I love cheese dip in all it’s forms. Beer cheese is such a fall classic and to be honest I started this process thinking I would create some kind of Oktoberfest beer dip, but I’ve already hit that note with delicious Bubbling Beer and Bacon. It struck me that hard cider would add a really interesting sweet and savory contrast that would be delicious with salty pretzels and … [Read more...] about Hard Cider Cheese Dip
Chili Beef with Cornbread Dumplings
I feel like we are getting close. To autumn, to brisk weather, to chili season. I hope I am not rushing things and we see another hot spell. I was in Dallas at the beginning of September and it was 109 degrees outside, but the restaurant specials were pumpkin and cranberry and I felt like they were jinxing the fall. So I’ll just say this is an “in case of autumn weather” … [Read more...] about Chili Beef with Cornbread Dumplings
Wine-Soaked Camembert with Honey Brown Butter
In aid of an ongoing research project, I recently acquired a cookbook from 1969 written by Helen Gurley Brown called Single Girls Cookbook. Helen Gurley Brown was the editor in chief at Cosmopolitan Magazine for 32 years and as such had a huge influence on women – how they perceived themselves and how they were perceived. She wrote Sex and the Single … [Read more...] about Wine-Soaked Camembert with Honey Brown Butter
One Pot Orzo alla Vodka
I’ve been making pasta with vodka sauce forever it seems, certainly when I was cooking meals in my first apartment. But it seems to have had a social media resurgence – kids today think it’s a “viral hack.” I almost hate to burst their bubble, tell them that their mama was making it when she was your age. But it sticks around for a reason, adding a dose of vodka to a tomato … [Read more...] about One Pot Orzo alla Vodka
Honey Drops
Several years ago, I had several friends who took up beekeeping. Not sure why that suddenly became a big hobby, but I was all for it, as they would bring me jars of honey. Most of them seemed to have moved on from the bees, or at least from leaving jars on my doorstep. And the truth is, I miss it. It always made me exercise my recipe development muscles to find ways to use it. … [Read more...] about Honey Drops
