Latkes lighten up with apple sauce

There were no leftovers, certainly no latkes, at the home of our gracious host and hostess this weekend. The fabulous latkes at their Hanukkah table started as a mountain of golden brown potatoes, but served with apple sauce, the latkes all but disappeared and sustained grateful guests. Many thanks to Ms. P. for treating us to her family […]

Hummus dries up in Southwest Austin

We knew the owners were facing a make-or-break situation at Dimassi’s Southwest location in Austin, and unfortunately, we found a farewell notice on the doors of the restaurant when we arrived to take in a buffet meal this week. I’ll miss the convenient location as well as the hummus and Arabic music feeds. It’s back to making hummus if I want it […]

The recipe’s in the mail

They always catch you at the busiest time – those emails that expect you to ‘send a recipe to 20 of your best friends.’ So you wait for the sky to fall, and feel guilty and move on. Last week I received one that was manageable. There were just two people on the email. One […]

Past and Present-Pa’s Famous Fudge

It’s true, we saw a few flurries of snow in Austin last Friday. But proof of the season, a Christmas present from Pa and Gram, arrived on our door step this week. The Austin “snow” didn’t last long and neither will our tin of fudge. Here’s an invitation to make your own batch of Pa’s Famous Fudge.

Holly Jolly Dirt Cake

Holly Jolly Dirt Cake Here’s another no-bake adventure for kids who enjoy cooking.  Little kids, if making this for an adult, like to pretend the cake really is dirt! I’ve modified it as the quantity of sugar would have the ‘cooks’ standing on the table throwing the mix at each other and the amount of […]

Praline recipe passes test of Austin pecan expert

Once I stood in line in the grocery store behind a woman whose cart had a pretty ho-hum selection – except for the fourteen boxes of butterscotch pudding. I couldn’t resist asking why she was buying so many and she told me that she lived in Marble Falls and couldn’t buy them there. What an […]

Cranberry sauce smoothies

Reach into the refrigerator and recycle your leftover cranberry sauce with a festive take on smoothies. Blend this: two bananas 8 ounces yogurt 1 cup ice two tablespoons leftover cranberry sauce (We prepared the sauce two days ago with water, fresh cranberries, grated orange peel, and sugar.) Yield: Four small smoothies.

Recipe Risk

Jane Manaster shares her take on  . . . risky recipes Selecting a recipe online is such a temptation and such a gamble.   Even experienced cooks eager to try something new can be lured into making bad mistakes. My latest failure was bran and raisin muffins.  I trawled one site after another, rejecting the recipe […]

Don’t chuck the pumpkin seeds

We’re carving pumpkins this evening . . . and roasting the seeds to a crunch. Don’t chuck the seeds. Give your pumpkin seeds this quick oven roast.

Peel and Eat Potatoes-Peelin’ with Jane

Peel This The Cookery welcomes Austin’s Jane Manaster back this week to challenge us with a post on peeling potatoes. Peelin’ with Jane: Remember when potatoes were a staple? At 50 – 99 cents a pound, and with pasta and rice down in price, they are almost a luxury.  When a visit to the supermarket […]