There’s always leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving. I like to use the extra on French toast. It’s also good on top of baked brie. RECIPE 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries 3/4 c orange juice 1/4 tsp orange zest 1/4 c water 1 c sugar (I go equal opportunity: 1/2 white, 1/2 brown sugar) 1 …
You can call them sweet potato mashed potatoes if you want. I do, even though it’s redundant. RECIPE 6 medium sweet potatoes or yams 1 stick butter, melted 1/2 c milk 1/2 tsp cinnamon sea salt, coarsely ground ground pepper 1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes. 2. Place in a pot with …
The peanut butter is enough to disrupt tradition, but subtle enough that it won’t upset any Thanksgiving traditionalists sitting at your table. I think it’s worth the extra effort to roast your own pumpkin (try the Sugar Pie variety) and puree it. But if you’re using pumpkin from a can, the peanut butter does a …
I once liked this girl, who was gluten intolerant. She was coming to a party, so I thought I’d be all cool and make this gluten-free chocolate cake for her. It turned out, she also had a dairy allergy, and so she couldn’t eat the torte. So there we all were, eating this cake, and …
I can’t think of a better comfort food than spaghetti and meatballs. As kids, whenever it was our birthday or we did well on our report cards, we’d get to pick dinner, and my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs was almost always our choice. She’d start the sauce in the morning in the crock pot, and …
In Colle di Val d’Elsa, I made it my goal to try every espresso drink at the local coffee bar, Milleluci. I didn’t know what all of the words meant, so I’d just order them. One day before work, I asked for a “caffè corretto,” which turned out to be two shots, one of espresso …
My grandpap on my Dad’s side was a chef at the K & K in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. I never got to know him, but his sister told me she’d walk by the kitchen in the morning while they were serving breakfast. There was a window in the back where she would watch him cook. He …
My high school piano teacher, Ms. Sung, asked for a flan recipe, so I sent her this one. She said it turned out great, but the vanilla bean was pricey. It’s true. Vanilla can get pretty expensive. Don’t buy it at the grocery store. I have found better luck at specialty markets. Online is always …
I use this salsa for a bunch of things, like black bean and cheese enchiladas or roasted chicken tacos. I’ll serve it with chips or on top of omelets in the morning. Queso fresco is a nice garnish. This is a pretty simple recipe. The key is roasting everything before you blend it, so you …
The first time I made cinnamon rolls was also the first time I worked with yeast. I was 10 or 11. It was the summer. My mom, sister, and I decided on a baking project to keep us out of the 117° weather (I grew up in Phoenix). We had made cookies from scratch, banana …
