CONFESSION: Chicken soup is reserved only for when I’m sick. Much like 7-up and flat coca-cola, chicken soup just tastes like being sick to me when I’m healthy. I feel pretty much the same for all chicken broth-based soups. Conversely, when I’m not feeling well, there’s nothing better.
I prefer to make this with a whole [...]

CONFESSION: I really want a Mexican grandmother. I make outstanding Mexican food, if I do say so myself. I’m incredibly comfortable with the flavor profiles, but there are some dishes — some of my favorite dishes — that I just can’t tackle. Chiles rellenos, stuffed peppers, and tamales, are the ones best taught, I figure, [...]

CONFESSION: Risotto has long been one of the dishes that’s eluded me. Now that I’ve nailed it I’m in shock at how easy it is to make.
I had a lot of smoked salmon that I wanted to try to use, and when I saw smoked salmon risotto as an option for using it I [...]

CONFESSION: For a very long time I was a well-done girl. Meat needed to be cooked through… meat-colored meat was unacceptable. I still sort of am, in many ways. I’m venturing into the medium range for my steaks, but burgers must be well-done, and a drip of blood-red meat juice still makes me squick. But [...]

CONFESSION: By stereotypical “Mom’s home cooking” standards, I overseason everything. At least, that’s what it seems like when I read recipes in church and family cookbooks. I need a lot of flavor in my food and I don’t use much salt at all, so I compensate for [...]

Curses! I hate when I forget to take a photograph of the completed meal, and this chicken makhani (Indian Butter Chicken) was absolutely freaking phenomenal. It was, without question, one of the most amazing meals I’ve made at home. And yet, no photos. But I have pics of the biryani, which was also fantastic.
CONFESSION: You [...]

CONFESSION: I buy too many vegetables. Like way too many. Way more than we can eat, and we eat a lot of produce. Oh, I have good intentions, and yet it’s embarrassing how much veg we throw away. This is an especially bad problem when I’m cooking for the week and I know all the [...]

CONFESSION: I was afraid of making my own stocks for a long time. It was tedious, quite frankly, and I’m all about the shortcuts, right? Well, who knew that spending a little time to make the stocks could be an awesome shortcut?
When I made my Shrimp Scampi a couple weeks ago I knew I’d be [...]

CONFESSION: I love cookbooks. Like LOVE cookbooks, even though I rarely use the recipes as described. I like browsing through for fun, getting ideas, learning new techniques I can apply elsewhere. Sure, I use the internet to find recipes on occasion, but my first stop is almost always my shelf of cookbooks. And that’s where [...]

CONFESSION: My secret to my chili isn’t shortcut at all. In fact, it’s a gigantic pain, but it makes it so much better. I grind my own very lean meat.

From there it’s hard to say. My chili’s never really the same twice, though I follow the same steps. Brown the meat with plenty of onions [...]

CONFESSION: To say my husband’s a little timid about cooking is an understatement. Still, occasionally he’s willing to tackle dinner, as long as he has VERY SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS. This is the email I sent him to make this delicious beef stew. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, just season to taste (I season [...]

CONFESSION: I am hugely skeptical about tofu that claims to be something else. Unless it’s made by Quorn. Then it’s cool.
That said, it’s not a surprise I’m not terribly impressed with Smart Strips Chick’n Strips. They simply tried to make them too much like chicken, which is awesome in its own way, I guess, but [...]