A good friend is moving soon, and I recently hosted a going-away dinner for her. Eggplant parm is her favorite meal, so I wanted to make a truly superlative one. After crowd-sourcing recipes and tips from trusted foodie friends, I came up with this recipe which I would absolutely, enthusiastically make again.

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...

Tomato soup is the ultimate in comfort. Much of the time, I prefer it to chicken noodle soup because of the thick, hearty factor and because I am a mad tomato lover. Plus, you can't dunk a grilled cheese in chicken soup, but life is better when you do so with tomato.
I love the subtle notes of hot pepper, lemon and saffron in my recipe, and after once adding white beans to get my sons to eat more soup, I decided I really loved their inclusion too.

Grilled peaches nestled atop burrata and grilled bread and drizzled with honey, olive oil and salt- each bite is a blissful revelation!

This glorious salad is summer on a plate. The tomatoes and peaches pair beautifully and are elevated by the herbs, shallots, cheese and vinaigrette.
Use the best tomatoes you can find, and do not refrigerate them before using. Please- you will kill all their flavor and mar their texture. Use a young chèvre if you can, or really, any good goat cheese will do. If you're growing herbs in your garden, use those. They will taste more delicious than anything you buy. And use a ripe peach but  not one that is remotely mushy.

Summertime is a season during which even the most ardent fruit lovers may feel overwhelmed. Peaches, plums, berries, melons... Everything is so delicious but it can be difficult to keep up, and at the end of the day, standard fruit salads may start to lose their luster.
This one pairs two underutilized melons with a zippy lime vinaigrette and fresh mint. It's healthy, beautiful and full of flavor!

A 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.

Good banana bread is really something special. But too often, it's dry, too sweet, not banana'y or a bad combination of those. This recipe, adapted from Elise Bauer's Banana Bread recipe, is the perfect blend of slightly sweet, overtly banana'y, wonderfully chocolaty and slightly whole grain.

As summer hits its stride, and gloriously fresh produce becomes a luxurious stalwart of everyday noshing, I eat as many tomatoes as I possibly can. But sometimes, it's fun to diversify as well as let tomatoes play a supporting role rather than star. This tart seems to defy gravity and is wonderful warm, at room temp, and even cold. It's the best sort of simple- to make and in flavor- and takes full advantage of and highlights what's in season now! 

I recently had an outstanding meal in Richmond, VA. My appetizers were the stars, and the flavors of the simple but perfectly executed arancini have stayed on the tip of my tongue since. Orbs of Manchego, rosemary and creamy rice were fried to a light, greaseless crisp and perched atop fig compote and adorned with pea tendrils. Each bite was breathtaking. As such, I simply had to recreate. 
Because I don't love to fry at home and because I wanted more of an entree than appetizer, I decided on risotto; after all, the primary ingredient -rice- is the same. 

One of my favorite appetizers at one of DC's best pizzerias is the rapini with vin cotto. I've been to known to actually lick my plate to make sure none of the gooey, syrupy, incredible vin cotto goes to waste. Vinegar is one of my favorite condiments, and the bitter-sweet combo of it and the rapini in this dish is off the charts awesome. This is my version of the restaurant's dish.

This 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! 

While in N.C. on vacation, I bought a small tub of lima bean hummus. I believe it was made by Roots, and I went for it because I've never met a lima bean I didn't like. This did not disappoint; on the contrary, it was love at first bite. Spectacular flavor and spice. It was so smooth and made a chip feel fancy and a good sandwich feel all gussied up! This is my attempt to recreate. Delicious!

Another hit from Molly Wizenberg! I can't tell you how many times I've made this tart, for us, for parties, for catering gigs and for friends. It is a hit every single time and now boasts legions of fans. Scrumptious!

Recently, 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. 

In the midst of winter, I enjoy a warm lunch salad. For this, sturdy greens make a great base. I bought a gleaming bunch of mustard greens recently- they were so fresh and healthy that they appeared to be lit from inside. As I got out my trusty Lodge pan and gently warmed some oil and garlic, I was reminded of another dish that I simply adore: my mom's tomatoes Provencal. At that point I knew I simply had to merge the two ideas into one.

This recipe won Food52's Your Best Fennel contest. In their words, "This is one of the most interesting uses of fennel we know; we see it paired with grilled proteins or as a hearty first-course salad for spring dinner parties. The coriander sugar is an inspired touch, as is the sambuca. (But if you're working in a booze-free kitchen, don't let that stop you!)

Pappa al pomodoro is the consummate comfort food. Humble, simple, rustic, and hearty, I am always amazed that five extraordinarily basic ingredients can be cooked into something so spectacular. 

This 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.

These flatbreads, full of yogurt, coriander and cilantro, are one of our favorite treats. They pair wonderfully with chili verde and also with zucchini fritters.

Having long loved the vegan scones from Whole Foods, I looked around to find an approximation (WF won't share the recipe). I found this on Eating Consciously and have adapted it slightly, most notably to include oats. You can sub pecans for the walnuts if they're more your speed. If you want to use all maple syrup or all agave, that's cool too.

A potage incorporates the vegetables (and/or meat) one has on hand, and today, a cold, gray one, I considered that a comfort dish like a fresh potage would not only satisfy but help me clean through my kitchen.
In my fridge I had a fresh pound of parsnips and some lingering rutabagas. My pantry proffered a handful of small red-skinned potatoes, some shallots, garlic and good olive oil. And a glance at my windowsill reminded me that one of the persimmons I’d plucked last month was finally seriously ripe.

On days when a comfort dinner is needed or simply desired, soup often fits the bill. It warms us when we're cold, soothes us when we're sick. It just feels good going down. I've been on a potato tear lately, craving them all the time and in every which way: mashed, roasted...you get my drift. Next step: soup!

I ordered and marveled at the quinoa and honey-glazed carrots I enjoyed during lunch at Gramercy Tavern one day; this is my version of it!

This recipe, which comes from Nancy Silverton's Mozza cookbook, turns beet skeptics into ardent fans; it is truly divine!

Have mercy, this is good. If peaches aren't in season, substitute a fruit with a similar taste profile that is.

The creamy, nutty texture of the black rice pairs so nicely with chopped mango, scallions, avocado and a lime-serrano-rice wine vinaigrette!

This 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.

This is Mario Batali's recipe. He says, "it would be better to overcook them by 5 minutes than to undercook them by one." In addition to my two small augmentations -adding lemon and mint- I think toasted pine-nuts would be a great touch. Simple, delicious!

A super-flavorful red chili scented with cinnamon, chock full of beans and easy to make with a number of pantry staples.