I made potstickers. I did it. Truthfully, this is my first attempt at making my own. Sure, I’ve done cream cheese won tons, crab rangoon and other varieties of dim sum. I have even cooked potstickers in a pan with varied success (my successes have been far superior to Ole’s), but I have never actually filled and cooked my own. Until now. The work of the dumpling is definitely in the prep work. To make it easier, you can purchase won ton wrappers. They are readily available in the... more

Sometimes the best things in life are simple. This is one of those times. There is nothing frilly or fancy about this recipe. It’s easy. If you make a good patch of pesto and stash it in your freezer, it is effortless. And the payoff is incredible. Who doesn’t love bread smothered in cheese? Every year our kids are in a Christmas program in Ole’s hometown, just under two hours from here. We spend Christmas Eve there, and it seemed fitting that they’d participate. The... more

Our initial reason for gardening, before we even owned our own home, was to make pesto. We had always enjoyed pesto, and at the time with Ole in graduate school, buying the often expensive jar of it at the supermarket wasn’t something we were willing to do. And the “pesto pot” was born. The pesto pot is nothing more than a pot planted with Genovese basil and flat-leaf parsley. If you don’t have basil and parsley already growing in your garden, fear not. Parsley is cheap... more

Meat-a-balls? You know, like Tony in Lady and the Tramp, “Hey, Joe! Butch-a, he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, heavy on the meat-a-ball” Isn’t puppy love sweet? Maybe you’re looking to impress a special someone (or potential special someone) and don’t have Tony’s special spaghetti and meatballs to do it for you, or maybe you just want to bring life to the flickering flame that lies between you and your significant other; spaghetti and meatballs, a tall... more

I first made this dish several years ago for a ladies’ night I was hosting at my house. Instantly a hit, I knew I’d be adding it to my list of favorite easy meals. Adding (or not adding) the meat at the very end makes it vegetarian friendly. There is a lot of dumping from jars and cans into a pan involved and not a lot of cutting and chopping. The fresh basil makes it perfect for summer and summer it is, as evidenced by the heatwave we’ve been experiencing here in the Midwest.... more

Jen Isham went home on The Next Food Network Star premiere this Sunday for making green beans for a room full of Food Network stars. A simple search of their recipe index reveals that they have 186 sautéd green bean recipes. This doesn’t even begin to go into the total 1201 recipes that involve green beans on the site. What they’re saying is you can make green beans, just do it at home and not for a room full of Food Network stars. In fact, you could make THESE green beans. At home.... more

A lot of work goes into main dishes.  For the most part, I tend to focus on the protein portion of our meals, but when possible, I like to double – even triple up on items that can be put on the grill for any given meal.  I’ve already talked about the asparagus that can be done on the grill so today I’ll talk about what is probably the most popular non-meat grillable in the house – my soon to be famous, Super Garlic Toast.   Normally, I’m not so boastful about my... more