Until I began this column, I had no idea how many variations of pasta there are. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable until I continued to discover new types that often were tough to find in small-town Kansas grocery stores. My recipe this week called for ziti, a tube-shaped pasta I’m definitely familiar with, but my local store […]

I have a ton of amazing memories about my paternal grandma, who passed away in 2012. She was such an awesome person and a crazy good cook. Near the end of her life, she invited me over to her small apartment for dinner—just the two of us. She made a chicken and biscuits meal with some mixed veggies in it […]

  Years ago, when Jimmy Fallon was on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream came out with a flavor called “Late Night Snack,” which was inspired by the show. The combination was “vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters.” Being slightly ice cream obsessed, I tried it out, despite […]

A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s socially distanced wedding, and in preparation for the big day, I did something I have never done before: get a manicure. I opted for French tips—a layer of very light pink on the bottom and white for the ends of each nail. It ended up being a pretty […]

I have had this block of leftover almond paste just sitting in the back of my refrigerator for weeks. Every time I would open the fridge, I would just stare at the container, knowing I needed to use it up but not being 100-percent sure how. But then there were beautiful, fresh blueberries sitting in the produce department at the […]

My folks recently invited all of us over for hot dogs and hamburgers on a Saturday afternoon. We hadn’t all been in the same room since the stay-at-home orders began, and with things opening up and gathering sizes expanded, it seemed like a good time for the seven of us to socialize just a bit. As I have been doing […]

Over the course of our marriage, Joey and I have developed a special ritual, where each of us tries to be the first one to ask, “What do you want to eat?” before every meal, as though the person who asks first is absolved from having to do any choosing. I mean, the answer is nearly always, “I don’t know,” […]

Joey and I were watching TV once, early in our marriage, and an advertisement for a brownie pan that would let you have all edges brownies came on. I reacted to it by laughing. “Who would want only edge brownies,” I said. “The middle brownies are the best ones.” Joey looked at me like I was crazy. “No, the crispy […]

The National Museum of American History notes that Americans started looking for different ways to enjoy outdoor grilling after World War II. Part of the craze was impacted by people who traveled around the world and discovered they enjoyed the tropical flavors of the Caribbean and of Southeast Asia, which meant that the hibachi grill came into vogue, with some […]

  Over the years, I have to confess that I have tended to order off of the side dishes part of the menu for a lot of my meals. Particularly at Chinese restaurants, I’ve been known to just buy an order of fried rice for lunch and skip over the entrees completely. It’s one of my favorite things. According to […]