Slow Cooker Shredded Beef – Chicago Roast
Chicago roast is slow cooker shredded beef. It's a mash-up combining the popular Crock Pot Italian Beef, itself a homestyle ode to the Chicago style sandwich, with the butter bomb…
Banana Muffins with Crumb Topping
Banana muffins are such a delight in part because they are unexpected. You had every intention of eating that bunch of bananas but seemingly overnight they’ve over ripened into unpalatable…
Pasta and Bean Soup
Pasta and Bean Soup – based on Italian Pasta e Fagioli – is a big bowl of happy. It's a favorite in my soup rotation despite my previous skepticism given…
Tomato Butter Sauce
If there’s a single recipe that captures my goal of eating well with ease, it’s pasta with tomato butter sauce. It’s one of the standby meals that I make often…
Roasted Tomato Butter Sauce
Ripe in-season tomatoes are key to this luscious sauce, adapted from the acclaimed recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Roasted Tomato Butter Sauce launched my blog 15 years…
End of Summer Tomato Bread
Tomato bread is a retro classic that reminds me of growing up in the 70’s. It appeared frequently as an appetizer at family parties. Tomato bread was replaced by the trendier bruschetta, but it’s still…
Fried Green Tomatoes
A juicy tomato at the peak of ripeness is hard to beat. But after filling up on red tomatoes in season, I go green. As in Fried Green Tomatoes. I…
Grilled Chicken Chili Sandwich
This grilled chicken chili sandwich is fully loaded and hits home on several fronts. To start, it's a good sandwich, with lemon-kissed chicken breasts amped up with grilled chili, crispy…
Steam-Sautéed Asparagus
Asparagus season is upon us! No doubt you've got your favorite way to prepare these spring stalks. And I'm here for it all -- grilled, oven roasted, blanched, steamed. While…
Blueberry Dutch Baby Pancake
Blueberry pancakes rank among my favorite foods. They call to mind summer, breakfast with family, and vacations. A stack of steaming buttermilk pancakes, studded with plump blueberries, juicy purple stains…