I had the pleasure of working with Family Circle Magazine on a tasty spring recipe featuring California Walnuts. My new obsession is my spiralizer, and getting these vegetables sliced into thin into ribbons is a creative way to replace a pasta dish on your menu (don’t get me wrong, I still love my fettucini!). These vegetables are steamed and then sautéed, and topped with a crunchy crumble of mushrooms, breadcrumbs, and tasty California Walnuts for a crunchy texture. I’ve been serving this with grilled chicken or some turkey meatballs for a healthy dinner idea!
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I got a julienne peeler for my birthday (it’s the same brand as my garlic press that I’m obsessed with — I love their tools) and have been so excited to use it. It’s a tiny littler alternative to some of those giant spiralizer tools, which I’ve tried and returned — am I the only one that’s had trouble with getting zoodles to work?! So I put my new kitchen gadget to the test and made these sweet potato corn cakes and have been eating them as a side dish, in the morning with eggs, and snacking on them too! It took a couple of tries to get them to stay together, so make sure you follow this trick in the recipe: squeeze the moisture out of them when you’re packing them into patties to help them hold their shape, and don’t flip them in the pan until one side is fully caramelized — it seals the pieces together. Full recipe below!
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I’ve got one last minute recipe to add into the Thanksgiving mix for tomorrow, a savory, skillet-baked corn bread stuffing with apples and sausage. I didn’t grow up with corn bread stuffing (mom, we need to have a talk about this), but I love it and think it’s got such a savory and sweet flavor combination perfect for your turkey-dinner plate! Full recipe below:
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Remember when brussels sprouts were that food you would use to describe what could only be the worst possible meal someone could possible force upon you as a child? Like, ugh, I’ll eat anything but brussels sprouts, yuck! And now I’m 30, and brussels sprouts are having their moment, and I’ve probably said out loud at some point in the last 6 months: “you should really order the pancetta skillet brussels sprouts, they’re the chef’s speciality” or, “I can’t stop thinking about those fried buffalo brussels sprouts with whipped blue cheese mouse from last night’s menu.” Funny how things like that work out, right? So while b-sprouts are in my culinary spotlight, I thought it would be a good time to mix up how I make them at home and tested this recipe with the intention of it being a Thanksgiving side dish.
It’s *almost* a salad — a way to get a little bit of green onto my gravy-soaked plate on Turkey Day. The good thing is that you can make it all on the stovetop — it’s always smart to have dishes that don’t take up precious oven-room on Thanksgiving. The dish also tastes great served hot or cooled down to room temperature. So go ahead, make sure you eat your veggies! Full recipe below: read more
Earlier this week I mustered up some bravery and went outside to our tiny little apartment-sized grill and started to clean off the heavy wear it took over the winter. It wasn’t fun, but the result was that delicious smokey smell of the first barbecue of the season. And then poof! just like that, it’s Memorial Day weekend and my summer is packed with invites to friends and family’s backyard BBQs — I can’t wait. I always love to bring a dish along with me and decided it was time to spice up some of the staples in my repertoire. Taking some inspiration from an amazing restaurant in my neighborhood, Sarma, I used flavors from a potato dish I had tasted there over the winter and create a Greek-inspired potato salad. Tzatziki, dill, red onions, and slivers of shitake mushrooms give this side dish a really bold flavor (I can’t stop eating it!). Full recipe below. 
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs of baby yellow potatoes
- 1/2 cup of thinly sliced shitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup of tzatziki sauce
- 1/4 cup of sour cream
- 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
- 2-3 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp of finely minced red onion
- 3/4 tbsp of fresh dill
- 3 tbsp of minced chives
Instructions:
- Boil a pot of water and cook the washed baby yellow potatoes until just soft to touch (test them by pressing down on them with a fork — if they start to mush just slightly, they’re ready!). Drain and set aside to cool.
- While the potatoes are cooking, saute 1/2 cup of thinly sliced shitake mushrooms with a tiny bit of oil in a pan for 3-5 minutes, set aside on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil and let them cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine tzatziki sauce, sour cream, mayonnaise and vinegar.
- Next, fold in the potatoes, mushrooms, red onion, dill and chives to combine and coat.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Guys, it’s hump day — and no one likes hump day — let alone the first one after the holidays, so I saved this recipe from a few weeks ago that’s completely focused on butter to make you feel better. One of the nicest presents I received for Christmas this year was from my grandparents and uncle; they got me a bunch of artisanal pasta and olive oils from a local pasta shop in my hometown. Clearly my family knows me well, carbs are my first love.
When it came time to test out one of those pastas I wanted to make it a super special dinner, so in addition to working on a nice sauce and some homemade meatballs, I got a fresh loaf of Italian bread and decided to whip up a special herbed butter to go with it. I roasted a whole head of garlic for about an hour in a small dish with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then once the garlic was cooked and soft, I used the food processor to combine the cloves with a 3 tablespoons of butter, a tablespoon of fresh grated parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of chopped rosemary, and a teaspoon of chopped thyme, plus a little more salt and pepper. The result was a sweet roasted garlic and herb-y butter spread that went perfectly with the little Italian feast I prepared!
