May 2025

The food: One of my favorite things about Cooking with Vinyl is meeting other bloggers, especially those who like to write about cooking. This post is the result of tweeting back and forth with Jay and Dee in Birmingham UK (@jay_and_dee). Their blog is Cook It, Eat… Cheesy garlic bread is so delicious, and it’s so quick to make that there’s no excuse for not serving it with every Italian dish. My favorite is this Asiago Garlic Bread recipe that is loaded up with garlic. It’s topped with a generous amount of… The food: There are two kinds of people—those who like sweet cornbread and crazy people. That may sound unfair, but this is my blog and I get to make the calls around here. Sweet cornbread is the perfect side for chili (try my Slow Cooker Chili recipe), red beans and… The food: Baking bread is the greatest smell on Earth. For many beginner cooks, the idea of making bread from scratch is downright scary. Take a deep breath. I’m a novice here to tell you that homemade sandwich bread is not so difficult, especially when you use… The food: Growing up in the Midwest, far from an ocean, my exposure to seafood as a child was mostly limited to fried fish sticks. Although I grew to appreciate the flavor of fish, mollusks, and other deep-sea finds, I never considered cooking them. Crab cakes,…

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: One of my favorite things about Cooking with Vinyl is meeting other bloggers, especially those who like to write about cooking. This post is the result of tweeting back and forth with Jay and Dee in Birmingham UK (@jay_and_dee). Their blog is Cook It, Eat… The food: Growing up in the Midwest, far from an ocean, my exposure to seafood as a child was mostly limited to fried fish sticks. Although I grew to appreciate the flavor of fish, mollusks, and other deep-sea finds, I never considered cooking them. Crab cakes,…

The food: Starting a food blog has its perks. For example, I recently attended a culinary class sponsored by Mann’s. There were about a dozen bloggers there, drawn by the promise of learning some cutting skills and a few recipes (oh, and receiving a copy of The… 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: Macaroons started as Italian almond meringue cookies and, when they came to France in the 1500s, evolved into colorful stuffed sandwiches. While I like that classic cookie, I much prefer the chewy goodness of a coconut macaroon. Jewish chefs adapted the… I make no secret that I’m a novice in the kitchen. After two decades of making little more than tacos and spaghetti, I really focused on learning to cook about 2 years ago. My skills have greatly improved, but I have a long way to go before I’d ever feel… The food: Cheesecake—especially the classic baked New York style—is a true crowd pleaser. Its rich, creamy flavors appeal to most tastebuds, and both the taste and the appearance fool people into thinking it is difficult to make. In fact, it’s a relatively… The food: Brownies are either great or awful, and most of that depends on personal taste. People who like their brownies cakey rather than gooey are probably good people, but I just don’t understand them. For my money, a brownie shouldn’t bother calling…

The food: Although I love cooking, there are many nights when I stare blankly at the ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. No plan, no creativity, no energy. On those evenings, it’s nice to have an easy one pot recipe at the ready. Less work, less imagination, less clean up. Perfect. This cheesy chicken pasta with veggies comes together quickly and tastes great.

The music: One pot recipes seem a little crazy, frantic, and fun. A modern musical equivalent is Grouplove, the New York indie rock band that’s had a series of major hits over the last few years. They’ve released two full-length albums, the newer of which is 2013’s “Spreading Rumours.” If you listen to the radio at all you’ve likely heard “Ways to Go.” That hit is a decent representation of the rest of this album, which is primarily upbeat and easy on the ears. You can listen to one side while you make dinner and the other while you eat it. If you don’t have the vinyl, you can listen to this (and a few other choice Grouplove songs) on my One Pot Cheesy Chicken Pasta playlist on Spotify.

This quick one pot recipes proves it is easy to be cheesy (sorry, that was awful, but I couldn’t resist). Enjoy!

If you like cheesy chicken pastas, you’ll love my recipe for Chicken Afredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, too.

One Pot Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 4 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp. garlic
• 1 large chicken breast, cubed
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 cups broth
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 8 oz. pasta
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Instructions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until tender. Add chicken cook completely.
2. Add seasoning and flour slowly, stirring until everything in the pot is coated. Slowly stir in broth and half and half.
3. Add pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until pasta is al dente, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently to keep pasta from sticking to the pot.
4. Add spinach and wilt 1 minute. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve immediately.

https://www.cookingwithvinyl.com/duet-one-pot-recipe-cheesy-chicken-pasta/ ® Cooking with Vinyl (do not reproduce without permission)

The food: Every home cook needs a few tried-and-true recipes they can turn to on busy nights. For me, meatloaf is one of those. It’s an “everything but the kitchen sink” type of recipe—if you have ground beef, you can almost certainly find some…

When St. Louisans think about buying records, they head first to Vintage Vinyl. For more than 30 years, the store has operated out of a storefront on historic Delmar Ave., in the artsy U City Loop district just outside of downtown (and very near one of the country’s largest urban parks, Forest Park). Its recognizable marquee highlights area musicians, cool quotes, and other random awesomeness.

The rougly1,000 sq. foot shop sells primarily vinyl, along with CDs, DVDs, posters, and more. There are some new vinyl offerings, but mostly there are rows and rows of resell finds. Underneath the shelves of premium LPs are bins of $.99 records, which one can peruse while sitting on a milk crate. I’ve spent many hours hunched over these boxes, and have found a few gems among the scratched-up junk.

