Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

One Potato, Two Potato — Plus What?

Posted on by Leave a comment
When it comes to Pigs in Blankets, what's old is new again.
When it comes to Pigs in Blankets, what’s old is new again.

Meet “Pigs in Blankets” — meat and potatoes version.

With a big emphasis on the potato.

The usual frozen crescent roll dough or puff pastry is swapped out from this nostalgic dish for a whole russet potato instead that gets stuffed with an entire sausage, then wrapped in bacon.

It turns this throwback from an hors d’ouevre into a hearty main dish.

This rather zany and absolutely delicious dish is from “Retro Recipes” (Countryman Press), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook was written by Bobby Hicks, a Florida-based bartender-turned-culinary-historian, and creator of the popular YouTube series, “Retro Recipes Kitchen.”

Read more

Green Salad & New Potatoes — With An Emphasis on Green

Posted on by 2 comments
Eat your veggies -- new potatoes with peas, edamame, and spinach in a creamy, herby dressing.
Eat your veggies — new potatoes with peas, edamame, and spinach in a creamy, herby dressing.

Basic doesn’t have to mean boring.

Nor does it have to be so rudimentary to be pointless.

So, when “Basics Vegetables” (Hardie Grant, 2025) landed on my porch as a review copy, I didn’t dismiss it outright, thinking I already know full well how to cook vegetables.

Instead, I leafed through the pages by Severine Auge, a Paris chef and recipe writer, and found a handy cookbook filled with helpful step-by-step photos for tried-and-true recipes ideal for young, newbie or infrequent cooks or anyone interested in adding more delicious vegetables to their diet.

There are detailed recipes for everything from “Smashed Potatoes” and “Tomato Tatin” to “Veggie Ramen,” “Lentil Shepherd’s Pie,” and “No-Bake Chocolate-Hazelnut Pot de Creme.”

Read more

Fast & Furious — And Super Garlicky

Posted on by 2 comments
Fish cooked in plenty of garlic -- in the style of shrimp made famous by Hawaiian food trucks.
Fish cooked in plenty of garlic — in the style of shrimp made famous by Hawaiian food trucks.

Soaring airfares may make you think twice about traveling these days.

But transporting yourself to the tropical paradise of Hawaii and beyond is just a recipe away with “Kimi’s Kitchen” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

It’s a good bet that you’ve never encountered a cookbook by a national champion freediving and spearfisher. But that’s just what accomplished author Kimi Werner is, along with being a chef and environmental conservation advocate who lives on the North Shore of Oahu.

She wrote it with assistance from Jennifer Fiedler, an Oahu-based food writer; and Nicole Gormley, an award-winning filmaker, photographer and ocean advocate whose lavish photos in the book make you feel as if you could plunge right into the mesmerizing blue waters on the pages.

Werner grew up spearfishing with her father from a young age. More than sport, it was sustenance for the family that grew up in the early years with little. Throughout her life, the ocean has been a source of growth and inspiration. In her cookbook, she takes you along on her dives and inside her kitchen to learn how she prepares her favorite recipes. While many of the recipes focus on seafood, there are others that center around meat or are vegetarian instead.

Read more

The Ease of Sheet-Pan Steak Tacos

Posted on by 2 comments
Skirt steak and veggies cook all together on a sheet pan for tacos in a flash.
Skirt steak and veggies cook all together on a sheet pan for tacos in a flash.

Taco Tuesdays never tasted so good.

It’s hard to beat the snappy ease and warm flavors of “Steak Tacos with Poblano Peppers and Corn.”

The recipe is from “Sheet-Pan Meals” (Hardie Grant, 2025), of which I received a review copy. It was written by By Jessica Darakjian, a cook, writer, and research editor based in Claremont, CA.

Who doesn’t love a sheet-pan dinner, right? Darakjian provides 100 of them, arranged by the seasons.

Enjoy everything from “Potato Pizza” in spring and “Persian Herb Quiche” in summer to “Gingerbread Pancake” in fall and “Soy-Glazed Meatballs with Mustard Greens” in winter.

Read more

Handy-Dandy Garlic & Pepper Pork Ribs

Posted on by 2 comments
A delicious dish perfect for harried households.
A delicious dish perfect for harried households.

Because my parents worked full-time while raising three kids, my mom always had a stash of recipes in her arsenal that she could prep and cook in a flash. There were tender strips of flank steak stir-fried in black bean sauce. Prawns sauteed with slivers of broccoli stems in oyster sauce. And chicken steamed with shiitakes and plenty of ginger.

So, when I came upon “Garlic & Pepper Pork Ribs” it hit home in so many ways.

This easy recipe is from “My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook” (4 Color Books, 2025), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Nite Yun, chef-owner of Lunette Cambodia inside San Francisco’s Ferry Building, with assistance from Tien Nguyen, a food and culture writer who teaches food journalism at the University of California.

Yun was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after hear parents escaped war-torn Cambodia. When she was 2 years old, her family immigrated to the United States, settling in Stockton. She’s made it her mission to highlight Khmer cuisine, not only to preserve its history and traditions, but as a way to better comprehend her parents, as well as herself.

Read more
« Older Entries