I’ve never been to New York. My sister lived there for a while, but back then, I was too broke to visit, and she was too broke to rent an apartment big enough to do a jumping jack in. So, I have yet to experience the miracle of a real-deal New York pizza.

That’s why, when I saw this recipe for Grandma Pizza in “Cook’s Country,” I had to try it.

Grandma Pizza is a Long Island specialty. A local secret. A square, thin-crust pizza topped with a little mozzarella, crushed canned tomatoes and fresh basil. According to an article by Erica Marcus, it was something simple that Umberto and Carlo Corteo, of Umberto’s Pizzeria, would make just for themselves and their friends. Something like their mama had made in Italy. But the brothers didn’t want to add another pizza to their menu, so Grandma Pizza didn’t really catch on until two of their former employees opened a shop and actually started selling it.

I assume the brothers were cool with that.

So, what makes this pizza so different?

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

Cacio e Pepe.

It sounds like a cartoon about a constipated elephant and a horny skunk, but literally, it’s Italian for “cheese and pepper.”

Cacio e Pepe is a classic Roman pasta dish made with Pecorino Romano and freshly cracked black pepper. Some say it should be made with just those three elements (and a little pasta water). Others make it with a little butter or extra-virgin olive oil.

The nice thing is, it’s so simple that no matter how you make it, you’ll never need the recipe again.

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Cacio e Pepe (Pasta with Cheese and Pepper)

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

I’ve been obsessed with making this Mushroom Lasagna since I saw it in this month’s “Cooking Light,”and if you love mushrooms like I do, you need to block out the fungus-haters and make this happen, too.

Preferably on a night when you don’t have much crack-a-lackin’, because it takes a little time.

And focus.

But it is so worth it

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Light Mushroom Lasagna

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

I like to imagine that if the Three Wise Men had been three Southern women, they would have come bearing three very different gifts: Something Beautiful, Something Practical and Something Edible. Maybe a handmade receiving blanket. Certainly a big tube of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. And a basket full of warm Double-Cheddar Holiday Biscuits.

I was going to post the biscuits for Meatless Monday, but then I wouldn’t have been able to mention  just how good they are when they’re warm and filled with peppery scrambled eggs and thick-cut bacon that’s been fried to a crisp. Or country ham and a few spoonfuls of redeye gravy. Or smoked country sausage with just the right amount of kick to it.

Holy goodness.

Then again, it’s hard to imagine anything that wouldn’t be better with one of these biscuits.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

Now that NASA doesn’t have the space program to worry about, I hope they’ll start studying the gravitational pull of cheese balls. And dips. And little fried things.

You know, holiday party foods.

I’ve seen what passes for meatless party food on other sites, and if those were my only options, I’d stay home. I’m not shaving my legs for lettuce leaves blopped with cream cheese. Or lentil pate.

What’s wrong with Rosemary Cheese Crackers? Or Beer Bread with crunchy veggie cream cheese? Or Portobello Sliders with pesto, provolone and roasted red peppers? Why not make things that are meatless but would tempt anyone with taste buds and a stomach

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Top 30 Vegetarian Party Foods

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

If you’re a female-type person, and you celebrate Christmas, odds are you’ve baked some sort of cranberry-orange abomination. And chucked it directly into the trash. Because most cranberry-orange recipes look good on paper but taste like you sprayed them with Glade Cran-Orange Hell.

But this Cranberry-Orange Bread with Grand Marnier Glaze tastes exactly how I wanted – sweet and moist, singing with orange sunshine and sweet-tart cranberries. More like a pound cake than a quick bread. The Grand Marnier glaze seeps deep down inside the loaf and crusts a little on top, so you get the slightest sugary crunch when you take a bite, like stepping onto fresh snow.

It’s so good.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

Sometimes you have to head off The Reckoning.

Like, say, after two big family Thanksgiving meals and a drive-by chili-dogging at Sonic, when you KNOW that if you don’t eat some vegetables – one that aren’t covered in marshmallows or served in “tot” form – bad things will happen. Like scurvy. Or realizing the Elf on the Shelf could perch on the Junk in Your Trunk. Judgmental little turd.

That’s when it’s time for something like these Portobello, Broccoli and Red-Pepper Melts. The vegetables are broiled, piled onto thick slices of country bread, and toasted until the cheese on top melts and bubbles. It’s the sort of sandwich that requires a knife, a fork and a really big mouth.

Hey, I’m eating my vegetables, Elf! DON’T YOU JUDGE ME!

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

For weeks, we’ve been talking about meatless dishes that would rock any Thanksgiving, so I wanted to end with a list of my Top 20 Vegetarian Holiday Meals, which includes one new recipe: Parmesan Grits with Roasted Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese (no. 14). Dig in!

1. Apple, Leek and Butternut Squash Gratin. A simple, perfectly balanced dish made with layers of sliced butternut squash, leeks sautéed with sherry and sage, sliced apples and blistered Parmesan. It’s as homey, satisfying and delicious as anything smothered, covered or creamed. Pure magic.

2. Butternut Squash Casserole. This casserole is filling but not heavy, with warm butternut squash and fresh spinach baked with buttery onions, buttermilk, eggs, bread crumbs, cheddar, thyme and toasted pumpkin seeds

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Top 20 Vegetarian Holiday Meals

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

When we started talking about meatless Thanksgiving meals a few weeks ago, I didn’t think of a salad right off the bat. That’s probably because my family doesn’t let anything green touch the table on Thanksgiving, except the broccoli in the broccoli rice casserole, which is mixed with Cheese Whiz, so it doesn’t count.

However, I’d been willing to sacrifice one of our potato sides (just not the marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes) for this Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad.

Forget the Waldorf you know, the mayo-bound one that’s plopped on cafeteria plates. This version is as crisp as the fall air, a cornucopia of apple slices, toasted pecans, crumbled blue cheese and a mountain of mixed greens tossed with a homemade rosemary vinaigrette and topped with a few fried wonton strips for extra crunch

Continue reading: Meatless Monday: Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.

I was looking for more meatless Thanksgiving ideas (that didn’t involve gutting and stuffing an acorn squash – what has one ever done to me?) when I found this Coconut-Sweet Potato Bisque in the “Tupelo Honey Cafe” cookbook.

Most vegetable bisques contain cream, but this one gets it silkiness from coconut milk. Vegans, rejoice!

The process is nice and simple. You boil the sweet potatoes until they’re tender, mash them, and let them simmer in coconut milk, brown sugar, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice until your house smells like sweet potato pie. Then you balance that sweetness with salt, pepper and a small pinch of cayenne, and blend the soup until it’s unbelievably smooth and creamy.

If I were a responsible person, I’d recommend a green salad with this, but we both know how good it would be in a big mug with some buttered sourdough toast or a grilled cheese sandwich the size of Nevada.

Treat. Yo. Self.

© 2011 Rebecca Crump. All rights reserved.