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As much as I have fallen in love with the French array of pre-made soups which come in box form and feed a good six people with delicious heartiness, I was in the mood for a homemade soup. Smelling the soup cooking and stewing away and feeling the warmth fill the apartment as the snow … Read more
I felt it appropriate to return to this recipe which was featured in the first entry on my blog back in the Weebly days, because I did not give it enough attention at the time. This time I made it in France for very good friends of mine and I had the Boy and friends … Read more
As I was browsing my WordPress Reader today, I found a lovely entry by a friend and fellow blogger (Cooking For The Other Half) who had been nominated for the Liebster award…and who in turn nominated me for said award! She kindly explained the award in her post and I fell in love with the … Read more
This past weekend a friend of mine asked me to help out with a bake sale for her employer – a local music school. Of course I was in! Baking with someone paying for my ingredients, baking for local people, baking for local music lovers, and just…baking! Here‘s the website for the event in case … Read more
I’ve seen probably a hundred recipes about banana “ice cream” and I’ve always thought, “That’s cool” but brushed it aside. Since I’m sitting around a lot recently and happened to have a banana sitting around, I decided to try this one. In combination with my new favorite item (Smucker’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter with Honey) … Rea
This recipe is something I often crave. It’s based on one by Mark Bittman (hail, oh might food man) for a risotto style barley dish. It’s the same slow process as risotto but it’s barley so it’s got even more of a bite to it. I substitute white wine vinegar for the white wine to … Read more
Alright so my main qualm against becoming vegan is that I adore cheese. Love it. A vegan friend of mine, who is also a med student, told me that cheese has some components that resemble opium which makes us literally addicted. My response was, “And I will take that drug until the day I die!” … Read more
I cannot believe this is the first time I’ve posted in almost a year! I haven’t even posted once since I moved to Boston (which I’m in love with by the way). I’ve been French-teaching and French-learning my little heart out and have found another passion in the world. *passion overload* At the moment I’m … Read more
There’s one cocktail that always seems to come up when I see my girls.- the margarita. I know it’s Abbabee’s favorite! So when I found all the recipes that have popped up recently for a margarita cupcake, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to try them out. I personally am not a huge tequila … Read more
For our lovely girly July 4th weekend, I knew we’d need something sweet, summery, and a little bit healthy for breakfasts. When I came across this recipe for Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Scones (which are pronounced skahns, not skohns by the way…), I knew I’d hit the jackpot. No white sugar (though brown sugar … Read more
A little while back a staff member of mine directed me to Someone Left the Cake Out In The Rain. A fabulous blog which I spent a decent amount of time reading through – mostly because I stumbled upon a recipe for Peanut Butter Whoopie pies with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting and died of happiness … Read more
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! I spent mine at an incredible, secluded cabin in the Adirondacks with three of my favorite ladies in the whole world (though we were missing a few others, sadly). We spent most of the weekend learning that cooking ANYTHING over an open fire pit is pretty … Read more
So, now that you have a good 4 cups (at least) of strawberry rhubarb jam all to yourself after giving some away to your beloved friends and family, what do you do with it? I’d been wanting to make my own breakfast pastries (I’d call them pop tarts, but…they’re so much better and more real) … Read more
Last week I had the absolute pleasure and honor of being a bridesmaid in my good friend La Divina’s wedding in New Orleans! I haven’t been to the south much, and I’d certainly never been to N’awlins – the most European city in the United States, according to many of my friends. I was beyond … Read more
Hello lovely foodies, friends, and readers! I’m sorry I’ve been away from all of this for so long – the good news is that I’ve been busy doing other things like performing! I have still been cooking and slowly working on changing my habits. Much as I love Julia Child, she hasn’t been doing great … Read more
As we all are aware = ). The Boy asked for a plain vanilla cake, layered, with chocolate cake and I was happy to oblige after pulling through hundreds of recipes, most of which were Guinness stout cakes with Bailey’s frosting thanks to the proximity of St. Paddy’s day to his birthday. I found a … Read more
