Sometimes I think my favorite part of holidays is the anticipation in days leading up to the actual celebration, when I think about all of the delicious food we’re going to eat. I’ve spent the last few days thinking about digging into Easter dinner on Sunday, and all of the tasty dishes that will along with it. While my dinner daydreams tend to be focused on savory flavors (I’m visualizing the mac and cheese!), I’ve been having a bit of a sweet tooth craving lately for carrot cake.
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More snow today, ugh. I think it’s safe to say that we all need a drink! In fact, maybe Mother Nature could use a cocktail to chill out too? I’m happy to mix this one up for her. One of my favorite way to shake up cocktails at home is with homemade simple syrups, usually made out of fresh ingredients I have leftover in my fridge. This week my leftovers included a brimming bowl of satsuma oranges — which are tiny and sweet and the prettiest orange tone. I juiced them all by hand and simmered them with a piece of fresh peeled ginger, some water and sugar.
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I was reading a magazine the other day when saw a mention of a classic chicken marsala recipe, and I have been thinking about (and craving) chicken marsala ever since. It’s one of those dishes that I order at restaurants, but rarely think to make at home. To fix up my insatiable craving, I got to work on making my own spin on this rather simple chicken dish. My version gets tossed with al dente campanelle pasta, sautéed mushrooms and shallots, lots of parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, and baked for just a few minutes in individual serving bowls. I’m happy to report there were lots of leftovers that I’ve been cheerily chipping away at for lunch this week! Get the full recipe below:
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One of the really fun things about my job is that I get to experiment with delicious food, and work with some of the brands that I admired for years. One of those brands is Martha Stewart Living, and I was so excited they invited me participate in a challenge this month to create an over the top tiny toast recipe using Boursin® Cheese that would wow guests when entertaining.
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A brunch recipe on a Monday, you ask? Why, yes! Things are a little bit backwards here this week after lots of stormy weather, 2 days of power outages, and of course, no internet. It was an unintended digital detox weekend without lights, TV, or blogging. I read an entire book from start to finish, we got out of the house for most of the weekend, and indulged in lots of dining out and take-out. As power-outages go, this one was chilly but survivable. Now that we’re back in action (hallelujah for heat and WiFi!), I have a tasty brunch recipe that can finally be shared!
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Is there any better way to start your morning than with coffee and donuts? I don’t think so! Which is why I love making homemade mini-donuts, and serving them with a fresh pot of coffee when we have friends and family stay the weekend.
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I have been scratching my head for quite some time now, trying to think of a good way to use the Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning that seems to be sweeping the internet these days. I grew up in an avid bagel-loving family, and the everything bagel flavor is my absolutely favorite. I’ve seen it used on avocado toast, stirred in mac and cheese, and a friend of ours used it on a loaf of homemade challah bread (oh-em-gee was that delicious). As I was brainstorming some appetizer ideas to make for my own personal Oscars viewing party this weekend (me: on the couch with a cocktail and snacks), I found the perfect occasion to sprinkle this tasty seasoning mix: on Pigs In A Blanket.
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I’m working on my snack game for Sunday’s big night of red carpet viewing and all that Hollywood glamour. Oscar night at my house requires about the same level of appetizer commitment that the Super Bowl does in most other homes. I’ve been playing around with some ideas for quick and easy bite-size-tartlets, and these little guys were a winner. The base of the tartlets is made out of pre-made pie dough (use store-bought dough or thaw leftover dough from the freezer), pressed into mini-muffin tins. The dough is pre-cooked, and then filled while warm with a combination of rich goat cheese, sweet apricot jam, and crunchy pistachios with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. Get the full recipe below, and be sure to check out the other awards show viewing party recipes I’m making for the Oscars — Ruby Red Carpet Cocktails and Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket.
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I haven’t thrown an awards show viewing party in a few years, but on a recent trip to Target I saw some cocktail napkins that were begging me to come up with some fresh ideas for this year’s Oscar night. Whether you’re throwing a big party for your girlfriends to come over and watch the awards, or you’re tweeting a play-by-play of red carpet dresses in your pajamas (cough::cough, me), the most important viewing accompaniment (besides a fully charged phone) is a signature cocktail. Champagne is always a nice touch, but recently I have been mixing up this quick cocktail on weekends and thought it would be perfect to serve for Sunday’s big event. I’m calling it my ruby red carpet cocktail, because it combines fresh ruby red grapefruit juice with vodka and some elderflower soda. 
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Dinnertime can be a straight up struggle around my house these days. The hour when food needs to be prepped for our evening mealtime seems to align perfectly with official toddler meltdown hour. In an effort to avoid a matching mom-meltdown, I keep a few tricks up my sleeve for speedy dinners. One of them, is adding a cooked rotisserie chicken to my grocery order from Peapod, and repurposing it in a few different meals throughout the week. I thought I’d share a few of my favorite quick-fix ideas for using up leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge today, as well as a brand new recipe I added to the mix recently while we’re on our New Year’s healthy eating kick. Each one of these ideas uses up about half a chicken, so you can pick two to mix and match for your weekly meal plan:
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