2011 April
Italian-Style Braised Oxtail
Slow-cooking meat is one of my favorite kitchen activities. There is something really gratifying about spending the whole day nurturing a dish until it is cooked to tender perfection. The aromas permeate every inch of my apartment, creating a calm, inviting atmosphere that I consider home. Oxtail is a new adventure for me. I have [...]
Garbanzo Bean Enchiladas Verde
This weekend my little sister came home for the Easter holiday. She is just about done with her first year of college. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She has made a home for herself in their geology department and has become a serious outdoor adventure enthusiast. Here she is rock climbing like a [...]
Easter Breads, Turkish Coffee, and Awards
Easter Breads This is a really funny shaped loaf with mozzarella and chives stuffed inside. It is coming with me to my family’s big Italian Easter feast. This is a traditional Italian Easter Bread and it is coming with me to a friend’s going away party later tonight. I am resisting the urge to eat [...]
Bacon and Egg Easter Basket
If idle hands are the Devil’s playground, then this is a truly sinful craft project. I have been mostly unemployed for about a week now and already I am looking for new hobbies to keep me occupied. I think I have finally found my calling…Bacon Sculpting. Why make an Easter basket out of bacon? Why [...]
Sweet Challah Easter Birds
I found a picture of these sweet little bird rolls in a senior home cookbook. I thought that they would make the perfect accompaniment for an Easter Brunch. The original recipe was for a regular sweet roll, but I love challah and figured it would be an easy swap. These birds are so simple to [...]
Healthy Bison Burgers
There is one commandment I hold dear when it comes to making a good burger. Thou shalt not excessively season the meat! Sure, there are other important guidelines to follow, like not patting the burger down with a spatula on the grill or not cooking it until it resembles that lump of coal you found [...]
Chocolate Peanut Butter
This week’s nut butter was inspired by my favorite Easter candy, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. I know Chocolate Peanut Butter seems like a pretty simple idea, but I love this classic combo of flavors. Plus, I have banned Easter candy from my household, so this is the only way to get my fix! Chocolate [...]
Saffron-Infused Mushroom and Leek Ravioli
In my family, ravioli are wrapped in tradition. Along with gnocchi, we save ravioli for special occasions. Every year, sometime between Christmas and Easter, my mom dusts off all of our ravioli making tools and we get to work. Making ravs is like a family sporting event. Brothers, sisters, aunts, and cousins all gather to [...]
Guilt-Free Coconut Banana Bread
I had some bananas in my fruit bowl that were past their prime this morning and I had some company coming over for lunch, so I thought it was time to bake some banana bread. This loaf contains very little fat or extra sugar, which is good because I ate almost half the loaf [...]
Rosemary Kumquatini
I was in Trader Joe’s a few days ago and was shopping in the produce section when I came across these kumquats. I had never tried one and thought they looked cute, so I grabbed some. When I got home, I open the container, which said, “Eat whole”. I popped one in my mouth, expecting [...]
