A few of our friends are really good cooks. So, we’re starting a “Guest Chef” series on cookography. First up is Carolyn’s father, Bob, who made peach preserves from peach trees in their yard… It all started 20 years ago when I was visiting a client in Everett, MA. Everett isn’t in the country, but [...]

I have been meaning to post this dish for a while, but the end of summer lazys got hold of me. There are so many reason to like this dish: Pork tenderloins are relatively cheap (and always seem to be on sale) The leftovers are great It is a snap to make I rolled my tenderloins in a spice [...]

In our neighborhood in DC there is a great taco truck that comes every weekend. The one downside is that it’s tough waiting a whole week in between taco fixes. The solution…make them at home! Of course they can not be as good as the magical tacos from the truck, but they’ll still be pretty [...]

We’ve been eating a lot of bananas recently - on cereal, Stonyfield Farm Banilla yogurt, with chocolate in crepes, even with peanut butter on toast. While all delicious, nothing really beats freshly baked banana bread. If you buy a bunch of bananas, and some start to get a little mushy, well, they are a prime [...]

This is a quick and easy recipe for eggplant Parmesan “light.” It’s light because it’s not coated in breadcrumbs and fried, not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s quick and easy because all you have to do is stack the ingredients and pop it in the oven. We topped ours with a little homemade [...]

This green salsa is a great dish to bring to all those summer parties. It is so good that you will probably start getting invited to even more parties!  (Legal Disclaimer: Results may vary, promises made on this blog are non-binding.) I have always been both scared of and attracted to tomatillos. They look like small [...]

I am a big fan of simple recipe that relies on the quality of the ingredients to do all the work. This is because I am a lazy bastard. We picked up some ripe, juicy tomatoes from the farmers’ market and simply diced them and dressed them with salt, vinegar and olive oil. We added [...]

I will be the first to admit that pickling radishes sounds a little weird. Zucchini is one thing, it at least looks like a cucumber. Radishes are a whole different story though; they’re small, weird and funky. I am game to try any dish once though, and luckily I had a small bag of radishes [...]

I am not sure if it is a good thing to see pickling get a big spread in the main stream media. This story in the LA Times does a great job of the basics behind pickling. I am all for bringing pickling to the masses by making it accessible. I get a little nervous [...]

If you like chocolate (who doesn’t?) and if you like peanut butter (ok, some people might not), then you’ll love these peanut butter chocolate bars! A friend made them for a 4th of July party, and everyone at the party asked for the recipe. So, now it my turn to share it with you. [...]

I picked up some Swiss chard at the farmers’ market last week without any real good idea of what to do with it. I guess I’m attracted to colorful, peculiar vegetables that I’ve never tried. Sometimes this is a good thing, other times it leads to disaster. Luckily for the chard, I found a great, [...]

As I hinted at in my last post on pickles, there are two kinds of pickles in the world–those that get their flavor from spice and those that get it from fermentation. The second type are known as sours, or brined, but some of the regular pickles you get from the store are fermented, too. The [...]

While studying abroad in Cordoba, Spain, I fell in love with gazpacho…a light tomato soup made simply with tomatoes, bread, olive oil, vinegar and garlic. There are many different recipes for gazpacho out there; I got this one from a postcard I found at a little bodega in Spain. This recipe is the real deal…I [...]

This is a random recipe I came up with because: It was raining outside. We had some random veggies to use up. I really want more bacon in my diet. For a random, self-invented recipe this dish came out really good. It is clearly a dish meant for innovation and switcheroos. Say for instance that you don’t have 4 [...]

Buried deep in the genetic code of all dudes (except vegetarians) is a love of meat. The meatiest of meats is cow…or maybe lamb, um no, cow is better. So when Carolyn goes on a trip for work what better time to cook up a nice, thick steak? Of course I didn’t get any old [...]

Carolyn is a big fan of Devon and Blakely, a lunch spot in Washington, DC that serves lots of different soups and salads. One of her favorite side salads is Channa - chickpeas baked with olive oil, curry, cilantro and caramelized onions. So, me being the good person I am, set out to try and recreate [...]

I saw this recipe for chicken curry salad on Simply Recipes which reminded me of a great chicken curry wrap I had a while ago. Next I was at the supermarket, I grabed supplies and gave it a try. I have never really cooked with curry before, I am a bit of a wimp when [...]

