A while ago I wrote the post Macaroni and Cheese Once and For All. Who was I kidding? I’m still futzing with the recipe. Now I’m streamlining it even more, using less white sauce and blowing off the breadcrumb or cracker crumb topping completely. And don’t be fooled by fancy mac and cheese recipes [...]
Mac and Cheese Update
August 25, 2010
July 19, 2010
Last summer at the Hobin family reunion in East Greenwich, RI, we watched a New England Irish-Italian family really work out the food. The array of side dishes and platters of salads and seafood and very not-Nashville delights was stunning. As you might expect from a clan of well-heeled partiers, the Hobins had reunion operations [...]
May 25, 2010
We both remember when our mothers got their first microwave ovens back in the 70s. It was a huge deal meant to revolutionize home cooking. Our mothers were studying new cookbooks that touted whole meals in minutes. Everything went into the microwave, but not everything turned out like the picture. Remember all that gray hamburger [...]
May 1, 2010
Now that our patios are officially open for business, we’ve been busy tidying up the grill area. (Scroll down the page a bit for R.B.’s handy check-list so you can get your summer grill season going.) The big spring clean up is key for clearing the cold weather recipes out of our heads and making [...]
April 24, 2010
The smoky boil continues to top our list of liquid smoke uses. The aroma in the kitchen makes us think that my uphill neighbor Roger has a fire going. No joke. Liquid smoke is the real deal and fantastic in this application. This smoky eggplant II is a simple mash of smoke boiled eggplant, olive [...]
April 14, 2010
Tennessee tomatoes project 2010 includes lots of lentil tabbouli.
April 7, 2010
Read this New York Times Loser Lettuce story by Mark Bittman. I hope it makes you think twice about branding an ingredient as cool or not. Isn’t that a little too junior high? Food professional Mark Bittman turns out to be a trend follower, not a leader, after all. He confesses to having snubbed iceberg [...]
March 28, 2010
Twice-baked potatoes are my rediscovered favorite old side dish. Here’s why. I’ve just made the connection that twice-baked potatoes are the vegetable version of deviled eggs. Cook the potatoes, scoop out the insides, and mix with cheese, butter, sour cream, buttermilk, whatever. Now spoon the goop back into the potatoes and bake. For convenient servings [...]
November 4, 2009
This winter squash recipe from Cheater BBQ is an old holiday favorite that helps eliminate menu anxiety so you can get back to worrying about all those other holiday issues. It’s made in a 9 x 13-inch casserole, perfect for a pot luck or serving on the sideboard during the holidays. What would the holidays [...]
October 7, 2009
Why didn’t we think of this before? We had some excellent baba ganoosh at Kalamata’s Mediterranean Cuisine with the nicest hint of smoke the other day. When I asked the chef about it, he started in on a set of instructions including an indoor smoker contraption with wood chips. His hands were waving around like [...]
Get tips for making perfect skillet cornbread. It's the only bread to serve with summer fresh vegetable suppers. 
