Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

Taking a page from Very Good Things, I made a batch of peanut butter cup brownies. Although I love Alicat/Paula Dean’s idea of Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes, I was too lazy to actually fill up individual cupcake tins. Which, when you think about it, is seriously lazy. Instead, I lined a 13×9-inch pan with aluminum […]

Yesterday’s New York Times published an article by Michael Pollan (The Ominivore’s Dilemma) on Wal-Mart’s plan to carry organic foods (as designated by the USDA) at only 10 percent more than the regular price. Pollan intelligently and eloquently explores the global costs and benefits of this move. He’s my current person-to-look-up-to-and-admire; I can’t say enough […]

On Friday evening, Shane & I officially put our house up for sale. A few hours later, we had two separate parties asking to see the house the next day. Saturday morning, Shane ran around like a chicken with its head cut off cleaning the house, taking stuff to storage, etc., etc., where I was […]

It’s getting down to the wire, folks! We’re at DEFCON … uh … something that indicates that the deadline for the Retro Recipe Challenge is a week away. Because it is. June 9 at 11:59pm EST. The challenge for round one (Yes, the very first; you can be a culinary pioneer) is to make any […]

Fon-don’t-know-where-the-crab-went. Last week, when Shane and the kids were away, I decided to make a fondue using some leftover crabmeat. I threw everything together, popped it in the oven and 25 minutes later, it was done. I sat down with some slices of French bread and a glass of Spanish red wine. I dipped, I […]

When Shane came back from his trip to Detroit, he brought home a box of pastries from the Shatila Bakery and Cafe. Now, I’ll be honest, the type of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean desserts they make –“tissue-thin pastry swabbed with rich, pure butter, enfolds crunchy fresh nuts and a sweet sugar syrup” — really aren’t […]

Last fall, Carolyn and I compiled and edited a charity cookbook. We asked parish members to submit their favorite recipes, had the Sunday School kids draw illustrations, pulled it all together in Publisher, printed and assembled it in-house, and sold it for $3 a pop. When we started, we weren’t really sure if A) anyone […]

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer is upon us. Get your ass outside, build a big fire, and grill some meat. This is The Martha’s recipe. She offers so many good things to eat, like this marinated flank steak. (Your marshmallows, Martha, I could do without.) I completely forgot to make the sauce, seasoning the final […]

As a courtesy to you, I went through the hardship of trying out these recipes — Basil-Garlic Butter, Grilled Corn, and Doctored Baked Beans — yesterday so you might use them today. I know; such sacrifice and hardship is hard to believe. In all seriousness, I hope you’re Memorial Day is a warm and sunny […]

Remember Martha’s old show, Martha Stewart Living? One day, she showed the audience how to make marshmallows. That’s the same day I went, “OK. She’s officially lost her mind.” Marshmallows never seemed like anything but a vehicle for other flavors to me. Dip them in chocolate: delicious. Mix them with butter and Rice Krispies: tasty. […]