Appetizers

My buddy Mark wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by his place to grab a lawnmower I’d borrowed weeks before, and this smell—tangy, spicy, … Read more

There used to be a tiny wine bar tucked behind a vintage bookstore in Portland called The Cork & Page that made the most incredible … Read more

I wasn’t expecting cooking advice from my accountant, but there I was, sorting through a pile of receipts in his cramped office, listening to him … Read more

Last October, I was at my neighborhood’s tiny weekend farmer’s market—the kind that sets up in a parking lot with maybe six vendors and a … Read more

I was standing in line at the DMV — of all places — waiting to renew my license on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. The fluorescent … Read more

I was elbow-deep in sorting through a box of old vinyl records at a flea market last fall when the guy running the booth—a retired … Read more

It was 10:47 PM on a rainy Wednesday in late October, and I had a very specific craving for something warm, salty, and melty. I … Read more

My husband swore he was “over” little smokies at parties. For years. He’d walk past a slow cooker full of them at a Super Bowl … Read more

I swore I’d never make homemade pretzels. Three years of watching complicated recipes with lye baths and proofing baskets had me convinced this was one … Read more

My neighbor, a retired art teacher named Gloria, watched me struggle with a bag of candy corn last October. I was trying to hide it … Read more