Appetizers

Last Tuesday, I showed up at my neighbor Rosa’s house with a bag of limes I’d bought on a whim at the farmers’ market. I … Read more

There used to be a tiny sports bar on the corner of 8th and Elm called The Rusty Nail that made the most ridiculously crispy … Read more

I was at a backyard barbecue last summer, balancing a paper plate on my knee and trying not to spill ranch dressing on my jeans, … Read more

Introduction I wasn’t supposed to be at that tailgate. My cousin’s neighbor, a guy named Pete who I’d only met twice, had texted me by … Read more

This was supposed to be a clean, respectable spinach artichoke dip for the big game. I had the artichokes, I had the spinach, I had … Read more

My neighbor, a guy named Carl who proudly grows ghost peppers in his garage, swore he hated pickled jalapeños. For years. Every time I brought … Read more

My brother asked why I couldn’t just dump everything on one big tray and call it a day. I was halfway through explaining the importance … Read more

My neighbor Mark watched me wrestling with a slow cooker cord on my kitchen counter last November. I was trying to find an outlet that … Read more

I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by my neighbor’s house on a Tuesday afternoon to borrow a ladder—our fence had taken a beating … Read more

This was supposed to be a simple grilled chicken salad for a Tuesday night dinner. I had the peaches because my neighbor had dropped off … Read more