The ingredients for an authentic, classic pico de gallo recipe, and ideas for mixing it up. Fresh salsa can be a chameleon in the kitchen, and is well-suited for adding tons of flavor to your plate. Even if the only other food on it are tortilla chips. Best of all, this one keeps for days and is easy to prepare!…
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By the end of a typical DERBY DAY! nearly 120,000 mint juleps will flow down the hatches of spectators at the Kentucky Derby. That’s a lot of julep. Especially when you consider the Bourbon factor. One drink gets 2 ounces, so we’re talking almost 2,000 gallons of Kentucky Bourbon inebriating spectators at Churchill Downs alone. Might be time to buy…
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Braised beef short ribs are one of my favorite slow-cooked meals! This cut of meat is affordable and absolutely succulent when cooked so the meat falls off the bone. Here are a few chef secrets for how to cook to cook them, and a crowd-pleasing short rib recipe that’s keto, paleo and GAPS diet friendly. The best cuts of meat…
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Take the mystery out of a great food and wine pairing! Read on for four fun tips to picking the perfect wine every time. And lots of suggestions on what to drink with any meal, including what wine pairs best with Cheetos! Four fun tips for pairing wine with food I can’t take credit for the following advice. I heard…
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Expectorate! No, it’s not a magic spell. Yes, it’s the silliest thing I’ve ever done with high-priced wine. But if you knew what I was up against, you might not judge. The meaning of the word expectorate I actually think this action verb sounds magical, like a spell you might learn at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But in…
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Seafood, when sourced responsibly, is full of essential nutrients and can be a delicious and quick route to dinner. This mussels recipe is loaded with the fragrant flavors of wine and aromatic vegetables, and if you eat meat, salami adds a salty, savory punch. Above all, it cooks up in ten minutes flat! What is a la minute cooking? In…
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If you’re in the market for a classic Southern-style buttermilk biscuits recipe you’ve come to the right place! As a thanks for coming, I’m throwing in my Mom’s down and dirty sausage gravy recipe. Fluffy biscuits smothered in spicy, creamy sausage gravy. It’s the stuff Friday night dreams are made of! Growing up on biscuits and gravy There are some…
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This recipe is adapted from one by Chef Karen Barker, and let’s you bake up crispy, crumbly, chocolately ‘Milano’ cookies just like the originals… but without all the junk! No soy, corn or hydrogenated vegetable oils here, just classic ingredients and a whole lot of yum. The original Milano cookies Oh, Pepperidge Farm, how you remind us of our grandfathers,…
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Sweet, screaming with chocolate, crowd-pleasing treats! This whoopie pie recipe is not for old-school lightweight cake-style pies, but for rich, dense and fudge-like desserts. And forget a flavorless, full of corn syrup marshmallow fluff filling. Read on for three easy fillings: pumpkin, cream cheese or homemade marshmallow buttercream. Chef meets whoopie pie My childhood did not include whoopie pies. But…
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The American origins, the five-ingredient recipe (yes, it’s as simple as it sounds), and two ways to get more Guinness down the hatch on St. Paddy’s Day, or any day that calls for stout and a warm loaf. The origins of Irish soda bread Contrary to its name, the origins of Irish soda bread are early America. And not early…
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I won’t admit how long ago this actually was, but my college roommate ate Fluffernutter sandwiches. FOR BREAKFAST. Remember those ridiculous treats with white bread, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff oozing out every end? I thought she was completely nuts, pun entirely intended. Be careful, you can’t eat just one fluffernutter But one morning I took a leaf out of…
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My all-time favorite vanilla cupcake recipe One of my first, and absolutely favorite jobs in the food business was working as an assistant manager at the California-based SusieCakes Bakery. Yes, it had everything to with the free cupcakes at the end of the day that didn’t sell. We donated regularly to food banks, but of you closed up shop you…
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