The Hungry Mouse

Let me start by saying: This is kind of ridiculous. Let me also say: I know how to make homemade chocolate cake. In the oven. Ask The Angry Chef, my mother, or my friends. I can make simple ones or elaborate ones. I can make complicated cakes with layers and fillings that are piled high with soft, fluffy frosting. But that's...

I'm starting to realize that we eat a lot of ribs at the Mouse House. (I see a "Rib-of-the-Week Feature" in my future...) I'm OK with this for a few reasons. They're easy to make. They taste great. They're hearty and filling. And if you're an unapologetic carnivore, it's just downright fun to gnaw meat off a bone. Aleppo Chili Pork...

With Halloween right around the corner, Salem, Massachusetts is THE place around Boston to get your spooky on. We spent last night up there, eating and drinking well into the early morning hours with a handful of close friends. Welcome to Salem, Mass., a.k.a. Witch City Salem is old. You can feel it the minute your feet hit the cobblestones. I...

Wow. The Hungry Mouse is just about 4 months old! A little housekeeping and a small speech I'm kind of stunned and very touched by the really nice response I've gotten so far. I'm also a little boggled by the ridiculous number of wonderful folks I've met along the way. (Hey, I'm a city girl, which means I'm a born skeptic.) I...

I have a great—and relatively newfound—love for white beans. (See? I do eat more than meat.) Here are two of my favorite ways to prepare them. The first recipe is for a thick dip that's fragrant with garlic and lemon. The second is a creamy, spinach-laden soup that uses the dip as a base. A simple, convertible recipe for white beans ...

Let me preface this by saying: I am not Italian. The Angry Chef is, however—and very much so—and these meatballs were more than acceptable to him. Regardless, I understand that I'm treading on hallowed ground for some. If you're a meatball aficionado, please be kind to me. I'm just a little mouse. That said, these are old-fashioned meatballs that are...

Everyone has their own cold remedy. This is mine. Make the sniffles stop! I've had a savage cold for the last three days. Since The Angry Chef is catching it, too, neither of us was in the mood to destroy the kitchen with a full-blown chicken soup production. No matter, though. This is the chicken broth I make whenever I'm feeling really congested....

If you find yourself with a stray loaf of chocolate bread in your kitchen, you can get into all sorts of devilishly decadent trouble with it. You could toast it and slather it with loads of creamy peanut butter. You could use it for a sandwich that evokes some of the flavors of a classic mexican mole with chicken breast...

Warning: This is not an ooey-gooey, sticky-sweet bread. It's a kind of grown-up yeast bread. It's rich and dense—and is the sort of thing you can use to make out-of-this-world peanut butter sandwiches or decadent french toast. (I like mine warm with loads of cold butter.) It gets a deep chocolate-y flavor from chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and little chocolate...

Last week, our dear friends the Lady Otter and D. Bunnyhunter brought us a little jar of Macallan's Amber Liqueur to sample. Made by Scotland's The Macallan, this is an amazing whiskey liqueur with notes of maple and pecan. Talk about a great thing to drink in New England in the fall. I'm not usually one for sweet-ish drinks, but...