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Home | Melissa Maedgen

Melissa Maedgen

Melissa Maedgen owes her passion for cooking and gardening to her parents. Like her mom and dad, she’s fond of improvisational cooking with a focus on fresh produce from her garden or from local farmers. She enjoys cooking outdoors, sometimes in a particularly rustic manner—she once roasted a goat on a spit (actually just a piece of rebar) over a fire in a field in Texas. Maedgen was raised to be a DIYer, so she often makes her own tofu or beer. She’s been following Leite’s Culinaria since 2001, when she was studying Portuguese and developed an interest in Brazilian and Portuguese food. She became a tester in 2009 and loves that she gets to cook foods she might not otherwise make.

Melissa Maedgen
An oval casserole dish filled with potatoes dauphinoise, with a silver spoon resting in it.

Potatoes Dauphinoise

2 hrs 30 mins

Two grilled zucchini halves on a white plate, topped with mint salsa.

Grilled Zucchini with Mint Salsa

1 hr

A white bowl filled with sun-dried tomato pasta and pine nuts with a fork resting inside and a block of parmesan on a plate beside it.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

30 mins

Tareko aloo in three bowls, garnished with rings of scallion.

Tareko Aloo ~ Nepali-Style Fried Potatoes

50 mins

Schug in a pottery bowl, on a wooden plate with a spoon and garnished with cilantro.

Schug

25 mins

Chicken with mustard in a large metal skillet garnished with thyme, being held by a man.

Chicken with Mustard ~ Poulet à la Moutarde

1 hr

A metal saucepan filled with white bean stew with tomatoes and rosemary, with bowls, napkins, and utensils in the background.

White Bean Stew with Tomatoes and Rosemary

14 hrs

A plate with parchment paper filed with squares of vegan walnut fig bars.

Vegan Walnut Fig Bars

1 hr 15 mins

A blue bowl filled with chickpeas, diced tomatoes, ditalini pasta, and parmesan, flanked with a crueset of olive oil and a bowl of Parmesan.

Pasta with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

45 mins

A metal pot filled with cauliflower and tomato curry with a ladle resting inside, and a bowl of rice, a bowl of chutney and a pile of cilantro stems on the side.

Cauliflower and Tomato Curry

1 hr

A bowl of caramelized onion ramen with chile, choy sum, and soft boiled egg.

Caramelized Onion and Chile Ramen

1 hr

A white bowl filled with Hakka eggplant, garnished with fresh basil.

Hakka Eggplant

45 mins

A white crock filled with brown vegetable stock with a bay leaf floating on top.

Roasted Vegetable Stock

2 hrs 40 mins

Two individual servings of chocolate mouse in glass tumblers served on a small plate with a silver spoon resting beside.

Chocolate Mousse for One

20 mins

A large silver spoon holding a scoop of homemade chili powder with some spilled on the side.

Homemade Chili Powder

25 mins

A white bowl filled with Moroccan meatballs with a spoon resting inside and some small orange wedges on the side.

Moroccan Meatballs ~ Kefta Tagine

1 hr 5 mins

Potatoes with Mexican chorizo tucked inside tortillas with a glass of beer on the side.

Potatoes With Mexican Chorizo

50 mins

A stack of homemade thin mints.

Homemade Thin Mints

1 hr 35 mins

Four Brie and bacon jam crostini

Bacon Jam

1 hr 45 mins

Several pieces of chocolate bark with apricots and pistachios in a basket

Chocolate Bark, Cardamom, Dried Fruits, and Nuts

30 mins

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