Turkey is fine and everything, but what really excites me about Thanksgiving is the opportunity to make all kinds of vegetable side dishes. While dishes like green bean casserole (never eaten it) and sweet potatoes with marshmallows on them (not this one either) are Thanksgiving traditions for many (not me), I know plenty of families who look to ...
Mashed Potatoes with Parsnips
I don't know about you, but I am constantly tinkering with the recipe for my Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. I’ve tried garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish mashed potatoes and every other trendy version of this classic dish. (The garlic mashed potatoes went by the wayside when we began inviting a friend with a garlic allergy to our feast.) You know ...
Thanksgiving Dessert: Maple Buttermilk Pie
It's officially November which means that it's time to plan your Thanksgiving menu. If you're like me, menu planning begins with dessert. (Wait, not everyone does that?) When it comes to Thanksgiving, you know you're going to make turkey, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. The menu makes itself! So, we might as well talk about ...
Parmesan Pepper Gougeres
I am super-excited to announce that as of this month, I am a brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, the King of Cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano is one of my favorite ways to add richness and depth, umami if you will, to dishes -- everything from salads to soups to, of course, pasta. I always seek out the true Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, ...
Applesauce Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
So much of my Rosh Hashanah menu is set in stone. We have to start the meal with kreplach in chicken soup. The main course is brisket obviously. And a beautiful braided round challah is the centerpiece of the table. But what about dessert? I have never quite found the Rosh Hashanah dessert. The one I want to serve year after year. The ...
Chicken-Stuffed Kreplach
I have extolled the virtues of kreplach, a Jewish meat-filled pasta dumpling usually served in soup, on this site several times before. They are, in fact, one of my favorite traditional Jewish foods not only because they are delicious, but also because they remind me of my grandmother, Hortense Paster, who was a marvelous cook. Grandma made ...
Roasted Carrots with Pomegranate Molasses for Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year celebration, begins at sundown on October 2. All over the country, Jewish families, including mine, will gather with friends and family to recite the holiday blessings, break bread and wish one another “L’shana tovah:” a sweet new year! With less than a month to go, it is not too early to start planning your Rosh ...
Passover Meal Ideas
Are you looking for dinner ideas that are kosher-for-Passover to get through the rest of this week? Me too. I have combed through my archives to find some of my favorite wheat-free recipes to make your Passover meal planning easier. This is also a great list of gluten-free meal ideas for those times you are hosting friends or family who avoid ...
Matzo Ball Soup
Passover begins this Friday, April 22nd, at sundown and Jews all over the world are preparing for their Seders. The Passover Seder is the most widely celebrated ceremony in the Jewish year. Even Jews who do not observe any other religious ritual will host or attend a Seder. There is something magical about the idea that Jews all over the world ...
Easter Brunch Recipe Round-Up
Easter is this Sunday and although my family is not celebrating the holiday, we do have some fun plans. We are taking advantage of the fact that the children don't have Hebrew school (because of Spring Break) and the cancellation of my husband's Sunday morning pick-up basketball game, (because of Easter) to go out to a rare family brunch! As a way ...
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for Valentine’s Day
My Valentine, I love you. I really do. And to prove it, I have made you these red velvet whoopie pies. Chocolate cakes filled with a marshmallow buttercream and decorated with Valentine's sprinkles. A perfectly contained little delight to slip into your beloved's hand with an affectionate squeeze. Is there a better way to someone's heart? If so, ...
The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Round-Up
Can you believe that Valentine's Day is right around the corner? Although I am still recovering from the holidays, and the fact that we moved two weeks ago, January is almost over and that means that February 14 is only two weeks away. Valentine's Day is a holiday that has something for everyone: love, romance, presents, candy. Whether you are ...
Edible Gift Ideas
Christmas is in less than a week and you are out of ideas. Or money. Or both. But you still have a long list of people who need gifts, from the day care teacher who likes your kid the best to the UPS guy who never tells your husband about all the packages from Zappos. So, get in the kitchen and start making some edible gifts! Edible gifts have ...
Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb
For the last night of Hanukkah this year, we celebrated with a special family dinner. I made potato latkes, of course, and the main course was a delicious, marinated leg of lamb. If you are looking for an impressive entrée for your upcoming holiday feast, you could not do much better than a boneless leg of lamb. Because it has been so ...
Apple Cranberry Mincemeat
Today’s recipe post is sponsored by Sun-Maid in conjunction with my work as part of Kitchen-PLAY‘s #TeamFreshSummit. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. Doesn't the word "mincemeat" make you think of Christmas in Victorian novels? I'm sure there was a mincemeat pie at Bob Cratchit's family Christmas or at least at the Christmas ...
Holiday Recipes with Stephanie Izard and Nancy Silverton
I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. In the pantheon of Chicago celebrity chefs, Stephanie Izard ranks among my favorites. Not only was Stephanie the first woman to win on “Top Chef,” my favorite television show, she is ...
The Best (and Easiest) Thanksgiving Turkey Ever
In 2006, I arrived at my parents' house for Thanksgiving brandishing an article from the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. The article claimed that the editors had tried every conceivable way to roast a Thanksgiving turkey: brined, basted, slow-cooked, high heat, low heat, everything. The conclusion? It turned out that the easiest way to roast a ...
Chipotle, Pecan, and Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #VivaLaMorena #CollectiveBias Some dishes on our Thanksgiving menu never change. Some are different every year. My mother and I have cooked our turkey the same way for a decade. We never tinker with the pumpkin pie or the Balsamic-glazed ...
Chocolate Bar Skillet Cookie
Let me take a break from our regularly scheduled recipe post to let you all know that my first cookbook, Food Swap, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Yes, it won't actually be released until May, which seems like ages from now, but will be here before we know it! The book is partly a guide for anyone interested in joining the national ...
Chocolate Bark with Dried Apricots, Golden Raisins and Pumpkin Seeds
Today's recipe post is sponsored by Sun-Maid in conjunction with my work as part of Kitchen-PLAY's #TeamFreshSummit. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. While at PMA Fresh Summit in Atlanta, I had the opportunity to visit the Sun-Maid booth and learn more about this 100-year-old, farmer-owned cooperative. Is there a more iconic ...
Dips for a Party: Hummus
It's that time of the year again: parties. Book clubs, parent socials, and team dinners are all on the agenda for fall. And, believe it or not, the holidays are right around the corner. In fact, I just published a post on Inspired Home, the International Housewares Association's helpful resource for everything having to do with your home, with the ...
Halloween Pudding Creations
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MixInMonsterMash #CollectiveBias It's officially October and that means it is time to start planning for Halloween. What costumes will your kids be wearing this year? JR is dressing as the Greek god Hermes and Zuzu is going as a Barden ...
Gift Ideas for Cooks from Sur La Table
Being a food blogger has afforded me some pretty amazing opportunities, like the chance to meet chefs and authors I admire, attend a two-day conference on olive oil and take a cooking class on mangoes with my kids. But for a serious cook, few experiences are as cool as the chance to visit the Corporate Test Kitchen of Sur La Table and hear about ...
Bastille Day French Recipe Round-Up
Today is le quatorze Juillet, or Bastille Day, the French national holiday. In honor of this festive day, which is celebrated throughout France with parades and fireworks, I am rounding up all of my French-inspired recipes. I hope that one of these inspires your Bastille Day celebration. I am a devoted Francophile. A French major in college, I ...
Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Food-Obsessed Moms
A Mother's Day present is best when it is something indulgent. Something that a woman would absolutely love to have, but that she would never buy for herself -- because it is too expensive, or frivolous or impractical. Some women dream about gardening; some about music. Some dream about decorating and others about fashion. Me, I dream about ...