You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be able to make great soup. That’s what I’ve been telling my friends and acquaintances for years when they’ve inquired about why my homemade soups are so tasty. Actually, there is one thing that sets good soups apart from those that are just fair or mediocre: the stock. Of course, you can …
There are literally a million ways to fix pork chops. If you don’t believe me, do a Google search for pork chop recipes. What you will get is about 1.2 million results. A lot of those recipes are similar in the respect the chops are cooked in some sort of creamed soup, albeit mushroom, chicken or celery. That’s probably because the gravy …
Are you tired of fixing that beef roast the same old way? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with throwing a roast ― after it’s been browned ― in a Dutch oven with some potatoes, carrots and an onion for a couple of hours. That’s always a delightful meal. But if you’re up for a change of pace, a French dip is a …
Rhubarb is very likely the first vegetable — yes, it’s not a fruit — harvested in the spring by gardeners. It perhaps is also the most-awaited one by cooks who prefer making desserts above all else. Fresh rhubarb from the garden is still weeks away from being harvested, but that’s not stopping me from pleasuring my sweet tooth. That’s because I had …
I like hearty soups. They can be full of all kinds of vegetables ― and meat (or not), too. It doesn’t matter. Usually, no two soups of mine are alike, since I save all sorts of vegetable stock ― i.e. liquid from mashed potatoes or any vegetables that have been steamed, blanched, etc. ― as well as broth made from chicken, beef or wild game …
Ham and cheese is one of those classic food combos that never gets old. Just like bacon and eggs, hamburgers and fries, peanut butter and jelly and pretzels and beer, this dynamic duo is an American favorite. Always has been, always will be. Perhaps the simplest and most common of way is to combine the pair for the sandwich ― grilled …
Dealing with leftovers sometimes can be a problem. Especially if you have picky eaters who don’t have an appetite for an entree the second or third time around. That’s not the case with food such as spaghetti, which is often better after it’s sat for a day or two. Whenever I make a pot of that Italian favorite, we usually …
Pasta and broccoli is a winning combination. And no matter what you complement those two with, the outcome is sure to be a palate pleaser. I have several favorite recipes that feature broccoli and pasta. One is Broccoli with Rigatoni, which comes from a cookbook by the late Dom DeLuise, “Eat This … It’ll Make You Feel Better!” DeLuise describes broccoli and rigatoni …
What would you call a dish that’s a cross between a casserole and lasagna, two of the ultimate comfort foods? That’s a tough one, for which I haven’t come up with an answer. But there are three things that I do know: Some of these concoctions can be very nutritious, mighty tasty and pretty easy to make. The last quality is important for working parents who have …
Older cooks will remember when stainless steel and nonstick skillets became the rage the 1950s and ’60s, taking the drudgery out of preparing meals. In fact, many people tossed aside their beloved cast iron that had been around for ages. But these days, the former kitchen staple once again finds itself in vogue in kitchens around the country. And it’s for good reason. Cast iron is the perfect …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson shares a month’s worth of beautiful photos of our nation’s capital.
