Ben was adamant this week that we make steak. I know, I know, I have started a dozen posts this way, but this week was different because he developed a new tactic in achieving his aim. By the way, for every time that we do have steak, there have been at least four rejections, lest…
Category: Chef Ben Cooks!
Slant-Faced Sausage Eater
As my parents age, I increasingly ask about their early days, and a new story surfaced this Christmas. My parents both grew up Amish, my mom in Iowa and my dad in Kansas. My dad passed what I thought was a family trait to me, but I just learned it was a characteristic common to…
The Ramen Approximation
When Sophia struck off on her own adult life after college, I made her a cookbook including recipes I knew she loved. One of the recipes I included was something I called “The Ramen Approximation,” and it included notes for a new cook about the most efficient way to produce something ramen-ish that tastes way…
My Associate
The past week has been rough. First, I got sick and stayed in bed coughing, staring, and dripping for five days. Two days in, Phil succumbed. According to our tests, it wasn’t Covid, but it sure wasn’t pleasant either. While I was at the height of misery, Ben happened to be home due to weather,…
Church Pew
The yuletide season is upon us and I should tell you a lovely Christmas story. Instead, I’ll tell you what could be a chapter in a book called Ben’s Church Antics. It must have been about ten years ago that our family put on a spontaneous Christmas pageant of sorts, and it is time to…
Old Seoul
If you are waiting to see how the whole cannoli thing from last week worked out, skip to the end. If, however, you are interested in Korean, Mexican, Hawaiian, and Mennonite cultural appropriation (can one appropriate her own culture?), then you’d best read straight through. This week, Ben asked for Taco Tuesday. I confirmed that…
Cannoli Crime and Punishment – A guessing game for our readers
We did not have cannolis for dessert this week. In fact, I’m pretty sure that nobody in the family has had a cannoli for years. Why? We have a family secret: a tale of cannoli shame and regret. If you were to hear three cannoli tales, could you ferret out the real one? Tale #1…
Thanksgiving Makeover? Join the Club (Sandwich)
Ben is all about Thanksgiving food. Can’t get enough. I thought it might be fun, as we anticipate the upcoming holiday, to see how many traditional Thanksgiving foods we could reimagine in a club sandwich. That was the easy part. Making the meal relatively nutritious was the real challenge. Thanksgiving staples we included: √ turkey…
What to eat when you’re Hungary? Chicken Paprikash!
This week, we went with Hungarian food, full-immersion style. The recipes for Chicken Paprikash, Hungarian Dumplings, and Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream came right out of Christopher Kimball’s November-December 2022 issue of Milk Street Magazine. https://www.177milkstreet.com/magazine Our chicken paprikash didn’t look quite like the pictures in the magazine, but it was very good, especially with…
Hearty Pennsylvania Dutch Stock
About 15 years ago, we were interested in buying a small sofa that Phil found on Craig’s List. Since the location was close to where I work, I took our mini-van and a fistful of dollars so I could examine it after work and make an offer if I liked the looks of it. I…