Ok, to be completely correct, this was a Cottage Pie as it was made with beef…and being of Scottish background I need to be correct about these things! This past Wednesday was The Boy’s birthday and all he wanted was his favorite dinner and a cake. Easy peasy! And boy did we luck out with … Read more
So I’ve been seeing recipes for chocolate cakes with this specific gluten-free “secret” ingredient for a while and have been extremely curious. Girls’ night and Abbabee’s birthday prompted the need for a layer cake (plus my own itching to make one and get back in the kitchen – as you can see, I’ve been super … Read more
Originally the Boy and I had decided to go out for dinner and come home to make a romantic Valentine’s dessert at home…but after a delicious and filling meal at Daba, we couldn’t bare the thought of eating more. So we exchanged gifts and played a short round of Scrabble using only lovey words. You … Read more
I wanted to have an extra little surprise for the Boy on Valentine’s Day along with the two other little gifts I’d gotten him, so during my baking frenzy I found this recipe for cookie dough truffles. The Boy and I are both chocolate chip cookie fanatics and chocolate fiends, so I thought “what could … Read more
Get ready for some sweets, courtesy of Valentine’s Day! I went into a baking frenzy the day before V-Day to bring in some treats for the box office and to make a little extra present for the Boy. I absolutely love Red Velvet cake and everyone has deemed it the most romantic kind of cake … Read more
Dosas. Are. Awesome. If you ever go to NYC, do yourself a favor and go to Tiffin Wallah. They specialize in Southern Indian food which is less typical in Indian restaurants. Dosas come in many different varieties, made with different flours and different techniques (and they’re kind of like Indian savory crepes). I found this … Read more
My absolute favorite Indian bread – probably because it’s the worst for you (all covered in wonderful ghee, yum!). I often get Aloo Paratha, which is this amazing bread stuffed with spiced potatoes (keep an eye out for the recipe coming soon!), but this time the paratha was playing sidekick to a main meal that … Read more
Chicken Biryani is my absolute favorite Indian dish. Hands down. I always debate between it and Lamb Korma when I go out, because I suppose it depends upon my mood that day, but really, if I’m craving Indian, I’m probably craving Chicken Biryani. I’ve tried out a couple different home recipes for this magical rice … Read more
Guys….These are perfection. Not to mention they’re super easy – sure they take a little over an hour, but most of that time is inactive where you can go and, say, watch Say Yes to the Dress with your girls Miss Em and Miss L…hypothetically…..In all stages of the game, though, be prepared to get … Read more
Some of you may remember the groundhog cookie from the Weebly days of Indulging in Guilty Pleasure. It’s a tradition my dad and I started when I was two or three and in kindergarten. It was just a cute idea to bring in a groundhog cookie to school that turned into an annual tradition. The … Read more
Hi all, Just wanted to quickly apologize for the gap in posts. Since I got back from holiday with the Boy, I’ve been struggling to eat healthier and have been kept super busy with work since Batt Lady had her baby (YAY!!! BATT BABY HAS ARRIVED!!). I’m experimenting more with soups, curries, vegan fare, and … Read more
Ok. Who doesn’t love cannoli? Crispy goodness filled with sweet (but not too sweet) awesomeness. But sometimes (or most times) when you buy them in a bakery or a store the crispiness has faded into sogginess and the filling is overly sweet and they don’t have the flavor you want… So? Make them at home!! … Read more
After an amazing amount of research into a good Secondo Piatto I found this recipe for Braised Lamb with juniper berries, fennel, and sage. Every single ingredient in this dish made me think of Rome. I knew it would be perfect – and what better accompaniment than a risotto? We have lots of saffron and … Read more
This was the first dish we KNEW had to be on the menu for the Holiday Italiano meal (or Cena Magnifica according to the Boy’s riddle menu! So cute!). Pisciapiano was the Boy’s father’s favorite restaurant in Rome and a huge part of his experience there in high school. We went there on our trip … Read more
For Christmas, the Boy’s dad asked for a gift that wouldn’t add to all of the stuff in their house, so we thought what better than a meal that would transport him back one of his favorite places – Rome!! So we brainstormed and came up with a four course menu we hoped would make … Read more
If you ever need something that doesn’t take much work and tastes fresh and delicious, here’s your go-to dessert! Not to mention pears are ripe and fresh at this time of year (the red ones are the best.) During the Spring and Summer you could use apples, peaches, or nectarines for this same recipe too, … Read more
Do any of you remember my first entry last year at good ol’ Weebly? It was our meal at New Year’s Eve with Red Wine Braised Short Ribs a la Hubert Keller, that amazing Crispy Sage and Shallot Mac & Cheese, and the Yule Log…Well, believe it or not it’s been a whole year since … Read more
