Author: lauren.jo.speed
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Chicken & Sausage Gumbo + 2 Cajun Cookbooks everyone needs
The first time I ever made gumbo, it wasn’t from a polished cookbook—it arrived in a string of slightly chaotic text messages, half instructions and half encouragement. Since then, I’ve cooked my way through multiple versions of this classic Cajun dish, celebrating the triumphs and shrugging off the failures (burnt roux included). When winter starts…
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My Thanksgiving Table
Growing up, it was always my job to set the table for major family dinners, including our massive 55-person Thanksgiving get-together. I host a much-smaller Thanksgiving today, but I still enjoy setting a beautiful table and seeing a vision come together. This year, the star of my table (other than the smoked turkey) was my…
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5 Kitchen Items I’m Obsessed with Right Now
As someone who cooks almost every night, I love to find kitchen tools that truly make my life easier. Here are five I am loving at the moment! 1. Gravity Automatic Electric Salt & Pepper Shakers Honestly, I’m shocked at how long it took me to jump on this trend, but I am new to…
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I can’t stop eating this Roasted Broccoli Salad…
Remember a few years ago when brussel sprouts suddenly became very sexy? Every cool restaurant had a version of balsamic glazed brussel sprouts or crispy brussel sprouts. If you had plans to meet up with a friend they’d say “let’s go to __________, I’m obsessed with their brussel sprouts.” Remember that era? It was followed…
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Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
This habanero hot sauce recipe made me famous at the office! It all started because my garden decided to go absolutely wild with habaneros. I’m not kidding—I had so many peppers coming in that I hosted an entire habanero-themed dinner party just to keep up. (Think habanero margaritas, habanero-seasoned fajitas… you get the idea.) Four…
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5 Cookbooks I actually use… (as a collector)
I have a confession. I love buying cookbooks. I love getting excited about a new one, waiting all day for the Amazon truck, and cracking it open to immediately flip through it the second it arrives. To me, it’s a relatively low-cost hit of serotonin. I almost always learn something from flipping through a cookbook,…