Anne Wolfe Postic's Recent Articles
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What Do Kids Need to Know in the Kitchen Before They Leave Home? Here’s My List. What’s on Yours?
What do kids need to know to survive — thrive, even — in the kitchen once they leave home for kitchens of their own? Whether a shared kitchen in the dorm or a small galley in their first apartment, kids need to know how to do things right. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about making sure each of my children had a signature dish. The Kitchn readers got me started on a list: What I Have to Teach My Kids in the Kitchen. I’m starting with hard boiled eggs.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
In Which I Go Hunting for the First Time & Make Venison Wellington
I’ve always wanted to go hunting. While it isn’t for everyone, I’m a willing meat eater who likes to make things from scratch. How much closer to the beginning of a dish can you get than sitting in a deer stand at 5:30 in the morning, waiting for a good shot? This fall, I had my chance. Lo and behold, I ended up with a freezer full of venison on my first try. I carefully consider what I eat and what I feed my family.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Why I Make My Children’s Favorite Meal When They Are Being Awful
The other day, I got phone calls from two out of three of my children’s schools. I’ve already violated their privacy enough, so I won’t divulge the content of those phone calls, other than to say no one had broken the law, but no one had won a prize, either. I was annoyed. More than annoyed, mad. Those phone calls made it hard for me to get back to work. Why, then, did I text them to ask what they wanted for supper? And why did I make exactly what they wanted?
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Five Reasons I Drink Decaf Coffee Now That I’m a Mother
I used to be a caffeine junkie. Any lull in my day called for a cup of coffee (or three). I once felt actual rage at a friend’s island house, far from a grocery store or coffee shop, because the only available caffeine was in the form of a full sugar soda, and I couldn’t handle the sugar. I was near tears in a restaurant with my children when I realized the only diet soda they served was also caffeine free. And by “near tears,” I mean that I wanted to kill someone.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
My Kitchen Was Designed for Someone Else: What I Would Change, and What I Wouldn’t
My husband and I know our limits. We have bought two houses together, and they were both move-in ready, because we are afraid of remodeling and what it might do to our relationship. We’ve lived here for nine years, and this house will probably be our last stop before the nursing home. The kitchen is enormous, but it wasn’t designed for a cook. One of these days, I’ll get brave enough to do something about it.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Why I Cook a Big Mess of Greens on Monday Morning
I’m a grown-up. Usually, I don’t have trouble eating my veggies, including the necessary dark, leafy greens. I actually love them. It took me a while, but I do. I like them so much, I eat them for breakfast almost every day, even in restaurants, if at all possible. I make a mess of greens on Monday morning to make it easy to get a jump start on my veggie intake all week long. The greens — kale, collards, chard, or whatever else is in the market — are prepared with care.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
How I Replaced My Microwave Without Buying a New One
So, we’re still without a microwave, and I still don’t think we’ll get one. We lost an old, but reliable, car recently, so there really isn’t room in the budget. The space formerly occupied by the microwave has been filled with a few things, including kids’ art, bread and plastic wrap. This lack of a replacement hasn’t been that big of a deal, except for one thing: reheating coffee. I am one of those gross people who reheats her coffee more than once.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
How I Started Cooking Again While Grieving
It was bound to happen. As generous as my friends are, new tragedies, new needs, take the place of old ones. When my father died in August, people brought food, all the food. My freezer and pantry were full, and on many nights, I didn’t even have to raid my own larder, because we would be invited out for dinner. Or I would decide to order in — who cares about the cost? — because I just wasn’t ready to face reality. The other day, I was included on a group email.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
My Adventures in Venison Lead Me, At Last, to Liver Pâté
When I decided to try deer hunting, I made a pact with myself. I would use every part I could of any deer I brought home. The tenderloin, ground meat, and roasts were easy. We had burgers, venison Wellington, cheese steak sandwiches, spaghetti Bolognese, grilled roast, Sloppy Joes, chili — pretty much any dish that could be made with beef. And they were delicious, a little richer than normal, and a whole lot leaner.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Why I Drink Green Hot Chocolate for Breakfast
I’ve been drinking bright green hot chocolate in the morning. This is, after all, the holiday season, where I could probably go to a party every single night, so I like to start the day right. I am an admitted jumper of bandwagons and this year, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of spirulina and liquid chlorophyll. Why not mix them with chocolate?
