Little Red Kitchen

Friday Evening Happy Hour: Vodka Cocktails

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What can we say? Today is Friday and we’re oh so happy!  We want to share that happiness with you, so we’re bringing you two fabulous vodka cocktails to kick off your weekend.My cocktail loyalties lie with the bitter, the sour, and the fresh.  You will never see me ordering a saccharine daiquiri or anything that is made with a ‘mix’.  Sour drinks should not be made with sour mixes, they should be made with fresh squeezed citrus, and if there is going to be fruit or vegetation in my drink, it has to be the real thing!  That being said, I wanted to create a cocktail that is a perfect refresher for an end of Summer sip.  Continue reading →

Not Your Momma’s Sloppy Joes

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Growing up, I want to say that 99% of the sloppy joes I ate were straight from Manwich… which is fine! It was quick, easy, and 20 years ago, probably had a lot fewer unpronounceable ingredients. And since I haven’t made sloppy joes many times during my adult life, it didn’t occur to me until recently that they don’t have to originate from a can. During my firstWhole30, however, I was craving some sloppy joes fiercely. In addition to a lot of other amazing things, one of the greatest benefits to my Whole30 experience was that it encouraged/forced me to cook almost everything I ate from scratch. The “Paleo” sloppy joe recipes I found didn’t do much for me, but I really wanted something without a ton of brown sugar (and that wouldn’t be thickened with wheat flour).Thus, this recipe was born. I should probably tell you two things (disclaimers), though:  Continue reading →

Peach and Raspberry Grunt

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I don’t know about you, but usually by this point in August, while I am ready to do without the heat, the humidity, the Friday beach traffic (when I’m not actually one of the ones going to the beach)…I am just not ready to give up on Summer produce!  Fresh corn!?  Watermelons and honeydews so crisp and refreshing that they practically quench your thirst?!  Peaches and nectarines that are literally dripping with sweetness?!  I’d be willing to take these foods year round if I could, and I always love finding new ways to cook with them, even though they are just plain fine on their own.  Continue reading →

10-Minute* Slow Cooker Beef Stew

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We all seem to be leading busier and busier lives these days, and we often hear that as a reason for not cooking at home, eating healthy, etc. This is the kind of recipe that you can throw together quickly before work, without much thought, and come home to a) your house smelling amazing and b) a delicious, home-cooked meal! If you don’t already own a crock-pot/slow cooker (depending on where you’re from), I’d highly highly recommend it! I own this set-and-forget model, reminiscent of a space ship, but you can’t go wrong with a more basic one, too.  Continue reading →

Your New Favorite Marinara Sauce

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If you ask me, and you kind of are, because you’re reading this post, there are two egregious things that a cook can do when it comes to making marinara, or spaghetti sauce.  And they are on opposite ends of a tomato spectrum.The first thing is Continue reading →

Cheese Me, Please Me

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Cheese–Milk’s leap towards immortality ~ Clifton Fadiman
While the word “connoisseur” is a heavy one to throw around, I know I can safely say that I’m a cheese lover, and a cheese adventurer.  There is no cheese I will not try, and while I rarely crave chocolate and starbursts (do people crave that?), I have had many a hankering for a crystalline chunk of cheddar, or a gooey baked brie with crunchy, salty pistachios atop.  It’s just one of my go-to snacks; it’s the BFF of wine and crackers—some things I also love—and there’s so much variety at a good cheese counter, that you will never run out of things to try!  Continue reading →