Video! How to Make Bruschetta My friend Dee showed me how to make it years ago, and it couldn’t be easier to prepare. It’s just a mixture of chopped tomatoes, balsamic, basil, and garlic, spooned over olive-oil brushed slices of toasted baguette or rustic bread. It’s perfect for a party because you can make a large batch of the topping ahead of time, as well as toasting baguette slices. Either bring out a bowl of the bruschetta topping for people to put on their own toasts, or do it for them right before serving....

A few days ago Garrett brought a jar of these candied kumquats over and we’ve been nibbling on them ever since. Ridiculously easy to make, candied kumquats are half condiment, half candy. You can use them on salads, pork, chicken, cheesecakes, or even with chocolate ice cream. Or you can do what I do, which is to sneak a couple out of the fridge and just eat them straight. Sticky gooey goodness!...

It’s what happens when you have a ton of grilled corn leftover from last weekend’s barbecue, and ripe tomatoes in the garden beckoning, “eat me…” Not to mention the one basil plant that just keeps growing like a hydra. Snip one stem off and two grow in its place! This is a classic Caprese salad with tomato, basil, and Mozz, that you toss with grilled corn. We got the idea from a recipe on the Food Network....

We had to have our own box, couldn’t possibly share, because each box had a surprise gift and we each had to have our own gift. (Is that brilliant marketing or what?) No wonder I love caramel corn! Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.Put the lid back on the container immediately after removing a portion to eat to keep moisture out.Stick some silica gel packets in the container to absorb moisture and ensure your caramel corn doesn’t get sticky....

Instead of potato gnocchi in the recipe, I’m using homemade cauliflower gnocchi. It’s easy to make and gluten-free! (Though, yes, you could use regular gnocchi, too!) I toss the freshly boiled dumplings in a super creamy, sun-dried tomato sauce. The rich sauce, melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi, plus fresh herbs that bring everything together is a rustic feast for any day of the week. Why You Should Try Cauliflower Gnocchi Cauliflower gnocchi has hit food superstar status, and it all seems to have started when Trader Joe’s launched its version—those frozen bags of pasta are flying off the shelves!...

So, instead I bought some sort of heirloom fairy tale pumpkin from Whole Foods. It wasn’t even orange, but some terribly un-Halloween grey color. My attempts to carve it were laughable. The flesh was at least 3 inches thick. I did finally manage to carve something resembling a face, but it was so pathetic I ended up chucking the whole thing in the oven and baking it at 350 for a couple hours....

There are precisely two situations where shortbreads are a must for me: as an afternoon snack, alongside milky coffee or tea, and as a holiday treat for gifting. Throughout the holiday season, shortbreads fit snugly alongside sugar cookies, bars, and other celebration-worthy baked goods. This Chocolate Shortbread recipe combines the best of two worlds: rich chocolate—I use Dutch-process cocoa powder—with buttery crumbly goodness. This recipe is highly adaptable, so you can create different flavors to suit your own tastes....

Cinnamon toast. Just saying the words and I see myself 8 years old sitting at our dining room table with assorted siblings, elbowing each other while we greedily reached for the sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on our warm buttered toast. (My sister probably doesn’t remember this, but she would skip the cinnamon and just sprinkle on sugar.) Cinnamon toast was a treat. It took skill; if you weren’t careful holding that spoon you would end up with hilly clumps instead of an even spread....

I remember it being loaded with butter and cheese, and absolutely the most delicious sandwich in the world. My friend was somewhat addicted to these sandwiches, and after having one myself I could see why! Gruyère cheese and ham just belong together. The word croque comes from the verb croquer or “to crunch”. So a Croque-Monsieur roughly translates to “Mister Crunchy”. The feminine version, a “Croque Madame”, includes a fried egg on top....

What I love about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make and it cooks up so quickly. The scallops are essentially baked in a white sauce of butter, white wine, and flour, with a breadcrumb topping. Sea Scallops vs. Bay Scallops When it comes to scallops, you have a choice between sea scallops and bay scallops. We use the larger sea scallops for this version, but my father remembers Patricia using bay scallops when she made them for him....

These are the vegetarian egg rolls I grew up making. They are like the large, stuffed egg rolls you often find at your friendly neighborhood Chinese takeout. They aren’t the small spring rolls you get as a side, but the hefty ones served as appetizers. Egg rolls are served with a dipping sauce like Chinese hot mustard, sweet-and-sour duck sauce, or a spicy chili sauce. As kids, we ate them with soy sauce on the side....

Farro is an ancient grain with long-ago origins in western Asia. It has an earthy, nutty flavor and a chewy texture that works well in everything from winter soups to hearty salads. Italian cooks have enjoyed this grain for years, and it’s beginning to catch on here, too. Give it a try in this hearty, but easy, meal of cooked farro, sautéed mushrooms, and greens! As farro’s popularity has grown, it’s become easier to find it in stores....

But I invite you to rethink the fuzzy navel with one simple word: brunch! Because, in essence, the fruity cocktail is just a cousin to the mimosa. In the mid-1980s, flavored, sugary drinks became the norm for bar-goers. Bartender Ray Foley (yes, the same gent who brought us the best-selling book “Bartending for Dummies”) helped DeKuyper launch Peachtree Schnapps into history with the crowd-pleasing fuzzy navel. “Fuzzy” refers to the fuzz found on a peach, and “navel” is a reference to the type of orange that Foley cut up to garnish his creation....

There are two camps of people when it comes to biscotti—those that like their biscotti super crispy and crunchy so the cookies hold up and are still crisp when dunked into coffee, and those that would prefer not to break their teeth biting into one and want their cookie to be a little more forgiving. Which camp do you fall in? Super crunchy coffee dipper? Or cakey enough to safely eat on their own?...

Ingredients for Greek Meatballs These meatballs are made with ground lamb and a little bit of salt pork, though you could substitute bacon if you prefer. The seasonings are garlic, shallots, orange zest, and fresh mint, with a little chopped hot chili pepper for spiciness. If you don’t like spicy foods, you can skip the chili pepper. Conversely, if you love spice, feel free to add another chili pepper to the mix!...

Even when my parents abandoned their garden beds for ten years, they still had their green bean trellises every summer. Fresh Green Beans From the Garden My father is rather picky about his green beans. They must snap and break when you bend them, not wiggle around like a rubber band. That’s how you know they’re fresh. I have a couple rows of green beans this year, planted from seed right after I pulled out the fava beans and spring peas....

It’s an unapologetic homage to vibrant green veggies (in this case spinach and parsley), wrapped in silky sharp cheddar béchamel, tossed with elbow macaroni pasta. There is a salad dressing called “Green Goddess” that was popular for a time in the 70s. It has garlic, sour cream, parsley, tarragon, and anchovies, and is absolutely delicious. This mac cheese is sort of a riff on that dressing. I’ve even included anchovies as an option if you have them (if you’ve never cooked with anchovies, they don’t make food taste like fish, they just make savory food taste better), but you can use Worcestershire sauce instead if you like, or leave either out entirely if you want a vegetarian dish....

You’ll find numerous varieties of potatoes at the store. They’re all worth your time, but they’re not all created equal. To learn how to pick the right potato for the job (and how to store it optimally), dig in below. The Three Main Types of Potatoes For cooking purposes, we can group potatoes into three categories. Baking potatoes are high in starch and lower in moisture. They’re best for, yes, baking, but also other dry heat methods like roasting or frying....