It is full-on summer time. That means barbeques and, of course, Spicy Green Bean Salad. We make this dish every year to bring to our neighbor’s Memorial Day party. It is always hit. I have learned a few tricks though. Well, actually one trick, and that is to use frozen, cut green beans. I know [...]

Every once in a while we like to turn our kitchen into a burrito factory. And by this I mean we basically set up an assembly line operation and make make enough burritos to feed a small army, or last us for lunches for a long, long time. On this latest occasion we made 31 [...]

I grew up in Western Massachusetts where spring is synonymous with asparagus. Hadley, MA at one time claimed to be the “Asparagus Capital of the World.” A virus decimated the crop, however,  in the 1970s and a lot of farms switched crops or sold their land. It made a bit of a come back though, [...]

You know something is not right when you look at a $4 bag of painfully stingy greens and think to yourself, “Man this would make a great blog post.” Seriously, that is not a good sign. Luckily for you, faithful Cookography readers, I completely ignored that sign and the painful welts I would later get, [...]

Smoked salmon and goat cheese better be dating because they work so well together. The creamy tartness of the goat cheese is a great compliment to the smoky, salty-ness of the salmon. I first tried this sandwich at the wonderful Cowgirl Creamery cheese shop in DC. They make two random types of sandwiches a day, [...]

It was a Dark and Stormy night…and I woke up hungover. Dark and Stormies are a great drink for when it is hot and sweaty out and if you want to feel a little better than other people by ordering a drink that originated in Bermuda, a place that you have never been to. They are [...]

When you cook a 4 lb chicken for two people, you are bound to have a few left overs. Don’t sweat it though! Take those left overs, pick-out the bones and skin and then roughly chop up and the big pieces of chicken. Toss the chicken in a skillet and slightly brown it. Now cut [...]

Fava beans are a pain in the ass. Fresh favas are over-priced and not worth the trouble. I only got them because I thought they would make me cool. There, I said it. Wait, aren’t they trendy? How could trendy things be over-rated? Well because after you spend $2.50 for a pound of fresh beans and [...]

You say it is too hot out to turn your oven to 500 degrees and roast a chicken for an hour…I say “Chicken under a brick!” You say you want moist breast meat and crispy skin…I say “Chicken under a brick!” You say you want a lot of flavor without a lot of hassle…”Chicken under [...]

A good loaf of white bread is hard to find. Supermarket loaves are too airy, gummy and artificial. Artisan bakeries snub their nose at the basic white bread. Really, the only way to get a good loaf is to make it yourself. (The right two loaves are actually ACME High Rise Corn Bread…but that is a [...]

After trying the recipe for Soft-Boiled Eggs with a Miso Lemon dressing, I realized two things: Soft boiling eggs is a pain. They are tough to peel! The dressing is amazing. Reacting to these two realities, I came up with this dish. Instead of soft-boiling the eggs, I poached them. We got these great egg poachers from [...]

Broiled chicken is the most spectacularly delicious dish. Dried out, boneless, skinless chicken breast has given chicken a bad. These days the standard chicken dish has no chicken flavor, it is usually boring white meat with other flavors added. Broiled or roasted chicken, however, is full of chicken flavor and soul. Roasting chicken pieces on [...]

This recipe is basically a “do-it-yourself” version of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. Remember those? My mom would make them all the time when I was younger…they are sooo good! But they probably have a million calories in them, and now everyone has to watch what they eat. These sticky buns have bananas in them…so they are [...]

Tryst is a great coffee house in our neighborhood, Adams Morgan. It is setup like someone’s living room with sofas and arm chairs and they also brew a nice cup of coffee. They use good coffee beans, as you should. However, good beans will only get you so far–you also need to know what you [...]

This is a quick dish you can throw together in a hurry. It was inspired by a nice bunch of chives I picked up at the farmers’ market which I had no plans for. We used rotini, but fresh pasta would probably work better.

What I am about to present here will likely shock and shame any true Southerner. Whatever! I am a Masshole and freely butcher Southern classics as I please. My version of sausage and grits is quick and tasty and only requires one pan.

