An appetizer fit for a New Year

Last weeks’ recipe column has a recipe for Smoked Salmon Spread. To make this recipe a little fancier for a New Year’s Eve get together, turn them into Smoked Salmon Tarts. All you’ll need is a couple of packages of frozen mini fillo dough shells and a little extra time for baking them.

Smoked Salmon [...]

Have a year of healthier desserts

Honey Baked Apples
Quick and Easy Rice Pudding
Low-Fat Apple Cobbler
Although desserts aren’t necessary for every meal, sometimes they make a nice treat. But at the beginning of the year, many of us have our eyes set on new goals. Eating healthier is often one of those goals. Fortunately, not all tasty desserts have to [...]

Bring seafood to the party

Smoked Salmon Spread
Shrimp Dip
Warm Crab Dip
Whether you’re throwing a festive party or staying home with your favorite movie, dips and spreads are a great accompaniment. To make these appetizers and snacks a little more special for the holidays, try making them with seafood. Whether you use salmon, shrimp, or crabmeat, you’ll [...]

The holidays are a time for butter

Holidays are a great time to throw calorie caution to the wind and indulge in some buttery treats. Few things are as buttery as a batch of these rich snickerdoodles.

Snickerdoodles
Take these cookies out of the oven while they still look slightly undercooked. For best results, use real butter. Adapted from Even More Top Secret [...]

‘Tis the season for sugar cookies

Simple Sugar Cookies
Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
Crisp Sugar Cookies
When it comes to holiday treats, you really can’t go wrong with sugar cookies. The whole family can enjoy baking and eating them, as well as decorating them with cookie cutters, frosting, or sprinkles.
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Simple Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 egg
1 [...]

Gift idea for cooks

It should come as no surprise that I like shopping for gifts for friends that enjoy cooking. Usually I like to give a combination gift, such as a pizza cookbook with a pizza pan, a Chinese cookbook with jars of ginger and oyster sauce, and a grilling cookbook with a vegetable grill basket.
When I [...]

Bake your pork chops

Saucey Baked Pork Chops
Oven-Barbecued Pork Chops
Pork chops are versatile and tasty addition to any evening meal. Although lean cuts of pork can get tough if overcooked, pork chops topped with sauce and baked in the oven usually come out tender and delicious.
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The cooking time on this dish may [...]

Pantry challenge: Gluten-free pasta primavera

The challenge: I have a lot of recipes that start with a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. While there’s nothing wrong with those recipes for most people, those with a gluten intolerance usually find “wheat flour” in the list of ingredients on the can.
Fortunately, Progresso Creamy Mushroom soup doesn’t contain gluten* and [...]