I got an air fryer for Christmas and I’m super excited about it. It took some experimenting for me to get stuff right. I had a huge early mishap with fried chicken, but I got it right by the end of my time off. What I’ve found I like best about the Airfryer is how…
Almond brown butter Brussels sprouts – a New Years introduction
This is a family Thanksgiving classic that my aunt used to serve to “introduce” us to Brussels sprouts. It worked. They are still a favorite vegetable of mine. Butter doesn’t have a whole lot of room for improvement, but browning it really does launch it to the next level. Then you add almond slices to…
The forbidden quince
Quince is an ancient relative of the modern apple and pear. More popular in medieval times, the quince has been rumored to be the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. It’s said that Paris awarded Aphrodite a quince in exchange for Helen, setting the course of events that lead to the Trojan war in…
Garlic bread spread
I made this especially for my beau. Garlic bread is one of his favorites and he often asks for it, but it’s never that easy to just whip up a butter mix in the middle of making the rest of dinner. This holiday season I made a batch of this butter so it I’d have…
Spaetzle
Spaetzle is a cross between an egg noodle and dumpling that originated in the Alps, and is served in a few German, Austrian, Swiss and French regional cuisines. It’s an easy recipe with a big payoff that takes maybe ten minutes tops to make, the trick is the last minutes are stressful. I always arrive…
An ode to figs
I wasn’t very familiar with figs before I studied abroad. I think the closest I’d come was a Fig Newton. As I traveled, I discovered people in Spain and Italy were downright giddy about them. Probably not only because they are deliciously sweet, the word is slang for something Pope Clement XIII liked to cover…
Burning heart chili
My beau loves chili, but too much tomato can cause heart burn for him. So I developed this “lower acid” version with a more diverse vegetable mix to deliver the flavor without relying entirely on tomato for the base. I think it’s much better than classic chili and he loves it. There’s a lot of…
Mashed potato pancakes
Here’s a winning reuse of leftovers that goes great with any gravy or cranberry sauce left from holiday dinners. Serve for breakfast or as a side at dinner. This recipe is super easy. Preheat the oven to 250. Mix 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, 1 egg and 1/4 cup flour. Salt and pepper to taste….
Cardamom bread
Nothing says Christmas season more to me than this classic Scandinavian coffee bread. This bread keeps well and you can enjoy it with your morning coffee for several days. I made three loaves with this recipe, so I can keep one and share the rest with family. I’ve always thought of this as Swedish, but…
Chocolate chip cookies
The classic American cookie. Google tells me this was invented by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938 while she was the owner of the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts. This is the original Nestle Toll House recipe, so it’s all making sense. Well done, Ruth! These are easy to make, easy to freeze and a real…
Overzealous Home Cook 