Who has time to make dessert on a weeknight? No one. But sometimes a special occasion, be it a birthday, anniversary, or national holiday, falls on a weeknight. What to do in that case? Turn to a dessert that is best made in advance. A dessert like pot de crème. Pot de crème is an adorable name for an adorable baked custard that is typically ...
Winter Citrus Bread Salad
As a fairly constant bread baker, I am always in the market for new ways to use stale or leftover bread. For example, this time of year, I frequently make ribollita, a rustic Tuscan soup made with tomatoes and stale bread. It's true peasant food from people who would have never even considered throwing out bread simply because it was a little past ...
Dip Recipes for Super Bowl Sunday
The Super Bowl is this Sunday and everyone is planning their game day menus. Whether you're the hosting the watch party, or the guest who promised to bring something, you'll need a recipe. Maybe two. Recipes for dip. Dip is what the people want to eat while watching the big game! But don't settle for a store-bought dip that is full of ...
Valentine’s Day Linzer Cookies
More homemade Valentine's Day love, today in the form of a heart-shaped Linzer cookie filled with scarlet-hued raspberry jam. I'd been meaning to make this traditional Linzer cookie recipe since before Christmas, but I ran out of time amidst all the holiday craziness. Luckily, by making my cut-out design a heart, these Linzer cookies work just as ...
Homemade Truffles for Valentine’s Day
Don't look now, but it's almost Valentine's Day. You may be thinking."Great! Forget my new year's resolution to eat healthier. I'll take all the chocolate, please." Well, what if you could have your chocolate and eat it too? (Wait, of course we are going to eat the chocolate. What else would we do with it?) Today, I'm going to give you a recipe ...
Garam Masala Yogurt Pound Cake
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Organic and Simply Organic. As always, all opinions are my own. An old-fashioned sour cream pound cake with a tender crumb and a slight tang is one of my favorite things to bake. So when Stonyfield Organic offered me the chance to try its new Double Cream yogurt, which acts as a lighter substitute for ...
Cauliflower Ceviche (Ceviche de Coliflor)
Cauliflower ceviche ticks every January healthy eating box. It's vegan. It's gluten-free. I even think it's Paleo. And we are talking practically no calories. But the best news is, it's absolutely addictive. Crunchy vegetables, tangy lime juice, spicy peppers, lots of beautiful colors -- cauliflower ceviche is health food you never want to stop ...
Herb Sourdough Crackers
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single cook in possession of a sourdough starter, must be in want of a recipe. (With apologies to Jane Austen.) Part of maintaining a sourdough starter is discarding a portion of it every time you feed it. That waste, even it is just of flour and water, can be painful for fastidious cooks. I know it ...
Lentil Shepherd’s Pie with Mashed Potato-Parsnip Crust
Keeping with our theme of healthy comfort food -- the way we all want to eat in January -- today I present you with a recipe for a meatless, can-be-made-vegetarian-if-you-use-vegetable-broth version of Shepherd's Pie. Shepherd's Pie is a comforting, hearty casserole typically made with seasoned ground lamb and vegetables and topped with a mashed ...
Malted Chocolate Chip and Reverse Chip Cookies from Marbled, Swirled & Layered
Why make regular old chocolate chip cookies when you can make dazzling, flavorful harlequin-checked Malted Chocolate Chip and Reverse Chip Cookies with only a little extra effort? Turning classic desserts into dazzling, Instagram-worthy confections with only a leetle extra effort is the theme of my friend and fellow food blogger Irvin Lin's new ...
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Meal planning in January can be struggle between our New Year's resolutions to eat healthier and our desire for comfort foods to warm our souls in the dark of winter. Consider the struggle over. This rich, creamy roasted cauliflower soup will satisfy your cravings for warmth and comfort without causing any guilt because it's nutritious, meatless, ...
Tropical Smoothie Bowl for Breakfast
Today, I am resetting your expectations about what breakfast can be with a quick and easy recipe that is packed with nutrition but tastes like a trip to a tropical island. This tropical smoothie bowl will fit right into your busy morning routine while making you feel full and energized until lunch. What’s a smoothie bowl you say? So glad you ...
Healthy Eating: Homemade Granola Bars
It’s okay to snack. Really. Snacks are part of a healthy diet. No one should be expected to go from lunch until dinner without some fuel, especially given how busy weekday afternoons can be. What do you think will happen when you sit down to dinner utterly famished? That’s exactly how overeating happens. In fact, smart snacking may be the key to ...
