Franchising: 2018

Tahini Salted Caramel Apples

Every autumn I start to dream about caramel apples. I think it started when I was a little girl, window shopping with my mother in fancy department stores. There was always a display of the most decadent looking caramel apples, loaded with chocolate and nuts. But the prices were outrageous.

They're still outrageously expensive so I definitely go with homemade for my annual caramel apple

Individual Apple and Peanut Butter Crumbles

Last weekend, when I was at the farmer's market, I could practically smell the apples a block away. So many fresh ripe varieties to choose from and all sweet and perfect. I bought some just for eating as snacks with peanut butter but I also wanted to make an apple crumb cake.

Once I got home, though, I wasn't really in a cake mood. I still wanted the crumb topping because, let's face it,

Middle Eastern Wedge Salad with Crispy Cauliflower Rice

I, personally, celebrated when the old time wedge salad became popular again. They're the steakhouse classic of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and blue cheese dressing. What's not to love? And I'm all for them never going out of style again. But there's also no reason we can't make variations of it.

Because I love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors, I took this wedge salad on an

Warm Apple Fritters

Yay! It finally cooled down enough for me to turn off my air conditioner. I mean, seriously, this was the hottest summer ever in New York and I was over it a long time ago. Bring on autumn with its apples and pumpkins and open window breezes.

Autumn also brings up memories of many drives upstate to go apple picking and makes me nostalgic for the aromas coming out of the orchard farm stores

Cheesy Meatball Sliders

Summer may not be officially over but summer schedules definitely are. It's back to school, back to work, back to real life. And that also means back to meal planning for quick and easy dinner ideas.

Meatballs are one of my favorite make ahead entrees. I cook up a large batch on Sundays and they keep beautifully for a few days in the fridge. All I have to do is make a salad and maybe a

Za'atar Crusted Steak with Spicy Shatta Chimichurri

I'm always experimenting with steak sauces that enhance but don't overpower the meat. As much as I love barbecue sauce, once I put it on, it's pretty much all I can taste. And it's a shame to buy good quality beef and spend time cooking it well only to not get the flavor.

Pesto sauce is always an option but I think the strong flavor and aroma of basil can also overwhelm the steak so I

Frozen Coconut Blue Hawaiian

Late August is usually when I feel some cooler breezes in the air, autumn catalogs begin to arrive in the mail and, much as I hate to rush the seasons, I start to think about baking with pumpkin. The key word here is usually because this year, it's still hot as hell, my air conditioner is working overtime and all I can think about is cold drinks. And ice cream. I think about ice cream.

So,

Sparkling Peach and Thyme Rose' Cocktail

This was my summer of discovering all my favorite rose' wines. I have nothing against reds and whites but rose' has my heart. Extra points if the weather is hot and the rose' is bubbly.

I'll happily drink my sparkling rose' in an ice cold glass all by itself. But I do love a cocktail and I love making an interesting pitcher drink for a summer party. Gin adds both punch and flavor while

Peach Shortcakes with Honey Basil Syrup

And...it's finally peach season. Oh, sure, there have been peaches in the market for the last couple of months but they were just hard orbs with no fresh peach aroma. And I know from sad experience that they will never ripen. But now that it's August, the peaches are tender and fragrant, juicy and delicious.

I wanted to use these beauties in a recipe that would leave them close to their

Savory Zucchini Pie with Fontina Cheese and Walnut Crust

Based on what I'm seeing at the farmer's market these days, zucchini is taking over the planet. OK, maybe not but I'm eating so much of the stuff that I'm about to turn green. Fortunately, I love it.

Mostly I just turn all that green and yellow squash into noodles with my sprializer or, even faster, my julienne peeler. But I avoided trying to cook anything more elaborate with it for fear

No Bake Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake

It's no secret that cheesecake is my favorite dessert and it's what I always want as my birthday cake. And yes, I do usually make my own birthday cake because...well...I make really good cheesecake. If I absolutely, positively had to pick a favorite, it would be a tie between the classic New York steakhouse style with a cookie crust and strawberries on top and my mother's no-bake version.

Labneh Ice Cream with Cherry Swirl

There's not really much to complain about when it comes to ice cream. But sometimes, the sweet on sweet can be too much for me, especially when it's hot and I'm looking for something cooling. My preference is for a little tart to go with with my sweet. Not sour, like a lemon sorbet, but just a little bit tart.

