Let's Catch Up

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of judging a food competition designed to support a local non-profit. We were alongside four professional chefs. No pressure!

Restaurants and bakeries brought their best savory and sweet dishes to the competition. We spent the afternoon tasting the dishes and judging them on things like flavor, presentation, and innovation. There were casual bites like pulled pork tacos and tri-tip sandwiches and elevated dishes like marinated steak and orange pot de creme (winners in each savory and sweet).

Once we got over the initial nerves and minor imposter syndrome, it felt so good to share our insights to help with the judging. Our very own mini (non-televised) Food Network moment! And it now makes a lot of sense why food judges only eat one bite of each dish. When you have 20-30 things to taste, you get full fast! Overall, it was a great experience.

Food for Thought

We've heard people say that cooking often feels more complicated than it should. And we see it too: overly complicated cooking trends, fancy techniques, expensive tools or equipment that you "have to have." But not much helpful explanation or relatability for real home cooks.

We think that good food doesn’t have to be something that only top level chefs can make. If a recipe is designed and written with real people in mind, then everyone should be able to enjoy a good home cooked meal.

We're leaning into more approachable and flavorful recipes with clear instructions on how to avoid getting overwhelmed in the kitchen. No specific requirements, because as home cooks it shouldn't really matter if you have a high end pan or not. Good food should be accessible to everyone.

New Recipes

We’ve been cooking a lot and have shared a few new recipes on the blog. Here are a couple of our latest:

​Fresh Orange Margarita - we don’t drink much, but when we do want a cocktail, both of us usually go for a margarita. This orange version uses freshly squeezed orange and lime juice instead mixers, which can come off as artificial tasting. It’s also got an easy sweet and smoky rim that adds a ton of depth. Plus, we’ve included ideas for a mocktail version and a recipe for a full pitcher.

​Grilled BBQ Chicken and Pickle Pizza - we usually think that BBQ chicken pizzas can be a little too sweet, but this one isn’t. It’s got barbecue sauce and honey mustard, and it’s loaded with briny dill pickles and fresh red onions for balance. It uses shortcuts (store-bought pizza dough and rotisserie chicken) and is made on the grill outside, so you don’t need to turn on your oven in the hot summer!

What's Coming Up

We're working on a few fun things right now:

• Another excellent scone recipe (savory this time!), an updated version of our popular Thai-inspired coconut lemongrass fish, some super easy quick pickles, and more!
• More practical cooking tips woven into our recipes so that you can feel more confident cooking.
• Building ways to make Cooking with Conks feel more like a place you want to hang out and learn from instead of just a recipe database.

One Last Thing

One final note worth mentioning: all of our recipes are created and tested by real people (us) for real people (you!). It feels like maybe it shouldn't need to be said, but in the age of AI we're currently in, it's a good reminder.

The best way to support us so we that can continue making recipes is to keep visiting our blog, making our recipes and rating/commenting on them (this helps so much!), and engaging with our content on social media. We're so grateful for all of you!

As always, thanks for being here and happy cooking!

-Emily & Rachel

Emily & Rachel | Cooking with Conks

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