I’ve been making pies for a long time. My mom taught me to make a homemade crust when I was young, and I’ve been making them every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July and occasional birthday since then. Here’s one I did for Thanksgiving last year (we ate it while watching football :). My mom originally […]
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Homemade Pie Crust: Everything You Need to Know

Weekly Meal Plan + Sunday Meal Prep
I used to think meal planning would make cooking so boring (if everything is planned ahead, where’s the spontaneity?), but in reality, meal planning has had the opposite effect. Now that I plan meals in advance, I’ve actually been feeling more creative in the kitchen . . . coming up with new combinations (like the pulled pork tacos we’re […]

Seasoned Ground Beef for Tacos
Well hello! So happy you’re here! But I should warn you: this recipe is not for the Tex-Mex tacos you might be thinking of (the ones with a greasy yellow shell and heavily cumin-and-chili-powder seasoned ground beef). While those tacos are delicious, these are not those. Although I hesitate to generalize, you could say these have more of an interior Mexican flavor. […]

Everything You Need to Know to Make Fluffy, Flavorful White Rice
Basic white rice is surprisingly difficult to make. It’s either burned on the bottom, crunchy on the inside and mushy on the outside, or mushy all the way through. Or, it tastes like cardboard. Mmmmm, cardboard. I had all of those problems until a few years ago when my dad taught me this recipe. I posted a video […]

Pistachio-Crusted Salmon
“Pistachio-crusted salmon.” Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? It’s not. But it is dee-licious. Very easy to make, too. All you need is fresh fish, melted butter and chopped nuts. You can use pistachios as I have below, or whatever you have on hand (mixed nuts, pecans, almonds). Whichever you choose, get the shelled, salted and roasted variety for […]

12 Easy Recipes to Make in Your Food Processor
I teach cooking classes several times a month in Austin at Patricia’s Table. (My next class is coming up on June 28, if you’re interested! Sign up with a friend and BYOB; great food and lots of fun guaranteed!) We use a food processor in nearly every class. And invariably, as I’m introducing my sous chef […]

Easy Summer Gazpacho
Ahhh, summer. Three months of feeling like I need a shower. When we were kids, the heat never seemed as bad. We loved the summers, and especially the beach. In June or July or sometimes both, our family would pile into the Oldsmobile (emphasis on “old”), and head down to the Texas coast. Then for three […]

My Favorite Summer Soup!
When Jack was a toddler and he would try to say the word “using,” it always sounded like “losing.” So, for example, when someone would ask where the phone was, instead of saying “Mama’s using it,” Jack would shout: “MAMA’S LOSING IT. MAMA’S LOSING IT.” And because the truth is so funny, I would always burst into laughter. […]

4 Simple Sauces for Summer Grilling
Happy Memorial Day weekend! We are so ready for school to be over and summer to start. (But ask me in two weeks and I’ll probably be counting down to September, ha!) Are you planning to break out the grill over the long weekend? If so, here are for four simple sauces to serve with your meal. 1. Easy […]

Easy Gluten-Free Egg Casserole
I love easy recipes. And I’m talkin’ “don’t even need to get out a knife” easy. That is this recipe. For a basic gluten-free egg casserole, all you need are: eggs, milk, shredded potatoes, cheese and a little S&P. Buy the cheese and potatoes already shredded. Do you know about pre-shredded potatoes? Like these by Cascadian Farms: Or these […]

All the Mexican Recipes You Need!
I’m posting these for Cinco de Mayo, but these recipes yummy Mexican recipes are also great for easy weeknight meals, or Mexican-themed dinner parties. Of course, for a truly perfect occasion, add margaritas! Easiest Crockpot Pork Verde (gluten free) Easiest Crockpot Chicken Tinga Tacos (gluten free) Crockpot Barbacoa (gluten free) Authentic Caldo de Res (gluten free) Ceviche (gluten free) Ceviche tostadas (gluten […]

Baked Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce
Baked salmon with easy lemon-dill sauce is one of our favorite weeknight meals, so I’m excited to share it with you! For the salmon, I always try to find a wild-caught selection that is either fresh or frozen. Right now, I am loving the organic wild-caught salmon from HEB (in the fish case). I also […]

Easy Cilantro Lime Sauce
Have you made my cilantro-lime sauce yet? It really is the best sauce ever, and goes well with almost everything! But don’t take my word for it ;) This is what readers are saying: I made this for fish tacos. It was so good that my family ended up using it has a dip for crackers and veggies. The […]

Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos
I posted these chicken tinga tacos on my instagram feed yesterday and a few friends asked for the recipe. Shannon, Krista and Allison: Here it is! Hope you get a chance to try it! So there are a lot of great recipes out there for chicken tinga (basically, shredded chicken in a tomato-chipotle sauce), but unfortunately, most of them involve […]

Easy Citrus Marinade for Chicken
With summer here, doesn’t anything citrusy sound superb? Like homemade cherry limeade, Lemon-tarragon sauce, Cilantro-lime sauce, And this citrus-marinated chicken. The citrus marinade keeps the chicken light and juicy, and adds a hint of sweetness. It’s so easy, too. Just whisk the ingredients together, and then marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for a few hours (I use a […]

Gluten-Free Chocolate Tart
This chocolate tart is one of my all-time top five desserts. It’s easy to make, rich and satisfying, and absolutely stunning to serve. The other wonderful thing about this chocolate tart is its simplicity. The filling requires just a handful of real-food ingredients: butter, cream, vanilla, chocolate, and a pinch of cinnamon. The crust, however, is not […]

Stacked Pear Spinach Salad
Have you ever seen a salad so beautiful? Oh I just love everything about it. The pear goes so well with the maple-syrup vinaigrette, blue cheese and candied pecans. And the presentation, oh the presentation! You can serve this salad vertically or horizontally. And while serving it vertically makes for a truly stunning presentation, be careful […]

Easy Lemon Tarragon Sauce
This lemon-tarragon sauce is my mom‘s favorite. I remember the first time we made it: we all sat down at the dinner table and passed the sauce. A few minutes later, my dad glanced over at my mom’s plate and said with a smile, “Sure you got enough sauce there, dear?” So I looked over, too. Half her plate was […]

Jeannie’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Growing up, we spent the holidays at my grandmother Jeannie’s house in Lago Vista, which is about 45 minutes outside of Austin. (Jeannie insisted that we call her by her first name, not “granny” or “nana” or “mee-maw” or “bobo.” So we did.) Jeannie made a lot of good food—roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, mashed potatoes […]

Authentic Red Mole in 5 Simple Steps
Mole can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Really, you can make authentic red mole in less than one hour by following these five simple steps: ROAST FRY SOAK BLEND STRAIN If you can get these steps down, you just might be making mole from memory before you know it!! (Unless you are pregnant […]