Cherry Blossom Cocktail

I've always been completely obsessed with cherry blossoms and eagerly wait for them every year. They bloom for such a short period of time and I check the city parks regularly to make sure I don't miss them. For the record, I get like this in the fall, too, when I'm planning a road trip to see the leaves turn and monitor the foliage report like a stalker. Anyone else?




Apart from my

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Smoked Gouda Pretzel Cheese Dip

Serious pretzel lover here! Not the hard, crunchy ones you snack on. Wait, I mean, yes, those, too. But I'm talking about the soft, bready ones. Is bready a word? Let's just say it is. Pretzels are all my New York childhood memories of getting the big salty ones from street vendors when my mom and I went to watch the ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza. Pretzels are my jam.




Cut to years later

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Liz's Shabbat Apple Cake

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a recipe with you that comes from my friend Liz's new book, The Ultimate Jewish Shabbat Dinner. Liz writes the blog, The Lemon Bowl, and she shares many recipes from her Jewish and Syrian childhood. Given my passion for Middle Eastern cuisine, I'm obviously a fan.






The new book, though, is a collection of her grandmother Ljuba's Jewish recipes. I was

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Potato Hash Shakshuka

The first time I saw shakshuka on a restaurant menu, I flashed to my first experience of huevos rancheros, the popular Mexican breakfast dish. The two aren't really similar at all except for the tomato sauce but, since my first huevos experience wasn't good, I kind of mentally banned eggs and tomato sauce, no matter the cuisine. I know better now, of course.




Fortunately, I was persuaded to

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Strawberry and Honey Oat Scones

I'm always fascinated by cooking / lifestyle programs that talk about entertaining over breakfast. I mean, I love entertaining. Come for lunch, come for tea, come for dinner or drinks. It's all good. But please don't come for breakfast. Unless you either enjoy cold, half eaten toast or like having your breakfast around Noon. I just can't fathom it any other way.




So, that's the bad stuff.

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Cream Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Bagel Balls

Being a native New Yorker, I'm used to a bagel with a schmear (of cream cheese) as a given. Every deli has it as the morning special with coffee, as do the street vending carts that offer breakfast options in midtown. It's our thing. Our delicious thing. The only question, really, is what kind of bagel you want with your schmear.




But, a few years ago, I started seeing bagels with the

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