We were literally gleeful to discover that hardlikearmour had yet to be featured in Cook Spotlight. Cue the trumpets: with a contest winner, two runners-up, and 16, that's right, 16 Editors' Picks in her recipe box, hardlikearmour is a home cook of the cleverest sort, whose kitchen instincts seem innate -- after all, she grew up at the stove and at the family supper table. As she writes in her Winners' Q&A, "[Cooking] just seemed like a normal skill to have." Are you surprised? We're not.

Hardlikearmour is a veritable melting pot of crafty and delicious ideas. From her tasty small bites of Pickled Prunes and Marinated Mushrooms to her award-winning Chocolate Cajeta Fondue and EP-tested and adored Pan-fried Dandelion Flowers, she has a knack for tricky ingredients (let's face it, it ain't that easy to make these simple suckers sing.) And, while her recipe repertoire is, dare we say, stacked, she is also an eager community tester and compositeur of truly beautiful headnotes (ah, the beauty of reading all EPs for a living). Deft simplicity coupled with culinary curiosity are hallmarks of her style -- and her native Portland's food scene, too. Creamy Raw Asparagus Pesto and Smoked Tea Caramels, blowing east as if brought to us by a breath of Pacific Northwestern air. And we're thrilled to have a taste.

p.s. What's in a name? We've been dying to ask ...

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See more of of hardlikearmour's recipes and fan her here and read her profile Q&A below:

 

  • What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
    Witches butter (aka Tremella mesenterica) - I ate a big glob of it in an attempt to disgust my brother. 
  •  
  • What do you cook when home alone?
    Soft scrambled eggs and toast. Salerno-style spaghetti with eggs.
  •  
  • Your most treasured kitchen possession:
    My Kitchen Aid mixer.
  •  
  • Your ideal meal:
    Wood oven or grilled pizza with a bottle of wine or beer.
  •  
  • Something you'd like a chance to eat or cook:
    I'd love to eat at Alinea in Chicago.
  •  
  • The number of bottles of wine you own:
    12
  •  
  • The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
    4 to 8 depending on the party
  •  
  • Kitchen pet peeve:
    There is never enough counter or cupboard space.
  •  
  • Your favorite cookbook:
    I love the Cooks Illustrated series and the Cake Bible.
  •  

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Summer of Eggplant
    Summer of Eggplant
  • Burnt Offerings
    Burnt Offerings
  • cookinginvictoria
    cookinginvictoria
  • alliecooks
    alliecooks
  • Kitchen Butterfly
    Kitchen Butterfly
I am an amateur baker and cake decorator. I enjoy cooking, as well as eating and feeding others. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband and our menagerie. I enjoy outdoor activities including hiking, mushroom hunting, tide pooling, beach combing, and snowboarding.

37 Comments

Summer O. October 15, 2011
Congratulations! I always enjoy your advice and great ideas. I hope you get to Alinea!
 
Burnt O. June 16, 2011
Was traveling this week and missed this! Congrats! So nice to see you and your absolutely wonderful recipes highlighted here. VERY well deserved. I adore the Portland area and love to read your posts about it. Piper and Ben Davis of Grand Central Bakery are the niece and nephew of my neighbor. We get regular shipments of their wonderful products.
 
cookinginvictoria June 16, 2011
Congrats, hla! So happy to see you in the spotlight. I love reading your inventive recipes, your lovely headnotes and your warm comments to fellow cooks. You are a great cooking ambassador of the PNW. Hope that we can organize a gathering soon -- it would be great to meet you in person!
 
alliecooks June 15, 2011
Congrats! It was such a pleasure to test your luxurious and delicious avocado shake recipe this week (I actually ruined my appetite for dinner one night because I tested it in the afternoon and couldn't stop drinking it). Props well deserved!
 
Kitchen B. June 15, 2011
Congratulations - oh and so with you on the lack of table top space!
 
Sasha (. June 15, 2011
Great to see you in the spotlight and loved learning about the origins of your name (in your comment below). Off to listen to the song :)
 
Midge June 15, 2011
So happy to see you featured, HLA! Your recipes are always so clever and inspired. And lucky me, It was so fun to meet you in person last week!
 
hardlikearmour June 15, 2011
I'm the lucky one!
 
lapadia June 15, 2011
Congrats on the well deserved spotlight!
 
thirschfeld June 14, 2011
Oh yeah, great to see this. So happy to see you in the spotlight. Congratulations
 
Fairmount_market June 14, 2011
Congratulations fellow Oregonian! I love your recipes.
 
betteirene June 14, 2011
Will you, ummm, marry me?
 
healthierkitchen June 14, 2011
Finally! Great to see you n the spotlight. You're amazing!
 
hardlikearmour June 14, 2011
Thanks to everyone for such lovely comments - it really made my day. I feel like I'm amongst friends here. ? ? ?
 
Lizthechef June 14, 2011
I like everything I read about you, all your recipes, comments - everything. Brava.
 
TiggyBee June 14, 2011
Yay, hardlikearmour! <3 you and your recipes! xox
 
Sadassa_Ulna June 14, 2011
Congratulations hla! I love reading your recipes and comments, and I love your cake photos, I'm so happy to see you in the spotlight.
 
pierino June 14, 2011
Well done HLA! You are going to love that stick blender. I've become a convert.
 
fiveandspice June 14, 2011
Woo woo, yeah, yeah! Hardlikearmour rocks...hard...like armour! Such a fan! I'm so happy to see you spotlighted.
 
Sagegreen June 14, 2011
Yay! So nice to see you in the spotlight, too.
 
nannydeb June 14, 2011
Congratulations on the spotlight! Well deserved!