Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe

Pulling a pan of piping hot, super soft milk rolls out of the oven is one of life’s simple pleasures. I make my soft dinner rolls recipe a lot for my kids. One day I discovered that they’d eat the entire roll whereas when I made homemade bread, they would leave the crusts. Such a waste! Ha! So I tweaked one of my very favorite bread recipes from Joy of Cooking and created what I […]

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Buttered Pecan Pots de Creme

I had grand plans of using a bar of Amano chocolate to make gluten-free, dairy-free molten chocolate cakes for Valentine’s Day. I haven’t given up on that idea. I’ve been saving that bar of fancy chocolate for months. But I was rather in the mood for caramel, I decided. Something with caramel and nuts. And because it was Valentine’s Day, I was willing to cheat a little and enjoy some heavy cream and eggs in […]

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Israeli Couscous Pilaf with Fresh Herbs

Israeli couscous is a family favorite. My hubby doesn’t often like regular couscous, but we discovered he likes this kind much more when we bought a bagged mix from Trader Joe’s a few years back. Here’s a tip–buy this from the bulk food section. It’s much less expensive. This has become a staple side dish, particularly if I’ve made chicken.  This goes well with the famed Baked Provencal Chicken and with Chicken Gyros.  Either is really […]

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Beef and Root Vegetable Stew with Best Ever Mashed Potatoes

I tend to write a lot about my husband on here. I can’t help it. He’s such a part of the magic that happens in the kitchen. When we started dating, I was just learning how to really cook and appreciate good food. He’d grown up eating foods I’d never heard of or would have dared to try. I still didn’t like vegetables all that much–especially anything leafy and green. Last March, at my mom’s […]

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Watercress Citrus Salad with Olive-Caper Vinaigrette

I don’t know what to write about this salad other than it’s probably the prettiest salad I’ve ever made, and definitely one of the tastiest. I get these cravings for something light and summery.  The stews and soups are nourishing, but can be heavy. With all of the citrus I’ve been stocking up on, I can’t resist eating some with every meal. Watercress has such a peppery bite to it.  It goes so well with […]

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Spaghetti with Radicchio and Chevre

Years and years ago before I was married even, I ripped out a recipe card from my Martha Stewart Living magazine.  On it was the recipe for Spaghetti with Radicchio and Ricotta.  I had never even tried radicchio.  I didn’t even know what it was.  But the picture looked beautiful and I tucked it away in my recipe file for someday down the road. Every so often I’ve looked at that recipe and thought, Gee […]

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Provencal Winter Squash with White Beans

One of my family’s favorite recipes (ever) is one that I made from In The Small Kitchen, a cookbook I reviewed last year–Baked Provencal Chicken.  It combines dates, vinegar, herbs, tomatoes and lots of garlic.  The sauce is intoxicating. I didn’t want to try it with tofu.  It didn’t seem quite right.  I had this buttercup squash (pictured below) and white beans on hand.  Perfect.  I couldn’t wait to see how it worked. I slid […]

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Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies

Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies | CafeJohnsonia.com #glutenfree #vegan

Linzer cookies are a holiday favorite. These Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies are as good as the original. Fill them with your favorite jam or chocolate hazelnut spread. I had so much fun making these Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies! Three years ago when I was baking with the Tuesdays With Dorie group, I made Dorie’s lovely Linzer Sable Cookies from Baking: From My Home To Yours. They quickly became a family favorite. Since then, my eldest […]

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Rutabaga Puree

I tried rutabaga for the first time recently.  I was smitten with it.  Cruciferous vegetables have now taken a place in my heart–a rightful place.  I’ve been so biased against them for so long. To accompany Swedish Meatballs, I made this Rutabaga Puree.  It’s silky and smooth.  And rich.  I did have to sample it, but it quickly disappeared, as most delicious things do. Rutabaga Puree adapted from The Joy of Cooking Ingredients: 1 lb. […]

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How To: Making Authentic Swedish Meatballs

I originally published this four years ago. (!)  And it remains one of the most popular posts on this site.  Also, it’s still one of my family’s favorite recipes.  I still make the meatballs the same way.  The kids eat them as fast I put them on their plates.  Love all around. I’ve kept the original post with pictures and directions, you can see it below.  It’s fun to look back and see what we […]

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