French onion soup has a reputation for being fussy. I believed that for years. Silas and I ordered it every single time we saw it on a menu, and we both assumed it needed some kind of secret chef training. Turns out it needs onions, a little patience, and a working broiler. This is the … Read more
This vegetable beef soup with hamburger passes with flying colors. It’s thick, hearty, and packed with so many veggies that I stopped counting after the first handful. The first time I made it, I dumped everything in the pot at once. The potatoes turned to mush, the peas turned gray, and Silas politely called it … Read more
Canned tomato soup lost me for good the night I made this version. It was a gray Tuesday. I had two cans of tomatoes, a bunch of basil that was one day away from sad, and no plan for dinner at all. Forty minutes later, Silas was scraping the bottom of his bowl and asking … Read more
I used to think mushrooms were the sad side dish nobody picks on purpose. Then Silas grabbed a pile of shiitakes at a farmers market “just to see,” and I rolled my eyes so hard I almost sprained something. Twenty minutes later I was standing over the stove, stealing pieces straight out of the pan … Read more
Gluten Free Dairy Free Meals: Most gluten free and dairy free dinners have a terrible reputation, and a lot of them earned it. I’ve eaten the sad pasta. I’ve bitten into the “cheese” that behaves like candle wax. I’ve also watched Silas push food around his plate and say “it’s fine” in a tone that … Read more
A restaurant-quality peppercorn sauce does not need a restaurant. It needs one pan, about ten minutes, and one small move at the stove that most home cooks skip. I’ll get to that move in a second. First, let me tell you how this dinner landed on our table. I made chicken au poivre on a … Read more
Silas does not usually fight me for the last bite of a side dish. Then I made these shiitake mushrooms, and I had to guard my fork like it was a passport. They come out golden, chewy in the best way, and coated in a glossy garlic butter sauce that smells like a steakhouse. And … Read more
Plot twist: Italian wedding soup has nothing to do with weddings. I learned that on a gray Tuesday, stirring a pot of it while Silas hovered by the stove asking if the meatballs were done “yet” for the fourth time. The name comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata, which means “married soup.” The marriage … Read more
Pickle juice in a soup pot sounds like a dare. I promise it ends up being one of the coziest bowls you will ever eat. When I first told Silas I was making dill pickle soup for dinner, he gave me the look. You know the one. Polite on the outside, quietly planning a backup … Read more
I once ate three bowls of this soup in one sitting and blamed it on the weather. It was pouring rain, Silas was working late, and I had a pot of something creamy that smelled like butter and garlic. Nobody was around to judge me, so I went back for more. That night I figured … Read more