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. Crunchy numbers A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,800 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s. In … Read more
Before addressing this beauty pictured above, let’s address the fact that not everyone has plentiful food this holiday. Children go hungry over the holidays and the rest of the year. Want to get involved? I did. I do. You can’t love food without facing billions of issues these days – where our food comes from, … Read more
End of semester always comes upon us rather unexpectedly, especially since we don’t have finals in the box office…but we always have a little pizza party and farewell to some students. I decided to bring in some tasty baked goods which of course had to be sugar free and vegan and I stumbled upon this … Read more
While trying to find the perfect holiday treat to bring to Miss Em’s party this past weekend, I stumbled upon the prospect of a Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcake but found that none of the recipes would quite reflect the complexity and depth of flavor of true Mexican Hot Chocolate. The frostings all seemed slightly off…too … Read more
So we had been asked to bring dessert to the Scottish family Thanksgiving and I had to rack my brains trying to think of something light, sophisticated, refreshing, and still impressive to bring, as they usually tease me for having the most unhealthy food on my blog. I came across this recipe for honeyed pears … Read more
Well, I’m going to have to leave the verdict up to you, but I’ll say that it is the perfect combo of sweet and salty. I’d seen recipes for this for a while and had always been curious to try it, so, in my testing period for our pre-Thanksgiving feast, I made mini – cupcake … Read more
A very traditional British recipe that I grew up with and can’t live without…ok, well I can’t live without it at the holidays. It’s a delicious and very simple stuffing that pairs perfectly with your turkey. Be prepared to drool. = ) Read on for the recipe and photos… Ingredients NOTE: Serves 12! You can … Read more
What’s a sformato you may ask? I have no idea. I do not know where the name came from – but this dish is wonderful. It’s a great side, or a good vegetarian entree. It’s sort of a mix between a casserole and a souffle and is full of good for you roasted cauliflower (and/or … Read more
No, it’s not vegetarian, but it’s using up all the parts of the turkey – and it’s delicious! Not much to say about this recipe except that it’s delicious (and gets even better the longer it simmers) so Read on for the recipe and for the photos… Ingredients Giblets (that’s the heart and lungs – … Read more
The main event and the biggest turkey I’ve ever roasted! Thank goodness the Med boy was here to help carve, otherwise I don’t know what we would have done….probably ripped pieces off with our teeth? In all seriousness, this is the best way to roast a turkey I’ve found so far – no stuffing, just … Read more
I knew I wanted to have bread on the table at our Pre-Thanksgiving feast and had already tested out the No-Knead Bread (remember the Easiest Bread Ever? Yea, that one!) and knew it would be perfect. But as I searched on Tastespotting for more ideas and revelations, I found these beautiful braided loaves and knew … Read more
For the past few years we’ve gone to Thanksgiving dinner not at our families’ but at the Maestro’s house along with lots of other musicians/artists who also happen to be huge foodies. It’s always a blast and the food is always non-traditional for Thanksgiving. The first course is usually a chestnut soup, the second a … Read more
To start off your Thanksgiving feast on a sweet and autumn-y note, try this amazing cocktail. It’s got the warmth of flavor from the mulled cider and the bubbly good feeling of the sparkling wine. A lot of us felt it was like a fall Sangria. What better way to start off a great night? … Read more
Mini pumpkin pies and…announcing…that we have found: THE PERFECT PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE Oh yes. I said it. The PERFECT pumpkin pie recipe. I took the dough recipe from The Food Librarian recipe and the filling from the CookWomanFood recipe (although we discovered there’s enough filling for two 9″ pies in there…oh well, we jarred the … Read more
Need even more options for what to do with your puff pastry? How about something savory and AMAZING? Samosas are normally fried, but if you use puff pastry instead, they can be baked. Does that make them healthier? No, puff pastry is mostly butter…but still. They are a quick way to make samosas that taste … Read more
Growing up with a Scottish mother, I became addicted to certain foods that are hard to find in the US (or that aren’t the typical way or eating them in the US), i.e. English breakfast tea, weak, with milk and sugar, margarine and marmite, and OATCAKES! I was craving them recently and didn’t feel like … Read more
