Author: Ben Starr

  • Simple Sourdough (old)

    I don’t recommend this method any longer! I have devised an easier and more efficient method, so please USE THIS RECIPE. But if you like extra work, and a higher electricity or gas bill, you can use this older method. Questions? Problems? Check this out! The Dutch oven I use most often to bake this…

  • The easiest way to turn a whole pumpkin into food

    I know you. Because you’re like me. You pulled out all the stops for Halloween, but now there’s still a few uncarved pumpkins sitting in your front yard. They’re okay there for awhile. (Maybe people will think you’ve decorated for Thanksgiving. Riiiiiight.) Most pumpkin varieties will even endure sub-freezing temps for a few nights, so…

  • Sicilian Sunday Lunch

    (Most photos in this post appear courtesy of Christian Eggers. You should follow him on Instagram. Seriously.) It feels a bit weird to be writing this blog post. Looking back, I posted only once in 2018, and once in 2017. I stopped blogging about FRANK dinners in 2016 because we started doing them back-to-back, so…

  • One-Bowl No-Mixer Pumpkin Muffins

    So it’s no secret that I’m enamored with pumpkin, and I have dozens of pumpkin recipes that get busted out in the fall.  But for many folks, the idea of setting up the stand mixer to cream butter and sugar…or having multiple bowls and measuring cups to clean up afterward…it’s just too much to contemplate…

  • Perfect Homemade Fortune Cookies

    Makes 12-18 fortune cookies depending on size and thickness. Fortune cookies are remarkably easy to make…IF…you have the right recipe.  Many of the recipes on the net call for fat in the form of butter or oil.  The problem there is that you end up with greasy fortunes.  The remaining recipes, at least the ones…

  • Hatch Green Chile Peach Pie

    It’s that time of year again!  Grocery stores all over Texas have the unmistakable spicy-smoky aroma of roasting Hatch chiles out front, and the big chile roasters are rolling almost nonstop during open hours.  It’s my favorite culinary time of year. While most recipes for Hatch chiles are savory, I decided to post a sweet…