It’s nice to have a really hearty, hot dip as part of the spread when the ravenous football hordes are hungry. This is a jazzed up version of a classic sausage dip recipe, with warm, winter flavor.  Zesty Italian sausage with the bite of fennel is paired with woodsy sage and creamy, nutty fontina cheese, [...]

These nuts are another cocktail party recipe.  Yes, they are perfect for nibbling at a cocktail party, but I really say this because I picked up the idea at a cocktail party.  Some ladies and I were standing around with our drinks, nibbling on a bowl of glazed pecans and chatting about various flavored nut [...]

The flavor of caramel covered apples is amazing.  Eating a caramel apple, not so much.  The caramel-to-apple ration in my opinion, tends to be too low.  I can’t abide those pre-made wrap around sheets, and making a good caramel is a bit of work.  And in the end, the caramel tends to slide off the [...]

The combination of peaches and ginger is a favorite of mine, and in these muffins, it really shines.  These muffins are not too sweet, but burst with flavor and texture.  Fresh, in-season peaches are such a summer treat, make the most of the season. Use real ginger ale for this – the kind you find [...]

We all have deep and personal food memories and cravings. Exotic, postcard moments in our life in food. Apricots still warm from the tree in France. Your first taste of fish cooked immediately after being pulled from the Indian Ocean.  Or cravings that seem to come deep from the soul, and out of the clear [...]

My grandmother lived in a small town in Arkansas, the town where my father grew up.  She died when I was six, so my memories of her are somewhat limited.  But those I do have are vivid to me, though undoubtedly burnished through the patina of time. I particularly remember visiting her with my brother [...]

Candy making is not something I typically try my hand at. All that talk about thermometers and stages and testing methods.  Those recipes always look like the kind of thing I don’t have the patience for.  Plus, once you’ve been badly burned by hot sugar, it makes you candy-shy. But this is an exception.  I [...]

I love these little puffs.  They are tender and cheesy with a nice bite from the green chiles and couldn’t be easier to make.  They are a great nibble to start a family taco night but are also elegant enough for the swankiest party.  Green Chile Cheese Puffs I love the extra little hit of [...]

Every once in a while, it’s nice to take a step out of the brownie box.  Technically, I suppose these qualify as a blondie, but for some reason, that term has always bugged me.  I don’t really remember where this recipe came from, but I seem to remember cleaning out the panty and finding a [...]

Bacon Popcorn.  Yep.  How about a giant bowl of this in front of the big game? Slightly sweet, perfectly salty with the amazing flavor of crispy bacon. Popcorn cooked in bacon fat is nothing new.  I imagine it was a popular method before cooking oil could be readily bought and folks were a bit more [...]