Make this Great Hot Breakfast in 3 Minutes

By David Hu

Getting out the door in the morning with breakfast is always a challenge for me. Cereal gets old and I just don’t have time to make anything of substance like pancakes or an omelet.

Today’s recipe, a breakfast burrito, hits all the important marks for me:

Quick (under 3 minutes total time)
Few ingredients (just four: egg, salsa, cheese, tortilla)
Easy (assemble and microwave)

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Empanadas para la Familia

By Andrew Hunter

Little savory hand-held pies called empanadas are a big hit in the Hunter house. We have an empanada shop close by, but we often make them at home. They’re super simple and easy to customize.

Perfect for lunch, dinner, or an on-the-go snack, one empanada is plenty for the typical appetite, especially if served with a salad and vegetable dish. We even pack them in the boys’ lunch boxes. Bake and serve them all, or freeze some to bake next week.

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What to Eat when Irene Comes Calling

By Lori Powell

While on vacation in Maine this year we had an unexpected and uninvited guest, “Irene.”

I have rented a house on the coast of Maine for many years now and just love it there for so many reasons – the food, the people, the gorgeous landscape, the lobsters and how peaceful it is…well every year but this one!

Irene arrived with bluster and some rain. But really, I can’t complain since the rain was minimal and considering what happened up at my house in the Hudson Valley (third worst flooding in the area’s history), this was just a lot of cool wet wind in my part of Maine.

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Take-Out Fake-Out: It’s Chicken, like Velvet

By Katie Barreira

My favorite part of working in a test kitchen (okay, besides the eating) is learning something new about food. It could be cooking with an ingredient I’ve never used before or an innovative twist on a traditional dish. This week, I was introduced to an age-old culinary technique that changed the way I look at good old chicken.

I love the idea of making signature takeout fare at home, especially Chinese food. I’ve got the brown sauce down pretty well, but I had no idea what went into those clean and translucent, but rich white sauces served with stir-fried chicken.

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How to Cut a Pineapple, Hawaiian Style

By Sandy Hu

I’ve just returned from my Hawaiian vacation two days ago and I’m already yearning for all the wonderful tropical fruits at the Hilo Farmers’ Market – especially the sugar-sweet, deliciously fragrant pineapples.

Last Saturday, I took my prize fruit back to our plantation-style vacation rental in Hakalau and cut it up on our lanai. I did it the way my mother taught me years ago, growing up in Hawaii.

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