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Why My Teenager Should Know How to Cook Eggs
One of the most important meals for kids to learn is breakfast. It’s not about them; it’s about you. The earlier you teach this one, the sooner you get to sleep a little later. Just this morning, I woke up to the smell of sizzling pancetta, butter, and eggs. Although it smelled delightful, I knew that meal wasn’t for me, and that’s what made it great. It smelled like 15 more minutes of sleep and the joy of having raised a competent teenager.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
The 3rd Step in Teaching My Kid to Cook: The Art of Grilled Cheese
My sons are smart. They figured out how to make grilled cheese sandwiches on their own, but they were discerning enough to notice the sandwiches made by their parents were far superior. And they wanted to learn our secrets. We’ve had years of practice, and we agree that if there’s one thing we can teach our children, it’s how to make an excellent hot sandwich, any time of day, from breakfast to late-night snack time. Let’s start with breakfast.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
The Tips My Teenager Should Know for Making Soup from Scratch
Homemade soup is easy, and it’s always comforting. Whether or not my kids reach for the occasional can of soup, I want them to know how to make an economical, easy version from scratch, so they can have a healthy meal any day of the week. I like to make my own stock. (True story: I recently requested my fish in a restaurant be decapitated before it was cooked, so I could take home the raw fish head to make stock. Delicious!
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
What I Taught My Teenager About Roasting a Chicken
How does that saying go? “Give a man a chicken and feed him for a day. Show him how to get to the grocery store, and teach him to roast a chicken, and he can make, like, four good meals with it.” Or something like that. Anyhow, when I was in college, my wise roommate Beth taught me how to roast a chicken and make it last. On Monday, we ate roast chicken. On Tuesday, we ate chicken, spinach, and rice casserole. On Wednesday, we had a light supper of chicken salad sandwiches.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
How I Taught My Teenager to Make Pasta into a Meal
My kids love pasta. When they found out I was writing this series, one of the things they wanted to know was how to make pasta into a meal. Pasta is a great one-pot meal, and the possibilities for it are endless. My lucky, lucky children learned how to boil pasta from an Italian, in Italy. We spent a few weeks there one summer. We stayed with a friend, and ate everything in sight. If the kids loved pasta before, they were connoisseurs after.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Lemonade Stands Are Getting Shut Down Left and Right. Is This Wrong?
Of course it’s wrong. Why would you even ask that? Lemonade stands are always worth a stop, even if you don’t particularly like lemonade. The opportunity to talk with young entrepreneurs is irresistible, and the price is usually just right.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Why It’s Totally Worth It to Have a Weekly House Cleaner
But on Monday morning, after we leave for work and school, something magical happens: Our house cleaner, Melissa, comes in for a few hours to clean the house. It’s not inexpensive, because it’s important to me to pay what I would accept to do the same job, but coming home to a sparkling house on Monday night is worth every penny. Here’s why. We don’t have a housekeeper, someone who does it all, right down to folding and putting away all the socks.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
It’s Not Your Fault! Parents Aren’t (Always) to Blame for Picky Eaters
Hang around with parents long enough and you’ll hear plenty of stories about picky eating. A father who was determined to serve nothing at home but organic, in-season produce is now watching for signs of scurvy in an otherwise healthy toddler and hoping the “orange” in goldfish crackers has vitamin C. (So sorry, it doesn’t.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 30, 2020
Recipe: Slow-Cooker White Beans in Parmesan Broth
As the weather gets warmer, I like to lighten up my family’s menu with fewer savory winter dishes and more recipes that show off the lighter tastes of spring. But there are still a few dreary, rainy days left, so we appreciate a nice soup somewhere in that mix. This white bean soup makes its own broth with some help from a Parmesan rind as it cooks in the slow cooker. It’s an easy dish for a busy weekday and manages to be satisfying without being too heavy or rich.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Feb 3, 2020
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Celery Soup with Bacon
I was uninspired. “What do you want for dinner tonight?” I asked my eight-year-old, who always has an opinion. He thought for 30 seconds. “Celery and bacon soup, ” he said. Though I had never made it before, and I’m pretty sure he thought he invented it, it sounded like a fine idea. I even had everything but the bacon already in the fridge. I threw everything in the slow cooker — a perfect tool for inventing a soup — and hoped for the best.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Feb 3, 2020
