Fluffy pumpkin pancakes topped with sweet, caramelized apples is the perfect holiday breakfast - whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving weekend, Hanukkah or just having guests for brunch! Thanks to WhatsGood for sponsoring this recipe post featuring seasonal ingredients from local farmers delivered right to my doorstep. Get $25 off your first ...
King Cake Babka
Imagine a cinnamon babka topped with sweet icing and decorated with sprinkles in classic Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and purple. It's a King Cake Babka! Are you a fan of King Cake? My daughter has a friend whose mother is from New Orleans and every February when the girls were in elementary school, this mother would bring in an ...
Persimmon Pie with Pecan Streusel
Instead of (or in addition to) pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, serve something unexpected: persimmon pie with a sweet pecan streusel topping. I created this recipe and blog post as an entry in the Florida Crystals® Pure Joy Recipe Challenge. Be sure to follow Florida Crystals® on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. It's almost Thanksgiving ...
Weeknight Turkey Bolognese
Thanks to ShopCaputo's for sponsoring today's post. Use Caputo's online ordering and home delivery to stay sane this holiday season! For $20 off your first order (over $60) on ShopCaputo's use the promo code WEST20. With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, the holiday season is definitely upon us. For most of us, this is the busiest time ...
Edible Gift: Jam-Swirled Marshmallows
Beautiful jam-swirled homemade marshmallows are the perfect edible gift for the hot chocolate lovers in your life! Homemade marshmallows are satisfying to bite into, melt in your mouth and burst with flavor. They are are so superior to store-bought versions as to be almost a different food. I love one and cannot abide the other. Indeed, once ...
Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Today’s post for classic mashed potatoes enhanced with real Parmesan cheese is sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano. I am proud to be a 2017 Parmigiano Reggiano Brand Ambassador. Real Parmigiano Reggiano, imported from Italy, is the only parmesan for me! Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes. That's a given. But what kind of ...
Pear Cranberry Relish
Combine fall favorites pear and cranberries with spicy ginger for a sweet-tart relish that will add zing to your Thanksgiving turkey. It is officially November and that means it is time to start planning your Thanksgiving menu. I will be here to help all month long. So, let's dive in! Not much of the Thanksgiving feast can be prepared in ...
Halloween Cheesecake Brownies
My family's favorite: cream cheese brownies dressed up for Halloween! Zuzu was all set to go to a Halloween party this weekend - her first high school party -- and it got canceled at the last minute because the host was sick. With tears in her eyes, Zuzu asked if she could have a few friends over to our house to salvage the night. What was ...
Salmon Poke Dip
By posting this recipe for Salmon Poke Dip, I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time. Did you know that October is National Seafood Month? That makes October the perfect time to remember how healthy and ...
Halloween Cocktail: Mr. Howl
An elegant yet spooky cocktail perfect for Friday the 13th and Halloween: The Mr. Howl (based on the classic daiquiri variation, the Mr. Howell.) Are you in the Halloween spirit yet? Does it help that today is Friday the 13th? Halloween food and drinks are not usually my kind of thing. They tend to be long on gimmicks and gross-out humor ...
Apple Cranberry Cheese Blintzes
For autumn Jewish holidays like Sukkot and Simchat Torah, a festive and seasonal meal of traditional cheese blintzes smothered in sautéed apples and dried cranberries. This week marks the end of the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot and also the holiday of Simchat Torah, a celebration of ending one and beginning another annual cycle of ...
Break the Fast with a Semolina Cake
Break your Yom Kippur fast with basbousa, a simple, elegant semolina cake soaked in a sweet syrup, a tradtional favorite of Egyptian Jews. Yom Kippur begins this Friday at sundown. The most solemn day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is marked by fasting, prayer and contemplation. At the end of the long day, during which observant Jews ...
Honey-Glazed Chicken Thighs for Rosh Hashanah
Quick-cooking chicken thighs in a sweet-tart honey and lime juice glaze. Easy enough for a weeknight but special enough for Rosh Hashanah. When planning the menu for your Jewish holiday meal, it's easy just to say "brisket" for the main course and be done with it. My family certainly expects me to serve brisket for Hanukkah...and ...
Roasted Beets and Carrots with Burrata
A striking fall salad of roasted carrots and beets with creamy burrata and hazelnuts. Perfect for entertaining, a light lunch or as part of your Rosh Hashanah celebration. The combination of roasted beets and burrata has got a hold on me and it won't let go. A few days ago, I posted a recipe for roasted beets, blackberries and burrata over ...
Fig Honey Galette
Fresh figs are such a gift! Here I place black and green figs atop a honey-sweetened mascarpone filling and fold them into a flaky galette. Perfect for early fall parties or Rosh Hashanah dinner! Every year, I feel a little giddy when I spy fresh figs in the grocery store because they are such a short-lived, seasonal treat. Did you know that ...
Beets, Burrata & Blackberry Salad for Rosh Hashanah
A beautiful and balanced early fall salad with earthy beets, creamy burrata and tart blackberries over arugula in a honey vinaigrette. Perfect for your Rosh Hashanah table! Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, begins at sundown on September 20. Like many new year celebrations, it is joyous and festive. All over the world, Jews will gather ...
Queen Esther’s Poppyseed Cake with Meyer Lemon Glaze
A delicate, tender poppy seed cake drizzled with a tart lemon glaze. Perfect for serving with coffee or afternoon tea. A fitting dessert for the Jewish festival of Purim. This poppy seed cake comes to me from my mother. I cannot tell you how many times she served this cake when I was growing up. So many that when I asked her for the recipe, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...