recipe card - Page 16 of 36 - How To Cook Like Your Grandmother

How To Make Gnocchi

January 28, 2010 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Gnocchi is a tough one. Starting with how to pronounce it: NYO-kee, like the "ny" sound from "canyon" but with a long "o" sound after. Then is the texture: light and fluffy in the mouth, but settles really heavy in the stomach if you eat too much. (My father-in-law -- both parents Italian immigrants -- said when he was growing up they called gnocchi "sinkers".) The secret, I've decided, is to remember that they are, after all, mostly potatoes. Would you eat a plate full of mashed potatoes as … [Read more...]

Deconstructed Cannoli for Valentine’s Day

January 26, 2010 (Updated March 24, 2014) by Drew Kime

Dessert, Holiday recipe card, Valentine's Day

I've gone to a few Valentine's dinner parties where each couple brought a dish with a Valentine's theme. After eating, we'd vote for best taste and best in theme. These deconstructed connoli won for best in theme the year I brought them. They're dead simple to make -- as long as you don't try to make your own pizzelles, and that one's not on my agenda for a while now. (Though really, it's just like doing waffles but with a smaller press. I just don't have one.) Okay, enough rambling, here's … [Read more...]

How To Make Garlic Breadsticks

January 21, 2010 (Updated March 24, 2014) by Drew Kime

Bread recipe card

My father-in-law, Lou, finally got a stand mixer for Christmas, and doesn't have to borrow mine when he wants to make something any more. So the first thing he decided to do is start making bread. I brought him over the recipe for crusty Italian bread and he went to town. But of course he can't just do plain Italian bread like I did. He has to do garlic breadsticks. Which I'm totally cool with, because I was staying for dinner. … [Read more...]

How To Make Waldorf Salad

January 19, 2010 (Updated March 21, 2014) by Drew Kime

Salad recipe card

The Waldorf salad I grew up on was peeled red delicious apples, raisins and mayonnaise. Or maybe Miracle Whip, I don't remember. (UPDATE: I just got an email from my mother confirming that she does not like Miracle Whip, so it would have been mayo that I grew up with.) Of course I had no idea it had a name. It was always just, "That apple and raisin salad." According to KitchenProject.com: Created at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1896 not by a chef but by the maître d'hôtel, (dining … [Read more...]

How To Make Applesauce

January 12, 2010 (Updated March 23, 2014) by Drew Kime

Side recipe card

There are tart apples, and sweet apples, and dry apples, and dozens of flavors to choose from. But when you buy pre-made applesauce, odds are the ingredients just list "apples". And of course high fructose corn syrup ... because simply using sweeter apples is apparently too hard. So if you're trying to avoid HFCS -- and you probably should -- or if you just don't like the flavors of applesauce available in the grocery store, you could always make your own. It's really easy, and you get to … [Read more...]