Growing up, this was our company dinner. It was the fanciest thing my mom knew how to make, so it was what got made whenever missionaries came over for dinner, whenever visitors were in town, whenever we needed to impress…
Recipe: Browned Butter, Cheese, and Marinara Covered Spaghetti
Living in Modesto has many many virtues, as I’m always going on about, but there are some potential drawbacks, and the one that effects me the most is not having access to all the restaurants I liked in Southern California.…
Recipe: Spinach Pesto Chicken Salad
When I travel I rarely go do the touristy things. My way of visiting a city involves finding a local bookstore, eating pastry, and finding some wonderful little restaurant to try. The only problem with this approach is when I…
Recipe: Curried Couscous
A couple of years ago I threw a dinner party for a whole bunch of people, including a ton of vegetarians. I was totally intimidated to cook for vegetarians, since everything my family eats involves at least one kind of…
Recipe: Mexican Gumbo or Tortilla Soup
This recipe is really two recipes in one. For starters I made a great tortilla soup, and then by tarting it up with a few additional fixings, you get a “Mexican Gumbo.” I ordered something similar at Qdoba, a casual…
Recipe: Southwest Pork Hash
I often buy my meat in bulk because it’s so dang cheap, but I wind up giving myself a new problem of how to use it all up. If I was smart I’d portion the meat out before I put…
Recipe: Chicken Fried Steak with Milk Gravy
Southern comfort food at it’s absolute finest. When I want a hearty Sunday dinner on a crisp winter evening, chicken fried steak is one of the first places I go. This is one of those dishes that I can only…
Breakfast Burrito
I have become such a Californian. Once upon a time I would get sick of burritos for every meal, but now, that’s like saying I get sick of *food* every meal. Latin food has such an endless variety of options,…
Pork Chops in a Bag
En Papillote is a fancy French cooking term for cooking stuff in a bag. Most commonly this preparation is used with fish, but it can be used with anything that does well with a more gentle cooking method. The meat…
Mirepoix Soup
Mirepoix is one of those things I picked up in cooking school that I will never do without again. In certain recipes I had been using it without realizing it, but now that I know better it is a staple…