SAH mom, dear husband, dear daughter, dear twin sons, floppy eared fur-baby. Love to teach, garden, cook, sew and craft, occasional computer geek for children!!
Fresh pasta is truly a special food; the flavor and texture are unlike any of the dried, packaged pastas. While the idea of making fresh pasta may sound daunting, the process is straightforward - and requires only simple ingredients. SO, Go for it. It's easier than you think, and once you try homemade pasta, you're hooked! Just like my mother used to make!
When my family tried this soup, they all had to have seconds, and my husband is happy any time I put it on the table. Sometimes I include cooked, crumbled bacon and serve it with mozzarella cheese.
Test Kitchen tip:
If you're cooking for a smaller group, make just one-third of the recipe in a small slow cooker and decrease the cooking time slightly.
I like cozy comfort soups that taste creamy—without the cream. This one’s full of good stuff like rutabagas, leeks, fresh herbs and almond milk. Great for a creamy soup if anyone is Lactose Intolerant.
These soft, moist little treats have been a favorite of mine for many years, they are a throw back to my childhood growing up in Amish Country in Lancaster, PA.
These rolls remind me of a perfect coffeecake, with a tender dough, a swirl of jam, and then plenty of streusel and icing gracing the top of each. I have a recipe for the rhubarb blackberry jam included here, but if you are in a hurry, any store-bought jam you love will also work fine.
BHG Magazine also featured this recipe in June 2023, changing out Cherries for the Blackberries, using exactly the same ingredients and steps.
Basque cheesecake is said to have originated in 1990 in San Sebastian, Spain. Unlike American cheesecake, it bakes at a very high temperature that creates a caramelized exterior while its interior remains scrumptiously soft.
Sandwich raspberry cookies with a creamy lemon filling to make these homemade whoopie pies.
Raspberries and lemon pair sweetly in this nostalgic treat. Fresh berries tint the cookies a rosy hue (add pink food gel to turn them even brighter), and a tangy cream cheese filling is sandwiched between them. Sprinkles are optional but highly recommended. Make a platter of these whoopie pies for your next Easter gathering, potluck, or party.
A cross between a cookie and a cake, these whoopie pies have the best texture after an overnight stay in the fridge. Store them unfilled in an airtight container before assembling. This whoopie pie recipe can be made up to one week ahead and stored in the fridge.
A spicy, tangy peanut butter and coconut milk dressing pulls this crunchy fresh salad together.
This vibrant salad is filled with layers of texture and flavor from a mix of crunchy green cabbage, fresh herbs, and juicy grilled chicken that’s been marinated in a coconut milk and lime juice marinade. The chile- and ginger-laced coconut-peanut dressing unites all the components.
Spicy, sweet honey meets seared chicken, lemony potatoes and tangy feta for a one-pan dinner.
This one-skillet dinner seasons tender potatoes with the fond and fat from crispy chicken thighs to quickly build flavor. A simple hot honey–lemon drizzle and crumbles of salty feta finish the dish. The key to perfectly crispy, golden brown chicken thighs is to cook them skin-side down, undisturbed, allowing the fat to render.
The circle of silky-smooth, buttery dough was wrapped around a barely sweetened, rosewater-scented filling of ground almonds. In Tunisia, kaak warqa are considered the choicest of sweets — and the most expensive. They’re offered at weddings and during Ramadan. While kaak warqa aren’t the simplest cookies to make, I was surprised by how easily I lost myself in the process. I learned to knead the white dough and roll it thin, to slice and measure with a surgeon’s precision, to wrap the dough around the marzipan, and to roll it into little doughnuts.
While restaurants traditionally make the buttery, orange-flavored sauce for this famous dessert tableside from start to finish, this recipe from Jacques Pépin is ideal for entertaining a group at home. You can prepare all the crêpes in advance, and when it’s time to serve, dip the crêpes in the orange butter sauce and then add them to a large skillet with the liquor. Pépin flambés the liquor in front of his dinner guests and pours it over the platter of crêpes while still flaming.
Balanced by intense umami notes from Worcestershire and dark Mexican ale, this carne asada from Bricia Lopez also gets an underlying sweetness from fresh citrus juice. Flap steak, a typical cut for asada, is lean and coarse-grained and is prime for both marinating and high-heat grilling. The savory and acidic marinade tenderizes the beef, while a quick stint on a grill over a hot fire quickly chars the exterior and leaves a perfectly pink center. Skirt steak, while somewhat chewier than flap steak, makes a good substitute if you can’t find flap steak.
This recipe is adapted from Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling by Bricia Lopez with Javier Cabral
This was one of the first chicken recipes I prepared for my husband more than 54 years ago. His exclamation? "Mighty nice!" That's how it got its name. Sometimes I add extra broth to make more of the yummy sauce. - Kay Stansberry, Athens, Tennessee
I grow my own herbs and veggies in the summer, and when they are at peak, I incorporate them into my recipes. This is one I developed using fresh basil, parsley and tomatoes when they were at their best and ripest. —Sheryl Little, Cabot, Arkansas
This 15-minute Chicken Salad Chick copycat recipe has become one of my very favorite meals. But it needn’t even be a meal! The chicken salad is so scrumptious on crackers or as the dip on a crudite platter. —Laura Wilhelm, West Hollywood, California
Fresh asparagus gives traditional Greek Spinach Pie a tasty twist in this recipe. Served with a mild Dill Sauce, these crispy light squares make a perfect first course a special-occasion dinner.
Originally seen in Taste of Home April/May 2023.
Another PAN SAUCE Recipe.
