To me, a chili dog has always been a junk food extravaganza, usually made with sub-par ingredients and presented as a greasy, overcooked mess. But it is an American classic, and deserves better treatment than it usually gets. What happens when you take a 100% all-beef hot dog, add a fresh, toasted bun and homemade vegetarian pinto bean chili, and top it with sour cream, cilantro and scallions? This is a chili dog worthy of the name! It becomes a […]
There are some classic American foods that I revere: cheeseburgers, pizza, fried chicken – and pot roast. They’re found in restaurants everywhere, but it’s less easy to find the most delicious version of these classics. That’s why when I make something as basic as a pot roast, I want to lavish the freshest ingredients and the most thoughtful preparation on it to make it the best pot roast ever. If you’re going to enjoy a classic, shouldn’t it be worthy […]
In my ongoing quest to keep my husband losing weight (20 down, 20 pounds to go – and let’s not talk about my weight loss plan, if you don’t mind), I’ve been sending him to work with lunches from home to help keep him on the diet train. Taking your lunch to work is not a wildly exciting premise, unless the food is unique, or at least packaged in a way that is novel. Here are three lunch entrees that […]
Going back to school after a long, fun-filled summer can be an adjustment for kids, and one of the ways I used to make my girls excited about it was to shop for school supplies together. They had so much fun choosing notebooks and pencils, and thinking about what they might need for the coming year that they had never needed before: construction paper, mechanical pencils – maybe a new backpack? I thought it was good for them to begin […]
There never seems to be enough time in the morning to sit down and have a proper breakfast, the way the Cleaver family used to in “Leave it to Beaver.” You know, June in her shirtwaist and pearls layering perfect pancakes onto Wally and the Beav’s plates as they talk about what a swell school year it’s going to be, and Beaver worries that Wally won’t invite him to his hamburger party, while Eddie Haskell tells June that she’s looking […]