Healthy Eating: Nicoise Salad
It is also the time of year when we atone for our sins during the holiday season and eat healthier. But healthy eating does not have to be depressing. The goal of this recipe is to show you that eating light and healthy can still satisfy your soul, even in the dead of winter. Packed with protein from tuna and hard-boiled eggs, and full of crisp, ...
New Year’s Eve Food
What are your plans for New Year's Eve this year? Are you going to a party? Hosting a soiree at your house? I confess, I have not always enjoyed New Year's Eve in the past. Too much pressure to have fun; to hard to get a babysitter; too many overpriced pre-fixe menus. But this year, I am looking forward to attending a friend's party with my ...
How to Make Turkey Stock
Did your family enjoy a wonderful roast turkey for Christmas dinner? I hope you saved the carcass! Because you can turn that carcass into rich, delicious turkey stock which is perfect for making soup and risotto, or for braising greens this winter. (Don't want to deal with the carcass this week with everything else you have going on? Wrap it ...
Holiday Breakfast: Radicchio and Squash Quiche
The holidays mean houseguests. While we all plan ahead for the traditional holiday dinners and festive New Year's Eve parties, no one remembers to plan for breakfast. But if you have houseguests, you have to feed them lunch, dinner and breakfast. So what do you make for the day after the big party? You know, when everyone wakes up and wants yet ...
Tackling Tough Cooking Odors (like Latkes) with the Venta Airwasher
This post is sponsored by Venta Airwasher. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. The first night of Hanukkah is almost here and this year, for the first time in my life, I am confident that my house won't smell like the fried potato pancakes, or latkes, that we eat on Hanukkah for days afterwards. Why? Because I have ...
Entertaining: Holiday Cheese and Pickle Plate
A cheese board is a staple of holiday parties. And why not? It's an easy and economical way to feed a crowd. Even folks who don't cook can put together a killer cheese plate by hitting a good cheese shop and asking the cheesemonger for help. Plus, who doesn't love cheese? This year, however, may I humbly suggest that you forego an ordinary ...
Edible Gift: Ancho Chile Pecans
Tis the season...to think about edible gifts! In fact, I feel like that's all I've been thinking about lately. In early November, I did a presentation on edible gift ideas at the local suburban library and demonstrated how to make Salted Caramel Sauce and Rum Vanilla Extract, both recipes from my book, Food Swap: Specialty Recipes for Bartering, ...
Potato Leek Soup (Potage Parmentier)
In the Victorian Christmas carol "In the Bleak Midwinter," which was based on a poem by Christina Rossetti, there is a line: "Snow had fallen, snow on snow/Snow on snow[.]" That line seems particularly apt right now as Chicago braces itself for not one but two possible winter storms over the next 48 hours. What to eat when you are facing the ...
Holiday Baking: Iced Gingersnaps
If you are looking for another cookie to add to your Christmas baking repertoire this year, let me humbly suggest that you give these iced gingersnaps a try. Imagine a spicy, slightly chewy — as long as you don’t overbake them — ginger cookie with a little extra sweetness and textural interest from a classic vanilla icing. Now, how can you say no ...
Edible Gifting: Parmesan Thyme Crackers
I am a big proponent of giving edible gifts. Homemade gifts of any kind are both personal and unexpected. They show love and thoughtfulness because they take precious time to make. Edible homemade gifts have the advantage of not cluttering up people's homes - because they will be consumed! -- and anyone, even the least crafty among us, can make ...
Holiday Appetizer: Gravlax
Are you looking for the perfect appetizer to wow your guests this holiday season? I have just the thing: gravlax. Gravlax is salmon that has been lightly cured in salt and sugar. Once cured, you slice the gravlax are paper-thin and top them with a dill mustard sauce. Serve on slices of buttered pumpernickel. It sounds fancy, and it looks fancy, but ...
Honey Whole Wheat Bread with Yogurt Butter
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Organic, King Arthur Flour, and Levoons. As always, all opinions are my own. As the darkest days of the year descend, we turn inward seeking warmth and solace and filling our bellies with the most elemental of foods: stews, braises, and, of course, bread. Is there any food more comforting, more nourishing ...