Later this month, many college freshmen will make their first trips back home for Thanksgiving, and I’m sure that they’ll be eager for some of their favorite home-cooked meals. While I never traveled home for Thanksgiving in college, I was lucky enough to swing by for a single night in the middle of my first term, since I was in the marching band and we were traveling to an away game near where my ...
cheddar
One-Pot Pumpkin Ale Mac and Cheese
Once upon a time, I had oodles of time to cook well-planned, lovingly-prepared meals several nights a week. Or that’s how I remember it, at any rate. I’m no longer even sure when (or if) these culinary golden days took place. Maybe during my senior year of college? Maybe during the summer months of grad school when classes weren’t in session? The details are hazy. ...
Broccoli Cheddar Potato Bake
After I graduated from college, life got a whole lot busier. While I still loved to cook, I found that I simply didn’t have time to whip up a whole meal every night or even every other night, as I typically did during undergrad. I eventually settled into a routine of cooking one or two big meals (like a tuna noodle casserole or a pound of spicy peanut noodles) over the weekend and then ...
Hash Brown Breakfast Pizza
Potatoes are one of my favorite foods. In fact, my go-to breakfast order at my favorite local diner is called “The Potato Lover”: just a plate full of hash browns with a smorgasbord of toppings! I know. It’s kind of weird. But hey – if it’s on the menu, then other people must order it too, so that means I’m not the only weird one! Or that’s what I like to tell myself, at any rate. ...
Southwestern Sloppy Joes on Cheddar Jalapeño Biscuits
Sloppy joes are one of the few foods I can think of that actually originated in the United States. Given that most foods we tend to consume here are not, in fact, native to the US (probably owing to the fact that we’re a nation of immigrants), you’d think we could come up with a more distinguished-sounding or unique name – I mean, it’s not like we’ve used up all the good names on the hoards of ...
Baked Polenta Fries with Chili BBQ Ranch Dressing
I’ve been to one Super Bowl party in my life. I’ve watched my fair share of college football, but that was because I was in the marching band, so I wasn’t tailgating or watching the game with a spread of snack foods and beer and such. Consequently, I don’t have much experience with football food, but even so, I KNOW these polenta fries would fit right in at a football party! They’re cheesy, salty, ...
Cheddar Apple Cinnamon Buns
When I was really young, my family had a Klutz Kids Cooking book. The only thing I remember from this book was a recipe for “Happle Bagel Sandwiches”: a bagel topped with apple slices, cheddar cheese, and cinnamon. I’m not sure why we stopped making these over time, but I only remember eating them as a small child (probably 5 or younger). When thumbing through Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen ...