My giant chocolate chip cookie recipe is arguably even easier than my deep dish chocolate chip cookies. This pan cookie is great for small parties, like the occasion that inspired this post – my family of four just spent an evening at home together enjoying this cookie as part of a low-key Father’s Day celebration.
It took quite awhile for me to learn to cook pork chops that didn’t taste like well-seasoned shoe leather. I was so afraid of serving undercooked pork, I overdid it and wound up with tough, dry meat. At a restaurant one night, I had a blue cheese-encrusted pork chop that tasted like heaven and I
When we were kids, my dad would take me and my sibs to the diner across the street from his job whenever we would visit him there. No doubt my love for simple American diner food began right there. Over the years, I’ve visited diners all over my local tri-state area and have become fairly particular
My family likes bananas, but no matter how small a bunch we buy, we can never seem to get to the last one before it goes brown. One overripe banana is just perfect for tossing into a smoothie. But on the rare occasions when several have been neglected, I make banana bread. My recipe is
I had my first bowl of picadillo many years ago in a local Cuban restaurant and it was love at first bite. Picadillo is sort of like a sloppy joe with a twist — and a kick. If you can manage to get the olives, capers, raisins, and tomatoes all in one bite, you’ll be
I’ve sampled a lot of potato salad over the years, at restaurants, neighborhood delis, or made by friends. I’m always a little surprised at how many ways there are to make it — with vinegar, mustard, with or without mayonnaise, for example. But I still prefer the recipe I watched my mother make when I
When I think of pasta, my mind usually goes to spaghetti and meatballs or cheesy lasagna. But sometimes when I’m craving comfort food and don’t want to end up in a carb coma, I go for something like this. Still comforting but not quite as heavy and sleep-inducing. It’s a good way to use up
Collard greens have a long history in the African-American community. No self-respecting soul food restaurant would dare omit them from the menu! They were always on our dinner table on holidays when I was a kid, and even now that my siblings and I have children and grandchildren of our own, we still look forward to them every
Italian meatballs are often fried to develop a crispy exterior, but I find I can achieve the same effect — without adding oil — by roasting them instead. If you prefer soft meatballs, cook them in pasta sauce over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. These are small enough to make a nice appetizer. Just
Trust me, this is just as good as traditional meatloaf. I made this dish three times before my family realized it wasn’t beef! I still make beef meatloaf occasionally (using this recipe), but I prefer turkey now because the meatloaf comes out less greasy. I like to serve it with a side of roasted vegetables
I’ve always enjoyed flavored rice dishes but figured it was faster and easier to buy microwaveable rice rather than try to make it on my own. But co-author/daughter Hayley insisted that making my own flavored rice was just as easy and didn’t take long — and it wouldn’t include artificial colors and flavors. Finally, I
Bottled iced teas for me are very hit or miss – usually either too sweet or not sweet enough. So, when I want iced tea at home, I tend to make it myself. My first few attempts at a lightly sweetened homebrew always came out with a slightly bitter aftertaste. I didn’t want to add
One of my favorite childhood memories is getting up at dawn and going to the renowned Fulton Fish Market with my mother to buy fish, fresh off the boats. We lived nearby so we would walk down the quiet, empty cobblestone streets near the market until we reached the bustle of fishmongers and shoppers. Mom
I came up with this when I noticed halfway through my meal prep that I had bought a box of taco shells instead of the “taco dinner kit” I meant to get. I started with a quick web search for taco seasoning recipes and found that most contained chili powder blend (which I also did
As classic recipes go, meatloaf is one of my faves. It’s tasty, practically foolproof and it’s one of those dishes that tastes just as good the second day, maybe even better. I don’t even have to shop for anything special; everything listed below is usually already in the pantry. Occasionally I change it up by
After sampling co-author Hayley’s yummy deep dish chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin, I was inspired to make a mini-dessert of my own. These days, I’m more of a cake person than a cookie monster, so I came up with this: a basic cake recipe scaled down to fill two ramekins. This little treasure is perfect
I’m not sure why packets of hot chocolate mix contain so many ingredients, when a rich and creamy hot chocolate can be easily made at home with just three. Leave that Alpine lady up in the slopes and warm up against winter’s chill using my no-measure method. [Don’t worry, I’ve included precise measurements as well,
I’m crazy for just about any kind of Asian food: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese — I will call for takeout in a New York minute. Sometimes, though, I like to take a crack at making my own versions. Bottled stir-fry sauces are now available in many supermarkets but I enjoy experimenting in my own kitchen, seasoning
When is a vegetable not a vegetable? When it’s dessert! My family has a long history with sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. In fact, I’ve never known a Thanksgiving at home without both sweet potato pie and “candied sweets”: thinly sliced sweet potatoes baked with cinnamon and brown sugar, swimming in butter. I learned the basic
Chicken cacciatore is a dish that can be prepared for a large crowd or easily scaled back for an easy dinner for two, and like many tomato-based dishes, it tastes even better the second — or even the third day. Traditional cacciatore features peppers and onions but you can add any other veggies you like
