Category: Food & Dining

Tomato Pesto Tart Is a Lively Appetizer or First Course

With the advent of frozen all-butter puff pastry available for the home cook, we can make many inventive dishes that are Seriously Simple. I’ve made my share of desserts with commercial puff pastry, but this is my first attempt at a first course or appetizer. I wanted to prepare a simple summer tart that was…


The Family Table: A Recipe ‘Stained From Cherry Juice and Frequent Use’

Submitted by Charlene Hornick, Eugene, Oregon This cherry cake recipe was written on a 3-by-5-inch card in my mother’s recipe box, stained from cherry juice and frequent use. This is a family favorite, passed from my grandmother to my mother. No one knows the origin. It was served to guests about 60 percent of the…


Stocked Up on Baby Potatoes? Here’s a Recipe You’ll Love.

I stopped by the farmers market yesterday and couldn’t resist picking up some baby potatoes—two bags of them! My plan was to cut them up and roast them, but then I remembered a recipe I love to make when these baby potatoes are in season: smashed potatoes. These golden nuggets look like little potato pancakes…


How to Upsize a Cake Mix That’s Too Small for the Recipe

In my kitchen, I have a small collection of cookbooks that I consider prized possessions. One of them, the classic Betty Crocker Cookbook, was a wedding gift and, trust me, it’s seen more than its share of splatters and dog-eared and ripped pages. And I wouldn’t part with it for anything. Another features 100 things…


This Smoky Bacon Mayo Upgrades Everything It Touches

This rich, smoky bacon mayo is the condiment equivalent of the song of the summer. Once you make it, you’ll have it on repeat all season long. And who could blame you? Adding bacon fat and super-crispy bacon pieces to a simple DIY mayo gives you a flavor-packed spread that’s delicious on almost anything (as…


5 Cooling Herbs to Beat Summer’s Heat

When the summer heat is at its peak, we’re all looking for ways to keep cool. The solution to besting high temperatures might just be in your herb cabinet. People in hot climates have long sought specific herbal allies to provide relief on summer’s hottest days. If you’ve ever craved a cold glass of iced…


Blueberry Apple Compote With Chamomile Whipped Cream

I like to top this blueberry apple compote with toasted nuts and oats for a dessert that’s reminiscent of a classic crumble, but decidedly less heavy. Chamomile combines beautifully with both apple and blueberries and makes an excellent whipped cream to serve with the compote. Makes 4 servings For the Chamomile Whipped Cream 1 cup…


Hibiscus Pineapple Punch

This hibiscus punch, brightly sour with a hint of sweetness, makes a refreshing drink in the summertime. You can dilute the punch with sparkling water or intensify it with a shot of rum if you like. Makes about 4 servings 3 1/2 cups water 1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers 2 tablespoons dried elderflower Juice of…


Stone Fruit Salad With Lemon Balm

Inspired by traditional Caprese salad, we swap the tomatoes for stone fruit and slip lemon balm in as a stand-in for basil. When you toss a handful of lemon balm over nectarines, plums, and fresh, milky mozzarella, you release a sort of magic that enlivens a fruit’s natural sweetness. Lemon balm gives the nectarines and…


An Abnormally Delicious Summer Pasta

There’s nothing normal about alla Norma, a Sicilian way of serving pasta smothered in an eggplant tomato sauce. If you enjoy ratatouille, imam bayildi, eggplant Parmesan, or any other eggplant-and-tomato dish, you probably understand that they form a special combination. Although the resemblance may not be obvious at first, the two fruits are close relatives,…