Saveur is an amazing food magazine. Its articles manage to expertly capture the regions, stories and people behind food and recipes. In Washington, DC we have been having a wet and rainy Spring and it reminded of an article I read in Saveur on Brittany and buckwheat crepes or Galettes that they make there.

There is not too much to report on this dish. I just wanted to share because it was really simple yet delicious. I picked up the head of bib lettuce at our farmers’ market. That salad was top with chicken breast which I pan-fried ahead of time. We also added some cherry tomatoes and gorgonzola [...]

Ramps are a trendy seasonal delight. They are a miniature version of a leek and taste like the cross between garlic and an onion. What makes them unique (and therefore trendy) is they can not be cultivated and instead have to be found in the wild. Unlike leeks, the green part is tender and can [...]

This Saturday is the Kentucky Derby, which marks the official start of “Minty Drink Season.” There are some big players in Minty Drink Season, namely the Mint Julep, the Mojito and the Caipirinha. All of these drinks of course rely heavily on mint, but what mint to use? Mint is actually not one particular plant, [...]

I am going to go out a limb and say that there is no such thing as a bad pizza…hmm, well actually I have had plenty of bad pizza. Ok, so it might be more accurate to say that most pizza is pretty good. The pizza we made last weekend was a lot better than [...]

We had a bunch of cream left over after making Kim’s Yummy Pasta and we were trying to come up with some ideas for dinner. After poking around our recipes we came across this recipe for a Vodka Cream Sauce. Instead of using boxed pasta we went for some fresh pasta. I read somewhere that [...]

Kim is our friend. And this is actually her grandmother’s recipe. It’s a very old school Italian dish—hearty and filling. Perfect for a fall or winter evening. The main ingredients (besides the pasta) are carrots, celery and onions, which is the classic combination for starting any soup or meat dish. So, while you may not [...]

Crepes are a blank canvas that can be taken in a lot of directions. After I made up a batch of crepes, I made half of them sweet and half savory - a little dinner and desert action. The banana chocolate crepes were the perfect desert, and since all the crepes had been made ahead [...]

The final post in my Crepe Trilogy is on savory crepes. Savory crepes make for an awesome sandwich. This recipe calls for cooking the crepes in the oven, which gets the outside of the crepes nice and crispy. With the melty cheese and salty ham, it is an irresistible treat. The best part is that [...]

I am not quite sure when beets are in season, but I just picked up two massive ones from the farmer’s market. We roasted both of them in oven, and they came out great. Roasting actually make the beets a lot easier to handle. They are really easy to peel after roasting and they give [...]

Crepes have traditionally been a “going out food” - food that you think is so tricky that you only get it at restaurants. Deep fried whole fish is another good example of “going out food.” Crepes on the other hand are surprisingly easy to make and tough to screw up. The only tricky part is [...]

Our local Spanish restaurant, Jaleo, has a great octopus tapa. It is octopus with olive oil and smoked paprika. I have managed to create a version of it that might not be quite as good, but is still darn tasty. My version is shockingly easy (and cheap!). The secret to my version is that it [...]

This post represents a first for me… it is the first time I posted the same day I cooked something. Usually I am pretty lazy and there is a week or even a month between cooking and posting. I am going to try and get better about that, or just stop worrying about writing witty [...]

After trying overnight yeast pancakes, I thought I would give their buddy waffles a try. Overnight waffles are just as easy as the pancakes. As a bonus, the yeast makes them nice and light, and gives them a nice crust. I cobbled together two different recipes (Red Star Yeast & The Fannie Farmer). The big difference [...]

When I came across this recipe on CookThink, I thought it looked a little weird. Miso, egg and lemon don’t really seem like a natural combo. I had everything needed lying around, however, so I thought I would give it a try–and since I am posting here, it clearly was tasty. Miso and lemon [...]

The last recipe I posted for French Onion soup was from Cook’s Illustrated and the soup came out great. So when I saw that they had an updated recipe, I had to give it a try. The big change between the recipes was that the updated version calls for caramelizing the onions in the oven [...]

We tried out this chili recipe over the winter and I have been meaning to get it up here. It is not that it was bad–the chili came out great–I am just lazy. This chili is not to spicy but has just enough kick. There are a lot of ingredients that go into this chili, [...]

