I am not a huge chocolate dessert person. Given the option I will always choose a berry or lemon dessert over a chocolate bomb. It is just too heavy. But do you know what I love - chocolate bars. I will take any kind of chocolate bar I can find. These days I am loving Seatles Chocolate and Chocolove. I can't leave the grocery store without at least a couple in my cart. But don't give me any of that dark chocolate stuff, I want milk chocolate. With lots of crunchy bits like rice krispies, toffee and nuts in it. Totally bad for you but so freaking delicious. I thought I would create a dessert that pays homage to my love of milk chocolate bars. This milk chocolate carmel pretzel tart is just like eating a chocolate bar, but may be even better.
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One of my favorite days in cooking school was the day we learned how to make fresh pasta. I love the process of getting your hands dirty with flour, water and egg. I also love that you can create such amazing dishes that all start with these simple everyday ingredients.
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We just got back from a quick but cold trip to Chicago for a friend's wedding. It was a whirlwind weekend of fun and needless to say, I think I need another weekend to recover. Especially from the cold. I have truly become a softy when it comes to weather. I lived in Boston and NY but forgot how to deal with cold weather. I also forgot that when the weather is cold you are inside all day, eating and drinking. All of this is to say I need a serious detox this week. This kale salad with butternut squash, quinoa and hazelnuts is the perfect recipe to get me back on track.
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I was recently reading the latest edition of Bon Appétit, (otherwise known as a food lovers Bible). I flip through their magazine each month looking for recipe inspiration as well as different ways to photograph food and style food. I stumbled upon their idea of back pocket pasta, this idea that pasta can be paired with so much more than your typical tomato sauce. You can pair it with just about any cheese, vegetable and/or meat. Most importantly it is a great way to eat through what it is in your fridge. This lemon and kale spaghetti is the perfect example of back pocket pasta and I bet you have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator right now.
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I have a serious case of wanderlust these days. All I want to do is dream of places to travel. Even though we just took a trip to Florida for the holidays and we have a couple of weekend trips coming up(like NYC this weekend), I still have this itch to travel. I will take just about any kind of travel - day trips, weekend trips or even better, international trips. I have my heart set on Morocco for some reason. It has been high on my list of places to visit for a while, I think it is all the colors and patterns of Morocco as well as (and most importantly) the food. I am in love with the flavors of Moroccan food - a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern - it is completely the flavor profile I always turn to when I am cooking. So inspired by my serious case of wanderlust, here is my version of a Moroccan citrus salad with feta, pistachios and mint. If I can't get to Morocco anytime soon, maybe I can pretend I am there by cooking food influenced by that part of the world.
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Breakfast is one of those things that’s really good for you but no one seems to have time for it. Or at least I don’t. For a while my breakfast was two cups of coffee and nothing else. I quickly learned that by 11 am I was so hungry that I would eat anything that was in sight. Hangry doesn’t even begin to describe it. Also, it is not the best tactic if you are ever trying to watch what you eat.
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Do you have any New Year's resolutions or intentions?I had the best of intentions to eat really clean the month of January. In theory I wanted to avoid gluten, dairy and alcohol. Sadly I couldn't even make it a week! My lack of willpower is seriously lame. I have already had a couple delicious cocktails as well as a delicious pizza from a local pizza shop. I am ok with it partly because it was worth it and also in general I try to eat pretty healthy all year-long. (but still I could have gone longer than a week!). Since I am surrounded by food all day, I think I am hyper aware about what I eat, because if I didn't I would be eating brownies and cupcakes all day (although that would be tasty, the end result would be bad).
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Thanksgiving is by far my most favorite holiday. What could be better than getting together with friends and family and eating all day? Since I am hosting Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving this year, I have started planning my menus and these pumpkin cheesecake bars with toasted marshmallow topping are front and center at both. I have been making pumpkin cheesecake for the past 5 Thanksgivings and without fail, it is always a crowd favorite.
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Since I work around food all day, I tend to eat pretty healthy breakfasts. I have become a walking advertisement for that old saying of starting the day off right with a good breakfast. Sadly no more waffles or bagels for breakfast. I find that if I start the day with something quasi-healthy, I can usually go the day without binging on the baked goods that always seem to be hanging around at work. My normal breakfast is a salad (boring I know) but if I had time, I would always make myself a version huevos rancheros. So delicious and so healthy.
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So I rarely talk about my day job as a test kitchen cook on here mostly because this is a place where I can try out my own recipes and talk about random things like travel and kitchen design. (I do post a lot of pictures from the test kitchen on Instagram) But there are a couple outstanding recipes that I have tested recently that I want to make sure you all know about.
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I recently cooked dinner for 25 people. All by myself. I know, I am crazy and I may have lost my mind in thinking I could do it alone. But amazingly I did it and survived - with only one minor slice to my finger.
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I am holding onto summer as long as I can. It feels like it just began and now it is almost over. But it is not over, till it's over and I am not letting go. We had our first real warm summer in a long time since moving to Oakland from SF and I am loving it. The weather doesn't change too much here in the fall, but it is those long warm summer days that I am going to miss. Do you know what else happens on long warm summer days? Long delicious summer cocktails on our deck, like this Frenchie cocktail which is oh so delicious.
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I know I have been posting nothing but salads recently, but that is all I seem to want to eat. Nice crisp, cold salads. This one is no exception. You wouldn't think it, but the combination of tomatoes and watermelon together is pretty amazing. Sweet, tangy perfection. One of these days I will start posting other recipes like pies and hearty fall food, but until then I am getting my fill on fruits and vegetables because this tomato watermelon salad is what I am going to be dreaming about come cold, dreary January.
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I have a confession - I love those neon pink, corn syrup soaked maraschino cherries. Love them. We used to have them in our Shirley Temples growing up (remember those!!) which is where my love began. Not sure I should admit this but I may have been known to eat them straight from the little containers on a bar. Gross on a lot of levels I know. I also have a habit of stealing them from Luke's drinks when he is not looking. Classy. So when I first discovered brandied cherries last summer - I was in heaven. Sweet cherries that have been soaked in all sorts of boozy goodness with lots of spices.
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I started to get a complex about my love of whiskey, mostly because it is a manly drink and it is also a hearty, smokey, dead of winter drink. I had been curious about trying other types of fancy cocktails but it is just so easy to order what you know and love - which is whiskey these days. But I recently discovered this amazing "bottle" shop here in Oakland called Alchemy Bottle Shop that is everything a liquor store should be - curated, well designed and best of all friendly and helpful. I thought this is the perfect place to explore. First up gin - and I am hooked. Consider me a gin drinker if I can always have gin in the form of a
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Last week I had the chance to check out a dinner at 18 reasons. 18 reasons is a great organization which has cooking classes and generally supports the food movement happening here in the Bay Area. The reason I went though was to enjoy a feast by two amazing bloggers/cooks/artists - Kimberly Hasselbrink from The Year in Food and Erin Gleeson from The Forest Feast. They both have beautiful blogs and have come out with cookbooks recently. They joined forces in creating a "Vibrant Feast" - 4 courses of fresh, delicious, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The menu included an amazing roasted red pepper soup, as well a zucchini pasta dish with green goddess dressing and finished with a perfect summer fruit crisp.
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