DailyWaffle

Nantucket Cranberry Pie – It’s Really a Cake

During the holidays, Trader Joe's is a minefield of treats, from Peppermint Joe Joe's to chocolate advent calendars to Jingle Jangle candy-pretzel mix. You almost have to put on blinders to avoid filling your basket. In the frozen section, I stumbled on Nantucket Cranberry Pie, which looked a bit like upside down cake (theirs had…

December 12, 2016

Main Course Recipes

Spicy Dhal with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard

Man, what a grey old day we had. It's the Pacific Northwest, but man, the first one of the year, the day where it doesn't get light until after 7 a.m. and it's in the mid-40s, and it's stormy, it's just a slap upside the head. And I'm just done with turkey for now. I'm not hating…

December 1, 2016

Book Reviews

Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman

**ARC provided by the publisher for review. I may receive a commission if you purchase an item via links below.** Go look in your pantry and fridge and almost certainly you’ll find these eight items in your kitchen: black pepper, garlic, vanilla, chili powder, curry, soy sauce, sriracha, and MSG. They’ve been there so long, you probably…

November 21, 2016

Beverages Entertaining Recipes

The A-/B+: Maple Cider Bourbon Smash

Sometimes a cocktail is born of what you have around. Last Sunday as we were settling in to an afternoon of football, I realized we were low on vodka, which put a damper on our Moscow Mule plans. I'm constantly looking for ways to learn to enjoy bourbon and this maple cider cocktail might just be…

November 18, 2016

Appetizers Recipes

Party Snacks: Apple and Caramelized Onion Tartlets

It's been a bit of a whirlwind, hasn't it? Halloween, followed by the Election, and now all of a sudden it's time to start thinking about the holidays. Whether you've got a few friends stopping in for drinks, or a full blown holiday party on your agenda, I've got an appetizer you're gonna want to put…

November 14, 2016

Baking Dessert Recipes

Brandied Cranberry Hazelnut Bars

Are you ready to put aside the pumpkin? Let’s get a move on. It’s cranberry time.

November 6, 2016

Main Course Recipes Soups

Damn, That’s Good: The First Mess’ Lentil Soup

It's soup season. But have you already run through your tried-and-trues? Chicken noodle, beef stew, chili, vegetable, butternut squash are on repeat, right? It's time to reconsider lentil. Look, I'm with you, lentil soup at its worst is brown slop from the 70s. Let me introduce you to lentil soup at its best -- The First…

October 28, 2016

Events Restaurants

The Carlile Room’s ‘Work Release’ Series Goes to South Texas

When you're out to dinner, you have to make the choice between whether you're there to enjoy the food or shoot it. If you're with friends, you might be able to get away with standing up in the middle of the meal to get an overhead shot, but when you're seated communally, not so much.…

October 27, 2016

Book Reviews Pizza

Really Dough: Alton Brown’s Last Pizza Dough I’ll Ever Need

It wouldn't be the dailywaffle if we didn't try the pizza dough in Alton Brown's EveryDayCook. Is it weird to have a house pizza dough? Well, we eat make and eat enough pizza around here that Kenji Lopez-Alt's NY-Style dough turned into the go-to recipe. But last week, as I was cooking my way through Alton…

October 14, 2016

Pizza

FridayNightSlice: Ya Make Me Wanna Shoop Pizza

October is national pizza month. I haven't made a pizza for every day of the month so far, but I'm close. But a lot of them have been very similar, variations of pepperoni, olive and whatever peppers I have in the fridge. This one happens to be the last ball of dough from Kenji Lopez-Alt's New…