Category: Recipes

Homemade Potato Chips With Allioli

These oven-fried potato chips are perfectly crisp and golden. Season them twice, before they go into the oven and then just as they come out, and play around with other seasoning mixes: spicy chile pepper, parsley, ras el hanout … the possibilities are endless. The same goes for the dipping sauce. Serves 6 4 large…


Champagne Cocktails for a Crowd

My take on the French 75 swaps the gin and lemon juice with vodka and lime, topped with Champagne and soda water for more bubbles. Serves 8 1 cup vodka 8 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 cup soda water 1 750ml bottle Champagne, cava, or prosecco In a pitcher half-filled with ice, stir in the…


Parmesan Crisps With Salmon Caviar

Totally addictive both to eat and to make, these crisps are also great to use as a garnish for soups and as an alternative to croutons in salads. They’re quite salty, and baking the cheese brings out its pungency, so a little sour cream helps balance out the strong flavors. Makes about 20 2 cups…


Pigs In a Blanket

The most popular of all the finger foods that I serve, pigs in a blanket is total comfort food. Everyone loves and devours them. Play with the different dipping sauces, such as Dijon country mustard, ketchup, or even honey mustard. Makes about 32 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed 32 mini hot dogs 1 large…


Crisp, Cheesy Polenta Cubes Are the Perfect Cocktail Snack

Looking for an easy appetizer? Claudia Roden shares these delicious bites in her latest cookbook, “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes From a Lifetime of Travel,” and the recipes (including this one!) fit right into the Seriously Simple philosophy. Polenta was originally cooked and served as a porridge to feed poor northern Italian peasantry, and Roden…


Cooking Broccoli? Forget the Oven and Stovetop, and Try the Air Fryer

I invested in an air fryer for the sole purpose of serving restaurant-style tater tots and french fries from the comfort of my kitchen. But as I quickly learned, the true value in the trendy countertop appliance is in cooking vegetables of all kinds. The air fryer is actually better than the oven for turning…


The Secret to Perfectly Cracked Crinkle Cookies

These deep, dark, chocolaty cookies are also known as “earthquakes” because of all the cracks that break through their snow-white surfaces during baking. The key to creating these crinkly cracks is rolling the formed dough first in granulated sugar and then in confectioners’ sugar. The granulated sugar helps create that crackly, crusty exterior and keeps…


The Family Table: Nut Horns by the Platter, Best Made With Helpers

Submitted by Diane K. Brewer, Apalachicola, Florida Nut horns are cookies that have been in my family and enjoyed by them since the 1950s at least. They’re irresistible! I always thought that they were Slovak, from my father’s family perhaps, but my Polish godmother made them, too. I read on the internet that Hungarians claim them…


Spread Cheer Into the New Year With Homemade Wassail

You’ve undoubtedly heard the “Wassail Song,” or “Here We Come A-wassailing,” which seems to be on replay throughout all of December. “Love and joy come to you, / And to you your wassail too,” begins the refrain. With verses that celebrate food, drink, generosity, and merriment, it’s a cheerful tune intended to bring blessings to…


A Taste of the Alps: How to Throw Your Own Fondue Party at Home

When the rural inhabitants of Swiss and French mountainous villages devised a warming winter dish incorporating their local cheese and white wine, little did they know it would become an international dinner party hit. It’s no wonder why this dish has crossed borders. During the cold and dark months, it’s universally appealing to hunker down…