February 2025

The food: Burgers are a staple around our house because they are cheap and easy. Eating the same-old plain Jane patty with a slice of cheddar and some ketchup, however, gets old after a while. After trying many gourmet burgers at restaurants, we decided it was time to… The food: I am new to seafood. After being a strict vegetarian for most of my life, I returned to my carnivorous roots about 5 years ago. While I took to beef and chicken quickly, seafood remained on my no-way-José list. I was certain seafood was gross, an opinion… The food: When I was little, my mom never bought granola bars. Why spend money on something you can easily make? It’s been a couple of decades, but the smell of toasting oats still takes me back to my childhood kitchen. Although I grew up with homemade granola,… The food: A lot of the food I make for this blog is the product of me wanting to learn something new. I’ve never made truffles, but I love chocolate. I mean, I really love chocolate. After some reading, I realized truffles are pretty damn simple to make. Melt… The food: When the temperatures drop, I often fire up the slow cooker and make warm and hearty chili. Although I really like spicy red chili, sometimes I want something milder. On those days, chicken chili fits the bill. There’s still plenty of kick in this…

The MTV Video Music Awards are Sunday, Aug. 30. You read that correctly. MTV still awards music videos despite no longer playing music videos. If, like me, you were born in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, aka “the MTV Generation,” you remember fondly when… The food: About a year ago, I ate Mexican street corn for the first time … and fell in love. It’s charred sweet corn, onions, jalapenos, lime juice, and seasonings, all mixed with a healthy dose of mayonnaise. The results are spicy and creamy — the… The food: In my Q&A with Chef George Formaro earlier this week, I discovered his guilty food pleasure is a juicy steak with decadent Bearnaise sauce. He was kind enough to share his recipe for a classic steak Bearnaise, along with some helpful hints for getting it… Des Moines is an amazing city. When I sing its praises to people who’ve never lived in Iowa’s capital, however, they tend to look at me like I’m joking, crazy, or a country bumpkin. Ask anyone who has spent meaningful time there and you’ll… The food: Admit it. There are times when nothing (and I mean nothing) is as satisfying as chocolate. On those days, it’s smart to have this recipe for chewy chocolate cookies handy. These cookies super rich and moist, which tends to happen when you use a couple…

The food: There’s nothing—and I mean nothing—like your grandma’s cooking. Try as she might, your mom can never perfectly replicate her mom’s recipes. There’s just something about the love our grandmas put into their food. Or at least, that was… The food: I came across a cute silicone candy mold from Good Cook at the grocer after a workout, when I felt like I had “earned” a sweet treat. I don’t decorate for the holidays, and definitely don’t cook for them. Yet for some reason, I bought…

Top crab cakes, fillets, or other fish and poultry dishes with this cool and creamy spicy mayo. It takes only a few minutes to make (using ingredients you probably already have) and can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Print Yum Spicy Mayo Prep Time: 5… Run out of chili powder? Prefer the economics (or pride) of making your own? Either way, it’s super simple to make from-scratch seasoning for chili (or meatloaf, pasta, and more). All this easy recipe takes is five spices from your cupboard, and about one minute… Why buy Italian seasoning when you can make it in a matter of seconds? It’s easy to mix up the spices to add great depth of flavor to your pasta dishes. This recipe requires only five spices that you likely already have in your cupboard. Print Yum Italian…