On Saturday night, I had a dinner party that Ina Garten (a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa) definitely wouldn’t have approved of. In fact, I violated several of her back to basics rules of entertaining…and no, that doesn’t mean that I skipped the good vanilla. But these were doozies in her book [...]

Part of the fun of cooking is experimenting with different spices and flavors—a pinch of this, a teaspoon of that and seeing what works and what doesn’t. And when you’re trying to be a little more health-conscious about eating (not always an easy thing for food lovers like Will and [...]

Yet another random survey is circulating on Facebook, so here are my oh-so-riveting answers for everything “ology.” * FOODOLOGY* What is your salad dressing of choice? Raspberry or balsamic vinaigrette What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? La Grolla for their amazing calamari to start, incredible penne alla vodka, delicious herb [...]

While I still have a little TIVO envy thanks to my sister, there really aren’t that many TV shows I would “tape” week after week to justify the purchase anyway. Sure, I still watch “LOST” (but mostly online since I’m usually at movie screenings on Wednesday nights) and “The Office” [...]

While it seems like everyone else on Planet Earth has been raving about the Wii or iPhone they got for Christmas this year, my favorite new technological wonder has to be the panini press that my sister Lindsey got me. As someone who despises cold sandwiches with a passion, it’s [...]

Well after hours and hours of cooking, the moment was upon us…the taste-test of all the Thanksgiving goodies. And the verdict was a collective… “This is soooo good!” Yeah, that’s what a cook likes to hear. And before long, everyone’s tummies were stuffed to contentment. I think I ended up [...]

While some people approach cooking Thanksgiving dinner with about as much disdain as the requisite root canal, I’ve been secretly looking forward to making this meal for weeks now. In fact, I’ve been looking for new recipes to try (and adding my own personal flourishes) since mid-October and rather than [...]

Believe it or not, it’s already chilly in Minnesota (and it’s only September 7!!), so I thought it was the perfect day to make a pot of delicious homemade chili. So I got out my trusty Le Creuset (one of my favorite wedding presents from my mother-in-law Jo Ann Banister) [...]

If you know me well, you probably already know that I’m a bit of a Food Network addict. I guess I’ve always had a cursory interest in cooking. I mean does it count that I spent many a Saturday afternoon baking peanut butter chocolate chip cookies when I was growing [...]