Just Putzing Around the Kitchen

Fresh Strawberry Pie

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One of my favorite childhood memories is of my parents taking me strawberry picking in Texas. No idea where…Corpus Christi? Houston? Unclear. All I know is that it was one of those places where the strawberry plants were grown stacked on top of each other, so the rows of plants (each plant loaded with ripe berries) towered…read more »

New Orleans-Style Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce

Happy belated Mardi Gras, everyone! I was planning to make New Orleans-themed foods for Fat Tuesday  this year — gumbo, jambalaya, king cake, beignets, etc. — but work this week has been all kinds of hectic, and I was too tired to cook anything but leftovers in the microwave. Now that Mardi Gras is over,…read more »

Samoa Cookie Bars

What is it about Girl Scout cookies that gets people so crazy? As soon as cookie season starts, pint-sized dealers pop up on every corner, and suddenly everyone is fighting with each other to get their hands on as many Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Do-Si-Dos as they can before sprinting home to devour their sugary…read more »

Chicken Fried Steak

I haven’t eaten (or thought about) chicken fried steak since I moved out of Texas, where everything is bigger, beefier, and more fried. I’m not a health nut or anything, but I generally try not to eat too many fried foods if I can help it. And chicken fried steak is…a slab of steak that…read more »

Chinese Dumplings (Jiao Zi)

Hey, remember when I said I was going to make jiaozi and baozi and tons of other Chinese goodies for the New Year? Well that didn’t happen. I meant to do it, I really did! But  first I had to cook for my Superbowl party, then Valentine’s Day snuck up on me, and I had…read more »

Hotdog Sundaes

    You know what the worst kind of day is? The worst kind of day is when you’re hungry after a long day of doing absolutely nothing, and you shuffle over to the fridge for sustenance only to realize that your leftovers are unappetizing, you’re not in the mood for pasta, and everything else…read more »

Tiramisu

So last week one of my interns told me that if I could successfully make tiramisu and post about it, his wife would officially start following/reading my blog. Well! I’m never one to turn down new readership, so….challenge accepted. If I had known how difficult it would be to track down all the ingredients for…read more »

Apple Cheesecake Cupcakes

Last night I was seized with the most irresistible urge to bake something. But what to bake? Nothing chocolate. I’m sick of chocolate, if you can believe it. Maybe a pie? Nah, too much work — no pre-made pie crusts in the freezer, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to start rolling out my…read more »

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! Hope you all have someone nice to share it with, and if not, hopefully you have a ton of delicious chocolate treats on hand for immediate consumption. That’s the only reason anyone celebrates Valentine’s Day, right? An excuse to go on an all-out, gluttonous chocolate binge? Yes? Maybe it’s just me….read more »

Wonton Cups with Spinach and Mushroom Ricotta Filling

Happy Superbowl Sunday, everyone! And…happy 1 year anniversary to my blog! To celebrate both momentous occasions, I spent the better part of the afternoon cooking: crab quesidillas, pizza dip, fresh guacamole, and…wonton cups with spinach and mushroom filling. Why wonton cups? Well, I got really into cooking-themed books last year, and these cups were mentioned…read more »

Kimchi Bokumbop (Kimchi Fried Rice)

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! All last week I had grand plans to make jiao zi (dumplings) and dou sha bao (steamed buns with red bean paste) and other Chinese goodies, but somehow I never got around to it. Fortunately, the New Year is supposed to be celebrated for 15 days, so I’ve still got…read more »