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Our Italian Red Sauce Recipe
Hello, readers! Today, I’m posting a recipe, and I think I’m going to add this as a weekly feature during the summer (now that my semester is almost over). This recipe has been handed down from my mother-in-law to me. I’m going to post the handwritten recipes for you, so you can see exactly how I do it. I make a small modification to her recipe in that I add tomato paste to the sauce. As she does, after I sauté the onions and garlic, I remove them and let the flavor sit in the olive oil. The rest I do pretty much as she does, although I throw a…
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My Least Favorite Question: “What Are We Having For Dinner?”
It goes without saying that in most homes—most, not all—it’s the woman who does the cooking. (I realize there are exceptions to this rule because I know women who are lucky enough to have their husbands cook dinner, so ignore this if you’re one of those…) Therefore, it’s typically the woman’s job to “create” the dinner. Because of that, we get to hear the question that goes on repeat for all 365 days of the year: “What are We Having For Dinner?” I don’t know! Do I look like a recipe book? That being said, what if I don’t feel like being “creative” about dinner. I’ve been creative all day,…
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Home Ec Class & A Conversation with My Son
The conversation I am about to relay unfolded in this manner this morning, with three surprises as the result. It went something like this: “Mommy, guess what we made this week in Home Ec?” (They call it something other than this in schools today, but I choose to ignore it…it’s termed something like Family & Consumer Science, but Home Ec works just fine for my storytelling puposes.) “What, honey?” “Eggs with turkey in these little cups. It was really good.” I am astonished to hear him utter these words, as my son is the pickiest eater in our household. I often watch him turn his nose up at the most…
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What To Do When Your Momma Gives You The Bird: How To Cook A “Melt-In-Your-Mouth” Turkey
I can take absolutely no credit for this—absolutely no credit whatsoever. It’s my mother’s recipe, and this year I will be attempting it for the first time. Thanksgiving is at our house, and I’m the chef. But I’m kind of a thief, as well, because I’m totally stealing her recipe. I wouldn’t cook a turkey any other way. My mother’s turkeys are always outstanding. Truthfully, I’m not really a thief at all. My mother wrote out the recipe for me, so she’s clearly an enabler. She wants it done right for her sake, and the sake of all the guests. No one wants to eat a dry, flaky bird. I’m…
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Contrary to Popular Belief, I Was Not Put On This Earth To Make Dinner
Hear me clearly: I am not a chef, a cook, or a baker. I don’t even pretend to want to be one. So how is it I have the distinct honor of having to make dinner every night? I don’t know about you, ladies, but I’ve had just about enough. If I had a white flag, you would see me raising it high above the hills of Ellicott City and waving it vigorously. I surrender. Chefs like Giada DeLaurentiis, Anne Burrell, Ina Garten, and Rachael Ray have a job, and that’s to make cooking look fun, easy, and glamorous. What you don’t see behind the scenes are all the “little…
