Polenta is one of those dishes that is so wonderfully satisfying on cold winter days, but it takes some time standing at the stovetop and stirring vigorously every 10 minutes to get that nice creamy texture. But did you know there's a way to enjoy a delicious polenta without the constant stirring? More

Ah, lunch at your desk. Does your daily "break" involve quickly shoving down a sandwich while scanning Facebook and trying to ignore the ringing phone for at least 15 minutes? We accept that it will never be a leisurely Sunday brunch, but eating at your desk doesn't have to be unpleasant. Here are five tips for making it a little nicer.

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I have a few friends who own a macaroni and cheese restaurant in Oakland, CA called Homeroom. Now that I live in Seattle, I miss it dearly. While everything is delicious there, what stays with me is the memory of how creamy and delicious their vegan mac and cheese was. I couldn't believe it was dairy-free! I've been looking to duplicate the recipe at home and started searching online for some tips and tricks on achieving a creamy, cheesy dish without ... the cream. Or cheese. More

A panade is one of those dishes that is way better than it has any right to be -- or than it looks to be. It's an assembly of day-old bread, shredded cheese, and handy pantry ingredients (in this case, cranberry beans, swiss chard, and sausage) that gets doused with broth and baked until bubbly. Not quite a soup and not quite a casserole, it's something more: the best of both worlds.

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Warm, gooey goat cheese is not an overrated snack, and in fact, makes eating a salad seem so much more appealing. (Well, to me at least.) And when you pair the crunchy, melty nuggets with buttery pecans and bright greens, tossed in a thick walnut vinaigrette...then salad nirvana awaits.

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I had a few realizations over the holidays this year with family. There were the usual suspects, of course: travel mayhem, gifting stress, and family drama. But this year there was a new player on the block: bad casseroles. I'm not sure if it was just chance or if my mom and sisters were digging through old late 1980's cookbooks, but we had some very heavy, flavorless casseroles during the Christmas holiday. One such recipe was that infamous Tuna Noodle Casserole made with canned soup. I hadn't had it in years, and the whole time I was eating it, I couldn't help but think: there's got to be a better way! More

The first time I made these roasted vegetable tacos, I had few expectations beyond using up odds and ends: some leftover tortillas, a handful of carrots and parsnips, a lone sweet potato, half a head of cabbage. Enlivened with a pinch of pantry spices and a squeeze of lime, however, the tacos turned out to be worthy of making again and again, with intention and pleasure. More

I have absolutely zero interest in football, so for me, the annual gathering of friends on Super Bowl Sunday is all about the food. The spread always includes a few of the grubby, nostalgic snacks we grew up with — cheesy queso dip, I'm looking at you — as well as some fresher, lighter snacks that often incorporate flavors from one of the many international cuisines that surround us here in Los Angeles. You're looking at my contribution this year: a Korean take on the usual pulled-meat slider, a juicy sandwich loaded with gingery, chile-spiked shredded chicken and tender kale braised with garlicky kimchi.

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Around this time in the winter, dinners start to become predictable. Soup is in heavy rotation as are whole-grain casseroles or baked pasta with loads of greens. Routines set in and I start to turn to what what's easy, filling and delicious. But lately I've been craving food with a warmer kick—spicy food, food that isn't always in my weekly repertoire. More

Nine times out of ten, when you see fennel salad on a restaurant menu, it is simply shaved with lemon, olive oil and Parmesan cheese — a classic, foolproof combination to be sure, but if I'm going to pay $9 for a side salad, it had better not be something I can make perfectly well at home on a Wednesday night. So when I spotted an unusual fennel salad with roasted tomatoes, pistachios and cream on the menu of Seattle's The Walrus and the Carpenter, I knew I had to order it. And once I tasted it, I knew I had to make a version of my own. More