I’ve been curious about Vietnamese food ever since I developed a crush on Spike Mendelsohn when he was a contestant on Top Chef. The promise of a mix of spicy and sweet intrigued me, but I never got around to trying Vietnamese food until recently when Chicago’s Big Pho opened up a branch near my [...]

Last night I came dangerously close to choosing a jarred sauce to pair with the lobster ravioli we splurged on at The Pasta Shoppe in Oak Park. I had the jar of alfredo all ready to go, and while I’m sure I’d have loved it (Bertolli Alfredo may not be authentic, but it’s divine), I [...]

I had never tried rainbow chard before, so I didn’t know what to expect when I got a huge bunch of it in my CSA delivery. Luckily, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian came to my rescue.
I’ve loved the original How to Cook Everything for years, so when my husband and I decided to [...]

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: I used to be very narrowminded about vegetarian cuisine. When we first started Meatless Mondays back in November, we kept things really simple and traditional. Stir fries with tofu, and this, a simple falafel pita. I make my own falafel, mostly because I’m extremely picky about the texture. I like my falafel when it’s [...]

When I first discovered Doña María’s Ready-to-Serve molé sauce I was really, really skeptical. Molé, a spicy chocolate sauce, is one of those things that I’ve tasted done really, really well and really poorly. And, quite frankly, my expectations were so low that I actually reserved some of the sauce and only made half my [...]

QUICK TIP: Just Say No to LaChoy. Look, I’m sorry; I know there are plenty of wonderful people out there who work for LaChoy and all, but if you want real Asian, Chop Suey ain’t it. (I feel the same way about American-brand Mexican food). Now, bear in mind that this is coming from a [...]

Without fail, whenever we go someplace where pan-seared tuna is on the menu, my husband orders it. For years I’ve been terrified to make it myself. It was just one of those things that was so deceptively simple, I knew it had to be easy to screw up. And when dealing with fish that’s $24/lb [...]

Tastefully Simple makes some really great sauces. When my friend Angela hosted a Tastefully Simple party a few months back, I picked up a number of things. Their Garlic Garlic has become a new staple in my house, and the beer bread has been a longtime favorite.
The Bayou Bourbon Glaze was appealing immediately, even though [...]

Part of fine cooking on a budget means minimizing waste and utilizing leftovers, and one of my favorite ways to do that is by making my own breadcrumbs. For the first time, though, I tried something different.
A recent dinner party left us with a couple baguettes, which we used to make homemade garlic bread, full [...]

Yes, my dearhearts, this grown-up grilled cheese is exactly as good as it sounds. This recipe was born from the bargain bin. Two packages of brie, nearing their “sell-by” date, less than half price. Sign me up, right?
It was also born from a really bad day, and what better comfort food than macaroni and cheese? [...]

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 [...]