Anyone who’s grown up in Minnesota or North Dakota doesn’t need to be told about the role of hotdish in Midwest culture. Not only are they easy to make, hotdishes also are the perfect fare for events such as family reunions, funerals, church suppers and potlucks. A good example of how popular and diverse they are is the annual hotdish-making competition hosted by Sen. Al …
American Heart Month and Lent happen to coincide this year, and that’s good news for people who love fish. Fatty fish such as salmon, halibut, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids as is shrimp, which make them all good candidates for heart healthy foods as well as fodder for those meatless Fridays that many …
A highlight of the Super Bowl for a lot of people is a party where the food lineup is more important than the much-ballyhooed commercials, halftime show or the players who are taking the field. But people don’t need to leave the friendly confines of their own homes to enjoy food that rivals buffalo wings, pizza and chips and dips. Therese and I stayed at …
Spaghetti and meatballs. That’s a combination that a lot of people find very appealing. After all, what’s not to like about one of the all-time, ultimate comfort foods? But spaghetti isn’t the only form of pasta that is a suitable companion for meatballs. In fact, if I had my druthers, there are oodles of other noodles that can stand up to spaghetti. …
Anyone looking to save some serious money when shopping for chicken would be well-advised to buy whole instead of cut-up. That’s because the cost difference is somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 to $5 a pound. But there is also another good reason to buy your chickens whole. When cutting up an entire bird, you have a neck and backbone available that can …
Just about every time you turn on a TV set these days, it isn’t very long before an advertisement pops up for some diet program or plan that promises weigh loss and touts certain types of food ― for a hefty price. I don’t often pay much attention to them. That’s because long ago I came to the conclusion that any advice given …
It’s hard to convince some people who grew up with eating walleye that there are other species that come close to rivaling it in taste and texture. Growing up in northern Minnesota, I was one of those walleye snobs. That’s until a hometown friend, Steve Geatz, first took me to Bad Medicine Lake in Becker County, which is known for its great rainbow …
Nearly every day, you can read or view a story about health and nutrition. Just this week, the U.S. Agriculture and Health and Human Services Department issued new federal dietary guidelines that urge Americans to drastically cut back on sugar, and for the first time, have singled out teenage boys and men for eating too much meat, chicken and eggs. The guidelines, which are updated …
A good sauce can turn an otherwise mediocre dish into one of excellence. And in the case of an entree that already features mouth-watering ingredients, it’s a bonus. For example, take baby back pork ribs, in which the barbecue sauce can be the make-or-break difference. The same is true with entrees such as chicken Alfredo or eggs Benedict (Hollandaise sauce). The following …
Christmas Day dinner — with all its fixin’s — might be in rear-view mirror for another year, but that doesn’t mean the sampling of delicious holiday food is over, especially with New Year’s Eve and Day celebrations looming. And for those of you who did a lot of baking, that’s probably a good thing. If you are anything like my mom, you probably have a half-dozen to a dozen …
One-pot ― or one-pan ― meals are a boon to households where both parents work. And this time of the year, when a lot of time and energy goes into baking holiday goodies, even those who are retired can find them a nice time-saver. They take very little time to put together, cooking time is minimal, and one-pot meals require a lot less …
You generally can tell how often cookbooks are used by their appearance. If they look as if they could be put on the shelf for sale in a bookstore, chances are you won’t find too many good recipes in it. However, if they are falling apart and have tattered or sauce-marked pages, that’s a different story. They probably contain a gold mine of recipes. My cookbook collection falls into those two …
There’s no better reason to make a pot of soup than when you discover a new recipe that looks like a sure-fire winner. An even better one is when a winter storm is imminent. The newest recipe that I’ve added to my soup repertoire, Chicken, Bean and Spinach, comes from a Twitter contact, Coach Mindy (@mycoachmindy), who shares post after post of …
Overripe bananas can be a problem for some people. Once the skin turns brown, there are many who just toss them, since they don’t care to eat discolored bananas. I’m one of those who doesn’t mind eating an overripe banana. In fact, I kind of like them. But if push came to shove, I’d rather use them in banana bread. Timing can be …
Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. But don’t tell that to those who consider the leftovers from a big feast such as “Turkey Day” a mere extension of the holiday. Not only do you have plenty of meat, potatoes, stuffing and gravy in the refrigerator for a nice day-after meal or two, there is the traditional turkey soup. Making soup is what’s on my agenda today. I have a pot …
Side dishes are just as important as the main course when it comes to holiday celebrations such as Thanksgiving Day dinner. It’s always been that way in our family. From the time we used to go to my Grandma and Grandpa Menard’s in the 1950s and ’60s to our smaller get-togethers these days, side dishes have played a big role …
