I love a good salad, but salad isn’t usually what comes to mind when I think of comfort food. Or super satisfying food. Or I’m-totes-craving-that food. This salad, though? Oh man, guys. This is the stuff. This warm chicken salad with roasted potatoes and chives has everything you’d want in a meal: fresh ingredients, a…
Dessert Fix: 20-Minute Apple Turnovers
Some days are just ho hum, and you need a pick-me-up to turn things around. That, my friends, is when you must head to the kitchen. No, I’m not encouraging you to eat your feelings (though a once-in-a-while ice-cream binge never really hurt anyone, right?). But I am encouraging you to pour those feelings into…
For the Pinteresty time of year: Applesauce spice cake
Like any other self-respecting, seasonally driven Pinterester, I’ve spent the better part of the past month searching the interwebs for fall-filled recipes and holiday décor ideas. There were the pumpkin spice latte copycat recipes, the “12 ways to decorate with gourds” kind of posts and plenty of outfits involving riding boots and scarves. And I…
Tarts are for dreamers: Blueberry nectarine tarts
I think most people, buried in the to-do lists of their day-to-day lives, probably have some sort of pipe dream, an “I’ll do this someday when life slows down and the timing is right” sort of thing, that they keep coming back to when day jobs get too busy, overwhelming or stressful, and they just…
Timers? Sweets? Huzzah! Sour cherry maple muffins
Although I do from time to time dream of the day when I’ll set a grand table and serve a Norman Rockwell-inspired meal amidst oohs and ahs from family and friends, most of the dishes and desserts that come from our kitchen are served to a gracious though not unusually enthusiastic audience — until last…
Fun and fancy’s not free: Cardamom and currant snickerdoodles
The other day Jared sent me a New York Times article about Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cookbook, It’s All Good. The title of the article is “Healthy Eating on Just $300 a Day,” and talks about how, because of oft exotic dishes and a call to use the best of the best ingredients at every turn,…
Admiration and emails — and lemon cream cheese cookies
This cookie is based on a recipe that’s been saved on my computer for more than a year. It’s from Merrill Stubbs at Food52, and I remember saving it simply because I think Merrill is the cat’s pajamas. If she says it’s a hit, I believe her. Allow me to explain. For the first 16…
Like living in a pancake: Maple yogurt pound cake
Imagine waking up to the smell of maple permeating from all corners of the room. It’s faint enough to not overwhelm you but strong enough to conceal the slow-cooked curry next door. As you roll out of bed and greet the morning (a bit bouncier than usual, of course, as maple is a wonderful incentive…
Simplicity and flavor: Tiny maple cream tarts
Often when I’m baking, I catch myself wondering how something with so few ingredients can possibly turn into a dish worth sharing. Then, nearly as soon as I finish the thought, the oven timer dings and I open the door to a find a lovely reminder of how amazing a few simple ingredients can, in…
Minding our Ps and Qs: Ricotta Lemon Bars
Nothing makes you reevaluate your words, actions and unintentional mannerisms quite like spending your days with a 2-foot-tall mimic. Toddlers come with an innate talent for reflecting the good, not-so-good and do-I-really-do-that kinds of qualities in the people around them, and our Beany girl has taken to this age-required aptitude with zeal. Our regular conversations…