My family made a delicious bolognese lasagna from scratch. The key to a lasagna that doesn’t feel like a futon of cheese is in the homemade noodles. While they are definitely a weekend project, they are easier to make than you think and make all the difference. They used a Smitten Kitchen adaptation of a ...

We made a version of this delicious clam corn chowder from Jamie Oliver’s fantastic Cook with Jamie cookbook. The foundation for this, sautéed bacon, onion, celery, garlic, potatoes and bay leaf, can be applied to any chowder. In other words, you don’t even need the clams. Ingredients olive oil 4 pieces of bacon, sliced into ...

There are some mornings (like when you first turn the clocks back in the fall and you think “I’m going to get up early like this every day”) that I feel as if I am slightly ahead of the game. Rare as this is, that’s when I try to make one or two little things ...

When our friends Dewey and Stephanie Nicks moved from LA to Carpinteria, CA (just south of Santa Barbara) with their 7-year-old twins, George and Madeline, they enrolled the kids in the Surf Happens surf camp. That’s when they started their surfers’ breakfast ritual of eggs and beans (pinto or black) in a tortilla. Sour cream, cheese, ...

Shake it up: In an attempt to escape the pasta and broccoli doldrums, I started playing Recipe Roulette with my kids at least once a week. I give them a few cookbooks, they close their eyes and randomly pick a recipe. I promise to cook it, they promise to eat it. Not just taste it. ...

Don’t forget about the refreshing simplicity (and unsung genius) of the tomato sandwich–crusty white bread (sometimes it has to be white), LOTS of mayo, sliced tomatoes and a sprinkling of salt. I think I had about three of them yesterday. I always mourn the end of tomato season because the tomato sandwich season requires perfect ...