If you've ever had ice cream made with buttermilk, goat's cheese or yogurt (not

Loaded Chickpea Slaw

Let's talk about lunch prep. I feel like the Sunday meal prepping people do tends to be more for weeknight dinners but lunch has always been a big prep situation for me. I love those Whole Foods type salad bars but it's expensive and not always convenient. So I make my own salad bar at home.

These days I work from my home studio but, even back in my agency days, I've always lunch prepped.

French Inspired Cheese Board with Edible Flowers

No matter what the season, when I'm entertaining there's nothing more crowd pleasing than a great cheese board. But, in summer, I especially love opening a crisp bottle of rose' and serving cheese on a Sunday afternoon with friends.

Great cheeses come from all over the world but I love President Cheese's lineup of French classics. The earthy notes of Camembert, a nutty Comte', my favorite

Grilled Chicken Skewers with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Summer is all about the grill, isn't it? There's just something about cooking and eating outside and the taste of grilled food. You can use a grill pan in your kitchen, too, and I've done that plenty of times. But now this city girl has an outdoor grill as well!

My landlord just redid our tenant roof deck and there are now grills! Yay! Bring on all the grilled things starting with chicken

Star Spangled Watermelon Gin Slush

We need to talk about this cocktail because it is so good. I mean, this recipe makes two drinks and I may or may not have had them both. It was just so hard to stop. And the 4th of July theme? Oh, yes, this drink will be on repeat for the holiday.

I was trying to come up with something red, white and blue-ish but I also wanted it to be amazing and not colored that way just for the sake of

French Market Salad with Fried Goat Cheese

When I'm walking through my local farmer's market on Saturday mornings, I always develop an overwhelming urge to make a big salad. And since I can't resist buying all the things, a salad is a great way to use them.

On a recent Saturday I found beautiful baby arugula, haricots verts (French green beans) and edible flowers. One French inspired salad coming right up. I added roasted beets

Cauliflower Shawarma

My first experience with shawarma was on vacation on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel. Food vendors were selling falafel and shawarma sandwiches along with cold beverages on that hot August day. I ordered falafel because it's my favorite street food and my sister-in-law, who was my beach buddy that afternoon, ordered shawarma. I'd never had it before but the aroma was intoxicating and I asked for

Creamy Lime in the Coconut Ice Cream

I have a life long love/hate relationship with coconut. Love the flavor, hate the texture. So, little pieces of shredded coconut inside foods or covering the outside of a cake? Nope, not for me. The result of this has been that I spent a lot of time avoiding coconut flavored foods and pretty much kept my coconut consumption to pina coladas.

A few weeks ago I was actually tasting a new

Memorial Day Recipe Ideas

Are you ready for the unofficial start of summer with Memorial Day weekend? Yes, the day itself is significant but, let's face it, it's also a time when friends and family gather to spend time together and start enjoying the summery weather. And that means food. So here are some of my favorite ideas this year for sides, mains, desserts and, of course, cocktails. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Chocolate Covered Almond Butter Cookies

My peanut butter obsession means that's usually the jar I reach for when there's cookie baking to be done. And since it's been raining non stop for so long that I've actually lost track, there has definitely been cookie baking. But I decided it was time to show the almond butter some love as well.

While I might still prefer the peanut butter for eating straight out of the jar with a big

Ghee Roasted White and Sweet Potato Salad

For some reason, 2018 is running by super fast for me. Half the things I was supposed to get to in the first quarter of the year are still untouched. And then suddenly I look up and it's two weeks to the start of long summer weekends, beach openings and grilling season. Not that those things are anything to complain about.

So let's talk about the upcoming Memorial Day weekend's menu. We

Honeydew Melon Mojitos

I've always enjoyed a cool, refreshing mojito in hot weather. It's icy and minty and not too strong. Despite the 2 ounces of rum, it's topped off with club soda which makes a great slow sipper. Can't you just picture a tray of them on the porch in summer?

The truth is that I sometimes forget how much I like them until I'm reminded by something. Sometimes all it takes is a gorgeous bunch

Bagel Breakfast Bar with Labneh and Za'atar Cream Cheese

When Sunday brunch is at my house, I like to to serve a bagel feast. I mean, who doesn't like bagels?Not only is it popular but it's easy to put together and involves more shopping than actual cooking.

