Laura Kumin

Sablés are delicate, sweet or savory, butter-laden crisps.  (The name, from the French word for sand, refers to the crumbly texture of the cookie/cracker.)  This version would be a simple, elegant appetizer with cocktails or for a dinner party and a nice savory for an afternoon tea. Much less expensive than...

Just when we thought cold evenings and chilly mornings were behind us, the weather turned brisk in DC.  Luckily, I froze a container of Cock-a-Leekie soup from a batch I made during the winter.  Amazingly addictive, this soup is a great weekend one-dish supper and freezes well....

Crushing spices in a mortar and pestle is a great way to get out your frustrations.  There is something so satisfying about pounding away, especially when the effort is productive and the result so delicious.  If you doubt me, take a few cumin seeds and crush...

The Passover story is inspiring and the holiday is a time to family and friends. But I'm in the midst of Passover preparations, so right now it's all about the food.

Most of the symbolic foods associated with the multi-course Seder meal that begins Passover don't allow for much...

I'm no fan of green cupcakes or green beer. And the only green eggs I like are the Dr. Seuss kind -- in a book. I prefer my corned beef without cabbage and though I love the tin that McCann's oatmeal comes in, actually I don't love...

The other day I was drawn to a recipe for homemade fish sticks with a yummy looking spicy dipping sauce. It was featured on a food website that touts made-from-scratch meals with gorgeous pictures that get me every time. I love both fish and panko (crisp Japanese breading), so naturally...

The secret ingredient to some foods is elbow grease. I mean real pounding of the kind that gives you, or at least your arm, a workout. Make them the easy way, using an electric-powered appliance, and you ruin the texture, not to mention the taste.

I used to make...

Recently, my darling spouse reminded me that we still had 2 packages of Thanksgiving turkey in the freezer.  I loved archaeology as a kid and don’t mind excavating in the freezer – even if it means carbon dating an unmarked package before attempting to identify its...

Brunch should be fun and relaxing for the host, as well as for the guests. It isn't if the host has to wake up early to get food ready and scurry around with last minute preparations. I can't help you set the table (except to suggest that you do it...

I'm not a vegetarian, by a long shot. I enjoy poultry and beef too much to give them up completely. But I am trying to consciously cut down on my meat consumption. As a result, I've become more interested in developing main course recipes that use little or no meat....

Now that we're in post-holiday mode, it's time to remember how to get from Monday to Friday without dinner invites from friends, work parties, receptions, restaurant dinners and take-out. Don't get me wrong -- I love all those options. But we're back to "life as usual," and that means figuring...

At this time of year, we're often overwhelmed by the prospect of buying gifts for a huge list of people or figuring out what each person on the list would like.

If Madonna wants to meet the real Material Girl, she ought to watch me go shopping. If endurance...

Open houses, dinner, brunches and all other kinds of celebrations. When you're a guest instead of a host/hostess, you don't have to plan the menu. But that doesn't mean you should just put the date on your calendar, figure out what to wear and show up. After all, good...

We love fresh bread, but often find that it goes stale before we finish the whole loaf. I hate to waste food, and have a sweet tooth that is the bane of my humble existence.  The solution -- bread pudding.

If you're...

My refrigerator and pantry shelves are chock full of condiments.  I've rarely met a dish or sandwich that couldn't use one -- or more.  I don't look to condiments for nutrition (ketchup is not a vegetable) and I recognize that they are often high in sodium. But used...

Many cultures eat filling encased by dough or pastry.  There are samosas, pastels, potstickers, borekas, and many more.  If I call them meat pies, I think of Sweeney Todd and homicidal barbers.  But empanadas, the Spanish name, sounds lovely to me and conjures up visions of delicious morsels...

Although roasted vegetables take a while to cook, they are unbelievably easy to prepare. You can dress them up with fancy sauces or marinades, but in their simplest form, all you need is a vegetable, a pan, and a bit of oil and/or butter.

There is nothing better to warm the body -- and the soul -- than delicious, steaming soup. I found a simple, quick, and inexpensive soup recipe in Sally Schneider's "A New Way to Cook." She calls it  "French Winter Vegetable Soup." I adapted it and refer to my...

My definition of comfort food is that it makes you sigh with contentment at the mere thought of the dish. For my family, my mom's chicken cutlets are the ultimate Friday comfort dinner. Gathering around the table for this easy and satisfying main dish after a long week...

A friend called me on Sunday to ask for apple recipes. She and her boyfriend had picked 20 pounds of apples at a local orchard and she needed to figure out what to do with them. We brainstormed and after a few...