Growing up with three sisters has many advantages (too many to list here, too many to list anywhere), but one in particular is a three-fold sounding board for remembering excellent things about your childhood. At least one of us can always fill in the blank: a song we used to dance around to in the living room ("I Get Around" by the Beach Boys), the record we'd play on our old vinyl turntable (The Aristocats), which VHS tape had the funny scene of Fred Astaire tap dancing on a sandy floor (Top Hat).
Read moreSAVORY CORN MUFFINS WITH CHEESE AND HERBS
I think lots of nice foods teeter on the knife edge between salty and sweet. None, however, has made me quite as happy as this recipe did. These muffins are neither definitively savory or sweet, which might give you pause once you realize they have feta cheese and parsley in them. Feta doesn't scream "sweet!", but consider that these muffins are basically cornbread in sneaky muffin form, and we all know how cornbread can handle molasses just as well as it can spicy chili and cheese.
Read moreSQUARE BISCUITS
I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I was busy getting involved with these biscuits -- and once you're in their buttery, flaky clutches you really can't be distracted by things like work or friends or vegetables.
You see, these are almost too easy to make. So easy, in fact, that after you bake them once, you will forever be thinking: Oh, I have a spare 10 minutes, I guess I could sort through the mail or call my mother or do a quick 7-minute New York Times calisthenics workout...or make some biscuits.
Read moreGRILLED CHEESE WITH RELISH
Last week, I wrote about my dad's grilled cheese for Cup of Jo. When I told my dad I had written about him -- touting his rare kitchen appearances as enough to make a French chef weep -- he claimed I may have oversold his talents.
But I really didn't. His trick for adding relish to a grilled cheese sandwich is smart and addictive and makes other grilled cheeses seem lackluster.
Read moreBLACK & WHITE COOKIES
On the corner of most New York City blocks sits a bodega. You duck inside to find a veritable food wonderland: The contents of an entire grocery store crammed into a tiny room with narrow, high shelves. You can buy everything from ice cream to tomato paste to cornstarch. Perched above the cold drinks case are stacks of crackers in every shape and flavor. Boxes of Asian snacks line one wall. Tiers of neatly arranged chocolate bars flank the cash register.
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