Dinner Recipes

The neighborhood chili cook-off was in four hours and I’d completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing their slow-simmered masterpieces, secret spice blends, and brisket … Read more

My brother-in-law Dave asked why I couldn’t just brush the bourbon glaze on the ribs during the last ten minutes instead of basting them all … Read more

My brother-in-law Mark had refused butternut squash for a solid decade. Ten years. He claimed it was “too sweet for dinner food” and would push … Read more

I was standing in the checkout line at my local hardware store—not a place I usually find culinary inspiration—when the woman behind me, who was … Read more

My neighbor Sarah wasn’t making a big deal of it. I’d stopped by to return her slow cooker—the one she’d loaned me three weeks ago … Read more

My neighbor asked why I couldn’t just roast the squash whole instead of peeling and cubing it first. I started to explain why that wouldn’t … Read more

I wasn’t expecting cooking advice from my accountant, but there I was, sorting through a pile of old receipts in his cramped office, listening to … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a rainy Tuesday, and I was absolutely, positively craving lasagna. The kind of craving that makes you want to cry … Read more

This was supposed to be a simple stuffed pepper night. You know the kind—bell peppers filled with rice, ground meat, and tomato sauce, baked until … Read more

I wasn’t expecting cooking advice from a taxi driver, but there I was, stuck in gridlock on a drizzly Tuesday afternoon, listening to a man … Read more