Chocolate is the star in Very Chocolatey Banana Bread

Cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips take the lead in this luscious double chocolate banana bread. Recipe below.

WHEN YOU HEAR CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD, what do you see? It could be a standard issue golden brown bread with molten chocolate chips flecking it throughout. Some home bakers create a marbled bread with veins of chocolate swirling around. Still other breads, like this one, go all in on the chocolate—both in appearance and in flavor. Continue reading “Chocolate is the star in Very Chocolatey Banana Bread” →

Vibrant and delicate—cooking with vinegar delivers both

Three recipes show how vinegar can bring lively, surprisingly subtle finishes to your cooking.

THERE WAS A QUARTER-CUP OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR in last week’s Balsamic Mushroom Sausage Pasta recipe, added at the very end. When faithful reader Dani commented that it wouldn’t have occurred to her to add vinegar, we thought of how often we actually do that here. Continue reading “Vibrant and delicate—cooking with vinegar delivers both” →

Simple ingredients, big flavor: Balsamic Mushroom Sausage Pasta

Mushrooms, Italian sausage and balsamic vinegar create an umami-rich, weeknight-quick meal. Recipe below.

WHEN YOU HEAR MUSHROOM PASTA, YOU EXPECT TO SEE MUSHROOMS IN THE DISH. That’s one of the charms of most mushroom dishes, the distinctive shapes of sliced, halved or even whole mushrooms. As you can see above, that’s not the case here. Continue reading “Simple ingredients, big flavor: Balsamic Mushroom Sausage Pasta” →

A comforting, rustic soup born in the South West of France: Garbure

Hearty, meaty and stuffed with vegetables, including white beans and cabbage, garbure is a soul-satisfying French tradition. Recipe below.

WINTER WEATHER BRINGS OUT THE SOUP LOVER IN EVERYONE. And for us, that means a world of soups to explore. Marion recently discovered garbure, a hearty traditional favorite in the South West region of France—think Toulouse, Bordeaux, Gascony, the Pyrénées along France’s border with Spain. It generally features white beans and savoy cabbage, but it’s not a bean soup or cabbage soup. Continue reading “A comforting, rustic soup born in the South West of France: Garbure” →

The yes-you-can-bake Apple Galette

This impressive, rustic, delicious galette is foolproof, even for reluctant bakers. Recipe below.

OUR DECEMBER KEPT LURCHING INTO UNCERTAINTY—due to various dramas, we were never sure how things would play out, who would be visiting, even whether we would get a last-minute unavoidable summons for a road trip, surprise! Continue reading “The yes-you-can-bake Apple Galette” →

Season’s greetings—and Ricotta Pancakes with Sautéed Pears—to you

OUR CHRISTMAS PLANS ARE STILL BEING SORTED OUT. We know it will involve some overnight guests, but exactly when (and for that matter, how many) is still TBD. We do know that it will involve some holiday and post-holiday breakfasts. And that reminds me of these light, lovely ricotta pancakes that Marion has wowed guests with on more than one Thanksgiving weekend. They sound perfect for Christmas too, I think.

Happy holidays to you and yours, and have a happy, healthy new year.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four… recipes and cooking tricks

WE LOVE POTATOES IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY FORM. If you do too, here are four recipes that each share little potatoey cooking secrets. Continue reading “One potato, two potato, three potato, four… recipes and cooking tricks” →

Three Thanksgivings, three favorite dishes

THANKSGIVING IS OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY, because it’s honestly just about delicious food. So when our Milwaukee daughter and her boyfriend couldn’t make it to our Thanksgiving dinner in Chicago, we all decided to do another one in Milwaukee. Continue reading “Three Thanksgivings, three favorite dishes” →

Taking the daunting out of duck: tips and three recipes make cooking this delicious bird easy

DUCK. SO ELEGANT AND, TO MANY HOME COOKS, SO DAUNTING. It has a definite wow power when you serve it to guests, but unfortunately, many of us think it’s harder than it really is to get right. Here are some tips for doing duck right. Continue reading “Taking the daunting out of duck: tips and three recipes make cooking this delicious bird easy” →

Easygoing Apple & Pear Bundt Cake is just nice to have around the house

Not too sweet and loaded with fresh fruit, Easygoing Apple & Pear Bundt Cake is a nice, simple treat to have around the house. Recipe below.

THE HOLIDAYS ARE ABOUT THE BIG, FABULOUS, FAMILIAR THINGS, in vast quantities, and that is just as true for food. Entire birds! Gravy by the vat! Carb-forward sides—five different ones! Pie! More pie! And there’s so much of all of it, and it is just so heavy, and it just keeps coming. Continue reading “Easygoing Apple & Pear Bundt Cake is just nice to have around the house” →