I write a lot about my Jewish heritage and how it has shaped me as a cook, but I have another set of culinary influences on my mother's side of the family and those influences are Swedish. I had one Jewish grandmother and one Swedish grandmother. So I get to claim both culinary traditions. My Swedish half's time to shine is Christmas, which ...
Blood Orange Curd
It's not blood-curdling, it's blood orange curd. And, in fact, it is rich, sweet and delicious. Pretty too, no? In a lovely shade of Creamsicle orange. I can't get enough blood oranges at this time of year. They are the sexiest of the citrus fruits with their mottled exteriors and screaming scarlet flesh. There is even an erotic film called ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sweet Potato Latkes with Harissa Yogurt
This week, Jewish families around the world will gather together to celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of a small group of Jews, the Maccabees, over the army of the Greek King Antiochus in the second century BCE. After the Jews drove the Greeks out of Judea, they attempted to restore their temple, which ...
Homemade Stuffed Shells to Feed a Crowd
Thanksgiving is barely over and Hanukkah is right around the corner. Many of us are still recovering from one holiday and another is upon us. And right in the midst of all the celebrations and obligations that this time of year brings, a friend of mine lost her mother. She came home from the funeral, looked up and it was Thanksgiving. I barely ...
Mashed Potato (Boxty) Bread
Come Friday, you will have leftover mashed potatoes sitting in your fridge. Don't try to deny it. I am sure that those mashed potatoes will be absolutely delicious at your Thanksgiving dinner. I hope that your guests will smother them in gravy and mix them with turkey and stuffing to get all that deliciousness in one insanely good bite. But come ...
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 ...
Apple, Fennel and Cheddar Quiche
Recently, my friends at Cabot Creamery Cooperative and their Vermont neighbors King Arthur Flour challenged a group of bloggers to come up with their best quiche recipe. At stake is a package of goodies from these two iconic brands. They are calling this contest #QuicheFeast. Well, it just so happens that I love quiche and I make it quite ...
How to Make Baba Ganoush
It is hard to be an eggplant lover. We are a rare breed of individual characterized by an especially sophisticated palate. My mother and my daughter both share my love for this purple, bulbous vegetable but my husband won't touch the stuff. And JR. Well, did anyone think JR would eat eggplant? The year I lived in Paris, I bought the same lunch ...
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 ...
Homemade Pecan Butter
We found ourselves on the horns of a dilemma this weekend. A new round of allergy testing revealed that Zuzu might not be allergic to certain nuts after all. Her allergist recommended that we do a food challenge in his office to see if she could tolerate either walnuts or pecans. (You can only do one at a time for obvious reasons.) The problem? ...
Fall Vegetable Soup
It is such a bountiful time of year at the farmers market! I come home every Saturday laden down with red and yellow peppers, purple eggplant, green zucchini, orange carrots, scarlet beets, tan butternut squash, and even coal-black radishes. Somehow I still spend less than I did in July when I could easily blow a quarter of my walking-around money ...
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 ...
Rosh Hashanah Recipes: Kreplach
If you think the matzo ball is the ultimate Jewish soup dumpling, let me quickly disabuse you of that notion. As much as I love a fluffy matzo ball, my heart truly belongs to kreplach, the meat-filled pasta triangle known affectionately as Jewish tortellini and served during the High Holidays. Never heard of kreplach? You are not alone. While ...
Bucatini with Corn Crema, Cherry Tomatoes and Green Chiles
I do not mean to alarm you, but you need to go out and buy the ingredients for this recipe right now. It's Labor Day weekend, folks. That means that summer is almost over. That means that corn and tomato season is almost over. Before we say goodbye to summer and fresh, sweet, corn and juicy, ripe, tomatoes, you are going to want to make this pasta ...
Tropical Smoothie Bowl with Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SilkDairyFree #CollectiveBias 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, which ...
Moroccan Fava Bean Dip
I buy ingredients on impulse. Buy first, investigate later; that's my motto. I never pick something up in the store, turn it over in my hands and then put it down with a "but what would I do with it?" If it interests me, I buy it. I will figure out what to do with it later. Why else do I have this collection of cookbooks that long ago outgrew my ...
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kabobs
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ZiplocBackToSchool #CollectiveBias Have you seen your children’s back-to-school supply list yet? Does it include a box of Ziploc® brand bags with Easy Open Tabs? My children’s lists always do. While you are at Kroger or Food 4 Less ...
Parsley Root Puree
My latest obsession is parsley root, a long, skinny root vegetable that resembles a white carrot or a parsnip. You will always be able to recognize parsley root however: just look for the bunches of -- you guessed it -- parsley growing out of the top. Yes, parsley root is the root of the ubiquitous herb. While admittedly root vegetables are more ...
Victoria Sponge with Gooseberry Compote
My corner of the Chicago area is small, but surprisingly international. So it was the other day that I found myself in a conversation with four other people at a cocktail party none of whom had been born in the United States. There were two Brits, a Canadian, a Swede and boring old me. The conversation turned to food. Okay, I steered the ...
Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)
This recipe is everything summer cooking should be. It uses the bounty of the season. It is made ahead of time. And it's best served room temperature. Easy, fresh and beautiful to look at -- what is this amazing recipe you ask? It's panzanella, an Italian bread salad. So many cuisines have ways to use up leftover bread -- from French toast ...
National Ice Cream Day: Strawberry Balsamic Basil
July 19 is National Ice Cream Day! Did you know that? Summer seems to have finally arrived in Chicago, after a cool and wet June. So it's time to pull out the ice cream maker that has been languishing in my Small Appliance Ghetto all winter. My family loves strawberry ice cream, but as I have mentioned before, I prefer strawberries when they are ...
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 ...
Arugula with Grilled Peaches, Hazelnuts and Parmesan
The July meeting of the Chicago Food Swap is less than two weeks away. I am very excited about this particular swap. Not only is it the height of the season for local produce, which means all kinds of delicious homemade and homegrown swap items, but we also have an amazing sponsor for this event: Villa Gabriella Organic. Villa Gabriella imports ...