"I love this recipe for many reasons, but mostly because it is both simple and delicious. It was passed down from my Italian grandmother, and I modified it only slightly. I have used it and enjoyed it for years." —Karen Mahlke, Estero, Florida
Light and soft with a bit of crunch, these bourekas are one of my favorite appetizers for holidays. They can be filled with almost anything, but spinach and feta are my favorite fillings. Topped with everything seasoning, these Middle Eastern triangles are out of this world.
These quick hors d'oeuvres may be mini, but their bacon and tomato flavor is full size. I serve them at parties, brunches and picnics, and they're gone within minutes ... even the kids love them!
Sabayon is a sweet dessert sauce made by whisking egg yolks with sugar and wine. This version, from Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin, is made using Champagne, and includes the unusual step of folding whipped cream into the sabayon sauce at the end. In addition to giving the sabayon an extra creamy texture, the whipped cream helps to stabilize the foamy sabayon, preventing it from deflating, so it can be made ahead of time if desired.
Sabayon can be a dessert on its own, or incorporated into other desserts like a Cornmeal Cake Trifle. Chef Suzanne Goin loves to serve this Champagne sabayon with her sbrisolona, a rustic almond tart with roasted red grapes. The sabayon is also delicious over fresh fruit, crêpes, or pancakes.
We go through two cartons of feta cheese a month at my house, and I’ve begun to use the punchy brine in marinades and rice pilafs rather than letting it go to waste. Here, the brine enriches chicken thighs, while the salt in the brine carries the aromatic ingredients below the surface. To maximize the brine, use a slotted spoon to sift out any stray pieces of feta before building your marinade.
If you only buy crumbly feta that’s not packaged in brine you can swap it with a quarter cup each of dill pickle brine and buttermilk or plain yogurt here. Just adjust the salt to your liking. Or you can follow cookbook author Melissa Clark’s lead and puree a few ounces of the feta itself with water.
A sweet yellow onion, a touch of fat from rich butter, and a low and slow cook time bring a simple can of tomatoes to their peak in this iconic sauce from Italian cooking expert Marcella Hazan.
This Recipe is EVERYTHING a home cook could ever want - Good in any season (no need for fresh tomatoes, but if you have them use them); minimal cleanup (just one pan); all the ingredients are available at any supermarket in America; IT'S CHEAP!; it can be doubled to feed a crowd. You don't need knife skills - or any kind of skills really. Your friends will think you're an AWESOME Cook.
Adapted from her cookbook "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" this four-ingredient tomato sauce spotlights the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, while butter tames their acidity and rounds out the mellow sweetness of the onion. This sauce is heartwarming, incredibly easy to prepare, and truly versatile. Serve with Rigatoni, Penne, Spaghetti or Gnocchi, or layer it into casseroles and baked pastas.
There's an interplay of savory and sweet in this dish with a combination of tomatoes (concentrated from roasting), vinegar-brined peaches, and fresh summer berries. While Gourdet features Peaches in this tecipe, other stone fruits, such as nectarines, makes a good stand-in. Choose ripe but firm fruit to precent the flesh from becoming overly soft while it pickles. Topped with a tangy coconut dressing, fresh herbs, and edible flowers (if you find them), this salad is a summer stunner.
Lightly seared succulent beef, fresh tomatoes, and sweet oniln slices are tossed in a glossy soy sauce mixture sweetened with brown sugar in this unique take on POKE with beef standing in for the more typical fish. The steak's tender, rare interior is offset by crunchy bites of fried garlic and buttery macadamia nuts.
Slicing into this cake reveals orange-scented vanilla layers that bake up from a one-bowl batter.
We overcomplicate birthday cakes,” says Ruby Tandoh, chef and author of the cookbook Cook As You Are. “This cake is testament to the idea that less is more.” Its beauty lies in the method, which calls for unconventional mixing (eggs alternate with dry ingredients) and for sour cream that moistens and tenderizes the crumb. When combining the butter and sugar, Tandoh advises rubbing the creamed butter and sugar between your fingers to test that the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
Simplicity reigns supreme with Tandoh’s buttercream. How easily it comes together belies the striking flavors from orange zest and cocoa. “The kindest thing to do for our loved ones’ birthdays is keep it simple,” Tandoh says. And this cake rings all the bells.
"This recipe was inspired by the delicious sesame sauce for goma-ae, the simple Japanese side of cold spinach (or another vegetable). I’ve added multiple ingredients to make it saucier and sesame-er. Though tahini is not generally used in Japanese cooking, it’s right at home here, reinforcing the other sesame notes in the sauce, and adding creaminess. Slicing green beans lengthwise (Frenching them) makes them supple like noodles, and exposes more surface area so they readily absorb the flavors of the sauce."
This really is The Best Jewish Apple Cake! It has the texture of moist pound cake, a crunchy crust, plus ribbons of gooey cinnamon sugar. Adapted from Paula Levine Weinstein & Julie Komerofsky Remer.
I first saw the recipe published in the Plain Dealer, and the article described how it came from Columbus caterers Paula Levine Weinstein and Julie Komerofsky Remer, who claimed it was their customers' favorite dessert.
That point really struck me, because I never thought apple cake was anything to write home about. I mean, out of all possible desserts, for people to say this was their favorite...well I just had to investigate.
I'm so glad I did. This is the best-ever apple cake!
I recently stumbled upon a YouTube video from Cooking At Pam’s Place that promised a loaf of bread so simple and quick, that it seemed almost too good to be true. No kneading, no yeast, no rise time, and no mixer required. Intrigued and excited, I decided to give it a try. Spoiler alert: I loved it so much that I just had to share it with you all!
This versatile bread pairs well with almost anything. It’s perfect for sandwiches, toast, or just to enjoy with a pat of butter. You can also serve it alongside soups, stews, or salads.