The best part about panzanella is that it’s kind of a kitchen sink salad, and measurements are rough, lazy, and forgiving.
Read More
At the end of the day, this is how I like to eat: subbing in different vehicles for devouring olive oil, lemon, garlic, herbs, and salt. And, cheese, of course.
Read More
Never to be seen again, because I ate them all in 5 minutes.
Read More
It's why-didn't-I-think-of-that simple, and yet so stinking tasty.
Read More
A springtime variation of the world's easiest side dish.
Read More
Cauliflower is a sneakily great ingredient. It's often forgotten about, flying under the radar as most beige/white vegetables tend to do. But it shouldn't!
Read More
Aren't side dishes sometimes such an after thought? Even when Jon and I make dinner for ourselves at home during the week, we'll have the main part underway, but sides sometimes feel effortful and daunting...
Read More
I cannot believe this is my first stuffed shells recipe on here. They have been a favorite dish of mine since I was really little. I grew up having the standard Barilla version of ricotta, mozzarella, and marinara sauce all the time, and it was one of my brothers' and my favorite dinners. It still is! I put it in the same category as lasagna: my ideal comfort foods category, except it's even easier to throw together...
Read More
I'm really excited to make this in lieu of a salad in the colder months (I like that it even looks like a cooked version of a wedge salad)...
Read More
When Jon and I were in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, we encountered what we've become far too acquainted with on our last few trips: serious rainfall. In an otherwise gorgeous summer, at least here in Upstate New York, we managed to pick quite the unwelcoming weekend in Montreal to learn our way around the city...
Read More
There's a winning combination of spicy sweetness that i've experienced a few times recently with pizza. Each time some iteration of cheese, meat, honey, and heat made the experience difficult to quite nail down and yet good enough to want to never stop eating. I thought I'd try something similar with a slightly different cast of characters, substituting in roasted olives as a briny, bitter agent that pairs so well with ricotta cheese, spicy chili oil, honey, and lemon. These little toasts have such a cool balance of flavors going on—I can't get enough...
Read More
If you can't take the heat, get out the kitchen and make this cool sesame noodle salad. But actually you'll need to be in the kitchen but it won't be hot. How's that for a #neat intro into this recipe?...
Read More
When we were in Charleston, we spent some time with an old and dear friend of Jon's, as well as his wife Jen and their little guy Ben. Mark cooked us dinner one night of grilled salmon with pineapple salsa and beets he had roasted on a bed of kosher salt. And while everything tasted seriously delicious, I could not get over how tasty these beets were...
Read More
Some of my favorite foods are those extremely divisive ones: olives, pickled anything, sauerkraut, radicchio, capers, red onions, pungent blue cheese and its drier/sharper counterparts. I could actually devour any of the aforementioned things by the bowlful, especially olives. This brings me to a tangential point which is that Jon recently told me, after my proclamation of loving Campari, that a fondness and preference for bitter foods is "a robust predictor for Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism and everyday sadism." (How weird/interesting is that?!) Never having fancied myself a Machiavellian, I'm choosing to ignore this study and continue on with my eating habits...
Read More
This is a simple, easy lunch that comes together very quickly with only a few ingredients. It's nothing fancy or complex, but with the right spice blend, it becomes a great lunch standby. I almost always have everything on hand, which is probably how this dish (and a few variations on it) came into being. All it takes is canned tomatoes and chickpeas as a base, with add-ins such as garlic, spices, spinach, kale, sharp cheese, parsley or other herbs, or topped with a fried or poached egg. It's always delicious, but also healthy and filling.
Read More
Done right, this is an appetizer that holds its own among the greats. The green goddess dip is key here with its seriously zesty zip from garlic, green onion, lemon juice, and lots and lots of fresh basil. It is a perfect appetizer to throw together at a moment’s notice during this party-filled time of year. Because it is relatively simple in nature, I really like to focus on a pretty presentation, which is no more work but results in a slightly classier finished product.
Read More
One of my very favorite things about the holidays is the little displays of thoughtfulness that seem to be so much more prevalent: people hosting get-togethers, writing and sending holiday cards in the mail, giving away cookies, etc. I think it’s so fun being on both the giving and receiving end of these little gestures. Since so many people travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I thought it’d be a sweet and easy idea to feature a few DIY host/hostess gifts in the upcoming weeks.
Read More
Sometimes simple is just the best, and sometimes healthy and light is what your body is craving (a weekend full of burgers and eggs Benedict and Indian takeout and wine and cocktails helps get you and your skinny jeans there real quick). Ina Garten’s celery salad is truly the answer, and every time I make it I’m amazed at how flavorful and refreshing it is. I had never thought of celery as an ingredient to shine in a dish (I usually eat it smothered in blue cheese—#health—or chopped up in soup), but the citrusy dressing and salty parmesan turn it into something wholly different and I am all about it. This salad is the perfect light side dish to chicken or grilled fish for dinner, and it makes a great lunch salad as well.
Read More
My best friend has coined these things ‘pumpkin delights’ because they’re actually the most delightful and heavenly little cookies of all time. These are another of my grandma’s recipes, and certainly one of my favorites. They are soft and pillowy and cakey, with incredible frosting made by caramelizing brown sugar and butter. They are the perfect pumpkin cookie—with no fake pumpkin flavor or forced sweetness or too many spices. I can’t express how much I love them. If you’re going to bake anything this fall, bake these!
Read More
French toast is the ultimate breakfast comfort food. It starts with smelling it while it’s cooking. I have this thing about the smell of eggs on a skillet and it might be one of my favorite smells in the world. With French toast, though, the scent isn’t just eggs. It’s buttery, custardy, and just absolutely dreamy. Another thing about French toast is that I’m not sure what’s more satisfying—having someone cook it for you, or cooking it for someone else. Also, how gorgeous is a plate of French toast topped with a pat of butter and glossy hot maple syrup? Clearly I could go on forever—I’m telling you, it’s the stuff comfort is made of.
Read More