Super-Quick And Hellenic: What More Could You Want?

Once a month I get all motivated to try new recipes — the day the new “Food & Wine” issue arrives in the mail. This month I was stopped in my tracks while flipping through the pages thanks to a feature of “Fast Recipes” that claimed to reimagine classic Greek dishes. Having never [...]

Delicacies of Dallas: State Fair Edition

An ode to the world’s greatest foodstuff:
Roses are red,
violets are blue.
Chicken-fried bacon
You’re the most amazing thing ever invented good golly but you’re freaking delicious.

There’s A FIRE! Sale.

Okay, so today was Labor Day. Big time BBQ day. Perhaps the last traditional BBQ day of the year. (Granted, I prefer grilling in the Autumn, when it’s not as buggy out, and I’m more interested in eating meatstuffs, but that’s beside the point.) So I decided to do my civic [...]

4th Of July? Guess It’s Time For BBQ

Here at Maple Hoo we’re not much for making a big deal of holidays. Even our Christmas celebration isn’t normally much more than putting out tons of handmade decorations and opening presents. I kind of have one level of cooking in me: everyday. I think I do a good job of making [...]

Mmmmm… Pulled Pork Tacos

Because I’m a red-blooded American, I have no choice but to barbecue on Memorial Day weekend. And because I’m a red-blooded American, I love tacos. So I figured this was a great opportunity to combine those two elements, and make pulled-pork tacos. With a delighted resolve to break out the smoker, I [...]

Sweet, Heavenly Bacon

There is a farm not far from where we live that raises heirloom beef, pork and poultry, but because we’re complete losers, we’ve been too chicken to drive up to the main office there to actually buy stuff from them. We’ve been hemming and hawing for years about it, and finally this week, while [...]

A Very Boomer Lunch

Today we had a barbecue lunch for Boomer, and then picnicked on the deck while she opened her Boomer Day presents.

While the presents were really the main course, we were also a bit interested in the food. I decided to give a new recipe (for me) a try: Grilled Chicken with Tamarind-Orange Glaze. [...]

Mai Day! Or: Wintry Food’s Last Gasp

Tra la! It’s May! Finally! The best month of the year! (Okay, that’s a lie. October is the best month of the year, but if you remove “the start of the hockey season” from the equation, May wins in a squeaker because it’s got my birthday.) To celebrate this [...]

Pork + Bacon + Fire = Happy

Today was the day I have long been waiting for — the hockey schedule and weather conspired to make it the perfect day to dust off the old Weber to make some dinner. The inaugural grilled meal of the season? Pork and Bacon Kebabs, a recipe from Food + Wine last summer. [...]

How I Spent My Annual Bonus

Last month was that happiest time of the year for the people who work for my employer — annual bonus time. Normally I don’t pay much heed to my bonus, just enjoying the bit of breathing space it gives me if it’s my month to pay the mortgage, although I did once upgrade us [...]