September 2015

With so many competitive food shows and critical chefs like Gordon Ramsay on TV, you might start to think that professional kitchens are never pleasant places to be. Well, chef Mike Odette runs a cool kitchen. The executive chef and co-owner of Columbia restaurant Sycamore is a semifinalist for a James…

You might know this already, but many of your favorite pizza places will sell you just the dough for cheaper than a slice. A large pizza dough from Shakespeare’s is a dollar. A small can of plain tomato sauce is 45 cents or less from the grocery store (and you can…

This dish started because I wanted to do something with polenta. I turned to , which has recipes from many well-known chefs and restaurants. I saw a recipe for  and another for soft . I had goat cheese in the fridge, and I don’t care for bleu cheese unless it…

People laughed when they found out I  for my stay in Buenos Aires. Well, I’m happy to report that it has been getting plenty of use. Pureeing butternut squash and whipping cardamom cream, but most often to make banana milkshakes. Now, I wouldn’t normally consider a banana and half a…

My friends, knowing I love to cook, often ask if I want to take cooking classes with them. I’ve taken casual cooking classes before, and they’re fun and you make nice dishes, but they’re expensive. And at this point I’m comfortable trying new things in the kitchen. I’d rather just…

I don’t think I’d ever made anything with leeks before this. They’re not something my mom cooked with often and I haven’t eaten them much otherwise. That’s why I bought a bunch of them the other day. Leeks are in the onion family and actually look like a larger version…

There’s one salad dressing I never get tired of, and that’s my mom’s balsamic vinaigrette with garlic and basil. It’s so simple, but people love it. Both Michael’s mom and my friend Becky’s mom asked me to make it within hours of arriving in their states (Illinois and New Jersey,…

With an eggplant, zucchini and bell pepper in the fridge the other day, I couldn’t help but think of ratatouille. Since I couldn’t justify another trip to the market, canned tomato sauce would have to suffice to complete the traditional four-fecta of produce in the dish. I wanted to make…

I know I?m late to the game, but soup is my new make-it-up-as-you-go-along meal. My mom didn’t make many soups when I was growing up, so maybe that?s why I never realized how easy they can be. But to think, without a recipe you can turn a pot of tap…

It’s really, really easy. I used to do it all the time and haven’t in about a year, but when I went to Gerbes to pick up milk and cilantro and decided to make this tonight. (Don’t you hate when you forget things, or you know, when you watch your…