Undoubtedly, you’ve heard someone say “it tastes just like chicken” when they are describing some other kind of meat. Sometimes, it’s said in jest. But more often, people really mean it. Pheasant fits into the latter category. And in my opinion, the game bird tastes just as good chicken, maybe even better. I ought to know, since pheasant has been a staple in …
No deer hunting camp would be complete without a pot of chili. And it doesn’t matter what it contains, just as long as the chili will warm you up after a cold day in the field or woods. Chili has always been a deer camp mainstay for me. Back in the day when I hunted North Dakota with the Durkin boys …
Two 5-gallon buckets of carrots. What’s a guy to do? Well, in my case, scrubbing and drying them is the No. 1 priority. After that, the fun begins. As you might have guessed, I recently dug the carrots from my garden. I waited until we had a good frost before harvesting them because the plants respond to the cold by turning starches into …
Anyone who has enjoyed a day in the field in pursuit of ringneck pheasants knows how nice it is to return to hunting camp for a tasty home-cooked meal. I recently returned from my third trip to western North Dakota, where wily roosters did their best to outsmart me. Luckily, I was in pretty good company, so a few birds …
TV dinners have been around for quite some time, probably almost as long as televisions, so we’re talking the late 1940s or early 1950s. As a kid, I remember chowing down on TV dinners before going away to college. And being a typical college kid ― with very little extra money ― I ate quite a few of them when living off-campus. Some of my …
The appetite for hot and spicy food is gaining in popularity across the country as is evidenced by the emergence of restaurant and fast-food establishment dishes such as Subway’s Buffalo Chicken, Red Lobster’s Extra Jumbo Spicy Sriracha-Grilled Shrimp and Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Fries. For me, if I had to choose between hot and spicy and bland and boring, there’s no question what …
Nachos are a popular appetizer for today’s football tailgaters. And there is no limit to the number of ways that this party food can be customized. Recently, I came across a recipe on Facebook that takes nachos to another level. It’s from Marit Mikkelson of Grand Forks, a University of North Dakota fan who posted a photo of “Tater Totchos” a …
People who love an assortment of outdoor activities face a dilemma this time of the year. There are just too many things to do in too short a time. To do one you, you have to give up the others. For me and a lot of my friends, pastimes such as hunting and sports clash with the end of the gardening season. …
The Château de Chenonceau is one of the best-known chateaux of the Loire Valley in France, and that is where Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson’s travels took him Wednesday. Located near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire department, the chateau was first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson’s most recent day touring the French countryside included visiting Font-de-Gaume, a cave near Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in the Dordogne department of southwest France. The cave contains prehistoric polychrome paintings and engravings dating to the Magdalenian period. His day ended at Château de Beynac, a castle where Richard the Lionheart lived in the 12th century. The castle is one of the …
Undoubtedly, many gardeners who grow tomatoes have more than they can handle — unless they do some canning. Even those who put up whole tomatoes, tomato juice, salsa or the like might have their hands full if they were overzealous and plotted too many plants, especially this summer in which there have been ideal growing conditions for those who have …
The was a time when 5-and-10-cent stores (also known as five-and-dime stores or dime stores) were a 20th-century fixture in American downtowns. Then came the emphasis on specialty stores, and the rest is history. But that can’t erase the memories of many people who are 50 or older. Going to the five-and-dime store was something we all grew up with and loved. …
Broccoli is one of those garden vegetables that keeps on giving. After the first cutting of a large center head, the plant will produce smaller side heads for several weeks. And for those like me who enjoy a good broccoli salad, that’s dandy. Just yesterday, I was able to harvest several smaller heads on my four plants, which Therese used to …
Shrimp and rice are staples of New Orleans and Cajun cooking. Jambalaya and gumbo are just two of the mouth-watering dishes that combine the two and have made Louisiana cuisine a favorite of many people. However, for those who work or are on the go, time is at a premium and preparing entrees such as those listed above is not always …
Most gardeners love large vegetables. So do the people who are the recipients of extra veggies from gardening friends whose bounty is beyond expectations. But there is an exception: large zucchini. Over my 40-plus years of gardening, I’ve never had any trouble giving away vegetables from my garden. That’s unless the vegetable is a humongous zucchini. (And in the case of one …
Anyone who has read one of Donna Leon’s best-selling novels knows about Commissario Guido Brunetti. Brunetti is the intelligent and capable police commissioner who confronts crime around his hometown of Venice, Italy. And he’s also the namesake of a cookbook by Leon and Roberta Pianaro, which features Venetian recipes such as orecchiette with asparagus; ravioli with squash, butter and sage; artichokes stuffed with …
Home-grown tomatoes are nothing like those that can be purchased in grocery stores or supermarkets. That might be an understatement. In fact, in the opinion of many gardeners, there probably isn’t any food better than the first tomato of summer. I just sampled my first of the season — with just a dab of salt — from our garden today. It …