I went to the market earlier and picked up a gorgeous bunch of fresh carrots with an excess of feathery green tops as well as a can of coconut milk for no good reason except that it was on sale. When I got home, I came across the lone ghost pepper I'd bought last week. While cooking dinner for the boys, I thought about risotto...
Read MoreGrowing up, apple pie did not excite me, and at our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, I always chose blackberry and pumpkin pies instead. As I've grown, I've come to appreciate, even love, apple (and pecan) pie, and often find myself craving one when the first hint of fall creeps into the air. Here is my favorite recipe. It's appley, not too sweet, is delicious warm or cold, and makes a great next-day breakfast.
Read MoreA dish of mine, Chicken with Caramelized Sumac Onions, Preserved Lemon and Pearled Couscous, was featured on Food52 as a superb one-pot meal. Afterwards, a friend of mine told me how much she, too, loves sumac, and asked if I'd ever tried it atop sauteed spinach. I'd not but was immediately intrigued and that evening made this (with chard). For lunch the next day I made this again (using kale and arugula). I ate every bite both times.
Read MoreThis is the fall season in a dish. A delicious grain (farro) plus a veggie (roasted gold beets), cheese (feta), nut (maple-glazed pecans) and a fresh herb dressing (chive-sage oil). Absolutely wonderful, fresh, healthy and pretty!
Read MoreThis is a classic strawberry-rhubarb pie, lightly spiced with cinnamon, lemon and vanilla, in which the sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb shine.
Read MoreSince I was very young, I've adored a good crisp and still take great pleasure in all manner of crisps, crumbles and cobblers today. They remind me of home; they're simple yet, when well done, extraordinarily good; they're flexible; and they're a terrific way to highlight fresh fruit. I love blackberries and peaches and enjoy adding herbal elements into sweet things; it provides terrific contrast to the sugar aspect as well as a complexity you might not otherwise have. This is a perfect crisp in my opinion. I hope you enjoy it too!
Read MoreThe annual farewell to summer produce can leave jammers distraught. What can I put up now?! Although the fruit-based options are fewer and perhaps less dazzling in some ways (visually and otherwise), there is still much that can be done with fall's gems, especially apples and pears. Generally, I don't much like apple jams. I'd rather have a good applesauce any day. But apples love many other ingredients, and I enjoy pairing their sweet-tartness with more savory elements. Here, I macerate apples and pears with lemon thyme, lemon zest and juice, black pepper and sugar and then cook that mixture down to a crystalline spread, adding some pear brandy near the end. The result is a sweet jam with earthy undertones, just begging to be spread atop a good cheese and some crackers.
Read MoreWho doesn't love strawberry-rhubarb pie? It's one of my favorites, a summery treat that oozes freshness and bright flavors. This jam is an attempt to bottle my Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Version 2.
Read MoreRecently, while lunching at a popular DC restaurant (Blue Duck Tavern), I ordered a side of its Crispy Brussels sprouts with lemon, caper and pecorino. Every bite was a shut-your-eyes, revel-in-the-bliss thrill. I returned home determined to recreate the dish. And here it is.
Read MoreThis salad is nothing fancy, and I mean that in the very best of ways. Each element shines, and the whole is a wonderful confluence of terrific parts. The fresh kale is rubbed aggressively with a lemony garlic oil and then topped with toasted walnuts, tangy-sweet sour cherries and curls of shaved Pecorino.
Read MoreAn avid canner, I'm always playing around with new combinations of flavor and texture. And, I enjoy adding a savory twist to traditional sweet jams. I had a bunch of rhubarb in my fridge and a Ginger Gold apple leftover from making chutney. Allspice is one of my favorite spices and I thought it might pair nicely with juniper berries. What resulted was a really pretty, wonderfully rich, layered fruit butter.
Read MoreI love pestos and remember how liberated I felt when I realized they needn't be made just from basil and pine nuts. Rather, the possibilities are limitless and I have favorite recipes for mint-pistachio, sage-walnut and now this: basil-pecan.
Read MoreThis is one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever served. It’s perfect in every way and came from Epicurious. Look for Grade B pure maple syrup which has a more assertive maple flavor than its Grade A kin.
Read MoreAfter Thanksgiving one year, I couldn't bear the thought of another turkey sandwich. This salad was born and is a delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey.
Read MoreSomewhere between a sauce and a dressing, this yogurt-tahini blend is spiced with lemon, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and sumac and is absolutely wonderful. It'd make a great dressing for steamed potatoes or a dip for veggies or a sauce for roasted root veggies...
Read MoreDo you love seafood bisques but find yourself wishing for something lighter on occasion? This cream-free bisque is a beautiful marriage of shrimp, brandy and aromatics and uses cooked rice in place of the cream. You'd never know!
Read MoreThis is the quintessential chicken salad! Light, lovely, full of flavor! Make more than you think you need because you'll be thrilled to have leftovers.
Read MoreI really love the way that a gentle massage of olive oil into raw kale softens it enough so that you don't feel you're gnawing on leather but leaves it firm enough that you know you're getting kale at its essence. A zippy garlic dressing is the perfect adornment, and I like the mix of toasted walnuts + sweet sultanas + blanched favas as toppers.
Read Moremusings from a stay-at-home, cooking-obsessed mom
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