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I hit the historic record shop for an in-store performance. Vintage Vinyl offers live music fairly regularly on weekends, but neither of us had ever been to one of these free shows. We decided to first go to a local happy hour (the drink specials at nearly Three Kings are definitely worthwhile) before spending an hour shopping at Vintage Vinyl and then hearing Hilary Scott (below). Neither of us had even heard of her, but free music and free Schlafly beer was too good to pass up.

We really loved Hilary. She’s a singer-songwriter who has a bluesy-indie sound that is radio ready. She recorded her first EP, “Flowers on Mars,” only on vinyl (red vinyl, in fact). That’s pretty damn cool, so I had to buy it. Her new record, “Freight Train Love,” came out about a month ago. With only about 30 people attending the free performance, I was able to introduce myself to Hilary after the show and—hooray!—learned she loves to cook. I hope to soon feature her in the kitchen in more depth on this blog.

I left Vintage Vinyl with a great industry contact, a bit of a buzz from the Schlafly Hefeweizen, and about $100 worth of new and used records (Ingrid Michaelson, Black Keys and the Beach Boys were among the mix). This store is no frills, i.e. a little dirty, but it’s reasonably priced and has plenty of bells and whistles that make it a real gem. If you love vinyl—or music, for that matter—and have some time to kill in St. Louis, plan on browsing the aisles for an hour or two.

The food: Almost every week, we buy a bunch of bananas … and almost every week we have at least a few that get too ripe before we eat them. Instead of wasting the overdone fruit, I use them in bread. After all, other than the bananas, this recipe uses baking…

The food: Every home cook needs a few tried-and-true recipes they can turn to on busy nights. For me, meatloaf is one of those. It’s an “everything but the kitchen sink” type of recipe—if you have ground beef, you can almost certainly find some…

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… The food: Is it clear yet that I have a soft spot for foods that are best described as ooey gooey? Whether it’s super moist baked goods or extra cheesy dinners, I love rich, delicious treats. Not healthy, but absolutely delicious. This certainly holds true when… Note: I owe you an apology. It’s been a few months since I’ve posted. There are reasons (excuses), but all that really matters is I am sorry for taking such a long break, and I promise not to let that happen again. I’m back, I’m energized, and… The food: Coconut is one of those foods that people tend to love or hate. As a child, I hated it. Now I love it. Sweet and crunchy coconut adds texture and depth of flavor to some of my favorite desserts. I think it’s at its best in the sugary, nutty frosting…

The food: Coconut is one of those foods that people tend to love or hate. As a child, I hated it. Now I love it. Sweet and crunchy coconut adds texture and depth of flavor to some of my favorite desserts. I think it’s at its best in the sugary, nutty frosting used atop German Chocolate cake. Interesting fact: There’s nothing German about the cake or topping—it’s an American dessert made popular in the 1950s. The name is not a reference to the country, but to the man who created the dark baking chocolate used for the cake. Whatever its origins, I have a serious addiction, so I decided to create a twist on the tradition with this rich and creamy German Chocolate Tart. I’m also certain this frosting would be killer on my recipes for Chocolate Chip Brownies and Moist Chocolate Cake.

The music: This dessert is seriously rich, and it has great depth and many layers. Its musical match may be an odd one, but it somehow works. Buddy Miles was a rock and funk drummer and vocalist best known for being in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys. (Even if you don’t realize it, you definitely know Buddy Miles—he was the lead vocalist for The California Raisins in the late 80s.) As a solo artist, Miles released about a dozen studio albums, including 1975’s “More Miles Per Gallon.” This soulful LP has nine songs that sound similar to Stevie Wonder’s work from the same time, but with a harder edge. The souped-up rock sound comes from Buddy’s killer work on drums and guitar, plus his fearless vocals that can swing from sweet to scowling. I only recently discovered Buddy, thanks to my boyfriend who is a fan, and I was sad to learn that he died in 2008 at age 60. Before he died, Buddy told a magazine that he wanted to be remembered as “the baddest of the bad.” That’s exactly how I think of the big guy below with the big smile and even bigger talent.

Hear some of my favorite songs from Buddy Miles on my “German Chocolate Tart” playlist on Spotify.

The base of this German Chocolate Tart is a butter and chocolate graham cracker crust. The middle is very rich bittersweet chocolate that is made smoother with cream and eggs. Finally, the top is crunchy, sugary coconut-pecan topping. The layers come together in a symphony of texture and sweetness. We enjoyed the dessert at room temperature, a few hours after I made it, but discovered it got much better after it sat in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Love coconut? You’ll definitely want to try my recipe for delectable Coconut Macaroon Pie, too.

Ingredients

• For crust:
• 1 cup chocolate graham crackers
• ½ stick butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• For filling:
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp. salt
• For frosting:
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• ½ cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cup coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For crust: Combine all crust ingredients and press into bottom and sides of tart ban. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
3. For filling: Bring cream to simmer. Add butter, and stir until melted. Add chocolate, one square at a time until melted and mixed. Let stand 5 minutes. Whisk eggs, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Stir into chocolate. Pour filling into crust. Bake until edges are firm but center jiggles, about 20 minutes. Cool for 1 hour.
4. For the frosting: In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add milk, sugar, yolks, and vanilla. Stir constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on tart.

https://www.cookingwithvinyl.com/german-chocolate-tart/ ® Cooking with Vinyl (do not reproduce without permission)