I could find out the exact recipe for a Christmas confection created by the top chef to the Queen of England and stay up all night painstakingly following every step to the letter, and it still wouldn’t turn out as good as anything my mom makes at Christmas.

I’m sure it’s psychological and has to do with pleasant memories of childhood Christmases, but there we are. Mom’s goodies are the best. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I get to eat them. [Read more...]

It’s always fun to make goodies around the holidays that really look holiday-ish. Most likely more sugar cookies are baked around Christmas time than any other time of the year, simply because they’re so easy to decorate.

I like to think beyond cookies, though. Since I’ve never made candy in my life and my attempts a cake-baking never seem to turn out right, I turn to something that is fairly foolproof. And this baking-challenged fool needs all the help she can get.

This is decadent, but let’s pretend it has no calories. That’s a standard rule during the holidays. [Read more...]

I am a big fan of doing the least amount of work for the highest amount of praise. That’s why I love marinades.

Take a cheap piece of meat, slap it in some marinade and soak it overnight and the next day you have a delectable entree. And you can marinate anything! Beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables…even fruit!

Marinades can do wonders for just about anything, and more importantly, they can make you look like a gourmet cook. Don’t go overboard, though. Marinate only one thing on the menu at a time, and don’t do it every night. Too much and people will think you’re trying to cover something up. Once or twice a week is fine, and will increase your praise factor significantly. [Read more...]

We probably scrape more vegetables into the sink or throw more vegetables into the trash than anything else. It’s hard to get kids to eat them, and let’s face it; it’s hard to get most adults to eat them too.

The fact is, though, that vegetables are good for us, so as cooks we need to find a way to get people to eat them. Adults are usually glad to eat vegetables if you dress them up pretty enough, but kids aren’t so easily won over. They’ll eye you suspiciously if you even look like you’re going to approach them with something that even slightly resembles a vegetable.

The trick is to make the vegetables an ingredient in something that they like. Surround the veggies with yummy things and they might not notice them!

Here are two recipes that should help you with your vegetable offense strategy. [Read more...]

My mother should have saved her breath when she kept telling me “stop playing with your food!” It never took.

One of the things that I enjoy about cooking is that I can make my own rules. Of course, there are common sense rules that most of us follow like not putting ground beef in apple pie or not adding a cup of sugar to your spaghetti sauce, but otherwise it’s an imagination fest.

I like to play with old standards and make something new but still familiar tasting. Chicken oven-fried in ranch dressing mix. Cheeseburger wraps. Baked mashed potato balls.

Use your imagination to play with some old favorites. It’s fun! [Read more...]