The Hungry Mouse

This is a fabulous way to feed a crowd on a budget. Pork shoulder is a tough cut of meat, so it's generally on the cheaper side. (In fact, this is the same cut of meat that's often used to make pulled pork.) My pork roast was about 8.5 lbs. and was only 99 cents/lb. Cooking it low and slow for...

When I was just a little mouse, my mom occasionally got me a pomegranate as a treat. It was fun to open, got you properly sticky and covered with ruby-colored juice, and glistened with sweet, deep red seeds that looked like jewels. To this day, it's still one of my favorite fruits. (For all the reasons above, plus now I...

What's the best thing about making duck for dinner? The leftover duck fat. At least, so says The Mouse. What's even better? Using that fat to fry potatoes. Mmmm, mmm, mmm. Right now, I'm not sure you could convince me there's a more delicious thing on the planet. So, last week, I made a couple of duck breasts glazed with a...

This is my take on classic boeuf Bourguignon, a traditional French dish of beef braised in Burgundy wine, then garnished with mushrooms and small white onions. (Wine not your thing? Try my Guinness-Braised Short Ribs instead, which tastes amazingly just like French onion soup.) For this dish, the meat is infused with a fragrant combination of jammy red wine, garlic, lavender,...

Valentine's Day is approaching. Love it or hate it, it's a fabulous excuse to indulge in a few sweets. Here are recipes for two devilishly delightful chocolate-y treats. Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Hearts (Peanut-butter cup and pretzel sandwiches dipped in a lavish amount of chocolate) Chocolate Cherry Kiss Cocktail (Created especially for my friend Bunny, this potent and creamy drink is served in a...

Hard-boiled eggs? How about *hardly* boiled eggs? Now that's more accurate. (And that's also the secret to perfectly cooking them.) I make hard-boiled eggs the way my mother does. And she uses the same basic method that Julia Child did—minus the egg pricker. Every time I do this, the eggs are marvelous. The whites are tender—never rubbery. The yolks are creamy—not...

Pizza, meatballs, wings, ribs, cookies, and ice cream sundaes and floats? Yes, please! With Super Bowl weekend just around the corner, here are links to some of our favorite game-day nibbles and noshes here at The Mouse House. Be sure to take our Super Bowl Poll at the end of this article, and see how other folks are celebrating. SNACKS & FINGER...

Um, yum! Seriously? The blood orange has to be one of the loveliest fruits on the planet. And in typical Mouse-House style, we found a way to enjoy it in one of our very favorite ways—in cocktail form. This drink is sweet, but not too sweet. It's fresh and juicy—and gets an extra bump of orange-y flavor from a drizzle of...

The humble potato is so versatile—and filling—that I'm not sure why I don't use it more often. This soup sounds fancy, but you can whip it up in no time flat—with stuff you probably already have in your house. Loaded with potatoes and heavy cream, it's also ridiculously decadent (no diet food today!). With this recipe, you build deep flavor quickly...

So simple. So yummy. There are a zillion recipes out there for pan-fried scallops. This is one of mine. The fresher my ingredients are, the less I usually fuss with my food. This recipe combines a few simple ingredients that complement each other—and still let the individual flavors shine through. For this recipe, fresh sea scallops are seared in a thyme-infused butter,...