Garlic bread
My grandfather wouldn’t eat garlic. While my family has produced a number of picky eaters, I don’t normally think of my grandfather as having been one of them. I don’t remember running into many things that he wouldn’t eat, although that may be been one of the privileges of eating mostly at one’s own house … Continue reading
Mac and cheese
Everywhere I go, I’m finding macaroni and cheese. Family restaurants like Max and Erma’s have added it to the menu. For a while, Burger King was offering Kraft mac & cheese as an option in its kid’s meals. It’s become the go-to when my wife and I take the girls out to dinner, and it’s … Continue reading
Cranberries before you know it
I love Thanksgiving. It’s probably my favorite holiday of the year. I love that when it comes down to it, it’s really an entire holiday devoted to food. Yes, yes, there’s a bigger meaning, and it’s great to sit down and figure out what you’re thankful for, and blah, blah, blah, but the celebration itself … Continue reading
Winter in California: turkey white bean pumpkin chili
It’s that time of year when the first snowfall makes everyone lose their minds, as if they’ve never seen snow before. People in Massachusetts had an actual reason to lose their minds when some areas got over a foot of snow at the end of October. My family in Massachusetts was without power for days. … Continue reading
Broccoli robbed
If you read between the lines of my last few posts, you’ll notice that I haven’t really been cooking. Not only did I move from one ocean to the other, but I also started a glamorous new lifestyle — freelancing. By glamorous, I mean that it’s an effort to put on pants in the morning … Continue reading
Cigarettes and coffee: cooking for my grandparents, part 2
(Continued from Part 1) I was anxious, drinking hot coffee, and sweating over a stove in 90-degree weather, but apparently alcohol was the answer. A door slammed in the driveway. My grandparents were 20 minutes early. My grandma came into the room with multiple trays of homemade desserts. We all could’ve had a had a … Continue reading
Cigarettes and coffee: cooking for my grandparents
I’m staying at home in Michigan for a few weeks before I move to California. Everyone, especially my mom, seems convinced that I’m leaving for a faraway land from which I’ll never return. Every time I leave the house I expect to see my mother waving at me from the doorway with a white handkerchief. … Continue reading
On the Hogwarts Express: Pumpkin Pasties
Because I’m in the process of moving across the country, cooking has been the farthest thing from my mind. I eat odd things at odd hours of the day and spend the rest of the time searching for things I’ve lost in one box or another, lamenting my less-than-stellar eating habits to anyone who will … Continue reading
The day-long barbecue
Despite writing about food and cooking, most of the time I’d rather just be eating. Eating is immensely more fun than cooking. But there are those rare days when I go all Betty Crocker and want to spend the day in the kitchen. Ever since the grocery store started carrying fresh ears of corn I’ve … Continue reading
Bad-assery and petty crime: risotto without a recipe
I had a grand plan for this weekend. At work, I’ve started my summer schedule, which means I get to leave the office at 12:30 on Friday afternoons. Instead of being the 24-year-old that I am and going out for debauchery and bad decisions, I’ve started making big dinners for myself on Friday nights. It … Continue reading
