Cooking On the Side

Japanese Pork Cutlets (Tonkatsu)

September 1, 2011

It would happen every single weekend. I’d sit down to sketch out our family’s meals for the week…and drive myself crazy deciding what to make. Didn’t we just have that last week? What’s something good I can make in the slow cooker since I’m out all day Monday? That’s too many chicken dishes in a [...]

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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

August 22, 2011

I recognized that first time that I brought homemade cookies with me to the hair salon that I would be setting a precedent. None of the stylists ever come out and ask when I arrive for my appointment. They greet me with smiles and hugs as always. But I try to put their curiosity to [...]

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Chicken Curry

August 18, 2011

It was about time we switched things up at lunch. On most days, my kids get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a quesadilla for lunch. They like it and I can pull it together and get it onto their Dora the Explorer sectioned plates before a meltdown erupts (that’s mainly my 20-month-old little [...]

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Overnight Belgian Waffles + a Waffle Skillet Giveaway!

August 15, 2011

Not a week after receiving a sample tub of Land O Lakes cinnamon sugar butter, I went to the refrigerator to see if there was enough left for the caramelized cinnamon apples I wanted to make with it. Nope. Not even close. My husband and our two kids, breakfast by breakfast, had made their way through [...]

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Balsamic Marinated Lamb Chops

July 27, 2011

We walked into the restaurant for a good friend’s birthday dinner a few years back and right away we noticed there was something odd about this steakhouse. Smoke rising from steaks searing on an open grill was, of course, expected. But as we moved further into the dining room the smell of those steaks actually [...]

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Peanut Butter Crunch Shortbread

July 18, 2011

These little five-ingredient Peanut Butter Crunch Shortbread elephants marched their way into my kitchen the other day. Even though they’re made with peanut butter (get it – elephants? peanuts? ha ha), the crunch doesn’t actually come from peanuts. Even better: it’s turbinado sugar. Until now, I’d only ever used turbinado sugar – the kind with the large [...]

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Homemade Pad Thai

July 14, 2011

There was a time, not so long ago, when I wouldn’t even have considered trying to make Pad Thai at home. It was out of the question. The ingredients would be way too hard to track down, I was unsure of how to use a wok and just how authentic would my version of Thailand’s [...]

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Anatomy of a Chocolate Chip Cookie

July 11, 2011

What makes a chocolate chip cookie chewy? How can I make thicker cookies? Or thin and crisp cookies? I’m afraid I’ve gone and geeked out again (remember the last time?) and did a little chocolate chip cookie recipe analysis to get to the bottom of these questions. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for exactly [...]

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Maple Planked Rosemary & Lemon Pork Chops

July 7, 2011

I got to be “that house” last weekend. The one in the neighborhood whose backyard grill is billowing out aromas that make you stop what you’re doing and say aloud, “OMG, what are they making over there and can we have some?” In my case it was the woody scents of the maple grilling plank [...]

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Good Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes – Happy 4th!

July 3, 2011

Just a short and sweet note to say Happy 4th of July (and, to my friends to the north, a belated Happy Canada Day!)! To help you celebrate, here’s a fabulous recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting. These cupcakes, from the back of the Hershey’s cocoa powder box, come together almost magically. [...]