More than a decade after the last disaster, it was time to face the cookies.
Scottish shortbread, that’s what defeated me all those years ago. The melting, burnt-edged goo spreading across the pan sent me screaming from the stove and the ruined pastry within. I vowed never again to bake sweets.
I shouldn’t admit it. No good [...]

Lately I’ve been focusing on adding dishes to my home cooking resume. One thing I’d eaten plenty of in restaurants but never made in my own kitchen: crab cakes.
Off to the store I went this weekend. There I found “wild-caught” pasteurized crab meat from North Carolina. Both the semi-local provenance and the “wild-caught” label appealed [...]