Moist and Cakey Cornbread with Fresh Corn

I often swap (swipe?) recipes with (from?) my dear friend Beth Hensperger, who has written almost as many recipes as I have over the years. OK, we’re neck and neck. But the main reason I bring up the Babe of Baking is cornbread. Both of us were raised on a not-very-authentic version of the Southern classic that used canned corn as the moistening agent.
From-Scratch Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

I belong to a Facebook group of cookbook lovers. Recently, someone there started a post about making green bean casserole–the familiar one made with cream of mushroom soup. There were over a hundred comments in the thread, proving how this dish has become part of the American cook’s vernacular. For my part, I am a […]
Bourbon Gravy 101 with Video
Lemon Sweet Potatoes with Meringue Topping

(Recipe from The Big Book of Sides, published by Ballantine Books. Photo by Ben Fink.) Every autumn, I hear heated arguments about the role of sweet potatoes on the holiday table. Some people love the classic candied yams with marshmallows, others hate (revile, despise, and abhor) them. The way most families make them is very […]
Stuffed Artichokes with Romano and Oregano

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, artichokes were everywhere–we even had them growing in my grandparents’ garden. There was a truck farm across the street from my high school, and I remember purchasing them for a nickel each. On meatless Fridays (remember them?), Mom would often serve artichokes with lots of mayonnaise, cracked […]