It’s official. Fall, the season that makes me want to hibernate until May, is here. Don’t get me wrong, the changing leaves are gorgeous and I don’t mind the cool nights, but I see fall for what it really is, a seasonal gateway to winter. In an effort to hold on to the last bits of summer, my kitchen is always full of the foods and flavors of warmer climes and longer days. A sip of this recipe for Tropical Rum Punch instantly transports me to a sunny beach where winter winds and long sleeves don’t exist. Passion fruit and pineapple juices give this punch a tropical twist, but feel free to …

Egg salad was one of the first foods I remember making by myself as a kid. It was super simple and I could whip up a batch using items that were typically on hand in my mom's kitchen—eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and relish. I ate it on crackers, made sandwiches with it and I still do.  Over the years, I've tried loads of egg salad recipes, added ingredients like parsley, celery, tomatoes, lettuce, capers and any number of herbs and spices, all in an effort to inject a little excitement into my simple egg salad. While I enjoyed those experiments, it seems I always turn back to basics and my …

Homemade vinaigrette is a cinch to make. In its simplest form all it takes is a fat, typically an oil, and an acid, usually vinegar. The two are whisked until they are emulsified, or come together temporarily, to form a vinaigrette. Making your own vinaigrette gives you control of the ingredients you and your family are consuming. There are no preservatives or mysterious multi-syllable ingredients when you whisk one up for yourself. In addition, homemade vinaigrette has much more flavor than their store-bought counterparts, so you’ll use less to dress your salads. The basic vinaigrette …

There are some foods that just go together, like bread and butter. Delicious in its own right, using a compound butter can turn plain old bread and butter into something grand. Compound butter is simply softened butter with herbs, spices or other flavors blended in. Whether it’s a handful of chopped, fresh herbs, minced or roasted garlic, citrus zest or even a splash of wine, you can create your own butter using your favorite flavors. You can use compound butters in a number of ways. Add a pat to your pan before scrambling eggs or making an omelet or add a slice of chilled butter to a steak …

Sauces are a simple way to add flavor to grilled foods. With so many prepared varieties available on grocery store shelves, it’s easy to forget that you can simmer up your own, homemade barbecue sauce with a handful of ingredients you probably have in your fridge and pantry. Plus, making your own sauce allows you to control the ingredients and the flavor. Most barbecue sauces start with a tomato base, either crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice or ketchup, though in some Southern states mustard is the condiment of choice to build a sauce around. Whichever style of sauce you prefer, don’t be …

I’ve heard that necessity is the mother of invention and a recent, busy weeknight with a random assortment of ingredients proved this point in my very own kitchen. I needed a side dish for dinner but my fridge and pantry were almost bare due to an over-scheduled week. I was left with a few bell peppers, one sad little zucchini and tomatoes from my last farmer’s market visit. I immediately thought stuffed peppers, but without ground beef or rice, the traditional filling for stuffed peppers, I almost dismissed the idea until I unearthed a bag of quinoa in my pantry. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah…

Fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite things about summer. Yes, you can pick them up year-round at your local grocery store, but there’s nothing like the taste of a perfectly ripe, in-season tomato. In Maryland, tomato season runs from late May to early November, so you still have plenty of time to enjoy them in your salads, pastas and other dishes.    Much like roasting garlic, roasting is a simple way to transform tomatoes into the sweetest, juiciest morsels. Slow-roasting them at a low temperature, about 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes to two hours, is the ideal way to cook tomatoes …

In its simplest form, sorbet is a frozen dessert made with fruit juice or puree and a sweetener. Most often the sweetener is simple syrup, a syrup made by boiling equal amounts of sugar and water just until the sugar dissolves. The cooled syrup is stirred into the fruit juice or puree then poured into an ice cream machine where it’s churned until it thickens. After a stint in the freezer, you’ll have a nice, refreshing fruit sorbet. Don’t have an ice cream maker? No problem. You can make an acceptable sorbet without one. Once you’ve added the simple syrup to the fruit puree or juice, pour the…

Nothing cools off the dog days of summer like a tall, frosty glass of sweet tea. A staple on Southern front porches, sweet tea is simple to prepare, inexpensive and versatile. Stir a tablespoon or two of pureed fruit into your glass, experiment with different tea flavors or follow my lead and add a little tartness with the addition of thawed limeade concentrate. The key to great sweet tea is simple syrup—equal amounts of sugar and water boiled until the sugar melts. Adding it to your brewed tea sweetens it—add a little or a lot depending on your tastes—without leaving that pile of un-…

I’m just back from an all-too-brief Mexican vacation and my hankering for all foods Mexican is getting bigger with each passing meal. I long for eggs scrambled with spicy chorizo and guacamole with every meal. Truth be told, I haven’t been a fan of the popular American interpretations of Mexican fare, but my eyes were recently opened to the wonders of the country’s foods when I worked as a food stylist on Pati’s Mexican Table, a PBS cooking show all about authentic Mexican food. Working on the show and sampling all of the traditional dishes sparked my interest and my taste buds and I spent my…

