Shaking the notion of kid food from the Etch-a-Sketch of our minds not only clears the slate for children to explore a world of different flavors, it also removes any judgment adults might feel for digging into foods such as chicken nuggets, pizza or mac and cheese. Those dishes can hit the …

Over the past year, many of us have (re)discovered the wonders of cabbage. Thanks in large part to its long shelf life during a time when many Americans are grocery shopping less frequently, cabbage has found its way into refrigerators across the country. As such, I wanted to develop a new p…

Let’s be honest. From time to time, many of us throw weeknight dinners together with what we have on hand. It happens to me and I write a weekly column about getting dinner on the table in minutes, so supper recipes are almost always on my mind. Toward the end of the week when the refrigerat…

We’ve all been there. There being left with a thin, watery sauce when instead we’re in want of one that is thick, luscious and full of body-ody-ody. While a roux is a common thickener that we should all master for dishes such as gravy and gumbo, it is of no use once we’ve already reached the…

You can count me in for pretty much any dish with “loaded” and “potato” in its name. Either of those words alone point in the direction of filling, comfort-food satisfaction, but together they are practically a guarantee.

As with most foods, your idea of pot roast is likely whatever version you grew up eating. For me, that was a chunk of beef surrounded by potatoes and carrots in a black speckled oval roasting pan. There was no searing of the meat to develop flavor, nor was any liquid added to the pan for a p…

I’ll be whipping up a batch of these swoon-worthy treats this Valentine’s Day as an act of self-love. Sure, I’ll share with my husband, but since he doesn’t buy into the holiday and I am a firm believer in the BYOV (Be Your Own Valentine) approach to life, they will really be a gift to myself.

If you want to get me flowers for Valentine’s Day, I like irises and hydrangeas. Bonus points if they’re purple.

Citrus is one sunny bright spot I bask in every winter. Each juicy segment of the fruit carries brilliant, warm rays of light to my kitchen, a stark contrast from the otherwise drab, chilly backdrop of the season.

Make me a bowl of a chicken or tuna salad and I’m set for days. I love the ease of both and will happily eat them again and again scooped onto lettuce leaves, in sandwiches or on crackers for a quick meal on a busy day.

There’s no denying the simplicity of Trinidad-style aloo and channa. Creamy Yukon Gold potatoes are coated in curry powder, then simmered until soft. Canned chickpeas are added, and the whole pot is then zapped with a bright burst of aromatics and heat.

Until recently, most of my cooking experience with lentils involved the large green ones cooked in a pot with diced onion and chunks of carrot. I would whip up a batch when I wanted an inexpensive, quick-to-make pot of filling food that I could eat for a few days.

Many of us have been spending more time at home over the past 10 months, and a lot more of that time has been spent alone. With the coronavirus pandemic cutting off access to friends and social circles, and all the places we used to gather, that’s no surprise. And if you’re by yourself, you’…

From the way they look piled in bins at the market, you might get the impression that root vegetables don’t taste that much different from one another. At least that’s what I thought until I really started paying attention to them.

To braise or not to braise, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the kitchen to prepare vegetables with low heat and little moisture, or to use another technique from one’s culinary bag of tricks, and, with a scorching pan or rapid boil, cook them?

One of my key life-hacks is to cook extra of whatever I am having for dinner so I have the makings of a quick meal the following day. It takes no real effort to add another fish fillet or two to a sheet pan to roast, double a stew or soup recipe, or bake an additional couple of sweet potatoe…

Roast chicken smells like home. It is the smell of a communal meal, of care and love that goes into thinking ahead and dry-brining a chicken, and of showing someone you’re willing to put in a little effort on a sleepy Sunday.

I am not crazy for soup like some people. They could eat it every day, long for it and rave about the latest soup recipe they’ve discovered. For me, other than gumbo, which I’ll eat any day, any time, soup is a seasonal thing, an occasional dish, and the occasion is usually because it’s cold…

When you think about traveling somewhere in the United States, you go prepared knowing the sports team, the signature dishes, and the cultural and historical landmarks. If you’re really thorough, you toss in a regional slang word or two. But the distinct charms of cities and entire states ca…

Count me among the people who pat themselves on the back when they carefully pack away food in the freezer, knowing there’s something to cook and eat in the future. That, my friends, is only half the battle. Of course, there’s the whole issue of remembering what’s actually in there (I’ve bee…

There’s no shame in opening a can of beans. That might be a surprising statement coming from someone who wrote an entire cookbook extolling the virtues of beans of all varieties, especially when cooked from dried, but the fact is, I put canned beans right up there with canned tomatoes as one…

There are a number of reasons alcohol is off-limits for some people when cooking or baking, such as an allergy or an inability to use it when preparing food for children or those who might be in recovery. Maybe it’s not in your pantry, now that we’re shopping less often, or even your budget.

This green smoothie is not magical. It will not detoxify you (your liver, lungs and digestive system do that just fine) or cleanse you (food doesn’t make you clean or dirty) or fulfill the overblown promises inevitably made about one food or another right after the New Year’s ball drops.

There’s a saying in Cajun households: First you put on a pot of rice, and then you decide what you will make for dinner.

Like the start of a new year, chocolate dessert cups waiting to be filled are brimming with possibilities. Here, that potential is realized in a sumptuous and healthful treat, loaded with cannoli-style ricotta cream and fresh raspberries. Accented with mint leaves and showered with confectio…

No matter how you consume a wonton, one bite and you understand why the word translates from the Cantonese as “cloud swallow,” as Grace Young writes in her masterful book “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen.” That’s what it feels like to eat these slippery, ethereal, delicate creations.

Chef Hooni Kim says that if you’re only going to make one recipe from his new cookbook, “My Korea,” braised beef short ribs should be it.

A platter of crispy potatoes appeals to all of the senses. That enticing golden color. The texture and sound of the crunch. The smell. The way the crackling crust gives way to a creamy interior. Soggy, limp potatoes are just the opposite: sad and unappealing. Why even bother?

I lit up like the twinkling decorations around me when I overheard two women at a holiday potluck a few years ago rave about their favorite bite of the night: the stuffed figs I brought! This was no ordinary party — it was the annual fete of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a philanthropic organizatio…

If you want to make fresh ricotta, sneak a peek inside your fridge: Do you have milk, lemon juice and salt? Great! Got heavy cream on hand? Even better. With those three to four ingredients, fresh ricotta can be yours in about 30 minutes. And, once you’ve tried the homemade stuff, good luck …

If I run out of homemade granola, someone needs to call a doctor, because it’s a sign that something is terribly amiss.

Every fall, I sample as many apple varieties at the farmers market as I can manage. My goal: Find the most flavorful, naturally — but also the absolute firmest, too. Nothing makes me sadder than biting into a mushy apple, and therefore nothing makes me happier than finding one so firm I worr…

Whenever someone shares a recipe with me, I feel honored and pretty darn confident that it will be good.

We’ve baked a lot of cookies in our time. Dozens of batches, untold hundreds (thousands?) of individual treats. Between all that cooking, along with a healthy dose of developing and editing recipes, we have gathered quite a few tips and tricks. Now we’re sharing our collected wisdom with you…

This hearty, comforting soup may not have originated in the Midwest, but it is at the heart of my experience in that part of the country. My husband is from Michigan, and we typically spend part of the holiday season there, where the frigid, grey weather is overcome by the radiant warmth of …