Sicilian Orange and Fennel Salad
This is a post from my husband, Eric. When you have a phenomenal orange tree in your backyard...
If you want a true taste of Sicily, this Orange and Fennel Salad is it. It’s known locally as Insalata di Arance e Finocchi and is an absolute icon of southern Italian cooking, showing up on practically every family table year-round. The secret? Beautiful simplicity. There's no cooking involved—just sweet oranges, salty olives, crunchy fennel, and great olive oil doing their thing. It’s fresh, it’s easy, and it’s practically begging for a piece of bread to mop up the plate afterward.
By - Prep: 15 mins
Bacon Ranch Party Potato Casserole
This Bacon Ranch Party Potato Casserole is truly a crowd pleaser. It takes the classic Midwestern cheesy hashbrown funeral potatoes and gives them a punchy, modern upgrade by swapping out the traditional cream of chicken soup for tangy sour cream and zesty ranch seasoning, all topped with smoky bacon.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 1 hr
- Yields: 12 Servings
Bang Bang Shrimp
Instead of dealing with a messy stovetop deep-fry, this Bang Bang Shrimp is made for the oven. The shrimp is incredibly crunchy by using a smart fat-incorporation trick: mixing extra-virgin olive oil directly into the dry panko crumbs before breading. It’s served with this delicious Bang Bang Sauce. Most copycat recipes rely strictly on a heavy mayo base. This recipe cuts the mayo down significantly and introduces fresh lime juice and honey. This creates a much lighter, glaze-like sauce that yields a vibrant, tangy kick without weighing down the baked panko crust.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Yields: 4 Servings
Hog Pogs
Hog Pogs are a brilliantly simple, wildly comforting vintage appetizer that hits all the best flavor notes: savory, creamy, salty, and warm. This four-ingredient appetizer is an open-faced cocktail toast. It’s raw ground Italian sausage, softened cream cheese, finely grated Parmesan, slathered on a slice of baguette and baked until golden. It can’t get any easier!
- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
- Yields: 12 Servings
Pollo in Guajillo
Pollo in Guajillo is a traditional Mexican dish featuring chicken thighs that are marinated in a rich, savory sauce made from dried guajillo chiles. Guajillo chiles are known for their smoky, earthy flavor and mild heat making them a popular choice for stews and sauces.
- Prep: 40 mins
- Cook: 50 mins
- Yields: 4 Servings
Quick Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
Ready overnight with zero canning required, these quick-pickled whole cherry tomatoes are a total flavor bomb. Steeped in a sweet, garlicky rice vinegar brine, they deliver a tangy, savory burst in every single bite. They are great for snacking, salads, charcuterie boards, and sandwiches.
- Prep: 15 mins
Easy Cheese Soufflé
Don't let the name fool you—while this is called a cheese soufflé, it’s technically a strata, though it does incorporate whipped egg whites, which helps the soufflé to puff up. It begins with rustic Italian Bread and uses fontina, Gruyère, and Parmesan cheeses. Like a strata, you refrigerate it overnight and bake it the next day, which is my kind of recipe! If you are apprehensive about making a traditional cheese soufflé, this is a good alternative.
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 1 hr 5 mins
- Yields: 10 Servings
Broccoli Salad with Miso Paste
This Broccoli Salad with Miso Paste is a brilliant, deeply savory twist on the classic potluck staple. While traditional broccoli salads rely on a heavy, sweet-and-tangy mayonnaise dressing, this recipe incorporates miso paste, bringing a rich, umami complexity.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 5 mins
- Yields: 4 Servings
Japanese Potatoes with Soy Sauce
I made these Japanese Potatoes with Soy Sauce and my daughter raved about them. I was meant to buy regular mini potatoes, but I could only find fingerlings. The potatoes are simmered in soy sauce, sugar, salt and water. It's so simple and really delcious.
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Yields: 4 Servings
Honey-Gochujang Roast Chicken
This Honey-Gochujang Roast Chicken achieves a perfect harmony of spicy-sweet complexity and savory depth, boasting very crisp skin and succulent, tender meat. Gochujang is a thick, crimson-red fermented chili paste that is a cornerstone of Korean cuisine. It isn’t just a "hot sauce"—it’s a complex, concentrated ingredient that brings a balance of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors to a dish.
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 50 mins
- Yields: 4 - 6 Servings