Vegetarian Recipe: Pumpkin Chili
This vegetarian chili is October in a bowl.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jan 29, 2020
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sausage and Spinach Lasagna
In the nineties, I went to college in Canada, a long way from my home in South Carolina. One snowy weekend, my mother came for a visit. Because I was in class when she arrived — and you can’t skip class the day your mother arrives — I left her a key.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jan 29, 2020
Recipe: Cucumber-Peel Sandwich Spread
As the weather gets warmer, I like to do everything I can with cucumbers — including using up the peel. Like any good Southerner, I often make marinated cucumbers, or “refrigerator pickles.” This quick mix of thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers, vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili flakes is a fail-proof and delicious side salad, but it always leaves me with a heaping pile of peels I hate to throw away.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jan 29, 2020
Recipe: Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Red Pepper and Corn
My children love tiny cabbages — a.k.a. Brussels sprouts — and I usually drizzle them with olive oil and roast them in the oven. Recently, I had half of an onion and a red bell pepper floating around in the vegetable drawer, as well as a couple pounds of Brussels sprouts, and it seemed like a great opportunity to show my eight-year-old son how to improvise in the kitchen and avoid wasting food that hasn’t been earmarked for a particular dish.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jan 28, 2020
Recipe: Ginger Ale Crêpes with Chocolate Chips
My kids aren’t used to me saying things like, “Hey, y’all! Come downstairs! I’m making crêpes!” They are used to me cooking odd things at odd hours, because that’s what you do when you write about food and love experimenting in the kitchen. Usually I ask them to try things like radish butter which, while delicious, is no ginger ale crêpe with orange zest and chocolate chips. So they were pretty excited when this happened.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jan 21, 2020
Our 10 Best Tips for a Great Holiday Cookie Exchange
Tips from The Kitchn
Because even a cookie exchange needs some rules.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Dec 7, 2019
Vinegar, Tomato or Mustard: What’s Your Favorite Barbecue Sauce?
Everyone has an opinion on barbecue. (Don’t they?) There are three basic sauce options: mustard, tomato, and my favorite, vinegar. Each variation has its devotees, and many gatherings in this neck of the woods include impromptu debates of varying degrees of intensity about which one is the best. I don’t participate in the debate, because my mouth is full.Let’s get one thing out of the way.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Sep 12, 2019
Don’t Throw That Away! 5 Recipes to Use Up Your Kitchen Scraps
I was telling a friend recently that I like to leave the oven open to cool in the winter — after I’ve turned it off, of course. My friend laughed and told me about her college roommate who did the same thing. His justification? “I already paid for that heat. It’s mine!” Exactly. I feel the same way about food: I paid for it, so I’m going to use the whole thing, or as much of it as I possibly can.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 9, 2019
Recipe: Puffed Spirals with Leftover Greens
I recently had a rousing discussion with friends about the bags of greens that are inevitably left to wilt a slow, sad death somewhere in the back of the fridge. You know, the ones we meant to use, but never quite got around to. They’re a little bit too tired for a salad, and you can only add so many wilted greens to omelets before you run out of eggs. Besides, it’s getting late and you need a fun snack to go with your end-of-the-day cocktail.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 6, 2019
Recipe: Skillet-Braised Celery with Dijon Sauce
I love to keep a bowl of celery sticks in the fridge; they make a great healthy snack and pair well with everything from ranch dip to peanut butter and raisins. My sons will always reach for a ready-made snack, even if it is as healthy as celery. But occasionally I don’t get around to slicing it, and it creeps to the bottom of the vegetable drawer, lost under a pile of greens and other produce. By the time we find it, the celery is limp and unappealing.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 6, 2019
Three Oils You Need in the Kitchen (And One More That Might Be Nice)
There are three oils I use regularly in my kitchen, the ones I will replace as soon as the bottle is empty, even if I don’t need them right that second. Two for flavor, and one for its lack of flavor and high smoke point. These are my three favorites, the ones I’ll buy on sale, because I know I’ll use the open bottles quickly enough so the new ones won’t go bad before I need them. Extra virgin olive oil. Well, duh. Is any kitchen complete without this one?
