The Small Town Chef

Growing up in the shadow of a pastry chef who would bake hundreds of cookies during the holidays, I watched it all happen and thought it looked effortless. Hey, I was young. I didn’t truly appreciate — or even recognize — the amount of time, patience, and work that goes into holiday baking until I tried to do it myself. These days, I aim for cookies that hit that same “wow” factor w ithout the meltdown-level workload.     This duo is exactly that:  and chocolatey with a caramel-toffee crunch, and the other brings a bright, cheerful holiday pop with white chocolate and cranberry. They’re easy, reliable, and festive — the perfect cookies to share, gift, or just enjoy straight from the oven. Bake one, bake both… either way, you’re in for a treat.   Salted Caramel-Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes about 40 cookies (medium 2-tablespoon scoop)   This one’s pure comfort. Think classic chocolate chip cookies, but with little bites of melty toffee and chocolate. Flaky ...

  Holiday Gift Guide: My Go-To Cookbooks for Every Kind of Cook I love giving cookbooks for Christmas. They’re thoughtful without trying too hard, super useful, and they’re one of the few gifts that can actually make someone a better cook. If you’ve got folks in your life who love to tinker in the kitchen—or you’re just treating yourself—here are some of the books I always reach for.   1. For Technique Lovers   The Professional Chef (Culinary Institute of America) This is the gold standard. It’s culinary school in one giant book: knife work, cooking methods, sauces, plating—the whole deal. Perfect gift for anyone who wants to sharpen their technique or level up their basics.       Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – Samin Nosrat This is technique wrapped in storytelling and insanely practical wisdom. It’s the kind of book that actually changes how you cook. Great for any level, from day-one home cooks to pros who want a fresh reset on the fundamentals.     ...

Homemade  Tuscan  flavor with a perfectly juicy finish. I’ve been seeing all these pre-seasoned pork cuts popping up at the store lately—flavors that definitely weren’t around when I was growing up. And every time I look at one, I get that same thought: yeah… I can probably make this better at home. When you’ve been cooking as long as I have, you just pick up this instinct for what flavors play well together, and this  Tuscan -style rub hits all the right notes. It leans into those warm herbs— oregano and rosemary , complimented by basil and fennel —backed up with a little sweetness to help it caramelize, plus tomato bouillon for a deeper, more savory backbone. It’s simple, balanced, and the flavor payoff is huge. The cornstarch helps everything cling to the pork and build that gorgeous crust, and the lemon pepper brightens everything without taking over. Whether you’re throwing the pork on the grill or roasting it in the oven, the rub does most of the heavy lifting fo...

The cozy, football-weekend way to turn leftover turkey into something you actually look forward to If you’re anything like me, football weekends mean two things: a pot of something simmering on the stove and a fridge full of odds and ends from whatever food project happened earlier in the week. This recipe was born straight out of that moment—using the meat from turkey wings I simmered for stock, a couple of pantry staples, and a handful of chiles I always seem to have tucked away. The result? A ridiculously comforting pan of creamy, cheesy enchiladas layered with dried California and guajillo chiles, caramelized onions, and green chiles. It’s the kind of dish that feels like it took all afternoon, but honestly… it’s a total pantry win. Moist, flavorful, and exactly what you want when the game’s on and you need something that basically cooks itself. Ingredients (Makes about 10 enchiladas) For the sauce: 3 dried California chiles 2 dried guajillo chiles 1 cup turkey stock (plus a littl...

Liquid gold for your holiday cooking. This is my favorite kind of pre-Thanksgiving project—the kind you can knock out while settling in for a little College Football. Honestly, it’s perfect: the kitchen stays warm, the house starts smelling like the holiday, and the only thing you really have to remember is   don’t let it boil … which is easy enough to manage during commercial breaks.   I go big on flavor here. Fresh turkey wings (four) plus that stash of necks and bones from last year? Absolute gold. I roast everything at 450°F for a full hour, just until those edges get deep brown and the pan drippings look like pure flavor. Drop them into your largest stock pot. Then—don’t skip this part—I splash in a little water into the roasting pan and scrape up every last bit to pour right into the stock pot.  From there, it’s all the classics: 6 carrots, chopped into big 2-inch pieces 6 celery ribs, same treatment 1 whole head of garlic, halved 3 onions, quartered 1 teaspoon whol...