I could, and often do, live on appetizers -- the original small plates. Because of that I'm always looking for something new and exciting in the world of culinary pre-gaming. This one is a keeper. The kind of thing you make for guests coming later but keep dipping...
Cherry pie is my favorite pie I don't even have to think about it. Last week I managed to hit the farmer's market at the exact right moment to get the tart cherries I needed for this recipe and therefore achieved pie nirvana and am now deceased. I did not grow up...
I was intrigued by this recipe when it took a certainly nonconsensual ride on the social media rollercoaster on a facebook cooking group I belong to. It went like this: popular>wildly popular>backlash ("would people PLEASE stop posting about these biscuits!"...
Sometimes you make a dish so sublime and so chef-y that you ask yourself "do I ever need to eat out again?" This is certainly that dish. Close your eyes and you could be in any high-end, trendy-neighborhood hotspot. You know the place. It doesn't have a drink menu...
Recipe first, blah, blah, blah later. God I'm already so tired of sweets and it's only December 11th. But we must persevere. There are so many cookies, candies and pies to eat before we're done. This recipe was part of a brilliant article by the brilliant...
I know everyone is joking about how much drinking is going on right now. Oh, were you waiting for a "but..." and then something witty? Something Nick-and-Nora-Charles-ish? No time for that because I need to talk about my new hobby: the Classic Martini. It's taken...
I'm going to assume we've all had it up to our masks hearing about Covid cooking. Sourdough starter, banana bread, air-frying, everyone's done it, blogged about it, made a Tik-Tok, and written a New York Times think piece. Whatever you're going to get out of this...
My book group meets on Sunday mornings and brunch is typically served, so when it's my turn I'm always looking for something that can be made ahead and is, of course, worthy of the fine women who attend. With a small amount of effort this dish from our friends at...
Use this cake carefully as it will stop any show. It will suck all attention out of the room and command the respect and admiration of all who behold it. And it tastes good. Make no mistake though: it’s a project. I made it as part of a multi-course...
If Milano cookies had babies they would be these impish little bundles. Actually it would have to be a Milano and a bag of hazelnuts and I'm not sure how that would work but love is love, I don't judge. Cookies really don't get any cuter and in addition these are...
You didn't think I ate cake all the time did you? We all know how that ends. It's all about balance, which is a palatable way of saying: sometimes you have to eat healthy things. But healthy does not have to mean penance or deprivation. There are many,...
I'm sure you know someone who's avoiding gluten and you are maybe a little bit sad for them about all of the gluten-filled treats they're missing. And maybe your friend has a birthday and maybe you're especially sad that they can't have birthday cake. Weep no...
Dead simple, four ingredients, shockingly delicious. As the recipe says the panko keeps the turkey from becoming dense and acquiring that yoga-mat texture turkey burgers sometimes have; the mayo keeps it moist throughout; and the cheese works its usual...
I had you at "parmesan dumplings," didn't I? You're not wrong, they are amazing. I felt the urge to make soup even though we are experiencing freakishly warm temperatures in Chicago lately. Like, 55 and sunny. In Chicago. The place they make tedious,...
At first glance there is nothing new about this sauce from Milk Street Kitchen. Heat fat, saute aromatics, add veggies, deglaze, add some other stuff, simmer while the pasta boils. And yet. I don't know if it's the cinnamon, or the way the flavors...
Tomatoes get the lion's share of attention this time of year, and rightly so, but let's not forget how insanely delicious blueberries and peaches are right now. I've been a tad obsessed with blueberries in particular, eating half a pint every morning with...
It seems almost impossible not to make pesto in the summer when bouquets of basil are everywhere, screaming "pulverize me and toss me with fettuccine!" Before you know it we will be back to the tiny, pricey little boxes of the stuff so let's get on it before it's...
As delightful as grilling is (and short-lived for those of us who live in colder climes) there might come a point in the season when you feel like you've done it all. You've ventured beyond hamburgers, brats and steaks to beer-can chicken, peaches, beef...
Another dish that somehow transcends the sum of its parts -- with every bite you will wonder how steak, vegetables and mustard could synthesize into something so eye-rollingly delicious. Extra points for coming together quickly and even more for adaptability:...
It's 45-degrees and raining sideways here in Chicago today and yet it is factually, temporally, undeniably spring. And I know this because the Green City Market has moved outdoors and it is bursting with Hunter boots, double strollers, and every size, shape and...
I don't know why I keep trying to replicate Lou Malnati's pizza; I live in Chicago so I am never more than about 60 minutes away from eating the real thing. But I do. Perhaps because even when it doesn't quite get there what you're probably left with is a damn...
This fell flat for me and I'm not sure why. I suspect the (suggested) addition of sour cream might be the culprit but I can't put my finger on it. Certainly no fault of the recipe, in fact when I checked back with the Milk Street Facebook group I saw that this...
Oh guacamole. You are so embedded into American food culture that we have formed strong, chili-like opinions about the best, the most authentic and the most worthy recipes. Because we need more stuff to fight about. According to Milk Street, the version out of...
For anyone familiar with Halvah, adding tahini to brownies is a no-brainer, in fact, what took us so long??? And if Halvah is good enough for Suleiman the Magnificent who are we to question it? For those unfamiliar, it brilliantly transforms what can be a...
