Canned butter beans create a fresh new take on hummus. Recipe below.
LATELY, WE’VE BEEN ENJOYING BUTTER BEANS—feed-me-in-a-hurry canned butter beans—and using them in some simple, delicious ways. Continue reading “Your new go-to snack/starter/condiment… Butter Bean Hummus”
These burned-looking Brussels sprouts are actually perfectly done—and delicious. Extremely simple recipe and variations below.
SOME HOME COOKS ARE VERY SIDE DISH-FOCUSED. ME, NOT SO MUCH. I want sides to be healthy and delicious, of course, but I also want them to appear magically while I’m working on the main course. These quick charred Brussels sprouts come close. Continue reading “An easy peasy spectacular side dish: Quick Charred Brussels Sprouts”
WE LOVE POTATOES IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY FORM. If you do too, here are four recipes that each share little potatoey cooking secrets. Continue reading “One potato, two potato, three potato, four… recipes and cooking tricks”
THANKSGIVING IS OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY, because it’s honestly just about delicious food. So when our Milwaukee daughter and her boyfriend couldn’t make it to our Thanksgiving dinner in Chicago, we all decided to do another one in Milwaukee. Continue reading “Three Thanksgivings, three favorite dishes”
Roasted eggplant, fresh dill and Greek yogurt make a delicious summery dish that can be served warm or chilled. Recipe below.
THE SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF MASSIVE RAINS turned around the scary drought we’d been experiencing here in Illinois, and it had a more intimate effect: our Japanese eggplant, which had been struggling and miserable, suddenly and eagerly began producing. Continue reading “A simple, seasonal, sensational side: Eggplant with Dill and Yogurt”
See you later, sweet potato casserole—with these four unexpected recipes, you can change it up with your sweet potato sides.
AS A THANKSGIVING SIDE, TOO-SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE does sweet potatoes no favors. It turns these delicious, colorful, super-healthy root vegetables into a cloying, gooey mess. Try one of these surprising recipes instead—you just might start a new holiday tradition. Continue reading “Four surprising ways to use sweet potatoes—for Thanksgiving or anytime”
PEACHES ARE JUST STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THE MARKETS. Sweet, juicy and summery. And that reminded us of a delicious spin we did on the classic caprese salad several summers ago, swapping peaches for tomatoes, and adding mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette for more flavor and crunch. You’ll find the recipe and the cookbook that inspired it here.
Boursin, a garlicky, herby French soft cheese, livens up the flavor of mashed potatoes. Recipe below.
WE LOVE MASHED POTATOES. Our weeknight go-to batch is garlicky mashed potatoes made with peeled yellow potatoes, butter, buttermilk and plenty of garlic. When we came across a recipe for Boursin mashed potatoes, we thought it might dial our favorite side dish up a notch or two. It did exactly that, making them still garlicky, but adding a rich, creamy, cheesy, herby flavor along with the nice texture of bits of red potato skins. Continue reading “Leave it to the French to dial up a favorite side dish: Boursin Mashed Potatoes”
These classic Chinese dumplings are an impressive “yeah-I-made-these” appetizer. Recipe below.
MY POTSTICKERS ARE LIKE SNOWFLAKES. NO TWO LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE. In celebration of Lunar New Year, the fun committee of the ad agency where I work hosted a virtual potsticker-making class. Having made our fillings beforehand from shared recipes, there we were in our Google Meet grid, trialing and erroring our way through filling, folding and pleating our dumplings. Continue reading “Fun to make, delicious to eat: Pork and Cabbage Potstickers”
These boiled potatoes are a traditional favorite in Central New York. Recipe below.
THREE SIMPLE INGREDIENTS: POTATOES, SALT, BUTTER. Four if you get fancy and add parsley. Syracuse salt potatoes are one of those beloved regional dishes, so much so that the grocery stores around Syracuse sell kits—essentially bags of potatoes with a bag of salt inside. Having made these delicious potatoes a couple of times now (without a kit), they’re going to become a favorite in the region of our house. Continue reading “Salt-crusted outside, creamy inside: Syracuse Salt Potatoes”