to bad luck, which is …
Continue reading “The devil’s in the details for this addictive snack mix”
I have always loved British entertainment. Lately, my obsession has been with a British podcast called “Off Menu.” It features comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and the premise is really simple. They ask guests to join them in their fictitious “dream restaurant,” and then they go course by course through the guest’s dream meal. …
Continue reading “It’s time to pig out on rolls from across the pond”
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”
Being the good aunt that I am, when my niece came to spend the night with us this past week, I made sure to have a bag of chocolate mini donuts ready for breakfast. When my sister and brother-in-law came to pick her up, I asked her if she wanted me to send the leftovers …
Continue reading “Don’t let delicious sandwiches slide by you”
An article on the website “Atlas Obscura” called “What the Heck Is Crab Rangoon Anyway?” lays out the history of the crispy little Chinese restaurant staple. The article notes that while crab rangoon are not from China, they’re an invention by Chinese-Americans, who began serving Chinese dishes to Americans of other backgrounds when they came …
Continue reading “Air fryer rangoon can keep you from ‘wonton’ eating”
