Chocolate Fluffernutter Martini

Did you grow up with fluffernutter sandwiches? Do you still sometimes make one for yourself? Come on, tell the truth. It's overly sweet, way too sticky and...we still love them.





My obsession with peanut butter is still running high but I don't usually have a jar of fluff in the house unless there was a batch of whoopie pies being made. So, you guessed it - there was a recent batch of

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Loaded Breakfast Pot Pie

The holidays are probably the only time I even remotely consider entertaining guests for breakfast. I don't mean that I invite them over for a breakfast party, a la Barefoot Contessa. Ina Garten is my hero but I really can't get it together before, at least, brunch. But if family and friends are visiting, possibly staying with me, it's nice to give them something a little more special than a

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Thanksgiving Pie Round-Up

So, it's Wednesday. The day before Thanksgiving. And you've done your shopping and set your table and prepped all the various bits and parts of the epic feast. But you haven't made the pies. Not sure what flavor to make? Nervous about becoming involved with pie dough? Hoping dearly that all your guests will declare they've given up sugar? Nah, you've got this.

Here is a list of some of my

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Roasted Honeynut Squash Salad with Candied Pecans

I feel like the only food I eat lately is tastings of cake and cookie batter. OK, that's possibly a slight exaggeration but I was feeling like the fresh greens took a back seat once the temperature started dipping.





My Saturday morning trip to the farmer's market yielded plenty of great roasting veggies but not so much in the way of something crisp for lunch. Until, that is, I was filling

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Maple Glazed Autumn Spice Treat Cakes

OK, I confess that I have very little ability to resist baking pans with adorable autumn themed shapes. My problem extends to cookie and pie cutters, too. Fortunately, this recipe can be made just as well in large muffin cups or even mini bundt molds. So you don't have to buy this particular baking dish although, clearly I couldn't resist it.





Regardless of baking pan preference, I really

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Cheesy Spaetzle and Mushroom Bake

It's been such an unusually warm autumn in New York that I almost didn't notice that somebody pulled the winter switch somewhere. I stepped out the other day to walk my dog, wearing the light jacket that's been my staple this past month, and suddenly had to run back upstairs to grab a winter coat, gloves and scarf. Going from 70 degrees down to 20 is just not right, Mother Nature.





OK, OK,

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White Bean Stew with Bacon

Confession. When the weather is chilly and I don't have to feed anyone but myself, I pretty much live on soup for dinner. Just give me a slice of crusty bread and a big bowl of hot, preferably creamy, soup and I'm good till breakfast. Is that weird?





It does help, though, if the soup has some substance because I doubt that a cup of plain broth would quite cut it. So soup with stuff is the

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Roasted Cauliflower Gratin with Crispy Shallots

Let's talk vegetable side dishes. Whether you're planning the meal for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any entertaining in between, I'm upping my roasted cauliflower game big time.





I love cauliflower pretty much any way there is and roasting it with a bit of olive oil and maybe some Parmesan cheese happens here on the regular. I tend to leave the heavy gratin dishes for special occasions but,

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Chocolate and Peanut Butter Crumb Babka

Growing up in New York, babkas were a part of my life. They're sweet, yeast risen cakes common in Eastern Europe (and, obviously, New York) where they were typically filled with dried fruit. The Jewish version is more common now and filled with chocolate and cinnamon, twisted into a loaf shape. If you're a fan of the old Seinfeld show, you know that Jerry considered the chocolate version

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