Ben Mims is the cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Buzzfeed/Tasty. Born and raised in Mississippi, he spends his weekends stocking his freezer with biscuits and making fruit jam.
Latest From This Author
Tiki bar culture is on an upswing. But have we considered the food? Crab rangoon, “coco” shrimp and sweet-and-sour pork defined tiki restaurant menus in the mid-century — they’re best when prepared at home.
Oct. 5, 2023
Scallions add green freshness to these traditionally rich cream cheese and crab appetizers, here spiked with extra seasonings and fried to a shattering crisp.
Oct. 5, 2023
Pineapple and rum spiked a ketchup-based sauce that glazes pork tenderloins in this twist on the classic tiki restaurant appetizer.
Oct. 5, 2023
Vermicelli rice noodles fry up crisp and brittle to coat shrimp in what is likely the original rendition of the popular coconut shrimp tiki restaurant appetizer.
Oct. 5, 2023
Easy, warming comfort food and cozy baking recipes to kick off an unseasonably cool start to autumn in Southern California.
Sept. 24, 2023
Big bowls of salad, teeming with vegetables, fruits and cheese, take a lunchtime staple to nighttime during end-of-summer cooking.
Sept. 17, 2023
Cocoa and sugar form a bittersweet, syrupy filling for this Hungarian sweet yeasted bread topped with lots of crunchy crumb topping.
Sept. 13, 2023
With a bittersweet cocoa powder filling and a crunchy crumb topping, kokosh is a Hungarian Jewish cake that predates babka and makes for the perfect treat to break the fast on Yom Kippur.
Sept. 13, 2023
Bell peppers and Jimmy Nardello peppers shine in late summer recipes that utilize their floral sweetness.
Sept. 10, 2023
Upside-down cake, breakfast cake, crisps and — if all else fails — a foolproof jam for using up all the stone fruit that needs to get eaten before summer ends.
Sept. 3, 2023