• Blue crab cookies

    Did you know the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay is at its highest level since 1993? Did you know blue crabs are blue when they’re alive but turn reddish when you cook them? Did you know that even though my astrological sign is Cancer and I live in Maryland, I will die if […]

  • Katy Perry visits the Naval Academy

    I don’t have very highfalutin taste in music, y’all. I love Britney, Gaga and Shakira. I frequently tune the satellite radio to 80s on 8. And I will listen to just about anything (except Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, Ace of Base and Neil Young. I have my limits). So I was kind of excited when I […]

  • Brussels sprouts with orange butter sauce

    Here’s the thing: If you had asked me a year or two ago to make a list of the things I could never, ever see myself cooking and blogging about, that list would look something like this. 1. Fish/shellfish 2. Mushrooms 3. Brussels sprouts And yet, here I am. With a bag of Brussels sprouts […]

  • Restaurant-style salsa

    Let’s be honest: I will eat just about any salsa that’s put in front of me. Yeah, I prefer freshly made and non-chunky kinds, and I generally don’t like fruit salsas (though Flaming Amy’s pineapple salsa is a notable exception), but I will eat it regardless. Restaurant salsa — at least the kind that doesn’t […]

  • Michael Phelps is dirty

    I’m sorry I haven’t been posting more, y’all. I have a ton of recipes to share… I just haven’t had any time to actually post them. In the meantime, as a blog with the word “swim” in the title, I feel I am required to share with you the following commercial… which features Michael Phelps […]

  • Southwestern muffin-cup eggs

    As I was looking through my mother’s stacks of Junior League cookbooks from across the Southwest, I came across this intriguing egg recipe. The eggs are cooked in muffin cups and then topped with a fresh salsa. Yum, right? It’s super easy. I went a little overboard with the olive oil, but it’s not too […]

  • Peep cupcakes

    The weather has been really weird. One day it feels like February, the next like June. It’s foggy in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon. The cherry blossoms bloomed early, and now it’s raining pink petals all over the DC area. So, basically, it’s spring. And that means… time for Peeps! You probably recall […]

  • Irish coffee sundaes

    If you don’t have any Irish whiskey in your house, you may need to go get some RIGHT NOW. Because you’re going to need to make this Irish whiskey caramel sauce. Don’t worry if you’ve never made caramel before — it’s not that hard and it only takes about 15 minutes. You do need to […]

  • Beef and Guinness pies

    Y’all, I really want to tell you stories about St. Patrick’s Day and wax poetic about this stew. But my brain stopped working a few hours ago. Plus, the best St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are the ones you can’t remember (though the days after are generally ones you want to forget). So, you should make […]

  • Thin Mint pie

    “On my honor, I will try: to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout law.” One hundred years ago today, 18 girls gathered in Savannah, Ga., for the first meeting of what would become the Girl Scouts. Roughly 25 years ago, I attended my […]