I do like to offer a couple of homemade items to my otherwise store bought feast, though. There's regular veggie cream cheese for the purists but my homemade labneh yogurt cheese, flavored

Ramp and Gruyere Cheese Tart

Do you suffer from ramp insanity? These wild onions appear for a short time in the spring and our local farmer's markets actually tweet out alerts. That's how ramp crazy we are. They smell and taste like a cross between garlic and onions with an extra touch of something green and wild and wonderful. Clearly I'm a a sufferer.

We're deep in ramp season right now and I'm not passing up any

Cobb Salad Nachos

This recipe got started recently as I was staring at the menu of one of my favorite local dives and trying to decide between nachos and Cobb salad. Normally this is an easy decision for me since Cobb salad is one of my favorites. But I had Cinco de Mayo nachos on the brain.

Back home after the meal (I chose the salad), I was still thinking about the choice and wondering why the two dishes

Falafel and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I have a serious affection for a good, loaded breakfast sandwich. What's not to love about all the delicious breakfast things stacked between two pieces of delicious bread? But what exactly constitutes breakfast things is open to interpretation and variation.

I was thinking about fun Mother's Day breakfast options and considered a sausage patty or even a great burger topped with a runny

Milk Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

When you love peanut butter as much as I do, you have a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. And, in my case, my ultimate favorite is from my friend Jennie, who writes the blog, One Sweet Mess. So, when I was working on my recipe for tahini cookies, my other favorite thing (I have a lot of favorite things), I started out with her base.

What's great about her recipe is that it has the

Honey Tahini Overnight Oats

Let's just say that it's a good thing I don't live with anybody who expects a hot breakfast because they would be very disappointed. Most days, I'm happy I've found time to pour milk into my cereal instead of just grabbing handfuls of it dry as I rush around. Needless to say, hot oatmeal is not a thing that happens around here without significant pre-planning. Overnight oats, though, are in

Tamari Roasted Vegetable Platter

One of my favorite ways to serve side dish vegetables to company is just to grill or roast a big platter of them and put them in the middle of the table for people to help themselves. I also think it's a fun appetizer with cocktails instead of the more expected cheese and dips.

Even though I love vegetables in all their forms, I always look for ways to amp up the flavor somehow. Spices,

Pear Dutch Babies with Honey Labneh Cream

Let's talk about how much there is to love about Dutch baby pancakes. The puff, the flavorings and, my personal favorite, the fact that they cook in the oven and I don't have to stand over a griddle flipping batches of pancakes.

The key to getting that huge puff is to make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, your pans are screaming hot and your batter is very well combined.

Spinach and Feta Turnovers (Bourekas)

Puff pastry and frozen spinach are a couple of items that can usually be found in the back of my freezer somewhere. They're both useful to have around for all kinds of recipe options but, sadly, my freezer is underutilized. I keep nuts and vodka in there but tend to forget to look to it for food ideas. That needs to change.

Last week, when I was reaching in to grab the peanuts I used in

Crunchy Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls

Oh, has it been a minute since I expressed my undying love of peanut butter? Rest assured my obsession has not waned. And while I fully admit that my preferred method of eating peanut butter is with a spoon, right out of the jar, sometimes I feel compelled to actually make stuff with it.

I recently saw peanut butter treat balls of some kind on a grocery store shelf but the ingredient list

Quick Pickled Vegetables

At any given time, I've either had no pickles in my fridge or I've had an overly large array of them in various shapes and styles. Why? Because I never know which one I will like. Too sweet, too sour, too soft, too crunchy. And so they accumulate until I get frustrated and get rid of all of them leaving me with no pickles when I feel like having a pickle.

Clearly the solution to this

Cheesy Meatball Casserole

Another week and another make-ahead dinner prepped, portioned and stored in the fridge for use during the week. I'm so weirdly proud of myself when I actually do these.

This week's Italian style casserole is so simple and so tasty that it's just crazy not to make it at least once a month. Pasta, sauce and juicy little meatballs baked with cheese. How good does that sound? I serve it with

Roasted Parmesan Sugar Snap Peas

I was on a hunt the other day for some fresh spring peas (I'm pretending it's not still freezing outside) but none of my local grocery stores had them. What I did find was fresh sugar snap peas. Those wouldn't work for the recipe I had in mind but I figured I'd come up with something so I grabbed them.

