Autumn Potato Salad
I did that thing the other night, Halloween actually, where you're invited to a party and can't decide exactly what to bring. At first I said I'd bring a hearty salad of some sort, but as soon as I heard the word salad leave my mouth, ideas for savory tarts started flitting around my brain. And wow, is that a pâte sucrée tart shell in the freezer? Maybe I should make something with that. I also decided, right around the same time, that it would be a good idea to bake cookies for trick-or-treaters instead of handing out candy

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
I'm going to argue that this is the type of soup that needs to be made to order. While many soups and stews get more complex and enticing after a day or so in the refrigerator, I don't find that to be true when it comes to soup of the broccoli variety. Am I alone here? Day-old broccoli soup always smells very strong (and not in a good way) and tastes overcooked, as if it was from the can. The good news is this version couldn't be simpler to make, and it's perfect for those times when I feel like I need something with a serious nutritional punch - say, the day after a sweet-packed Halloween. I give

Halloween Recipes
I suspect that some of you might be on the lookout for a few Halloween recipes, or Halloween-inspired recipes might be a better way of phrasing it. There are a bunch hiding in the archives, so I thought I'd bump a handful back up to the top here. A few of my favorites include: Roasted Pumpkin Salad - A roasted pumpkin salad made with wild rice, tiny, caramelized red onions drizzled with a simple, honey-kissed, creamy sunflower seed dressing. A colorful harvest salad perfect for Fall festivitie

Apple and Carrot Shortbread
I discovered a small pile of cookbooks the other night as I was cleaning out a bedside cabinet. I must have pushed the books behind closed doors, (and conveniently) out of sight, while tidying up the house at some point. There they've been, undisturbed, for many, many months. When they re-emerged, I felt as if I'd come across a brand new pile of books - a little dusty, but aside from that there they were ready to provide me a few hours of reading on a particularly stormy afternoon. I tagged a few things to try, but one recipe in particular jumped out at me, the Apple and Carrot Shortbread from

Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad
The other day one of my neighbors asked me how often I cook. I think he was curious to know if I cook everyday. But, now that I think of it, I'm not actually sure what he was asking me - maybe there was a subtext to the question? I'm not sure. Anyhow, I told him I cook most days, and most of the meals most days. While this might have kicked off visions of elaborate brunch buffets, or of me standing over simmering pots of risotto stirring for hours on end, in actuality, it usually means I'm doing something simple like reheating a leftover pot of soup for lunch. Or pouring some muesli from a jar into a