Cooking Articles

Hillbilly Chocolate Gravy and Biscuits

Some years ago one of my best buddies invited me to join him for a family gathering in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His selling points were twofold: good lookin' ladies in short-shorts on Dixon street at night...

Juicy Pork, No Scary Ingredients Required

In a Sunday night pinch last weekend, my boyfriend and I found ourselves at the local Safeway staring at a bunch of plastic wrapped logs of meats wondering what to cook for dinner. In an ideal world we...

Getting Back In the Saddle (Without the Saddlebags)

All right, it's a new year and all. Time to get back on the Stairmaster, eat better, forego dessert--wait! Hold the phone! My friend Lucy recently lamented how she's sick of hearing about how "weight...

Your Own Brand of Spaghetti Sauce

Being of partial Italian descent, one of my dietary staples is pasta with red tomato sauce. I have had this meal for dinner about once a week for almost as long as I can remember. Unlike a lot of my...

Coming to a Costco Near You: Burrata

Close your eyes and let your finger drop at random on most Italian-American restaurant menus and there is a fairly good chance your dish of choice will contain the stringiest of Italian cheeses, mozzarella....

Snow Day Treats

“Snowed in” is a relative term, depending on what area of the country you live. The farther north you go, the less of a big deal a few inches of the white stuff is. As you head south though, just a...

Everyday Beef Bourguignon

Several years ago I hosted a dinner party themed around its main dish, such that the party eventually took on its own name among the attendees: “Beef, It’s What’s For Dinner.” As you can guess,...

Leftovers In A Can?

Daughter recently had a friend over to play who stayed to eat dinner with us. A spunky, enthusiastic girl, she began to regale us with tales of leftover food funnies from their house. You know, the green,...

Cramer's Kraut: Not Just For New Year's

Here in Pennsylvania Dutch country it’s a strong age-old tradition to eat pork and sauerkraut at New Year’s. Whether consumed on the eve or the exact day, it’s said to be the trick to ensuring that...

January Challenge Part IV: Reinventing Leftovers

Congratulations my ambitious Home Cook, you have almost made it through an entire month of pushing yourself to rethink your approach to consistently getting dinner on the table… from scratch. A month...

A Little Chicken For Lentil Love

Legumes seem to forever fall into two categories. Under one column we find the staple food of vegans. Chickpeas, white beans, lentils (oh the lentils!), this is the central source of protein for those...

To Kill a Cold, Awaken the Taste Buds

‘Tis the season: of sneezing, coughing, congestion, flu, and curling up for the weekend bemoaning the illness that has interfered with your social schedule. Behind the nasal-y voice, or total lack of...

The Ultimate Birthday Cake

Birthdays can be a challenge. If it’s not the counting of the irrevocably passing years, it’s the pressure of picking the right gift or a tasty cake. And since January birthdays follow on the heels...

Cookies With A Purpose

It’s that time of year, time to ditch your diet and buy some Girl Scout cookies! There is a short window of opportunity to order from your friendly local Girl Scout or Brownie going on right now, but...

More for the Lunch Box: 20 Meat Lovers' Sandwich Ideas

Day in and day out, packing box lunches can leave one in need of some serious inspiration. While the Earl of Sandwich would be proud of his popularity today, we have many more options than just meat between...

The Crock Pot Candy Dish

During that lazy week in between Christmas and New Year’s, my husband, sister, and I went to the zoo. My husband kept lamenting that he couldn’t throw Skittles into the lion cage; I had to keep steering...