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
How Soft Shell Crabs Helped Me Teach My Children About Where Food Comes From
There are no secrets about food in our home. Our children, if they’re paying attention, know where it comes from and what it was doing before it ended up on the plate. Though we don’t forbid anything, we aren’t shy about letting them know the difference between that fast food chicken sandwich and the chicken we got from Mr. Eubanks at the farmers’ market. Much like adults, kids will eat what they want, in spite of what they know.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
How I Might Eat if I Lived Alone
My family is out of town. Three sons and one husband, gone to the mountains for an entire week. I’ve been here alone, with just one adorable dog for companionship, in what feels like a mansion. They left me with a fridge full of groceries, and I decided to play a little game called, “Let’s not spend money on food for one whole week.” I won.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
The Best Thing You Can Do Before Going to the Farmers Market
Summer at the farmers market is heaven. The smells, the tastes, the delicious meals you can make — everything’s in season and your region’s bounty is on full display. You want it all — every juicy heirloom tomato, all the squash blossoms you can stuff with pimiento cheese, and all the fresh berries for everything from salads and snacks to tarts and homemade sorbet.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
The Major Problem with Really Cheap Eggs
Eggs have always been a relatively inexpensive source of protein, perfect for the home cook trying to feed a crowd without spending a fortune. They’re an obvious choice for breakfast (scrambled, fried, made into a frittata), but eggs can also serve admirably as lunch and dinner: Egg salad for lunch and spinach quiche for dinner are easy and filling options (even if you’re feeding two teenaged boys).
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
How Grocery Shopping as a Couple Makes My Marriage Stronger
True story: I like grocery shopping. Planning meals, seeing what’s on sale, and finding new cheese is always a pleasure. My husband, Alex, likes it as much as I do, but for slightly different reasons. I’m mostly into the food part, but he’s super social and enjoys running into people and catching up. (We live in a smallish town, so it’s unlikely that we’ll go to the store without seeing someone we know.
Anne Wolfe Postic
Jun 4, 2019
I’m Teaching My Teenage Son to Cook. First Step? The Grocery Store.
