Archives for 2008

How To Make Grandma’s Apple Cider Sweet Onion Sauce

April 29, 2008 (Updated March 24, 2014) by Drew Kime

Last week my wife was making hamburgers for dinner, and grilled some onions for them. She added a little sugar, something she learned from her father. As I was eating, I thought, "This would be really good on ribs." I went looking and found a bunch of recipes for onion-based barbecue sauces, but all of them had at least as much tomato paste, ketchup or chile peppers as they had onion. What you see below is the experiment that came from that. Was the experiment a success? Let's just say it's a … [Read more...]

How To Make Old-Fashioned Macaroni Salad

April 28, 2008 (Updated February 4, 2018) by Drew Kime

Pasta, Side

I've never liked the pre-made macaroni salad you get at the grocery store, with over-cooked noodles swimming in in runny, watery dressing. This version comes out nearly dry, the pasta soaking up most of the dressing, and with a bit of crunch from the veggies. You can easily substitute cooked, cubed potatoes for the macaroni and have a really good potato salad. … [Read more...]

Chicken Nachos with Mango Salsa

April 22, 2008 (Updated January 30, 2015) by Drew Kime

Dinner, Fowl gluten free, Mexican, recipe card

I'm pretty sure my grandmother never ate nachos, much less made them. And I'd be willing to bet she never saw a whole mango. But this recipe hits all the important points: it's all from scratch, with fresh ingredients, and it tastes at least as good as it looks. As I said in the mango salsa recipe, this dish was inspired by the Leftover Queen's Royal Foodie Joust for May 2008. Next time I make it, it'll just be because it's so darn good. … [Read more...]

How To Make Mango Salsa

April 21, 2008 (Updated March 24, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dressing / Sauce, Side gluten free, recipe card

Unless you live in the southwestern U.S. -- or even farther south, but for an English-language blog "southwestern U.S." is a pretty safe bet -- then it's unlikely your grandmother ever made mango salsa. For one thing, salsa didn't really take off in the U.S. until the 1970s. For another, annual mango consumption in the U.S. was 0.05 pounds per person in 1970 vs. 2.01 pounds per person in 2004. So it's statistically unlikely that your grandmother ever made mango salsa. But to me "cooking … [Read more...]

How To Make Onion Rings From Scratch

April 16, 2008 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Favorites, Side frying, onion, recipe card

This version has a very simple, very light tempura style batter. It's about the simplest batter possible, and I can guarantee that if you cook at all, you've already got everything you need in the cupboard. UPDATE: I've also done beer batter onion rings. That one's a slightly tastier version, but a bit harder to do. … [Read more...]