When we were in the thick of the pandemic, I told you about the camera obscura that I set up in my classroom for a few weeks every winter. Essentially, it is just a refrigerator box with a door cut into it, a 1/4 inch diameter hole that faces my classroom windows, and a large…
Category: Chef Ben Cooks!
A Pizza My Heart
For Valentine’s Day, we usually opt to cook together at home, and this year homemade pizza was on the menu. In the morning, I stirred together the dough: Slow-Rise Pizza Dough 3 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon yeast* 1 1/4 cup water* Stir together ingredients until all dry flour is incorporated. Cover…
What a Ham
This week’s cooking drama was not so much a new adventure as it was a tug on a cosmic string, pulling us each in the direction of our destinies. The protagonist in this tale, Phil, spied whole hams for $1.50 a pound at Wengerd’s. Unable to escape his frugal Mennonite fate, our hero purchased a…
Thick and Thin
Remember the tattie scones (potato flatbreads) from last week? We did too. That’s why we made them all over again this week. We were hankering for some chicken verde burritos, a newly acquired favorite recipe, and thought that tender, pliable potato-based tortillas would be the perfect vehicle for a saucy chicken filling. Sometimes I make…
Every Day, A New Culinary Delight
When I was in junior high, there was a bulletin board just outside the typing room that advertised the school cafeteria’s menu for the week. The plastic letters got swapped weekly to spell out things like “Sloppy Joes” or Tuna Noodle Casserole,” but the slogan that remained along the bottom all year long promised, “Every…
Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
I thought we had things well in hand. We were trying beef braciole, a dish I had never made, eaten, or pronounced before, but what could go wrong with my trusty sous chef at my side? Throw in some homemade pasta and some dinner guests (Sophia and Jake) and you’ve got a recipe for a…
‘Tis the Seasoning
Crab cakes. They don’t exactly scream Christmas to me, but I suppose if you are feeding the Grinch, or if the hustle and bustle of the season has you feeling crabby, they might be a good choice. Once Ben issued the Crab Cake Proclamation, there was no turning back. It sounded like an easy enough…
Dutch Treat
When Phil was 4, 11, and 18 years old, he and his family lived in the Netherlands while his father researched English Puritans in Holland, and their ties to the country remain strong. The aspect of Dutch culture that has made its strongest impression on me from family lore is the no-nonsense approach. If any…
Currying Favor?
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, deeply rooted in family tradition. There is something comforting in knowing that we can count on the same people, food, schedule, and activities, with room for a little creativity here and there. People always begin arriving Wednesday. Ben always designs a mean charcuterie board for Thursday noon. Though sides may…
Baptism by Cream
We tried a new recipe this week, in which cream played a starring role. I can’t even blame it on Ben. It was all me. I fell prey to the enticing photo in the NYT cooking section and couldn’t resist the idea of Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin (Recipe by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt). I am a…