They look like rounded snow pea pods and, in fact, they're kind of a cross between a

Tex-Mex Potato and Beef Burritos

One of my goals is to get better about weekly meal prep and make-ahead freezer meals. I've always found that the prep work on a Sunday is totally worth the ease and convenience of having ready made meals and prepped vegetables during the hectic week. Now I just have to get better about doing it on a regular basis.

Step one in my plan to get better about prepping is to know what I want to

Peanut Butter and Jelly Air Fried Doughnuts

See these hot, fluffy doughnuts, oozing with jelly and dripping with peanut butter glaze? Fresh from the fryer! Oh, wait, I meant the air fryer. Yup. These beauties are an air fryer masterpiece.

My air fryer has literally been sitting on my tiny kitchen counter, in my postage stamp sized Manhattan kitchen for days and days because I've been running doughnut batches through it daily. A

Chicken Sausage with Creamy Polenta and Onion Gravy

Let's talk about quick and easy weeknight dinners because it's a subject that comes up often around here. It's actually most likely to come up at about 6:00 pm when I look up from my computer screen and realize that I haven't planned anything for dinner.

So that's when I take a moment to consider my options: take-out (nah), scrambled eggs (again??) or a kitchen rummage to see what I've

Currant Scones

It snows, it warms up, it snows, it warms up. All month long. Rinse and repeat. I know it's just winter's last hurrah before exiting for the year but I'm a little over it. Yesterday was another inclement weather day so I did the only logical thing - I baked.

It's been a while since I baked a batch of fresh scones but they're so great with a cup of tea on a rainy/snowy afternoon. I scoured

Banana Cream Pie

For those people who know me well, the only surprising part about me baking a banana cream pie is that it's the first time I've ever done it. And surprising because it is literally my favorite dessert of all time.

When I was growing up, Sunday was family day and my father used to pile us all into the car and head somewhere, anywhere, out of the city. Sometimes it was the zoo or the

French Onion Patty Melts

One of my cooking mottos would have to be French onion all the things! Why? Because the combination of beef, Gruyere cheese and caramelized onions is awesome. Sure, it's great in soup but it's just as great minus the soup. Patty melts are already awesome so giving them the French onion twist just makes them even more so.

A patty melt is really a hybrid of a burger and a grilled cheese

Cheddar Soda Bread

Every year I bake some kind of soda bread around St. Patrick's Day and every year I ask myself why I don't bake it more often. It's easy to make and so completely delicious. And it lends itself to lots of variations.

My favorite version is probably my sweet soda bread. All you need is some butter and a cup of tea on repeat. But I was thinking about a great corned beef sandwich and decided

Cornmeal Onion Fritters

I usually enjoy adapting recipes to be a little healthier and that often means employing my oven or air fryer instead of the deep fryer. But, sometimes there's just no really good substitute for the original, like a crispy onion fritter. And, let's face it, sometimes we need a good, crispy onion fritter.

I've tested this recipe and a few variations of it in both the oven and the air fryer

Angel Hair with Fava Beans and Gremolata Pangrattato

Despite days of rain and gloom, the temperature is actually warming up quite a bit here. I think the groundhog said 6 more weeks of winter but that's just a rodent with a bad attitude. I'm predicting an early spring. And even if the sun is not quite cooperating now, I'm willing it to with spring-like foods.

I was craving a big bowl of pasta with fresh fava beans and a bright, lemony

Air Fried Doughnut Puffs

I've been having fun testing recipes in my air fryer so it was only a matter of time before I tried something sweet. Doughnuts are such great deep fried treats so I obviously had to see how they would do without the oil.

I've made quite a few baked doughnuts before but those have a looser texture and are cooked in a doughnut pan. But this dough needed to be firmer to be able to stand on

Cheesy Meatloaf Sliders with Pickled Red Onion

Meatloaf is one of those recipes that I love as much the next day, as a leftover, as I do freshly made for dinner. It's one of my favorite comfort foods when served fresh with mashed potatoes and gravy (diners do this dish SO well) but it's equally amazing as a sandwich the next day.

In fact, I was kind of craving the sandwich so intensely that I decided to just make a small batch

Buttered Bourbon Pop-Tail

Do you and your friends love seeing all the Oscar nominated movies before the awards are handed out? It's definitely movie watching time around here and the planning of a festive group Oscar watching party. It's so much more fun to watch with other people.

We'll need snacks, of course, but we definitely need cocktails. Since movie watching and popcorn eating go so well together, I thought

Individual Red Lentil Pot Pies

There are just some culinary terms that make me extra happy and pot pie is one of them. The image of creamy filling encased in pastry is enough to make me hungry. It's also an incredibly versatile dish since both the crust and the filling can be varied so much.

