Do you know what I consider to be a crime? Serving a sandwich without a good spread! There’s nothing worse than biting into a beautiful sandwich, only to realize that it’s as dry as the Gobi Desert because SOMEONE neglected to put a spread on it! I’ve had this happen far too often when dining…
Condiment
Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing
I used to believe that ranch dressing was one of those things that was too difficult to reproduce at home. I mean, if you take a look at a bottle of store-bought ranch dressing, the list of ingredients is long and complicated: MSG, artificial flavors, calcium disodium EDTA…what?! I threw up my hands at the…
Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce with Tomato Paste
This homemade pizza sauce is super easy and very tasty. It’s made with tomato paste to really cut back on the cooking time. Growing up, I actually didn’t really like homemade pizza. My mom would make it with green peppers, which I despised at the time. I remember stealthily slipping a slimy green pepper onto…
How to Host a Real Food Thanksgiving
I don’t know about you, but I tend to enjoy my food more when I know that it’s been made from scratch. Sure, I love my share of Stovetop dressing. But if I take the time to prepare it myself, a little piece of me doesn’t die when I think about the MSG and corn…
3 Reasons Why You Should Make Your Own Almond Butter
One of my all-time favorite snacks is dark chocolate chips poked into almond (or peanut or cashew) butter. It’s salty, rich, and just a bit sweet. A cold glass of milk is an imperative accompaniment. As many of you know, I’ve really been trying to step up my health game after giving birth. Commercial nut…
Butter Mayonnaise
I love homemade mayonnaise. You can so easily customize it to your preferences. It’s kind of like magic watching it thicken as you pour liquid fat into an egg. And it’s awesome to know that you can always whip up a batch if you run out of your favorite brand of store-bought mayonnaise. Butter mayonnaise…
Mock Devonshire (Clotted) Cream
When I was a teen, my sisters and friends and I were OBSESSED with tea parties. Now, if you read up about English teas, you come to realize that Devonshire (clotted) cream is a staple. But here in ‘Merica it’s not so easy to procure, and it’s VERY expensive. Thankfully, my eldest sister found a…
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
I have always been skeptical of processed foods. Margarine was the bane of my existence at 5 years old. I detested Little Debbie snacks. And I turned up my nose at canned cranberry sauce. I saw the dish of perfectly round, sliced, jellied cranberry sauce sitting at the Thanksgiving table, and it gave me the…
How to Make Basil Pesto
I’ve been battling a cold/flu that’s been going around for over a week (and now I’m pretty sure I’ve contracted bronchitis as well), so this will have to be a quick post. I’m still getting my house in order after having to neglect it for so long. While I had a fever, Reuben’s sister kindly…
Meyer Lemon Curd
This recipe was originally published on April 15, 2013 on Cooking for Seven. It’s one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made, so of course I needed to share it here on Buttered Side Up! For some reason I am finding it particularly hard to write this post. Perhaps because I feel a disconnect…