A Tale of Two Soups
This recipe is written for butternut squash but could be made with pumpkin, acorn squash, sweet potato, French turban, spaghetti squash, or any other type of root vegetable or winter squash.
Grilled to Pear-fection
It’s a weird time. I know there are a lot of uncertain things going on, but I’m talking about that weird time between the end of the summer and beginning of fall. You may still have some tomatoes to harvest and eat, but there is also fall produce to harvest. Butternut squash, sweet potatoes, greens, […]
Charm of Chicken Parm
It is time to harvest tomatoes. You can peel plain tomatoes and freeze or can them. You can also make salsa or tomato sauce and have them to use all winter. One of my favorite uses for tomato sauce is to top chicken parmesan. The sauce does not need to be fancy; tomatoes, salt, pepper, […]
Simple Shortbread
I have loved shortbread cookies since I was a kid. I love sugar, but I may love butter more. Shortbread is like the best of both worlds. I remember eating Archway shortbread cookies; all of my grandparents lived in Boonville, and for many years Archway maintained a plant there. It was not until I was […]
Churn Up the Flavor
If you’re like me, you’ve been cooped up all winter cooking in the kitchen and you’re ready to get outside and grill. This article is more of a concept as opposed to a recipe. You can take about 10 or 15 minutes to prep all the ingredients in the morning or the night before, then […]
Batter Up
If you can make a pancake, you can make a crepe. “Really thin pancakes” seems to be the most common way we like to describe them. If you have made crepes before, note that this recipe is a little different. This crepe recipe gets most of its structure from the eggs, allowing the crepes to […]
Fishing for Compliments
To my knowledge, there are three types of court bouillon (French translation of short broth). The first type is the very simple quick broth for poaching fish with a small amount of onion, carrot and celery with aromatics and white wine. Then there are two types of Cajun court bouillon (in Cajun country pronounced koo […]
Bites of Bliss
Good bagels are hard to come by in the Midwest. Technology has helped us with many things, but automating procedures to help streamline the process can sometimes affect the result. Traditionally bagels were proofed, boiled, then baked. It is quite an involved process that can take up a lot of time and room. Some bakeries […]
Coarse Correction
I have been a big fan of grits for a long time, or at least what I thought was grits. About 10 years ago I got to try some OG Grits. They were coarse-ground with a stone mill powered by the War Eagle Creek (a tributary of the White River) in Rogers, Arkansas. Quick grits […]
Southern-Style Spoonbread
Spoonbread is like polenta met cornbread — and they called up soufflé and custard to have a party. This recipe is gluten-free, but not because the ingredients are left out that need to be there, but because it is naturally gluten-free. It has Native American roots and strong ties to the South. It can make […]
Splendid Spuds
Cooking scalloped potatoes has always been more of a method as opposed to a recipe for me. I never look up a recipe to cook rice — I just make sure I know the ratio of liquid to rice, depending on the grain type, then make sure to use the correct method. I see scalloped […]
Potsticker Paradise
Just about every culture has some type of dumpling. They range from elaborate fillings with intricate folds, to seasoned clumps of dough with no filling. Dumplings can be steamed, fried or cooked in soup. The potsticker combines the best of both worlds — the dumplings are pan-fried until they stick to the pot or pan […]
Hot Smoked Salmon
It’s the best time of year to grill and smoke meat — and it’s currently in the middle of the wild Alaskan salmon season (April through September). Salmon is great grilled, baked, poached, broiled and cured, but my favorite is hot smoked. It does take a little planning, including 10 minutes in the morning to […]
Ear-to-Ear Smiles
Elotes Mexicanos or Mexican Street Corn may not be on your radar yet. It was not on mine, but once you have had it, there is no turning back to plain boiled corn. It is an unexpected mixture of tangy, cheesy, spicy and sour that makes you wonder, “Why am I just now having this […]
Hog Heaven
Have you ever eaten a sandwich that is as big as your head? If you have had a pork tenderloin sandwich, you have come close. The tenderloin sandwich was created in Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana in 1904. It subsequently grew in popularity throughout Iowa and Missouri. It is a fabulous sandwich, but like many […]
Cannoli Confection
Cannoli, “The King of Sicilian Desserts.” If you say the word “cannoli,” there is a 50-50 chance that someone will tell you to “leave the gun, take the cannoli.” Cannoli were adapted from a dish brought to Sicily by the Moors more than 1,000 years ago. The Sicilians adapted it to what we know as […]
The Versatility of Meatloaf
Sometimes in the cold of winter, you need an easy dish you can make on a Monday and have for three or four meals throughout the week. Meatloaf is that dish. It is as easy or as complicated as you want. You can toss in ketchup, bread and seasoning, or grind your own meat, vegetables and […]
Tasty Tamales
You can stuff just about anything into tamales. Cheese, vegetables, braised meat, seafood, chicken, venison, turkey, beans and dessert are all common, but you can come up with so many more with a little imagination. If you talk to anyone who has a tradition of making tamales in their family, they will probably gladly give […]
Glorious Green Bean Casserole
Green bean casserole was first introduced in the 1950s and has grown in popularity, particularly at Thanksgiving. Although the original recipe was intended to be made with frozen green beans and canned cream of mushroom soup, I have made a few changes over the years. Like most dishes made during the middle of the century, […]
Brine It!
Cooking has always been a major event in my family, especially during the holidays. When I went to New York for culinary school, I was able to come back for only a short time over the holidays, so this left very little time to plan and execute our menu. We would start a slew of […]
