Posts by James Smith

Let me confess something real quick. There was a time when I drove 15 minutes just to grab an Arby’s roast beef sandwich. Not because it was fancy food. Not because it was healthy. But because...

The first time I told my friends I was making grilled watermelon steaks, they stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Watermelon… on the grill?”“Isn’t that basically hot fruit soup...

I’ll admit something right away. The first time I tried a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich, I wasn’t expecting much. A simple baguette with pork, pickled veggies, herbs… how exciting could it...

The first time I made Calabrian Chili Honey BBQ Wings, I honestly just wanted to try something new for game night. I had a jar of Calabrian chili paste sitting in my fridge—one of those “I’ll...

I’ll be honest—the first time I made birria-style smoked brisket tacos, I didn’t expect them to ruin normal tacos for me forever. But here we are. A few years ago I tried classic Mexican...

I’ll admit something right away: zucchini used to bore me. Steamed zucchini? Meh.Sautéed zucchini? Fine, but forgettable. Then one evening I tried making Hasselback zucchini in the air...