dinner

Braised beef with red wine and mushrooms is a quintessential dish for winter. Rich, tender beef, slowly braised in a decadent red wine sauce that melts in your mouth. This comfort dish oozes cozy vibes on a blistery weekend night. Although this dish takes time to yield the out-of-this-world results, it requires minimal prep making […]

Crispy tofu with Napa cabbage slaw is a tried and true family favorite. Dredging the tofu in cornmeal and cornstarch, before lightly pan frying, creates a crunchy exterior with a soft, pillowy texture inside. This is not my recipe, it’s from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I have adapted this recipe a little over the years, but […]

This is a lovely recipe from Ian Garten’s Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? cookbook that I have been making for years. My husband first introduced me to this effortless shrimp dish years ago after having it at a friend’s house. Now it’s considered a staple in my weekday meal repertoire. Ina Garten is a well-known […]

They say pesto sauce originated in Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, Italy.  But this simple sauce can actually be traced to the ancient Romans. Romans made a very similar dish called “moretum,” a spread made of garlic, cheese, herbs, olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Another influential sauce was “agliata“, a garlic sauce, common during the […]

I don’t think I fully appreciated a good oven-braised pot roast until I turned 40. It’s a great thing. Pot roast is a generic term for browned meat cooked with vegetables in a covered pot.  It began appearing in cookbooks in the late 19th century. But this cooking method known as “braising” (or slow cooking in […]

Let’s discuss millet. Millet is an ancient seed originating from Africa and Northern China. Millet has been around for centuries and remains a “staple” in the diets of about 1/3 of the world’s population. With a milk-sweet corn-like flavor, this grain is naturally gluten-free–making it a go-to for Celiac sufferers. Millet is a whole grain, […]

This is my spinach Stromboli, and it is tasty. To clarify some confusion, Stromboli and calzones are not the same thing. Both Stromboli and calzones are pizza derivatives. Both use either pizza dough or Italian bread dough (which involve similar ingredients) to achieve a similar goal: a small handhold pizza roll.  The differences come from […]

Shaking beef, also known as “Bò lúc lắc”–meaning sautéed dried beef–is a French-inspired Vietnamese dish that my entire family loves. The Vietnamese name translates to “shaking beef,” which is the main cooking method for this incredibly easy and tasty dish. Historically, beef was once considered a luxurious delicacy in Vietnamese cuisine. Beef was often reserved […]

I have always loved lamb kofta but, surprisingly, I have not made it very often until recently.  A trip to Iceland put lamb back on my radar–one of my sons, who does not eat fish, ate lamb almost every night while we were there. When we returned, I started looking for ways to add more […]

Shepherd’s pie, or “cottage pie” as it’s also known, is a meat pie with a mashed potato topping.  It can be made in numerous ways.  Traditionally, Shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb or mutton, and Cottage pie is made with beef.  The vegetables used also vary.  Carrots and onions are the most common, but […]

Let’s talk about chickpeas and how awesome they are.  My older son eats them straight up, a habit he picked up from me.  Also called garbanzo beans, these babies are not only delicious, they are packed with protein and vitamins. Although most people think of them as a vegetable, chickpeas are a legume with a slightly […]