holiday cooking

I was born in the mid-west and my love of potatoes and cheese confirms that. Dauphinoise potatoes (also known as Pommes de terre dauphinoise, potatoes à la dauphinoise, gratin Dauphinoise, and gratin de pommes à la dauphinoise) is a French dish of sliced potatoes baked in milk, or cream, (or a combination), using the gratin […]

It’s holiday countdown time and everyone is searching for ideas about what to make for Christmas. Let’s face it, we all have our standard go-to’s and that’s fine, it works, but this year you want to challenge yourself or impress others perhaps. I say, go for it. Enter prime rib roast. Not a new dish, but […]

Brie en croute is essentially a brie wheel wrapped in a pastry dough and baked until golden. “En croute” (pronounced “on KROOT“) is simply a food that has been wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven. The dough can be an ordinary pie dough or more commonly, puff pastry. Brie en croute is a […]

Winter is a wonderful time. Earthy, hearty, beautiful root vegetables are in abundance. But what to do with them?  I say roast them. I love slightly browned roasted vegetables lightly toasted in olive oil. Straight-up, as a side dish, or here, mixed together in a hearty winter salad. This roasted winter vegetable salad hits the […]

Thanksgiving is so close I can almost taste it. All those wonderful, familiar, harvest comfort foods together on one table. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far, centered around what I love to do most: cook and eat. Thanksgiving first began in 1621 with a shared meal between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians. It […]

Boy did I hate Brussels sprouts when I was a kid?  To my six-year-old self, these were odd-looking vegetables not meant for human consumption.  Kudos to my parent, the Brussels sprouts kept returning and eventually, I learned to like them.  Now, older and wiser, I love them.  Their baby cabbage-like appearance, their strong almost spicy […]