This is the recipe that confirmed for me that Brussels sprouts are a tasty treat that have gotten a bad reputation. When I tried braising them they turned out good, roasting makes them great! Not only is this a tasty recipe, but it couldn’t be simpler. Roasted Brussels sprouts are completely different from soggy boiled [...]

There are bread recipes, and then there are bread recipes. This is one of the latter. The bread’s taste, texture, crust and even recipe, strike the perfect balance between complex and simple. It is something in between sandwich bread and a rustic country loaf. This recipe has a lot of steps, but it is pretty [...]

It is cold outside, you have 1 pounds of carrots and parsnip, what do you do? Why, you steam them and then toss them in butter, of course! This is one of those basic master recipes that works with just about anything, but works particularly well with root vegetables like carrots and parsnips. I was lucky [...]

I know what you’re thinking, “butternut squash on pizza???” We were skeptical as well, but the pictures accompanying the recipe looked too good to pass up. We are hopeful that our own photos will inspire you to try this recipe, as well! Verdict: the sweetness of the butternut squash and the dryness of the [...]

For a healthy, light lunch during the week, try making a big salad. It only takes 5-10 minutes to prepare the night before…and it’ll save you $5-10 a day because you won’t have to buy your lunch. Also, when we’ve been eating particularly unhealthy for few days, we will make big salads for dinner. Mixed greens, [...]

I am not going to be one of those food bloggers who sings the praises of some less fashionable vegetable just to be seem cool and winning. Truth is, Brussels sprout aren’t as naturally tasty as a lot of the other vegetables out there. Give me a tomato, carrot or green bean over a sprout [...]

Maybe it is my German background… or maybe my love of all things salty, but I think nothing is better than a hot pretzel. Soft pretzels are great, but they are only good fresh. Luckily they are not too tough to make at home. The following recipe may look long, but it is [...]

Gnocchi can be a scary… but really it is one of the simplest pastas out there. The only complicated part is baking the potatoes needed for traditional gnocchi. However if you use canned pumpkin puree you can make delicious, colorful gnocchi in no time at all. After boiling the gnocchi you can toss them with a [...]

Making Oven Fries is a quick and easy way to cook up tasty root veggies. I have tried this basic recipe with carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes - with great results every time! The cook times with very based upon the veggie, and the size of the cut, but the basics are the same. The [...]

I am a steak fan, so when ever I come across a new recipe for steaks I give it a try. The previous recipe I posted here gives great results, but I am always up for trying something new. When I came across this recipe in Cook’s Illustrated I had to try it. The recipe [...]

There are two kinds of pickles in this world: pickles that get most of their flavor from the seasonings and pickles that get there flavoring from fermenting. Most of the pickles out there get their flavor from the seasonings. The pickles are either refrigerated or canned right away in order to prevent bacteria from growing. [...]

Last weekend we couldn’t help but pick-up a carton of these adorable baby squash. They were tiny, about the size of a finger. To cook them, I cut off the stem and then halved them. We heated up a pan over medium heat with olive oil and then cooked them, cut side down, until they [...]

So truth be told, heirloom tomatoes would probably be wasted on a salsa, and not worth the extra cost of a regular plum tomato. Of course this is only true if you don’t live next door to a farmers market where they sell a 3 pound bag of slightly bruise tomatoes for $2. If you [...]

Nothing taste more like summer that fresh tomatoes. We picked up a couple huge, not so pretty, but pretty tasty, heirloom tomatoes at the farmer’s market. These tomatoes are so good that it only takes a little salt and oil to make them shine. I add some balsamic and chives just for a little extra [...]

Successfully making thin crust pizza at home is not an easy task. When I have tried before I end up with a crust that over cooked and cracker like, or one that is limp and under cooked. That is why I was so happy to see that Cook’s Illustrated had done some testing and made [...]

Last summer Carolyn and I grew a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes off of our balcony. Unfortunately this year we were not able to plant any because our new condo (yea!) does not have any growing space (boo!). Anyhow I was reminded of this great crop of tomatoes while I was combing through my photo [...]

I have been a big fan of cold brewed coffee since I first tried it. I learned about this method from a Washington Post article on the Toddy, which is a great device for cold brewing coffee. The article described the smooth, but full flavored cup that cold brewing produces and I had to give [...]

