Appetizers

My younger brother asked why I couldn’t just toss the cauliflower in sauce before baking it. I started to explain why that wouldn’t work—something about … Read more

I wasn’t expecting cooking advice from my accountant, but there I was, halfway through a meeting about quarterly taxes, watching him sketch a diagram on … Read more

This was supposed to be chili. I had the beans soaking, the ground beef thawing, and this whole vision of a big pot simmering on … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a random Wednesday in October, and I had a very specific vision of a charcuterie board that absolutely refused to … Read more

The power went out halfway through prepping for my neighborhood Halloween party. I stood there in the dark, holding a block of cream cheese that … Read more

My friend Jen asked why I couldn’t just arrange the cheese board in a pumpkin shape instead of spending an hour carving an actual pumpkin … Read more

I was standing at the checkout counter at the hardware store—of all places—holding a new showerhead and trying to remember if I needed lightbulbs. The … Read more

There used to be a German-style beer hall tucked away on a side street in my old neighborhood that made these pretzel bites that were … Read more

My neighbor Maria wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a ladder on a Tuesday afternoon, and this smell hit me before … Read more

The Super Bowl party was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten I promised to bring appetizers. Everyone else would be bringing those elaborate multi-layered … Read more