Nothing says elegant entertaining like chocolate mousse. A traditional mousse is made by flavoring whipped cream and egg whites, but this simple version gives you the same silky, smooth texture with only sweetened whipped cream. Its rich, chocolate-y flavor comes from simple semisweet chocolate chips, which are melted along with a little butter and espresso powder before being carefully folded into the whipped cream. A splash of rum intensifies the flavor, but can be left out if you’re concerned about serving it to kids. It’s important to let the chocolate cool completely before adding it to …

Fresh vegetables are what wonderful, summer menus are all about. If you’re looking for a new veggie to add to your summer menu rotation, consider spaghetti squash. Yes, squash. It may not be the first vegetable that comes to mind when you’re thinking summer dining—it’s actually a winter squash—but thanks to the wonders of modern farming, it’s widely available year-round. It’s also quick to cook and has a subtle flavor that works well with a number of ingredients. Spaghetti squash has a bright yellow skin and pale yellow flesh. It’s high in potassium, vitamins A and C and has just over 40 …

The College Park farmers market boasts one of the largest fresh produce displays I’ve seen outside of a supermarket. You can also enjoy live music—the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Clarinet Choir was last week’s musical guest—assorted breads and baked goods and plants. Produce powerhouse Miller Farms offers a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables ranging from watermelon to peaches, tomatoes, corn and apples.  You can get your fill of freshly-baked, artisan breads, croissants and cookies from the Uptown Bakery and Mildred’s Bakery stands and find plants and cut flowers to add to your garden …

Recently I’ve been recreating some of the foods I enjoyed as a kid, adapting them to suit my grown-up tastes.  This week’s target—Sloppy Joes. If my mother had served a can of Manwich to me seven days a week for an entire year I would not have been happier. Ground hamburger soaked in a tangy, tomato sauce served on a bun with a name that actually encourages spills and messes? I’ll have a plateful of that, please and thank you. Today, my sloppy joes are made with ground turkey that simmers in a homemade tomato-based sauce seasoned with chili powder, oregano, garlic powder and Worcestershire …

Chicken tenders will never be mistaken for gourmet fare, but a simple breading technique turns this typical kid food into a dish that will please adult palates, as well. The tenders—you can purchase them or cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips—are seasoned and dipped in egg before being pressed gently into a mix of Panko breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and herbs. Panko are Japanese breadcrumbs that are ground into flakes instead of crumbs. The result is a lighter coating with extra crunch. These are a new favorite in my kitchen and not just for my 7-year-old. I love that fact …

I don’t know what I would do without boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They save dinner at my house on many a night when I need to get something on the table quickly. They’re a staple on my grocery list and in my freezer. What I love about them is their versatility—you can pair them with just about anything—and they cook quickly, making them a perfect solution for busy weeknight meals. Their one downfall is they can be a bit bland on the taste buds. The absence of skin, bone and fat make them a leaner, healthier choice, but those are just the things that give poultry most of its flavor. …

A visit to the Greenbelt Farmers Market is like a get-together with old friends. During my time there over the holiday weekend, I overheard conversations between customers and vendors that focused on families and summer vacation plans rather than price inquiries or produce. These relationships built over years seem to be a key factor in bringing people back to the market week after week, year after year. The market is held every Sunday (except Labor Day weekend) from 10:00 am – 2:00 p.m. until November 20th. You can find it in the parking lot of the Roosevelt Center in historic Greenbelt. It …

I’m charting new territory in this week’s column with my first dessert recipe. Enough with the sautéing and braising! Pull out your mixers and get ready to lick the bowl because this Blueberry Lime Pound Cake will have you begging for the beaters. This is a simple sour cream pound cake recipe, elevated by the addition of fresh blueberries, which have been on sale recently at the Fairwood Safeway, and just enough freshly-grated lime zest to turn the batter the palest shade of green. You can use thawed, frozen blueberries, as well. Separating the eggs and folding the whipped whites into the …

Sweet potatoes are like a typecast actor. Most people only think of them in fall, as a mashed, brown sugar or marshmallow-topped staple on every Thanksgiving table. The truth is sweet potatoes are great year-round and they’re healthy to boot, boasting lots of vitamins A & C, potassium and fiber. I enjoy sweet potatoes year-round. I like to cut them into cubes, toss them with olive oil and herbs and roast them until they’re crisp and brown around the edges. You can make mashed sweet potatoes quickly by baking them in the microwave—be sure to poke the potato with the tines of a fork to allow …

These are definitely not your typical movie theater nachos (thank goodness.) Pork tenderloin plays nicely with black beans and fresh corn. Add a zesty tomato sauce and a palm full of piloncillo and you’ve elevated simple nachos into something special. Piloncillo is an ingredient common in Mexican cooking. It’s sugar cane juice that’s been poured into a mold, usually cone-shaped. It’s often compared to brown sugar—you can substitute brown sugar if you can’t find piloncillo—but it has a much more complex flavor. Piloncillo is dense, firm and must be grated before using. You can find it in …