The Real Cooking Maggie

On The Very Green Salad

Dear readers, We’re in the last stretch of summer if you can believe it – and what a summer it’s been, especially since Frankie and I were finally able to go on our honeymoon at the beginning of July! A week in Iceland with most of his family, and then a week in Scotland (mostly…

On Roasted Garlic White Bean Puree Crostini

Dear readers, When my family lived in Hong Kong, there was a restaurant called Harlan’s that was housed in the new (then) IFC buildings downtown. Now, the reason I’m starting out with this is because, they had a white bean puree that was served with warm, crusty bread and it knocked our socks off. So…

On Roasted Asparagus, Corn, and Spinach Salad

Dear readers, As a follow up to the last post, I have another vegan/veggie friendly salad for your viewing and eating pleasure! When we agreed to host the birthday festivities, originally, the plan had been to order food for delivery/do the ever generic-Costco run, but given that the birthday man and a handful of our…

On Fried Pickles [UPDATED]

Updated 2022: Earlier this spring, Frankie & I played host to a number of our friends to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of our group! It was a really special occasion, given that, as we grow older and deeper into our lives, many of us have had to move physically farther away from each…

On Creamy Spinach, Artichoke (& Crab) Dip [UPDATED]

2022 REMIX: I recently decided to make this for a birthday party app a couple of months ago, and went back to my recipe for the crab dip, but decided to spice things up a bit. Don’t get me wrong, the original dip was yummy, but this one takes the cake for sure! I’ve adjusted…

On Seared Duck Breasts and Butternut Squash Risotto

Dear readers, It’s not often that I get fancy, but when I do, I go ALL OUT! The reason for going all out on fancy dining? Fun-employment! In between jobs in late February, I gave myself 2 weekdays to do a) nothing, b) sleep, c) nothing, d) bake (so not nothing, lol), and e) cook…

On Steak Bahn Mi

Dear readers, For once, NOT a soup! Instead, I bring you a sandwich, or as we like to call them in our home “Sammiches.” Near our home, there is a lovely little sandwich shop that has a bomb Bulgogi Beef Bahn Mi sandwich, and while I adore the heck out of their sandwich, I wanted…

On Creamed Corn & Potato Chowder

Dear readers, I know it’s spring time, but I have ANOTHER SOUP!! I don’t know why, but I have been seriously soup obsessed, and given a lot of times I make a couple new things every week, we’re just on backlog now. This one was really easy to make, can be totally vegetarian (skip the…

On Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad & Fancy Cheese Boards

Dear readers, Sometimes, the idea of cooking completely repels me, so Frankie and I will engage in what we have called “French and Shit,” or a fancy way of doing a Midwestern Hat Trick. If THAT doesn’t make sense, basically we do a cheese board for dinner and sip on beer or whiskey. Now I…

On Broccoli Cheese Soup

Dear readers, ANOTHER SOUP!! I hope you’re as excited as I am because this one, this is a GEM of a recipe! Okay, so some background: So as some of you may (or may not) know, my family lives in Buffalo and as a result, we are big Bills fans! (Granted, we’re still a little…

On Butter Cajun Shrimp & Veggies

Dear readers, What a couple of months readers…in case you’re not following me on Instagram, or just didn’t know in general, I changed jobs at the beginning of the month! My day job is in legal marketing, so I said goodbye to the firm I joined the month following my wedding in 2018, to join…

On Momma Sully’s Butter Lettuce Salad

Dear readers, Over Thanksgiving, my mom whipped up one of her go-to salad’s with one of my favorite dressings, SO to keep things nice and short, SEE BELOW!!! It’s fast, easy, but the dressing is why you make this. It’s the best! The recipe is an old Sur La Table recipe that my mom was…