I definitely grew up on chicken pot pie, as did most of my friends. But I'm always happy to try a veggie or bean version. As a

Apple Puff Tart with Tahini Caramel

Not all Valentine's Day desserts have to contain chocolate. Especially if you suspect a box of your favorite chocolate truffles is being purchased for you because somebody knows how much you love them. So, on the assumption that somebody knows what's good for them and is purchasing said truffles, I think it's safe to move away from the chocolate. There should still be caramel, though.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

Sunday was cold and rainy and I was feeling run down from a long week. Normally I make a big pot of soup when I feel like that but I was more in the mood for something rich and hearty. Or, at least, rich tasting.

I didn't have any short ribs or roasts in the freezer but I did have a pound of fresh ground beef and some mushrooms. Stroganoff coming right up! It's not normally made with

Sparkling Red Currant Cosmopolitan

I am obsessed with fresh currants and probably mores so because of how hard they are to find. In New York I typically find them in the winter at specialty gourmet stores but sometimes larger farmer's markets will have them. One thing is sure and that's that, if I see them, I'm buying them.

The flavor is both sweet and tart which makes them great for chocolate pairings, cocktails and jams.

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake

Most of the time, I am not a fancy dessert maker. I like to create recipes that are easy, quick and delicious. But sometimes you have to make an effort and Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion for an extra fancy chocolate cake.

This cake, or at least a version of it, has a personal history for me. It involves a very special man who took my chocolate loving self to a French restaurant

Triple Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

It's almost time for the sweetest holiday of the year. And yes, it's wonderful if you have a romantic partner but I believe in spreading the love to friends and family. Thanks to Parks and Recreation, so many of my friends now host "galentines" celebrations and I'm happy to share the friend love with sweet treats.

My heart shaped cutter gets a serious workout every year as I bake batches

Cheesy Beef and Potato Casserole

Every time I make a casserole I ask myself why I don't make them more often. They can be prepped ahead of time, come together using just one or two pans and they usually make enough for lots of leftovers. Those are all words that interest me when I'm busy and can realize, with relief, that dinner is already in the fridge, just waiting for me to reheat it.

If you live in the Midwest,

Burger Au Poivre

One of my favorite restaurant splurges is steak au poivre which is typically a filet mignon served with a creamy peppercorn sauce. The steak is great, of course, but it's the sauce that makes me crave that dish. So, why not just make the sauce?

Technically you can make an au poive sauce without beef but it won't have the same depth of flavor. I'm always up for a good burger, though, and

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cake

This weekend I was going through my pantry and thinking about doing some cold weather, stay-at-home-day baking. There's something so comforting about winter baking not to mention, I really wanted something sweet.

I was actually a little low on supplies for anything but a basic loaf cake but I found a bag of chocolate chips and a jar of tahini. OK, let's be real. I always have a jar of

Baked Cauliflower Rice and Bacon Arancini

Where should I begin? The arancini part, the cauliflower rice part or the fact that this recipe serves four but I ate most of it by myself for dinner last night?

OK, we all love arancini, yes? Those Italian rice balls filled with cheese and sometimes little bits of ham and peas. There's a gourmet store in my neighborhood that makes them really well. Much, much too well.

And have you made

Winter Squash Soup with Sage

I hope you all are not getting sick of soup recipes because the temperatures and wind chill around here are below zero and that means I'm eating soup. My big soup pot pretty much lives on top of the stove lately because it's a stay inside, eat all the soup and watch Netflix kind of month.

This weekend I was fresh out of fresh soup and scouring my fridge to see what I'd be making next. I

Braised Short Ribs

So...brrrr. Those of us in the north east are enjoying (no, not really) single digit temperatures and the pleasures of potential frostbite whenever we take the dog for a walk. Mind you, I'm not really complaining that much because my apartment is heated and cozy. Just maybe getting a little claustrophobic in here.

Still, I know I'll be complaining about summer heat all too soon so instead

Black Bean Soup

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you had an opportunity to take some time off around the holidays. I took most of last week off which, for me, meant catching up on sleep, catching up on some personal stuff that I wanted crossed off my list and playing around in the kitchen.

Yes, playing around in the kitchen is both a job and a form of relaxation for me, especially when there are no