From Scratch

Most people enjoy barbecued ribs but there are potential deterrents: not everyone can cook outdoors and ribs can become a project, what with starting them indoors in the oven or a pressure cooker and moving them outdoors to the grill. Marinate them before cooking and we’re looking at a meal that makes us wait most […]

This is a perfect, refreshing accompaniment to grilled poultry or pork. Its tropical flavors are welcome in hot weather and complement chicken, turkey or pork that’s been prepared with its companion recipe, a Caribbean spice rub. Both recipes are fine on their own but together, they are more.
I found this at Fine Cooking, in one of the […]

I tried a recipe from last week’s Washington Post for a fast version of pork vindaloo – I’m posting it separately and the link is below. This mild paste was an alternative to jarred curry paste and I’m glad I tried it. It gave the dish a restaurant quality and would be wonderful with other […]

Since I do practice what I advocate — cuisine d’opportunité – I have another, but very different, raspberry recipe on the heels of raspberry fool. I found gorgeous berries at a great price a few days ago and bought several containers; the savings with this raspberry vinaigrette recipe alone pays for them all.
I don’t know what bothers […]

You might be facing an abundance of basil around now, either in your own garden or at farmers’ markets. We’re still a bit away from that stage here in The Little Snowball, but when it’s local and fresh I buy an armful, some for now and some for later.
How much later? A grower gave me […]

High summer is prime time for green salads and burgers; many people do not share my aversion to mayo and love Thousand Island dressing on both. It’s a long-time American favorite, popular for about a century. That much we know for sure.
Several legends compete for the story of its origin. According to Wikipedia, it might have […]

I love this quote from Julia Child, in Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom:
The perfect vinaigrette is so easy to make that I see no reason whatsoever for bottled dressing.
Neither do I. Not only does home-made vinaigrette taste so much better, it eliminates the chemicals and high fructose corn syrup in most bottled dressings. (Corn syrup is so […]

Even here in The Little Snowball it’s finally warm enough for outdoor cooking. For most people I know, that means steaks on the grill and their uniquely wonderful taste. Still, for many beef lovers a steak is only perfect with steak sauce and why not? Who wouldn’t want a filet topped with high fructose corn syrup, salt, […]