susan-cooks! (teaches, reads cookbooks)

THE BALL FOOD GROUP Beloved by caterers, small children, dedicated snackers and fun-loving adults, the “Ball” food group looms large in ...

If not now, then when? This is high cherry and berry season and berry crisps are versatile and foolproof. If you like pie but don’t wa...

After mistakenly recycling a treasured 20-year collection of handwritten recipes, the first one that I recovered and entered into a large, h...

Let me be clear: I love crisp, spicy oatmeal cookies. My Mother made wonderful oatmeal cookies. Lots and lots of them. I have a taste me...

In late 2006 I joined thousands who cheered Mark Bittman's a life-changing New York Times piece about uber-crusted-full-flavored bread f...

My friends in the University of Minnesota Law School Alumni office have perfect pitch: at a great farewell party, they gave me the amazing...

After 16 years at the University of Minnesota Law School in the career office (it had four names in 16 years), I have taken advantage of an...

If you read cookbooks or food blogs more than once a year, you may have a mild-to-moderate curiosity about food. If you have a vast collect...

A few years ago I began to add chopped candied ginger to krispee treets (no copyright infrigement here), and they were well received. Never ...

I paint, too, and this is "Cake Servers" from the nanoscape s Gallerie de Cuisine. What's in your kitchen drawer?

Several years ago I found an intriguing recipe for " Rendang: A Traditional West Sumatran Dish " in Siri Owen's excellent Hom...

The "Forest of Fondue Forks #1" is part of the Fork Family of nanoscapes in the nano's Gallerie de cuisine. nanoscapes are...

I was invited to a New Orleans-themed Christmas Day dinner which was to feature Bloody Marys, Jambalaya, crab cakes, and Amaretto Bread Pudd...

Ann Hodgman's Beat That! is a cookbook that I return to again and again. Why? Because everything I've made from it (with the except...

The very excellent cooking store and school Cooks of Crocus Hill has wonderful tools and terrific classes. In a participation class several...

I wrote this post in 2008, and as Thanksgiving is looming (go to any store and you'll see Christmas food and decorations-- a sure sign o...

When I'm not cooking, I'm painting. This is Potato Masher #2 from http://www.susangainen-nanoscapes.com/ .

http://www.jld.net/Last week one of my colleagues, Mike Bloyer, brought in a small bowl of peanuts -- some that he'd spared from a Spani...

The winner, and still champion: Pecan Bourbon Caramel Cake . Minnesota Justice Foundation Update: I have hosted a birthday party fundrai...

If you are lucky enough to live in a city with the Palomino * restaurant chain, go forthwith and have a bowl of Portobella Mushroom Soup ....