Claire Bidwell Smith

I hesitated to post this recipe here because I thought it sounded boring, but after making this chili at least half a dozen times in the last few months, Greg and I realized that it's seriously good stuff. "When are you going to put this on your blog?" he'd ask in between spoonfuls from his Read more…

Weekend mornings are one of my favorite times to play around with food. Therefore Saturdays and Sundays usually find me concocting some breakfast dish or another involving eggs and cheese and whatever else I can find in the fridge. Recently, I made a couple of heavenly sandwiches using gruyere, arugula and some spicy creole mustard Read more…

One of my favorite restaurants in Chicago is a place called Lula in Logan Square. They always have a slew of fabulous specials in addition to their regular menu, and from time to time those specials include a Spinach and Feta Strada and it's just heavenly. It took me a while, but I finally concocted Read more…

Have I ever mentioned that my mother kept a diary while on her honeymoon with my father? Well, she did. Except the only thing she recorded on its pages were descriptions of the food they ate. My parents traveled Europe for a month following their wedding and my mother took copious notes, not on the Read more…

Do you have a thing that you never, ever cook? Like you're great at making desserts and grilling vegetables but you never mess around with pasta? Well, my thing is bread. I've never made bread. Well, not until last Saturday. I mean, it's bread. It sounds super hard to make and why would I mess Read more…

  For the last 6 weeks Greg and I have been about 90% vegetarian. We've made this change for a lot of reasons. Most of them having to do with books we've read and documentaries we've watched, and I have to say that it's felt really good. I feel better about what I'm putting in Read more…

Today's recipe comes to us courtesy of my friend Andrea Newberry who writes the excellent blog Forkable. I thought it would be fun to partner with friends and fellow foodies now and then just to spice things up a bit. And man, does this recipe ever spice things up. Bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers that actually look Read more…

Disclaimer: This recipe totally contains some store-bought dough. Gasp! I know, I know… I started making these rolls a couple of years ago at  Thanksgiving and Christmastime and they’ve been a big hit with Greg’s family, in particular with my father-in-law (hi Bill!). Served warm and gooey and stuffed with feta and spinach, it’s hard Read more…

Although my mom was a serious cook, always making everything from scratch and refusing to allow me such coveted treats as Kraft singles and fruit roll-ups, she couldn't cook ALL the time. Case in point: on our refrigerator hung a big sign that read LET'S EAT OUT! and once a week or so my mother Read more…

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to the kind of mom I am. I've quickly realized that, with each choice I make about how to parent, another set of choices blooms. Being a modern, urban mom, the kind of mom with a faded Obama bumper sticker and tattoos (also faded), who leans towards Read more…