A Sunday afternoon impulse abetted by the presence of leftover baby potatoes on their last legs as well as an abundance of duck fat from the cassoulet soiree. The only ingredient I did not have was parsley and I wish I did because it would have provided...
Do you have a great baker in your office? No? You should probably quit. We have Lynn and she makes many Mondays bearable with the homemade treats she brings us. Recently she made these little melt-in-your mouth gems. So delicious were these cookies that I...
There's something about Israeli couscous that I'm infatuated with. I don't know if it's the toothsome, pasta-like texture, the neutral palette that makes it the perfect canvas for any ingredient, or the versatility. Perhaps it just reminds me of Israel? ...
I owe parsley a big apology. All these years I relegated it to a mere garnish or, at best, an important cameo player at Passover. Then again, what did parsley expect? I mean, it's always there, at every store, doesn't seem to have a "season," and it's cheap....
I always give Cook's Illustrated credit for teaching me how to cook and it will always be my go-to for classic American dishes like fried chicken, chocolate cupcakes, pancakes, burgers, roast turkey and countless other things I cannot live without. But Milk Street...
It's not difficult to understand the crazy popularity of hummus. Easy to make (with ingredients found almost anywhere), vaguely healthy, cheap, and versatile. But like many popular things, it has strayed very far from authenticity. People have added all kinds...
Unlike Molly, and maybe many of you, this was not an "iconic cake of my childhood" mainly because I was a child in the 1960s and cake innovation technology just wasn't there yet. But even without the strong pull of nostalgia, how can you not be drawn to this cake? It's got "fun" right in the title for crying out loud!
Since I am limited in how many recipes I can reproduce on my site (go figure, it's like Molly wants to make money off her hard work and ingenuity or something) I'm going to just give you some guidelines on how to make this stupendous pizza. The dough is from Jim...
Mercy. Not a weeknight meal, to be sure. But if you have a rainy afternoon and a desire to impress the hell out of even yourself with your cooking, make these. Molly says you can use "store bought bao" but you will likely not find them in a regular grocery store....
One reason I love having a blog is that when I make something fabulous I have an outlet for my enthusiasm. Last night I made goulash, a dish I don't think I've ever made before so I have no point of comparison, for what it's worth. But taken solely at face value,...
Does it seem like everyone is trying to do something different, or quirky, or artisanal, or "maker" with mac and cheese? It's on menus from dive bars to foam boutiques, paired with PBRs and boldly-priced malbecs. Like pizza, it's basic enough to accommodate...
Rather than trying to explain the appeal of Molly Yeh and her toothsome recipes I will send you over to her wildly popular blog to see for yourself. She's won every award they give to people who I guess need to be validated that way (poor things) plus she's...
PHOTO BY GIEVES ANDERSON, FOOD STYLING BY ANNA HAMPTON Every now and then I take a truly terrible picture of my culinary product. Sometimes they're blurry, sometimes they're irredeemably over- or under-exposed, and sometimes they just make the food look like an...
Sometimes you just want cheese-spread on Ritz crackers. Sometimes you want to serve it to company and sometimes you want to be alone with your schmear-y treat and brown sleeve of crackers. Sometimes you want to make it into a sandwich and grill it up in a pan....
When I combine my obsession with in-season tomatoes with the fact that I love bread so much that I would happily eat a baguette for dessert, I am inevitably led to one thing: panzanella. Bread and tomato salad. There are as many recipes for panzanella as the...
I don't know what you were doing in 2006 (launching Twitter? Introducing skinny jeans?) but I, along with the rest of the cooking world, was going bonkers over No Knead Bread. What attracted me to the recipe was not liberation from kneading (I like kneading) but...
My most-requested cake. My Strawberry Letter 22. My best shot at the Nobel Prize in Baking.
Sometimes a certain dish calls out to you, maybe prompted by a picture, a season, a memory, a craving, a passing aroma. In paging through the recipes in this book one thing I really wanted to make was a barbecued beef sandwich that would taste like one from this...
This recipe attempts to solve a couple of eggplant problems: excessive moisture and an unpleasant texture best described as "spongy." Grilling (vs. other cooking methods) itself solves the moisture by letting it all drip away. To avoid sponginess we are slicing...
Apparently a Minneapolis tavern specialty, the Juicy Lucy is a burger with the cheese -- are you sitting down? -- inside. Wow, way to blow our minds, half of the Twin Cities! I'm not sure what the advantage is to a cheese surprise but it's a cheeseburger and I...
I have made so many disappointing grilled, glazed pork tenderloins. They look so good and yet they never seem to work for me. I have the same relationship with J Crew clothes. Typically what happens is the glaze gets completely charred and never penetrates beyond...
If you want to serve something to the vegetarians in your life that will make the meat eaters drool, Pin this right now. It's an absolute star of a meatless entree that is no way an after-thought or an apology. As I was preparing this, and especially when I sat...
Tis a gift to be simple, which, I know from Wikipedia, was written by Madonna. True story. This cake is culinary proof. It's just eggs, butter, flour, sugar and two kinds of vanilla: extract and bean paste. Cook it all in an 8" pan and eat and serve plain like a...
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