Pimento Cheese: A Southern Classic on the Fourth of July

My grandparents introduced me to a lot of southern cooking, but pimento cheese was never really on the menu. I do have vague memories of eating it as a kid, but it wasn’t very popular in northern Indiana. My mom tells me she used to buy it at the supermarket on occasion.
It’s been mentioned around [...]

Dear Deviled Eggs: It’s Not You, It’s Me

Oh little vegetable blog, how I have neglected you. I still don’t have anything original for you, but how about some nice Easter deviled eggs to tide you over?
Two years after my first deviled egg attempt, I decided to make them again. The results? Pretty much the same. Fun to make, well received but I [...]

Summer Braising, Had Me a Blast: Sherry Braised Onions and Apples with Raisins

OK, so I know I’m supposed to be relishing the last few weeks of summer, eating heaps of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, but what can I say? Sometimes a girl just wants to braise. I got back into my braising groove last week with a decidedly seasonal recipe: Melissa Clark’s Summer Beans with Herbs, Tomatoes [...]

Stuffed Grape Leaves

I can’t go to a Middle Eastern restaurant without ordering stuffed grape leaves (also called dolma). The filling is usually some sort of rice and herb mixture, often with tomato. Some places offer them with meat stuffing, but I always go for the vegetarian variety.
When I decided to make a batch of my own, I [...]

Lentil and Goat Cheese Crostini

My copy of Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking arrived last week and while I waited much too long to finally order it, I didn’t waste any time trying it out. I made a double batch of the lentil and goat cheese crostini to split between two Easter celebrations yesterday.
It was pretty well received, and I [...]

Irish This Fondue Had Been Cheesier

Last year for St. Patrick’s Day, I made a big cheesy, meaty feast. This year, I had plans to make several Irish-inspired dishes, but then I got busy, and then there were Bravo reality shows on the DVR that needed watching and, well, you can see where this is going.
I did however manage to make [...]

Superbowl Sushi

Take a deep breath and relax.
That was the advice I read in most sushi recipes I consulted before trying my first batch.
Apparently, I would need to be in the zone. Calm and confident.
But I suppose you could say the odds were stacked against me. It was my first time attempting a sushi roll, and until [...]

Eggplant Fritters with Roasted Red Pepper Mayo

Stuffing an eggplant presents a fun dilemma – what to do with the eggplant flesh? It could certainly be incorporated back into the eggplant stuffing itself, or it could transformed into an appetizer for a two-course eggplant meal.
I chose the latter, and here’s the recipe:

Flesh removed from two round eggplants
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup [...]

Ratatouille Bruschetta

Making bruschetta for a picnic almost 24 hours in advance presents an interesting dilemma – what do you do about the bread? My solution – Melba toast.
I made this Ratatouille Bruschetta for a concert in the park last night, but I had to make it all the night before, and take it with me to [...]

Pea Puree Crostini

Heidi Swanson’s Spring Pea-Slathered Crostini recipe is as inventive as it is delicious. A sort of hummus-pesto hybrid, this is the perfect way to showcase fresh shelling peas.
Or at least, it was the perfect way. I made this dish last week and was excited to head back to the farmer’s market this morning for another [...]