Brook Harlan 48 posts 0 comments

Photos by L.G. Patterson I recently had the pleasure of cooking with Jina Yoo. If you have been around Columbia and are a lover of sushi, you have probably been to her namesake restaurant, Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro, or her second Columbia…

Photos by L.G. Patterson In the early 2000s, I had a friend who worked at a restaurant in New York City. The first time I went to this Chinese/French fusion restaurant, they said, “Make sure you get the shrimp toast.” Being a Midwest…

Photos by L.G. Patterson I love a good Philly cheesesteak. You can always buy one (if you can find a good place), but sometimes I want onions and peppers; sometimes mushrooms; sometimes garlic; sometimes I want “Wiz” (we can talk about…

Photos by L.G. Patterson If you take a trip to New Orleans, the muffuletta from Central Grocery is a must have. And, after you’ve had one, it apparently becomes a craving that you just have sometimes. I have some friends who were having…

Getting people to eat salmon in the Midwest can be hard. I know, I grew up in the Midwest. As a kid, my diet mostly consisted of Midwestern food, until I was about 5 or 6 and we went to California to visit a relative. My parents told us…

With a dish that is pretty much as simple as pre-cooked cornmeal and water, it is amazing how arepas are so much more than a delicious sum of their parts. This hybrid of bread and tortillas from Colombia/Venezuela is a delicious side to…

Spaghetti and meatballs are synonymous with kids being happy about what’s for dinner. “Mom, can I go over to Johnny’s house for dinner tonight? They’re having spaghetti and meatballs!” Why? Because they are delicious. Maybe Johnny had…

Curry is not a single flavor, nor is it a single ingredient (powder, paste or leaves). Indian curry can be any sauce with spice. Each region, state and family has a different curry. Some things may be curries and you don’t even know it. It…

There is just something about freshly made tortillas. All it takes is masa, water, a little salt … and maybe a little fat. I know adding fat to corn tortillas is not necessarily traditional, but as you can imagine, it does make them…

Photos by LG Patterson When walking through a fair, you will smell a variety of foods. One food smell stands out more than the rest: funnel cake. Once you have smelled a funnel cake, the aroma is embedded in your brain forever. Funnel…

Biscuits have a multitude of savory and sweet preparations. Two of my favorites are strawberry shortcakes and biscuits and gravy. You can make a double, or triple batch of biscuits in the morning, and use some for B&G at breakfast, then…

My 6-year-old will go weeks at a time where she eats nothing but waffles. No, I do not make them every time she wants them. I will make a few dozen at a time, freeze them on a tray, bag them and store them in the

This time of year, probably more than ever, you need something warm and comforting for dinner. Chicken and dumplings hits the spot. Depending on where you grew up, it may be more of the epitome of comfort food, passing up even mac and…

This recipe is written for butternut squash but could be made with pumpkin, acorn squash, sweet potato, French turban, spaghetti squash, or any other type of root vegetable or winter squash.

It’s a weird time. I know there are a lot of uncertain things going on, but I’m talking about that weird time between the end of the summer and beginning of fall. You may still have some tomatoes to harvest and eat, but there is also fall…

It is time to harvest tomatoes. You can peel plain tomatoes and freeze or can them. You can also make salsa or tomato sauce and have them to use all winter. One of my favorite uses for tomato sauce is to top chicken parmesan. The sauce does…

I have loved shortbread cookies since I was a kid. I love sugar, but I may love butter more. Shortbread is like the best of both worlds. I remember eating Archway shortbread cookies; all of my grandparents lived in Boonville, and for many…

If you’re like me, you’ve been cooped up all winter cooking in the kitchen and you’re ready to get outside and grill. This article is more of a concept as opposed to a recipe. You can take about 10 or 15 minutes to prep all the ingredients…

If you can make a pancake, you can make a crepe. “Really thin pancakes” seems to be the most common way we like to describe them. If you have made crepes before, note that this recipe is a little different. This crepe recipe gets most of…

To my knowledge, there are three types of court bouillon (French translation of short broth). The first type is the very simple quick broth for poaching fish with a small amount of onion, carrot and celery with aromatics and white wine.…