We Tried Trader Joe’s Brie Cheese Flavored Spread

If you like everything about brie except for the rind, Trader Joe's Brie Cheese Flavored Spread is for you. It's not the most flavorful brie I've ever had, but it spreads nicely on a cracker. It can be dolloped on salad. Think of it as brie training wheels. I tried it on a fall…

ByMichelleOctober 22, 20250Comments

Product Review

We Tried Trader Joe’s Bibim-Guksu

Trader Joe's track record with Korean food items has been pretty good. Well, at least the frozen items that are product of Korea. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's Korean Style Bibim-Guksu doesn't quite measure up. I'd call it convention center quality. Mid at best. Let's get into it. To start, it's more snack sized…

ByMichelleJune 18, 20250Comments

Product Review

My Current Salad Obsession with Trader Joe’s Ingredients

Recently I picked up Trader Joe's Grilled Chili Lime Chicken in the refrigerated case as a just-in-casers for a night I was only cooking for myself. I used it in a burrito bowl, but it's now one of the stars of a salad I've been eating at least 1-2x a week for lunch. Mostly Trader…

ByMichelleMay 13, 20250Comments

Product Review

We Tried Trader Joe’s Avocado Ranch Salad Kit

Trader Joe's salad kits aren't usually on my shopping list, but something about Avocado Ranch said throw one of these in your basket. See how it is. And let's be honest, I really never pass up a Frito salad. (There's a good one in The Homesick Texan's Family Table by Lisa Fain). So, for…

ByMichelleOctober 9, 20230Comments

Recipes

Diana Kuan’s Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles

In the last couple of weeks, I've been bumping into recipes with sichuan peppercorns everywhere I look. First, it was the Crispy Sichuan Chile Chicken in MILK STREET: TUESDAY NIGHTS, then it was a recipe from Danielle Centoni's upcoming FRIED RICE book, and then, it was the Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles from Diana Kuan's RED HOT…

ByMichelleJune 17, 20190Comments

Recipes Side Dishes

Green Beans with Sesame-Miso Vinaigrette

Green Beans with Sesame-Miso Vinaigrette is the summer variation of an asparagus recipe I make every spring. While you do have to boil water to blanch the green beans, you won't be heating up the house for long. Served chilled, this green bean salad is just what you need for the dog days of summer…

ByMichelleJuly 25, 20180Comments

Recipes Salads Side Dishes

French Potato Salad with Green Beans

I've got France on the brain this week. France and Croatia are headed to the World Cup final, I'm reading the Paris Wedding, then Bastille Day falls on Saturday. It's all France all the time. So it should come as no surprise that it creeped into my cooking as well. French Potato Salad with Green…

ByMichelleJuly 12, 20180Comments

Recipes Salads

CELERY SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE WALNUTS AND DATES

We've reached that point in the winter where I'm just about to my limit with kale salads. I had to go in a completely different direction, but still wanted a distinct crunch. The answer was obvious and not-so-obvious at the same time: celery. I've made a celery salad before with honeycrisp apple, and while delicious,…

ByMichelleJanuary 6, 20180Comments

Recipes

5 DELICIOUS WAYS TO EAT KALE

There's a lot of eyerolling and sighing when someone mentions kale. But the fact is, we eat a lot of it in the fall and winter. Already, we had a kale salad last night with a tahini yogurt dressing. I made crostini last week with red Russian kale and delicata squash. If you stop worrying about…

ByMichelleOctober 13, 20170Comments

Main Course Recipes

Steak Salad with Hatch Chile Vinaigrette, Farro, Peppers and Zucchini

I'm starting to understand why my grandma used to make dinner so early. I'd come home from school and she'd already be cooking by 3 p.m. It wasn't because she was cooking anything that complex or time consuming, half the time it was because it was just nice not to start cooking at 5 or…

ByMichelleSeptember 6, 20170Comments

We Tried Trader Joe’s Brie Cheese Flavored Spread

We Tried Trader Joe’s Bibim-Guksu

My Current Salad Obsession with Trader Joe’s Ingredients

We Tried Trader Joe’s Avocado Ranch Salad Kit

Diana Kuan’s Sichuan-Style Peanut Noodles

Green Beans with Sesame-Miso Vinaigrette

French Potato Salad with Green Beans

CELERY SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE WALNUTS AND DATES

5 DELICIOUS WAYS TO EAT KALE

Steak Salad with Hatch Chile Vinaigrette, Farro, Peppers and Zucchini

Book Review: A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang

26 New Asian and Pacific Islander Books for your 2026 TBR