I was getting ready to grill salmon one night, planning to plank the fish and use the Grill EveryDay BBQ Rub on it, when I was inspired by my husband, Greg, who was making us vodka martinis with a twist of lemon. I thought, why not make a lemon-vodka marinade for the salmon? I had… Read More

Until I began working on this book, I did what most cooks do: I bought beautiful radishes with bushy green tops and lopped off and discarded the tops. Never again. Radish tops are both edible and absolutely delicious, fresh or cooked. This recipe, based on a classic French potage, takes full advantage of the radish… Read More

While it might seem obvious when cooking for a crowd to make a big panful of dessert and then scoop out individual portions, I think it is more fun to make individual desserts. For a fruit crisp, I chose to use half-pint, wide-mouth canning jars as my serving dishes. They were economical because I had… Read More

Start today to develop a very smart habit: Store necks, tails, wing tips, gizzards, hearts, backs, rib (breast) bones-anything except livers-in a gallon-size lock-top freezer bag in your freezer. When the bag is really full, you have enough chicken parts to make a small pot of homemade stock. Squeeze excess air out of the bag… Read More

This big-flavored spice blend is guaranteed to ignite great taste when rubbed on shrimp, scallops, chicken, beef, lamb, buffalo, or pork. This recipe yields about 2 1/2 cups of the spice rub, which is a great quantity to divide and package for gift giving.

These are beyond adorable, more spectacular than any graham cracker you have ever tasted from a box, and such an unexpected gift. We made up generous gift bags but had to gift some back to the cook for snacking—we just couldn’t part with them. Give these to friends and family who have children, as the… Read More

Anyone who loves to bake will treasure this present, and you don’t even have to bake to make these gifts! There’s nothing to it: Select attractive glass bottles; buy plump vanilla beans, rum, and vodka; slit the beans and fit them into the bottles; pour the liquor over the top; and seal. Either make the… Read More

The saying goes, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” We say, “When you are handed lemons, make limoncello and lemonade.” It takes 15 lemons to make limoncello, and since only the peel is used, that leaves all the fruit to juice for a refreshingly large pitcher of homemade lemonade—that’s the beauty of making limoncello… Read More

Light, gooey, and very chocolaty, with just the right amount of buzz to counter a monthly mood attack. On the bodacious brownie scale, a 10!