recipes

Dad’s Holiday Cranberry Relish

My first cook book was a classic, The New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne (Harper & Row, 1961). My ancient, rusty paperclip bookmarks tell the story of why I have kept it all these years. I use the book only a couple of times a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Clipped are Turkey, Stuffings, Mashed Potatoes with Variations, and Cooked Cranberry or Orange Relish.

We love it on the dinner table, but it’s even better as a condiment for turkey sandwiches. Lots more flavor than out-of-a-can.

Now a family must-have, Cranberry Relish uses cooked berries, not raw, and lots of sugar. Get over it. My family won’t let me play with this recipe. Having said that, I am going to be trying Keto-friendly versions to see if any sugar-substitutes have conquered the cool aftertaste issue. Suggestions?

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Yams Richard

New Orleans is one of our favorite places. On our first trip there, in 1977, we visited—through pure luck—two of its greatest restaurants: Antoine’s, where we had pompano en papillote (in a paper bag) and Brennan’s, for its famous breakfast. We took away two Hurricane glasses from Brennan’s, Continue reading →

Grandma’s turkey stuffing

Thanksgiving has always been my second favorite holiday because when I was a kid, our family Thanksgiving made me feel a happy-family-ness, warmth, and love that were beyond our Scots-Irish/Norwegian family most of the time. Everyone (I think) felt the culinary highlight was the Thanksgiving turkey stuffing (sometimes called dressing interchangeably). Here’s how I remember it every Thanksgiving and Christmas watching my mom make the stuffing. Mom’s stuffing was identical to Grandma’s, a version she probably brought over from County Down.

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Dad’s Keto Chili

One way to make a long-term Keto diet go down easier is to Keto-ize your old favorite recipes. I mean, duh, right? Now that we are Keto veterans, in-it-to-win-it for the third time (!), I’m more interested than ever in making sure my old favs can still be enjoyed without guilty thoughts and can be modified for Keto and keep their greatness.

Dad’s Keto Chili

Chili has been a mainstay of DRB since the beginning. We started with a cookbook version, tweaked and tried variations over several years, tried our hand competing at a chili cookoff, and now are looking at Dad’s Chili with a fresh eye for its Keto potential. Lose the beer and hold the beans, and you’re most of the way there. Here’s the good news—there’s no need to sacrifice any flavor to make great Keto chili. Try out the recipe and see for yourself.

Note to Dads

This is a great family dish. There are ways the kids can help, or they can just enjoy the goodness and help you build your rep as a dad does wonders in the kitchen. There’s plenty of flavor and nutrition for non-Keto-istas, who can amp up their servings with tortilla chips or corn bread crumbled on top.

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Dad’s Anytime Creamy Pasta Sauce

Versatility is my middle name or something like that when it comes to cooking. Actually, I’m pretty lazy and always looking for ways to cook something that tastes great, is repeatable, but not boring. This has led me to develop some recipes that can easily be adapted to what you have around the kitchen or the special ingredients that you prefer, like spinach instead of kale in my case. I also really like creamy: creamy desserts, creamy salad dressing, and creamy sauces. This recipe checks that box and can be made so many different ways that I still haven’t tried them all. Hope you like.

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Eat plants and prosper

It’s been a long, cold winter here in our town. Since the New Year, really, we just haven’t felt much like eating cold food. You know, like fresh fruits and vegetables. Weird thing. Comfort food has tasted that much more comfortable in this weather. But spring will come, eventually, and with it the feeling that a green salad, fresh fruit for snacks, and crudities as appetizers will again feel comfortable…and healthy. Here’s some motivational reading from NPR. Have a green spring.

Eat Plants And Prosper: For Longevity, Go Easy On The Meat, Study Says : The Salt : NPR.

Whole lotta bakin’ goin’ on

If you’re doing more baking during our current stay-at-home time, I’m sure you’ve noticed you’re not alone—judging at least by the bare grocery store shelves where the flour ought to be. I’ve been doing a lot more baking than usual, which is to say more than hardly any baking at all. Baking is tough when you’re trying to stay Keto. But we remain calm and carry on.

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Grandma’s stuffing

It’s what makes our Thanksgiving menu such a special, family-favorite menu. It is everyone’s favorite—back when I was a kid, when our kids were little, and now. It’s the #1 choice when we ask, “so, what should we have for Thanksgiving this year?”

This post has been updated as of 11/18/2022.

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The versatile frittata

As you get the hang of home cooking, you get better, or not, at improvisation—making up new recipes or adapting old ones, to your current pantry or today’s whim. I suspect that my grandmother’s claims that she couldn’t pass along her greatest recipes was more about not remembering exactly how to make that Irish stew or knowing that she never made it the same way twice. Lesson learned.

For some, or until you reach home cooking nirvana, executing a precise step-by-step routine is all you care about. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But joy and bliss await when you can cook on the fly—unless you really screw it up. 😉

I really love frittatas because like my chili or soups and stew and casseroles, they are ready, willing, and able to be modified, amplified, adapted, or short-changed as your ingredient supply changes.

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Italian breakfast casserole

Breakfast casseroles can be really healthy and satisfying. Always a crowd pleaser, like if you’re having a morning-time birthday party or a day-after-the wedding family hangers-on brunch until it’s time for the relatives to get on their way home. The versions with bread are great, but this one and its variants taste just as good and are lower-carb.

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