Appetizers

My neighbor wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a ladder—ours had mysteriously vanished into the garage abyss—and the smell hit me … Read more

There used to be this little hole-in-the-wall sports bar on the corner of 4th and Elm called “The Rusty Tap” that made a buffalo chicken … Read more

My brother asked why I couldn’t just skip the boiling step and bake the pretzel bites straight away. I started to explain why that wouldn’t … Read more

It was 11:47 PM on a random Thursday in October, and I was supposed to be asleep. But my brain—the traitor—decided that instead of counting … Read more

Let me tell you about the first time I made this Creamy Bacon Cheddar Corn Dip in a Bread Bowl. It was a chilly Tuesday … Read more

My brother claimed to hate chicken wings for twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years of Super Bowl parties where he’d load up on everything but the wings. … Read more

I was standing in the frozen foods aisle last Tuesday, staring at a box of mass-produced jalapeño poppers, when the smell of smoked gouda hit … Read more

The Super Bowl party was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten I signed up to bring the main dish. Everyone else would be bringing … Read more

There used to be a little sports bar on the corner of Maple and 3rd in my old neighborhood that made the most incredible Buffalo … Read more

My neighbor Rosa watched me fumbling with a salami slicer one Tuesday afternoon, my fingers clumsy and the casing splitting in all the wrong places. … Read more