“When we think of classic American desserts, we tend to imagine apple pie and ice cream. However, the most classic American dessert of all might be the chocolate chip cookie.” ~ Homaro Cantu I am going to have to agree with Mr. Cantu here. Not that I don’t like apple pie, but I love chocolate chip cookies. Plus, when it comes to apple pie, I’m picky. I don’t like those really thin slices of apples in some pies; I don’t like when there’s a crumble on top or too much cinnamon; oh, and my apple pie needs a top. Also, my pies in general need a top and a bottom.…

“Or, again, if you can’t take the taste, make the recipe anyway…” ~eam II Yes, that’s my quote. I made it up. Why? Because again, eventually I was going to get to those recipes that I just didn’t want to make. Or eat. This was one of those. Why did I not want to eat this recipe? Because I didn’t think I’d like the taste, or the ingredients, rather. I mean, come on, chickpeas. But again, I said I’d make all 40 recipes in this Cook the 40 Challenge I gave myself, and so here is one of the recipes that I kind of saved for the latter part of…

“Or, if you can’t take the taste, make the recipe anyway…” ~eam II Yes, that’s my quote. I made it up. Why? Because eventually, we were going to get to those recipes that I just didn’t want to make. Why not? Because I didn’t think I’d like the taste, or the ingredients, rather. But I said I’d make all 40 recipes in this Cook the 40 Challenge I gave myself, and so here are a few of the recipes that I kind of saved for the latter part of the year, because I wasn’t looking forward to eating them. Cook the 40 Why take on Food & Wine’s best-ever recipes…

“It’s almost as easy to stand up as it is to sit down.” ~Charles Lindbergh It’s almost as easy to make this recipe as it is to buy some ice cream or a frozen treat at the store! Really? Really. Follow along, and you’ll see that this recipe—which was published in 2014, one of the best years for travel that I have personally experienced—may be one of the easiest recipes in the Cook the 40 Challenge. Cook the 40 Why take on Food & Wine’s best-ever recipes from their forty years in publication? Because if you’ve been paying attention, you know that’s one of the things I’m doing this year!…

“Cooking well doesn’t mean cooking fancy.” ~Julia Child Indeed, Julia! Cooking well definitely does not have to mean cooking fancy, and it also doesn’t have to mean cooking slowly or in a complicated way either. It can mean that, of course—and has, at times—but not always. And not with the next two recipes I made from Food & Wine’s list of their best ever 40 recipes. Cooking Well I do like to cook well, and if that also means that it’s easy to do so, why not! Now, you’d think that recipes in this challenge I’ve taken on would not be so easy, but several of them have not been…