My friend Kim gave me the bones of this recipe at least 15 years ago, and I still have it in my recipe box in her handwriting. I elaborated on the recipe a bit, and rearranged it to make it more user-friendly, but the essence is the same: Italian-seasoned meat,...
Perfect Blue Cheese Dressing
So what's the deal with Blue Cheese Dressing? I wasn’t sure, either, so I Googled. Here’s the distilled version: Best as culinary historians can tell, the earliest mention of a blue cheese salad dressing was in the Edgewater Beach Hotel Salad Book, published in 1928....
Macaroni and Cheese
Let me be perfectly clear right up front: this may not be the Mac and Cheese you were expecting. I’ve been making this Macaroni and Cheese for a long time. It has many similarities to the Macaroni and Cheese that my mom made for us growing up, but I’ve long since lost...
Meatloaf Burgers
I recently had a reader request comfort food recipes. I thought all of my recipes were comforting, but what do I know? So I asked what sort of thing he had in mind. The answer was meatloaf and mac and cheese. Fine. Meatloaf today, Macaroni and Cheese next week....
Chinese Baby Back Ribs
Y’all already know that I love Chinese-American food almost as much as I love TexMex, and that’s really saying something. I keep Asian seasoning ingredients in my pantry so I can whip up something even better than Chinese takeout at a moment’s notice. I love that with...
Lemon Chicken Pasta with Rosemary
I’m on week 3 of working 7 days in a row, so I’ll be quick. Luckily, Lemon Chicken Pasta is the perfect thing for this situation, plus it’s really good. Welcome to your new family favorite! This is one of those one-pot pasta recipes. You don’t cook the noodles before...
Creole Potato Salad with Ham
This is the second installment of our “What the Heck am I Supposed to Do with All This Leftover Ham?” series. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anybody who doesn’t like some form of potato salad. My Nana made the best potato salad ever. I won’t divulge her...
Ham and Swiss Party Sandwiches
Dorothy Parker famously observed, “Eternity is a ham and two people.” As much as I admire Dorothy Parker and her wit, that’s nonsense. I--and I know I’m not the only one--love having ham leftovers, and they’re certainly not a burden as long as you plan ahead just a...
Strawberry Salsa
You know it’s spring when the farmer’s markets and local grocery stores start putting out big, fat, beautiful strawberries. I picked some up the other day, and found that they were a little tart for my taste. Luckily, I have a quick and easy remedy for that:...
Orange Ground Chicken
I’m on a mission to use up everything in my chest freezer. For one thing, it sorely needs to be organized. I’m a nicer person when things are organized. For another thing, I’m the kind of weirdo that keeps an inventory posted on the front of my freezer so I know what...
The Very Best Braised Pork Chops
Truth be told, my mom’s Braised Pork Chops are the best I’ve ever had. I’ve had fried pork chops with gravy. I’ve had pork chops stuffed with things like pancetta and sage, or andouille sausage dressing. I’ve even had fancy pork chops in a fancy restaurant that cost...
Chicken and Dumplings
You’ll see some Chicken and Dumplings topped with dropped dumplings that are steamed on top of a brothy chicken and vegetable base. Others have kneaded dough dumplings that have been rolled out and cut, then simmered in a flavorful broth with chicken and vegetables....