Ben Starr

The Ultimate Food Geek

Category: Recipes

  • How to make “calaveras” or Mexican sugar skulls without meringue powder

    The net is an incredible place, because 10 years ago, if I wanted to make “calaveras,” which are those sugar skulls that kids and lovers give each other for the Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), how on earth would I have figured out how to do that without…

  • Oatmeal Sweet Potato Pancakes

    This morning Christian said he wanted some hearty pancakes for breakfast, so I decided I’d make oatmeal pancakes.  But I had two ageing sweet potatoes sitting on the counter above my sink, and thought…why not make oatmeal sweet potato pancakes?  They turned out superb.  Sweet potatoes are so healthy for you.  And as an added…

  • Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

    Who on Earth can resist a warm, yeasty, sticky, sweet cinnamon roll fresh from the oven?  ESPECIALLY if there’s cream cheese frosting to smear on top? The problem is that it takes a solid 3 hours to get cinnamon rolls finished once they are started, and who wants to get up THAT early?  The solution,…

  • Colcannon (Irish recipe for St. Patrick’s Day)

    An instructional video is at the bottom of this recipe. Colcannon is an Irish classic.  They’ve been eating it for centuries.  Normally it’s a mixture of mashed potatoes and kale that would commonly be eaten with pork.  But in my version, the kale gets replaced with red cabbage, and I mix the pork right in. …

  • Ma’o Farms Vegetarian Curry

    On a recent trip to Hawaii, Adrien from MasterChef and I had the chance to visit an amazing farm called Ma’o on the west coast of Oahu near Waianae in the Hawaiian homelands, where only native Hawaiians are permitted to live.  This farm is run entirely by youth (mostly under the age of 25) and…

  • Pumpkin Carrot Pancakes with Candied Nuts

    I adapted my now famous Pumpkin Carrot Cake recipe into a simple pancake recipe for my Christmas special at the Kenmore Live Studios, and this is a much simpler way to enjoy the same flavors you get from my very complex and time consuming MasterChef cake. In a bowl, combine: 2 cups all purpose flour…

  • One-Hour Buttermilk English Muffins

    I used to be grossed out by packaged English muffins.  In fact, all packaged breads give me the creeps.  I just can’t buy them.  If they’re not sitting in the open air on the shelf of a bakery, and I’m confident they came out of the oven that day, I can’t bring myself to buy…

  • Buttermilk Biscuits

    A video tutorial is located at the bottom of this recipe. Biscuits are SO easy to make, it blows my mind why people by those disgusting cans of biscuit dough in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, or attempt to use Bisquick, which is filled with salt, hydrogenated fats, and preservatives.  It generally takes…

  • One-Hour Yeast Risen Monkey Bread

    Monkey bread probably evolved out of a 1950’s housewife’s attempt to turn canned biscuit dough into a more glamorous breakfast food.  Traditionally it’s made from taking canned biscuit dough, rolling it in butter and cinnamon and sugar, and baking the dough balls in a bundt pan.  The theory was that the little dough balls would…

  • Ben’s Great Omelet Secret for Casserole Leftovers

    Trust me on this one, people, because it’s going to sound weird.  The BEST way to use casserole leftovers isn’t to reheat them in the microwave day after day for the rest of the week.  BORING!  Instead, use them as omelet fillings. I’m SERIOUS!  It’s delicious.  I have yet to try a casserole that doesn’t…