My sons are more interested in cooking than I was at their ages. The youngest, age 9, spends most of his time in the kitchen trying to talk someone into cooking for him, and the oldest, age 17, has learned a number of things on his own and is fairly competent in the kitchen. But my middle son, 14 years old, wants more. I’ve decided to be a little more methodical about teaching my sons to cook.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 30, 2019
What I Want My Teenager to Know About Making Quick Dips
One of the first things my son asked to learn to make was dip. I suspect he’s envisioning all the parties he’ll host, many of which will involve sitting in front of a screen watching movies or sports, or playing video games with his friends. (We don’t have a television, so this is obviously the first thing on our sons’ list to buy when they move out.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 30, 2019
OXO Good Grips Locking Tongs
Product: OXO Good Grips Locking Tongs with Silicone Heads Price: $13.99 Overall Impression: Why didn’t I get these sooner? They’re so useful and the folding feature is great. You would think that someone who makes her living eating, cooking and writing about food would have all the equipment, especially the stuff that’s inexpensive and makes basic tasks a lot easier. But I’m not like that.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 30, 2019
Raddish Kids Boxes Are a Fun New Way to Cook with Kids
Item: Raddish Kids Boxes Price: $24/month for three months Overall Impression: This cooking project box was so much fun! I love Raddish Kids boxes and so does my 8-year old son. His 13-year-old brother even looked on with interest. Anything that my kids might do without me for an hour or so is pretty great by me, and these Raddish boxes have the added bonus of producing a meal. Each box comes with a recipe, tools, and other things to help a kid put a meal on the table for the first time.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 30, 2019
My Favorite Kitchen Souvenirs From E. Dehillerin in Paris
My husband and I were in Paris recently for a day and a half, and we tried to see, do and eat as many things as we could. The trip was a success, in part because everything is so much easier without three children in tow. E. Dehillerin, Paris’ famed cooking store, was on my list. It was one of my favorite stops on our short trip, and my husband teased me, snapping a picture of me snapping a picture of the store. I promised not to spend too much, and I didn’t.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
Family Traditions: Snacks for the Road
Road trips are fun, especially when I don’t have to take the kids. Just me, my iPod (filled with hip hop, R&B, rap and the show tunes nobody else wants to hear) and my favorite car snacks. Junk food for the road! I love a cold diet soda and a bag of spicy chips. Like Pavlov’s dog, my mouth starts to water for that combination as soon as I pull into the first gas station. But when I was younger, we had fire balls.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
Train Station Sandwiches: My European Travel Necessity
A train station sandwich is positive proof that I’ve arrived in Europe. When the airplane touches down on the runway, I’m not there. As we wait for our luggage and stumble through customs, we aren’t there. When I make my way through Rome, from the airport to the train station, with three children and a month’s worth of luggage, the journey may be coming to an end, but the trip has not yet begun. I have to have the sandwich.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
Why You Should Always Just Say Yes to Water On an Airplane
Dehydration leaves you tired, anxious and queasy. The best thing you can do for yourself on an airplane is drink all the water. Every time you are offered a beverage, just say yes to good old H2O. I do, and I arrive at my destination feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy myself.The other beverages offered by most airlines aren’t even worth it, unless you are in First Class, which I am not. The coffee on airplanes is notoriously bad. (And I’m not all that picky.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
My Family’s Obsession with Adorable Ice
Our refrigerator has an ice maker. Like many ice makers, it doesn’t really work. (Ours works sporadically, dumping a ton of ice in the middle of the night and waking me from a deep sleep, with my heart pounding. Fun times.) A while ago, we decided to go old school and keep a bunch of ice trays in the freezer. Then we got obsessed, finding interesting trays wherever we went.It started with a tray of six enormous cubes.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
My Late Summer Vacation: A Quiet Getaway with Friends Who Cook
Summer vacations are for families. The kids are out of school, the beach is full of playmates, and the whole family can get away together. But after school starts, this is one of my favorite weeks: my time at the beach with the ladies. It’s all about the food, the books I never got around to reading, and the long, rambling chats on the porch. And thanks to the friend that came with me, the food has been outstanding.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
A Solo Breakfast in Someone Else’s Kitchen: My Great Escape
This week, I’m staying with a friend in Brooklyn, a far cry, in many ways, from my home in South Carolina. This morning, as snow fell from the sky, I tried not to smile. My friend had to go to work, and as she pulled on her boots and piled on layers of warm clothing, I felt bad, because I knew how much I was going to enjoy breakfast in her lovely apartment.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019
Do Farm Fresh Eggs Really Taste Better? Or Is It My Imagination?
My sister and I are at the beach, a late summer vacation on Edisto Island, and we have taken an unnaturally long time to buy eggs. Sparing you the intimate details, neither of us are wildly wealthy enough to turn up our noses at perfectly good food. But the eggs. We both seem to have developed an affinity for farm fresh, free range eggs. The lone chain grocery store on the island has regular eggs, the kind we grew up eating and enjoying.
Anne Wolfe Postic
May 24, 2019