Hatch chile potato casserole: funeral food
“Pass the chicken, pass the pie. We sure eat good when someone dies. Funeral food, it’s so good for the soul. Funeral food, fills you up down to your toes.”…
Thanksgiving
Tex-Mex squash casserole
I took a wrong exit on my way to the Birmingham Airport. I don’t usually mind getting lost because this can often lead to discovery. But after meandering endlessly down…
Sweet cornmeal biscuits
A few weeks ago, I had a lovely lunch at Dovetail, an Upper West Side restaurant that serves what I would call creative comfort food. The meal was good but…
Cheese straws
Cookie season is in full swing and will be for at least another week (there are, after all, 12 days of Christmas). I enjoy sampling from tins filled with raspberry…
Roquefort cheese log
Every family has its fair share of characters and mine is no different. It being the holiday season and all, I’ve wanted to make cheese logs and cheese balls for…
Uncle Richard’s sweet potato pie
In times like these, I’m in need of some serious comfort. I work in magazines and it’s very grim seeing your industry on a downhill slide. Not a day goes…
Grandma’s chocolate pie
There are pies and then there is my grandma’s chocolate pie. It’s a luscious chocolate custard resting on a flaky, almost salty crust, topped with a springy meringue. For me,…
Oatmeal bread and a case of the Januaries
I called my Grandma recently and asked how she was doing. With a sigh, she said she was suffering a case of the Januaries. “What’s that?” I asked. She replied…
Purple sage and colorful cauliflower
I’ve been leery of cauliflower for most of my life. Despite my early penchant for devouring white foods, there was just something about cauliflower that seemed a bit wrong. To…
Jalapeno-cheese bread
Raise your hand if you haven’t made no-knead bread yet. Yep, that’s what I thought—I’m the only one in the world who hasn’t baked this miracle of yeast, flour, and…