Fresh pasta is ridiculously easy… if you have the right tools. The very basics requirements are a mixing bowl, and a hand cranked pasta roller and cutter. It is pretty easy to mix up a pasta dough by hand, and it is even easier to just toss everything in the food processor and mix [...]

I made another batch of overnight yeast pancakes last weekend and they came out great again. Of course I had to play with the recipe a little. I used only 1tsp of instant yeast. There was definitely less of a yeast taste in the pancakes, but they still had no problem rising. So if you [...]

Poached chicken is one of the most versatile things you can have sitting around in the fridge. Mix with a sauce and toss it in a sandwich. Add some dressing and place it on a salad. Throw it with some pasta and your done! Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken quesadillas, Vietnamese chicken salad… Done, Done and Done! I [...]

Forget eggs and bacon or french toast… popovers are the ultimate breakfast treat. Popovers puff up as the cook creating an empty, airy center. Ripped off a section, spread on some butter and jam… enjoy. The perfect popover should have a crispy buttery exterior and a yolky custard like interior. Mix egg, butter and a bit [...]

This is one of the many dishes I made from a big batch of poached chicken I cooked up earlier in the week. It is an original creation that I sort of threw together, and it turned out great. I wanted to pair the sandwich fixings with the flavor of the BBQ sauce. I added [...]

Cold grain salads are a perfect side dish in the summer. They are light and refreshing. Quinoa is a grain grown in the Andes and is a staple there. It is packed with good stuff! You can add it plain, but it taste great dressed up in this salad. It would be perfect side for [...]

So what do you do with the leftovers from making an entire leg of lamb… Lamb salad! Lamb has a pretty strong flavor so you need a salad that can stand up to it. We went with Arugula for the greens. Spinach or perhaps something like mustard greens. We also added gorgonzola and red onions. We [...]

Some dishes take a little chutzpah to pull off. I think large roasts fall in this category. First off, buying a large enough amount of meat to roast usaully cost a lot of money. Secondly, when you make a roast you are usaully making it for a lot of people. This means if you mess [...]

You know summer is just around the corner when the quality of tomatoes picks up. We have been getting and eating lots of tomatoes from the farmers market that is right around the corner from us. We have done some complicated things with them… but if you have good tomatoes, you just can’t beat a [...]

Garlic Allioli (Spanish Aioli) is really just a homemade garlic mayonnaise… a really tasty mayonnaise! The traditional version is made with just oil and garlic in a mortar and pestle. However that takes forever. You can make it a lost faster in a blender, or food processor. If you have a stick or immersion blender, [...]

Cubano sandwiches are great… but who has roast pork loin and Cuban bread lying around? You can still capture alot of what makes these sandwiches great if you just leave those ingredients out and use some more common ones. Pressing this sandwich is part of what makes it great. We have a panini press, but [...]

Spicy soups can be very refreshing during the summer. Tortilla soup is smokey from the Chipotle peppers, which also give it a little kick. We love having this soup with a couple of quesadillas. The soup is light and its spiciness counters the quesadillas perfectly. The recipes comes from America’s Test Kitchen. It may looks a [...]

Vegetable soup is perfect for the spring and summer. Even though it is served hot, it is light and fresh. I came across this recipe in a cookbook called Soup: Superb Ways with a Classic Dish. It was one of those generic books at Barnes & Nobles. It is actually really good though. When I [...]

A lot of risottos end up being being heavy and better suited for winter or the fall, but the lemon and parsley make this one perfect for spring. Carolyn had clipped this out of Real Simple and been wanting to make it for a while. It came out great, and tasted even better the next [...]

I love hot pancakes in the morning, but the mixing and pouring and the prepping always keep my making them. What if I told you that you could make delicious pancakes that are crisp on the outside and cakey on the inside and that you could do this all without any mixing in the morning? [...]

Carolyn and I made the Greek Shrimp again last week. It came out really good this time too. I had a couple of thoughts on how to make it better though. It is probably best to add the parsley at the very in and stir it in off the heat. Most leafy herbs like parsley [...]

After trying some hot, fresh, home baked pita you are not going to want to go back to the floppy store bought crud. Pita is easy to make and does not involve any complicate rising or shaping. It is pretty much just some pizza dough without toppings. The only tricky