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original recipes

  • Sexy Cabbage Sexytime

    Sexy Cabbage Sexytime

    Let’s face it, cabbage is a tough sell. Even though it’s what makes coleslaw coleslaw and it’s a crunchy companion to a fish taco, most people associate it with their grandmother’s boiled cabbage fouling up the air with its death-like aroma. That’s why I’m titling this post Sexy Cabbage Sexytime because the other night, I…

  • Peppadewed Pork Chops with Cauliflower

    Peppadewed Pork Chops with Cauliflower

    One of the best things that I made before I packed up my New York kitchen and moved to California is the dish you see above. I’m calling it Peppadewed Pork Chops with Cauliflower, but the truth is I didn’t use Peppadews; I used pickled red jalapenos I’d been testing for my cookbook. However, the…

  • Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad (with Yogurt and Herbs)

    Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad (with Yogurt and Herbs)

    The scene? My kitchen. The day? Last Thursday. The idea? Take everything out of my refrigerator–fresh mozzarella, a red onion, scallions, celery, parsley, dill, a nectarine (ok, that wasn’t in the refrigerator, it was on the counter)–and make dinner. I didn’t know what I was going to make but then I had a thought: “What…

  • Grilled Pineapple with Cardamom Whipped Cream

    Grilled Pineapple with Cardamom Whipped Cream

    After that salmon dinner, we were still hungry. Isn’t that funny how that works? You spend an hour making an elaborate French dinner (ok, I said it was easy, but it still took about an hour) and after you’re done eating it, you’re still hungry! But this proved to be a blessing, because it gave…

  • Fusilli with Tomatoes, Bacon & Blue Cheese

    Fusilli with Tomatoes, Bacon & Blue Cheese

    There it was, in the pan, ready to eat. A big panful of fusilli, coated in a sauce I’d improvised with bacon, red chile flakes, tomato paste and a can of tomatoes. I’d let the sauce cook down until it was nice and thick and then boiled the fusilli until just al dente, lifting it…

  • Weary Traveler’s Spaghetti

    Weary Traveler’s Spaghetti

    Last night, before I fell asleep, I tried to remember all the phases of my 21 hours of travel from the previous day. I took a bus from the Bellingham airport to the Seattle airport where I rode a mini-train to my gate, waited three hours (during which I bought a Snickers bar which I…

  • Spectacular Sweet Potato Soup (PLUS: Win a $450 VitaMix Blender)

    Spectacular Sweet Potato Soup (PLUS: Win a $450 VitaMix Blender)

    A splash of this, a pinch of that: that’s the kind of cooking I’ve always wanted to do, but I’ve never been very good at it. Sure, I’ll sprinkle some cinnamon into my oatmeal and, yes, I’ll sex up a plate of pasta with some red chile flakes, but the ability to cook impulsively, to…

  • I Tried To Invent A Pudding

    I Tried To Invent A Pudding

    Ok, the election is over, we can all breathe a heavy sigh of relief, and move on with our lives. What better way to move on than to try to invent a pudding? After making Elise’s foolproof recipe for chocolate pudding (click here) several times–it’s become something of a staple in our home–I began to…