Would You Do This? Cherry Tomato Salad

Image by freakgirl via Flickr
The cherry tomatoes have been going gangbusters this year. We’ve gotten so many that I hardly know what to do with them all. I have been eating them every day and giving them away, and still there are more to use up.
Yesterday I wanted to make a quick and easy [...]

Cooks Illustrated Cracking Down on Food Bloggers

I was a little shocked to see this post over at Alosha’s Kitchen. The gist of it is that she was asked to take down a potato salad recipe by the publicity agent for Cooks Illustrated. Apparently, they don’t allow their recipes to be reproduced in print without permission, even with modifications. Especially with modifications.
She [...]

Best Drop Buttermilk Biscuits

I am a sucker for a biscuit recipe. I’ll try them all out, even though I’ve worked out a consistently successful master recipe for quick biscuits and discovered the best buttermilk biscuit recipe, courtesy of Cook’s Illustrated. Now, Cook’s Illustrated has passed on the recipe for best drop buttermilk biscuits in the November issue, and [...]

Garden Destruction and Pesto Making

It hurt, but we tore out the garden this weekend. It has been a strange growing season. Up until Tuesday of this week, we were still experiencing temperatures in the 90s and humidity that felt more like July. Despite being in “exceptional” drought for the last two months, the tomatoes must have thought we were [...]

Two Salads: Horseradish Slaw & French Potato Salad

I went to a party last week and had the opportunity to bring two dishes. I actually like being asked to bring food to other people’s houses, because it gives me the opportunity to try out recipes on a wider audience as well as to cook for more than two people. This time, I was [...]

Best Buttermilk Biscuits

These are truly the best biscuits I have ever made. They epitomize what I look for in a good Southern-style biscuit. They are buttery, fluffy, golden in color and definitely not wimpy — equally able to pair with fried chicken for dinner or form the foundation of a scrambled egg sandwich for breakfast. I tell [...]

One-Hour Marinara Sauce

Was it possible? Had I actually found a way to make a thick and hearty marinara sauce, reminiscent of the sauce in my favorite Italian restaurant, in just one hour? Now, I’m not going to claim that this sauce will ever surpass my husband’s slow-simmered, Sunday afternoon marinara. But it was so hearty, thick and [...]

Spanish-style Chicken Salad

I served this chicken salad at my tapas party last weekend, and it was a big hit. Not only was it a vibrant red color, but it tasted great too. Of course, the moment of embarassment came when one of my guests asked me how I had gotten the roasted chicken so moist. I had [...]

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

This is a simple technique for recreating barbecued chicken when grilling is not an option. I have tried this method with skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and while it works well with either, the bone-in chicken breasts definitely have more flavor. (Thanks to Cook’s Illustrated for the idea.)

Preheat the oven [...]

Tortellini Soup

This is a very simple and basic soup, but also one that is really satisfying. Simmering the stock separately with some herbs enriches the flavor of store-bought chicken stock.

Tortellini Soup
Serves: 2
Time to make: ~15 minutes
What you need:

4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. Italian herb mix
½ onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 oz. cheese tortellini
2 cups [...]