People sometimes wonder how I manage to find a different recipe to try every week. In the beginning of this column, over a decade ago, I thought I would source them from readers. I always assumed people would love sharing their favorites with me to try. But I’ve found over the years that people like …
Continue reading “Flavorful one-pan Middle Eastern dish is the ‘peas’ knees”
A few weeks ago, as one of my officemates, who shall remain nameless, glanced at my column, he remarked, “You’re really on a pasta kick right now, aren’t you?” “Yeah,” I told him. “I’m always on a pasta kick.” I mean, it’s kind of a silly question. Pasta is amazing. So, despite the judgement from …
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’”
While watching random cooking shows over the years, I picked up the advice from several chefs that if you’re cooking with wine, you should choose a bottle you would actually want to drink, or it isn’t worth using in your recipe. I have never heard the same advice for beer. I have used some of …
Continue reading “Everyone will polish off their plates with this sheet pan meal”
Every time I use turmeric in a recipe, I remember back to the time I ruined the one and only manicure I’ve ever had while using it in a delicious Jamaican recipe. Knowing it has the ability to stain everything, I have been diligent about wearing an apron when cooking with it ever since (although …
Continue reading “Turmeric-based veggie soup will help you feel golden”
I am generally pretty useless when it comes to remembering the different cuts of meat. If I’m ordering a steak, I know that a t-bone will have, well, a t-shaped bone in it, but I forget which cut has the best marbling or is the leanest, etc., etc. But after this week’s experiment, I now …
Continue reading “Nothing about wine-braised ribs falls short”
I recently watched a video that explained why there are so many different shapes of pasta out there. I always assumed it probably had a practical purpose and it wasn’t just because of ancient pasta makers’ boredom and creativity. And it does. If you’re wondering, it all comes down to the sauce. Have a thinner …
Continue reading “Cajun pasta shapes up to be an excellent, quick dinner”
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”
Joey and I have a shared joke when we go out to eat about which one of us “won” dinner, especially when we’re trying someplace new. A few weeks ago, Joey definitely won. He ordered a special that included fish (which I was not all that interested in) on top of an absolutely amazing mushroom …
Continue reading “Prepare to be mesme‘riced’ by creamy risotto”
Several years ago, my parents gifted me with a gorgeous, red braising pot. It’s a ceramic-coated cast iron pot, and I always feel like whatever I put in it should be really extraordinary. This week’s recipe really fit the bill for using my special pot, since I was getting ready to embark on a dinner …
Continue reading “Don’t skip this week’s a‘braising’ recipe”
