Evening's Cozy Cooking Special - Recipes & Recommendations (2024)

As the months get colder and the days grow shorter, there's one thing we can turn to to make our days a little brighter: food! The staff of KING 5's Evening shared their favorite recipes & recommendations to keep our bellies full and our bodies warm. Scroll through the chapters for our recipes!

Venezuelan Tequenos to Go - Jose Cedeno recommends all the food at Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen, but especially the Taquenos. 1405 NE 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105. Order takeout by calling (206) 556-4879, or order-in via Ubereats, Seamless, Caviar, Postmates, Grubhub, or Doordash.

Order-in Steak Pho - Ellen Meny recommends ordering in the Steak Pho from West Seattle's New Leaf Bistro. 2342 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116, (206) 938-3681 for takeout, order-in via Postmates or Ubereats.

Diane's Chocolate Break-Ups By Photojournalist Diane Lewis-Torre

If you're looking for an essentially Christmas snack, look no further than Evening Photojournalist Diane Lewis-Torre's chocolate break-ups! She's made these for the staff several times and they are awesome and ADDICTIVE. Plus, you only need a few ingredients!

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Lindsay's Semi-Homemade Pizza By Director of Local Programming, Lindsay Sieverkropp

Do you ever just want to make homemade food but don't REALLY want to put in too much effort? KING 5 Director of Local Programming, Lindsay Sieverkropp's awesome semi-homemade pizza is the way to go! If you gave a slice to a friend, they'd probably think it's all you... but there's one dough kit available at most grocery stories that really comes in handy!

Ingredients:  

Directions:

Combine type 00 flour and yeast from dough kit in large bowl. Mix in 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water, stir until dough begins to form. Knead dough for three minutes. When dough is mostly smooth, add to smaller, lightly oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap (and kitchen towel if possible) and leave to rise somewhere warm for 45 minutes to rise.  

While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, preheat oven to 450 degrees and prep your pizza toppings. 

Pizza topping combinations:  

After 45 minutes of rising, your dough should be about doubled in size. If not, give it 10 more minutes. Split the dough into two or three portions (four for mini-pizzas). On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into the shape of your choice using your hands (don’t worry about making a perfect circle, a rustic oblong look is more authentic!). If you have to use a rolling pin to get it flat, that’s ok, but your crust won’t have the desirable air pockets. If using a pizza stone, sprinkle it with olive oil and add your pizza dough, then sauce, then toppings. You can also use a well-greased or parchment-lined pan or baking sheet. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes at 450 and remove when crust is golden brown. Buon appetito! 

Kim's Favorite Macaroni and Cheese By Host/Reporter, Kim Holcomb

Evening Host/Reporter, Kim Holcomb's absolute favorite meal to cook for her family (and our staff) is mac and cheese -- but not from the box, it's from scratch! It's an adaptation of Nancy Reagan's recipe and it's super ooey-gooey. Cheese pulls for days!

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The absolute perfect comfort food!

Makini Howell's Vegan Gumbo By Chef Makini Howell

If you're an avid watcher of KING 5's Evening, chances are you've seen one of our segments with Chef Makini Howell of Plum Bistro restaurants. She has a recurring series on our show called "Makini's Kitchen" where she tells us how to make delish plant-based meals that our whole household will love! She shares her secrets for a warm bowl of her vegan gumbo.

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Gloria's Indonesian Style Bitter Melon Stir Fry By Associate Producer, Gloria Angelin

If you're tired of American comfort food classics, our former intern and current Associate Producer Gloria Angelin has got you covered! She loves this recipe because it's pretty simple to make and reminds her of her home country, Indonesia. Now's the time where we REALLY wish screens had smell-o-vision, because this smells amazing!

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Directions:

NOTE: Some of the ingredients may be hard to find -- but Gloria gave us some tips!

Galangal: Asian store or Central Market Shoreline. You can preserve galangal by having them in small slices and storing in the freezer

Lemongrass: Asian store & some QFC stores

Orange leaves: Some Asian stores – You cannot buy only a couple of orange leaves, they sell it per tray. And it cannot be stored like galangal.

Fish sauce: Asian store, Safeway, QFC

Ellen's Pumpkin Cranberry Bread By Multiplatform Producer, Ellen Meny

This sweet bread isn't only delicious, it brings back a lot of happy memories for Evening Multiplatform Producer, Ellen Meny! She used to make it with her great aunt in her kitchen when she was a kid. It has a small number of ingredients, it's super easy to make, and the product is simply *chefs kiss*!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Recipe makes two loaves.

Meghan's Fresh Doughnut Hack By Executive Producer, Meghan Stewart

People usually stray away from making homemade donuts because the process is time-consuming -- but Evening Executive Producer, Meghan Stewart found a hack that takes minutes and really hits the spot! You only need a few ingredients -- most of which you probably already have in your house. Seriously, you've got to try this.

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