The Ugly Pumpkin Pie

On Thanksgiving, I did most of the cooking and my sis-in-law brought desserts. It’s her turn to cook the main meal on Christmas Eve, and so I will bring the desserts. (We trade off.) Anyway, she brought two pies from our favorite pie place in Seattle: A la Mode Pies. There was a Holiday Pumpkin […]

Gourmet Mac & Cheese

Implements Large (3 or 4-quart) baking dish Whisk Pot for boiling pasta Strainer Deep sauce pan or Dutch oven Ingredients 16 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked (or other tubular pasta) 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 6 tbsp unsalted butter 1/3 cup all purpose flour 3 cups whole milk 1 cup heavy whipping cream 4 cups […]

Thanksgiving Pot Pie

This is my new favorite way to serve Thanksgiving leftovers. Step 1: Make a pie crust. (I make my grandfather’s Never Fail Pie Crust which is similar to this recipe, except that I use butter or leaf lard instead of shortening.)Step 2: Preheat your oven to 400F.Step 3: Butter and flour a spring-form pan or […]

Ken’s Carrot Cake

This is my grandfather’s recipe and has absolutely ruined me for any other carrot cake. The things that are unique are that the cake itself is very chunky–loaded with ingredients like carrots, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, etc.–and that the frosting is chunky too as it has walnuts in it. It’s extremely rich, so small portions are […]

Sourdough Baguettes

This has several dough-resting times and 9 steps to this recipe. Don’t try and fast-track this process; it won’t be the same if you don’t allow your dough to do its thing and mature throughout the day. The whole process takes around 7 hours–most of it passive–so plan ahead. Implements Kitchen scale Two medium bowls […]

White Bread Using Sourdough Starter

This week, I began the process of making my own sourdough starter from scratch. This means that every day, you have to discard some of the mix and “feed” the starter with new flour and water. I didn’t want to waste any of the starter discards, so I made a new loaf of bread every […]

No-Knead Country Bread

This is a simple, no-knead, no-fuss, whole wheat country loaf. Implements A whisk or stand mixer with a dough hook, or other bread dough mixing implement (I use this Danish dough whisk–see images below) A Dutch or French oven or similar-type cast iron or stoneware pot for baking (I use this Le Creuset 5.5-quart enameled […]

Mexican Lasagna

I’ve also seen this called Tortilla Pie or Layered Taco Casserole. Essentially Mexican Lasagna is layers of flour tortillas (like the lasagna noodles in regularly lasagna), and layers of cheese, beans, and beef, in between the tortilla layers. I prefer using this Mexican Shredded Beef in this recipe. But ground beef with taco seasoning is […]

Mexican Shredded Beef

Use this meat with tacos, burritos (and you can use some of the extra sauce for “wet” burritos), Mexican lasagna, enchiladas, chili con carne, or any number of other dishes. It is very versatile. Implements A medium or large Dutch oven or other large pot that allows for braising (browning and simmering) Citrus juicer (if […]

Carnitas de Cerdo

My brother, his family, and I are doing weekly Taco Tuesdays in 2021–for fun, but also so we can interact with each other during this pandemic where we need to stay pretty close to home and limit contact with others. This recipe is slightly non-traditional as I use chipotle peppers (instead of jalepaños), extra garlic, […]