Cooking Articles

They've Got Legs!

One of my favorite late spring, early summer treats is the soft shell crab. These are molting blue crabs, commonly found in Eastern United States waters and especially in the Chesapeake Bay region. Soft...

The Competent Cook's Quotables

The other day I was talking to a woman who was shocked that I happily give away recipes. "If I could cook like you, I would never give away my secrets," she declared. Well, I must say that I thoroughly...

Peeling the Onion

Often bridesmaids, but hardly ever the bride, onions play a significant, and sometimes unrecognized, supporting role in the kitchen. While their contribution to our cooking may be taken for granted, many...

Arugula Gone Wild

Arugula ñ a commonly misunderstood leafy lettuce;  A spicy, peppery addition to salads and recipes;  A surprising burst of flavor that takes the spotlight in every dish; An above-ground plant that...

Buttercream-O-Rama

Frosting, icing, let me count the ways that I love thee . . . I really like frosting. It's the icing on the cake (every pun in the world intended!). Cake is nice, don't get me wrong, and good cake...

Eating Amish-Style

There are some classic food combinations that just go so well together: peanut butter and jelly; apple pie and ice cream; and chicken and corn. You might ask--chicken and corn? Yes, I have found that...

A Perfect Picnic

If you are looking for a unique and fun way to kick off the summer with your kids, then try spreading a blanket and having a good old fashioned picnic. Warm weather brings outdoor concerts, firework shows,...

No Kitchen? Try the Slow Cooker

The kitchen renovation started a week ago. During last year's crazy real estate market, we spent months looking for the perfect apartment. Well, about a week, really, until we realized that the perfect...

Great Meals for the Great Outdoors

What if I told you that this weekend you had the opportunity to sleep on the hard ground, get eaten by bugs, eat out of tin cans, and oh yeah, that you will most definitely not get to shower. Not exactly...

Happier Meals

It has been a life changing couple of months for my older son (well, for all of my family really). His secure spot as an only child with two doting parents quickly came to an end with the birth of our...

Knives 101: What to Have and How to Keep Them

If there were room in the world for only one kitchen tool it undoubtedly would be the knife. Conceptually, knives have been around for at least two million years, dating back to a time when a sharp-edged...

Sauerkraut--Sweet Memories

When you meet a man in his early 40s, he usually comes with baggage. By then, we all have some. But when I met Robert, he didn't have any baggage. Instead, he had crocks. Huge gray crocks. My husband...

For Lovers of Encased Meats: Sausage in a Flash

‘Tis the season of encased meats. Nothing indicates the arrival of summer more than the smell of kielbasa cooking on a stand outside of Costco or the sizzle of hot dogs grilling at a neighborhood cookout....

Disarming Potatoes

Poof! With just one quick poke of my cooking fork, a mini explosion erupted from the golden baked brown Idaho to release shards of fresh and tender potato all over the bottom of my recently cleaned oven....

Italian Night

Who doesn’t love Italian food? It is certainly one of the most favored cuisines worldwide, with Italian restaurants and pizza shops in every city. And we all know those classic Italian foods: tomatoes,...

Feed a (Spring) Fever

Spring has sprung and I smell the blooming perennials just around the corner. The cup of rainforest blend I just enjoyed may have helped to awaken such keen senses.  With that in mind, I feel it’s time...