Wow, a Quick and Easy Paella

I have never made paella before because I always assumed it was a difficult and time-consuming dish. The recipes I have seen for paella call for a lot of ingredients, usually cooked separately, including a large variety of seafood that would require a special trip to the market.
But then I ran across Mark Bittman’s recipe [...]

How to Make an Omelet: Tips & Tricks

I decided not long ago that I was not a multitasker, and I wasn’t even going to try. This may not sound like such a momentous decision, but since it seemed like multitasking was in my job description,  it felt like a big deal. I noticed, though, that when I tried to do more than [...]

How to Make Eggplant Parmesan

Now is the time for eggplant. If there is none in your garden, surely there is plenty at the farmers market. A lot of people don’t like eggplant, but I think that’s mainly because of how it’s cooked. Eggplant is the sponge of the vegetable world; when fried, it can absorb a lot of grease and [...]

Homemade Pizza Is Easy — Really

Dear Mark Bittman, I have to apologize for having doubted you and not believing that it really is as easy as you say it is to make your own pizza dough. For a long time I have resisted because I believed that making all doughs is difficult. But I finally broke down and tried your [...]

One Pack of Tortillas Makes a Whole Lot of Meals

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When you think about it, there’s really not much difference between a burrito, an enchilada, a taco and a tostada. The main differences are presentation and heating method. But you can essentially use the same fillings for all of these (and other tasty Mexican-style dishes). That’s why I always keep a pack of [...]

Quick Dinner: Shredded Chicken Tacos

We don’t have a regular weekly taco night around here, but I do make tacos on a regular basis. They fulfill all the requirements of a weeknight dinner: quick, easy, uses whatever you have on hand. I prefer soft tacos with the small flour tortillas, and this filling works really well. It was a big [...]

Hoppin’ John

Despite saying that I wasn’t going to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day this year, I broke down and made the traditional Southern dish of hoppin’ john. (I skipped the collards, though.) And I have to say, it was fantastic. As a bonus, I’ll have good luck this year due to eating black-eyed peas.
I [...]

Weeknight Meal Idea: Twice-Baked Potatoes

My challenge recently has been cooking well-balanced, tasty meals on weeknights while taking care of a 9-month-old without sitting down to dinner at 9 p.m. (we aren’t that sophisticated around these parts). Cooking while putting the baby to bed is a challenging endeavor. The other night I was braising chicken during the bedtime routine, which [...]

Spaghetti with Spinach and Garlic

Sometime it’s a real challenge getting dinner on the table at a reasonable hour (by which I mean, not just before bedtime). Between having to work and take care of a baby whose bedtime ritual falls right in the middle of the 7:00 dining hour, cooking dinner has been stretching me to my limit. Even [...]

Rotini with Swiss Chard & Sausage Ragu

Rotini with Swiss Chard and Sausage, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
Please forgive me for posting this rich, hearty, warming pasta recipe in the middle of summer. Yes, this is truly a wintry dish, but it was so good that I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
This is the first recipe that I have tried from [...]