You might say there’s nothing unfussy about making your own chicken stock. I would counter that, while it’s pretty fussy to insist on cooking everything with homemade chicken stock, making your own is simple. And, like baking bread or roasting a chicken, there’s something about it that gives a primal satisfaction. This is cooking at…
Chewy Cherry-Almond Granola Bars
We go through granola bars like crazy in my house. Arne eats two for breakfast on those days when we don’t have the time or organization to eat breakfast together. (Or when the cat lets me sleep in.) Plus he eats them for snacks, and we always take them when hiking and disc golfing. The…
Spanakopasta: Spaghetti with Spinach and Feta
Last week I bought the new, revised edition of How to Cook Everything. I had actually forgotten there was a revision until I ordered it – I just think that once your paperback copy of a book has fallen into three or more pieces, it’s time to invest in the hardcover. I was reading the…
Overnight Brown-Sugar French Toast
A couple of years ago, my friend Dianne hosted a brunch. I think it was on New Year’s Day. In any case, there was a lot of delicious food there, but what everyone kept coming back to was a big pan of gooey, decadent brown-sugar-topped French toast. Happily, our hostess declared it easy-peasy and photocopied…
Nigella’s Coconut and Cherry Banana Muffins
Perhaps my most exciting holiday present this year was The Flavor Bible, a cookbook with no recipes. It’s more of a reference guide. The book is an alphabetical list of various ingredients (bananas, cardamom) and flavor profiles or cooking styles (Spanish cuisine, grilled dishes). Under each ingredient or style is a list of flavors that…
German Pork Stew with Mustard
As a transplant from Illinois, I am often somewhat taken aback by this time of year in New Mexico. I spend the late summer months craving the chill evenings of all, the time of year for stewing and braising and roasting. Instead, as often as not mid-December rolls around and it’s still shirtsleeve weather –…
Yaki-Soba: Japanese Stir-Fried Noodles
Yaki-soba is one of those essentially simple, endlessly flexible dishes, perfect for times when the cupboard is relatively bare and you have some odds and ends to use up. Today I made it as an unusual destination for Thanksgiving leftovers, using chunks of turkey. It would be great for those days when you’re sick of…
Post T-Day Breakfast: Stuffing Croquettes
We made way too much stuffing this Thanksgiving. Maybe because I love stuffing above all the other Thanksgiving foods, and I have no qualms about a bucketful of leftovers. (Honestly, I love everything in the “wet bread” genre – bread pudding, bread salad, you name it.) My family’s traditional stuffing includes breakfast sausage, so the…
Basil Ice Cream with Tomato Jam
I must thank my nephew Joseph and his new bride Melanie for this recipe; if their lovely wedding luncheon had not included a beautiful dessert of basil whipped cream over blackberries, I would never have thought of it. I’m not entirely sure which component I decided to make first, but once I thought of the…
Tomato Jam
This recipe, from reliable Mark Bittman, is a treasure. Easy to make and simply delicious, it’s a great recipe to have in your arsenal in the summer, when tomatoes are piling up and you need something new and exciting to do with them. The batch I just made used up a windfall of free tomatoes…