American

Carrot Ginger Soup

11/29/2016
Serves 12 bowls
Equipment
blender (immersion or regular)
vegetable peeler
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
30m

    

A fresh-flavored Fall classic that does double duty for Winter-into-Spring, wake up your senses and grab your immersion blender!  It’s time to make this soup!

***HERE’S A TIP:  Stir in about 1/2 to 1 full cup of heavy cream at the very end if you want to add a little creamy-yum to this already amazing dish***

Fresh Parsley Pesto

12/26/2016
Serves countless foodies
Equipment
food processor
Prep time
20m

This is the pesto referenced in the recipe for Vidalia onion soup, but I’m making it a stand-alone recipe because it is a stand-alone dish!  You can and should use this pesto in every way that you would use basil pesto: as a spread on toast or a sandwich, on pasta and pizza, melted onto a chicken breast, steak, or burger, and of course, as a flavor-packing punch to any bowl of soup!  My stepson loves to add it to an otherwise bland egg sandwich for breakfast.  I also use a big heaping spoonful of this pesto to mix into the ricotta layer of lasagna and right into my meatball mixture!  It has all of the things you want to add, already chopped and blended: parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cheese– this is an all purpose flavor saver!  It freezes well, too, so don’t be afraid of having too much.

By the way, this is also the recipe for basil pesto (just substitute basil for parsley) and kale pesto (substitute kale for parsley and hazelnuts for pine nuts) too.  Pesto is pesto, my friends.  Make it how you like it: love garlic?  Add more.  Don’t like it cheesy?  Add less.  Want it thinner?  Add more oil.  You get the idea.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

11/29/2016
Serves 12 People
Equipment
food processor or box grater
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
45m

I think you’re going to like this.

post-bacon, pre-baking
Here we are, post-bacon, pre-baking (I crack myself up.)  And yeah, maybe this feeds a little more than 12… I like to give my “extra” to a neighbor or friend or my parents or, you know, whomever needs it.

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

01/05/2017
Serves 20 bowls
Equipment
large, heavy-bottomed pot
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
45m

This is one of my favorite soups.  My mom usually makes it as an appetizer at Thanksgiving, without the beef… in that case, it’s Mushroom Barley Soup.  It pairs so beautifully with my sausage stuffed mushrooms, you could forget all about the turkey.  This year, we skipped the soup, and I made it following Christmas instead.  I added the leftover rib roast from Christmas and called it “dinner.”  Soup represents, to me, the magic of cooking.  It’s as close as you can come to making something fantastic out of next to nothing (water, salt, seasoning, a few humble vegetables, leftover meat, and dried grain), and that something will fill your kitchen with warmth and aroma and happiness like you wouldn’t believe.  I challenge you to try it and tell me it’s not magic.

 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

01/08/2017
Serves 16 servings
Equipment
Slow Cooker
Prep time
15m
Cook Time
7m

    

So you have a five pound pork loin (or butt or shoulder) in your fridge and you’re feeling less than inspired?  Open up that well-stocked pantry of yours and pull together a spice rub, line your slow cooker with onions and garlic, splash on a little chicken stock, and in six or seven hours– maybe when you get home from work, maybe when you get home from skiing– you will be glad you did.

Soft Molasses Ginger Cookies

12/01/2016
2 Reviews (5.00 out of 5)
Serves 24 cookies
Equipment
sanding sugar ("turbinado")
Prep time
25m
Cook Time
8m

Credit for this recipe goes to The Providence Journal… and to my mom, for cutting it out and sending it to me.  And to cardamom, which is truly the secret ingredient here.  All I have is this screen shot, so I can’t actually reference date or issue, but you should know that I didn’t create this one, nor would I change it, even one bit.  But I will retype it for you, so you know where to find it for, happily ever after.  You’re going to need it for those long, cold winter months ahead.

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