Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Tart

Recipe for a chocolate cream pie with a hazelnut crust.

I feel strongly about crust. Maybe not as strongly as about political and social issues but crust is definitely important and way more fun. Crust should be more than a delivery vehicle for filling. It should be worth eating on it's own, too. OK, that's my crust manifesto. Now let's talk about ways to make that sort of crust happen and also include a seriously kick ass filling because Valentine's Day is coming and it needs to be delicious.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Onion and Smoked Gouda Bisque with Puff Pastry

Recipe for a smooth, creamy onion soup with smoked cheese and a puff pastry crust.

More than two feet. That's how much snow we got in New York over the weekend. It's not our worst storm but it's up there in the record books although it's a bit late in the season for us. At least it hit on a weekend so that the grounding of flights and suspension or ground traffic wasn't as bad. And we did know it was coming so most of us stocked up for a comfy couple of days of cooking, eating, movie watching and puppy snuggling. Eh, let it snow.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Blood Orange Mint Julep

Recipe for a bourbon cocktail flavored with fresh mint and blood orange juice.

Excuse me but, whoever turned winter on, can you please dial it back a little? Single digit temperatures are a bit extreme when I'm trying to walk the dog. Or walk anywhere. Or breathe. At least there's plenty of cooking and recipe testing going on these days because it's nice and warm in my kitchen.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Warm Roasted Root Vegetable and Farro Salad




Recipe for a warm grain salad with farro, butternut squash, beets and a yogurt tahini dressing.

I know I've been going on about healthy new year cooking lately but the fact is that grains are a large part of my diet all year long. I have an entire shelf filled with canisters containing a wide variety of them and I love experimenting with new ways to use them. Farro is a favorite and, therefore, in frequent rotation.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Crispy Potato and Hummus Balls

Recipe for a mashed potato and hummus appetizer, breaded and crisped in the oven.

What's that sound? Oh, it's the sound of friends and family calling, emailing and texting, wanting to know when to show up to eat snacks and watch the big game. Now, they do know what time the game is on so they really just want to make sure you'll be providing a sufficient amount of snacks. Uh huh.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Meatballs

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 Thank you to Hunt's tomatoes for sponsoring this recipe.

Recipe for a lighter version of spaghetti and meatballs using spaghetti squash and chicken meatballs.

It's cold and dark and all I really want to do is curl up in bed, snuggle with my dog, watch movies and eat comfort food. But it's January and I'm trying to undo some of the comfort food eating from over the holidays. So, what's a woman to do? Actually, this is a pretty easy one for me because lighter comfort food is my specialty. I got this.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Yogurt with Banana and Honey Almond Crumble

Recipe for a crumb topping made with almond meal, oats and honey, served over yogurt and honeyed bananas.

You all know I'm the crumb cake queen, right? I love crumb topping so much that I also just bake it separately sometimes and toss it into parfaits and puddings...and my mouth. After all, it's the best part! But it might not exactly be on the list of New Year's resolution, OMG even my stretchy pants are tight, approved foods. So depressing. Too depressing, actually, so I did something about it.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Curried Potato and Broccoli Soup

Recipe for a low fat but creamy potato and broccoli soup, flavored with curry powder.

Happy New Year! Did you start whatever resolutions you made right on January 1st? Or did you admit that there was little chance of anything changing on a weekend and wait until this morning like I did? Very sensible. Because on Friday there was still leftover champagne in my fridge...and cookies...and a serious mac and cheese craving...and a Downton Abbey marathon all weekend long. So unless my resolutions included lying on the sofa, eating cookies and watching TV, it just wasn't going to happen. But now it's Monday and my unofficial official start to the new year.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Elsewhere in...December 2015

Hi friends! This is the little monthly recap of my foodie adventures elsewhere on the web. Below are the recipes I created for my The Spruce Eats food column. I hope you'll come visit me there. Enjoy!