I am super in love with these. You can eat one for breakfast. You can have one for a snack. You can warm one up (or not) for dessert and top it with a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream. You can pick one up and eat it like a slice of pizza (over [...]

The other day I was feeling nostalgic about the things I used to make at Bluebird, these muffins most of all.

I made these Brussels sprouts twice this week. Yes, this recipe’s a definite keeper, but also I had to make them a second time because the first time I was too distracted by what our new edition, Joey, was getting into to take pictures. And the distraction was totally justified; I took my eyes off [...]

About a month ago we had dinner with our friends Ruthie and Forrest, and Ruthie made this kale tart. While we were eating it she totally talked it down, saying how it wasn’t as good as it normally was and she had to leave out the cranberries, etc., but I loved it. So much so [...]

The span of days between posts is creeping to greater and greater numbers, and I’ve been going back and forth between feeling guilty and defensive, between wanting to explain/justify/apologize for this obvious lapse and wanting to ignore it, pretend it’s not happening, hoping that in the grand scheme of the blog this summer will be [...]

Um. It’s been so long I don’t even know what to say. It’s shameful. As usual, I have an excuse. Two this time.

I’d had my eye on these brownies for a while. Since Valentine’s Day, to be precise, when I thought of making them but ultimately chickened out because the absence of butter made me too nervous. Instead, I made Melissa Clark’s other brownie recipe, which is magnificently awesome, my current favorite. These brownies were never far [...]

It’s been an unusually busy week, what with jetting off to Massachusetts to see a new baby and other relatives in from out of town, getting back late and working all the next day, then going straight to a seder, then working all day, going straight to another seder, working all day again, going straight [...]

I feel a bit uncomfortable referring to butternut squash as simply squash, since to me “squash” refers to the crook-necked yellow variety that my mom would always make. But up north the default squash seems to be butternut, a winter squash, which makes perfect sense seeing how it’s winter here for most of the year.

Melissa Clark just published a recipe for Olive Oil and Coconut Brownies and in the accompanying write-up talks about how, when it comes to dessert, her husband is perfectly content as long as chocolate features prominently, preferably in the form of chewy dark brownies, and about how well this works out for her since she’d [...]

I’ve been saving this one for a lull. It’s not like I haven’t been cooking over here (although I’ll be the first to admit that the scale has tilted sharply in favor of desserts, leaving actual food by the wayside), it’s just that a recent slew of ambitious recipes has failed to excite me as [...]

I did not take pictures while making this banana bread, which means that I wasn’t planning to share it with you. I know this is going to sound crraaazzy, but sometimes I like to cook for the pure pleasure of it, without having to stop every ten seconds to snap multiple photos. Mostly, though, I [...]

Don’t be afraid! You’ve come to a happy place. Although I get why you might be wary and confused, because why on earth am I making gluten-free vegan cookies? Well. I have this gig where I test recipes from upcoming cookbooks, which I’ve mentioned before, and when my editor (I love saying that, “my editor”) gave me [...]

Really, Dale? You burned the cookies? What are you, some sort of amateur? You don’t even want to know how many times I’ve berated myself for this. There’s almost nothing worse than overcooking cookies. It’s a terribly disappointing thing. So yes, I burned the edges of some of these cookies, resulting in uniformly crisp cookies as [...]

Does chicken with roasted grapes sound a little odd to you? It did to me, which is why I needed to make it.

When you make these carrots (and you will make them), do yourself a favor and double the recipe because it’s really disappointing first of all to only have a teensy bit of them left over and more disappointing still to come home after a long, hard day of work and gym to discover that that [...]

No one wants to look at cookies right now, I know I know I know. It’s officially diet and exercise season. But I suspect that some peoples’ resolutions for the new year included being more organized, planning ahead, and procrastinating less, and so this is how I’ll spin the macaroons: it’s never too early to [...]

When I was little, my nickname for my father’s mother was “Rum Ball Grandma” because of these sweet little bombs of rum-spiked chocolate she’d make. There seemed to always be a cache of them in the freezer, and they were my favorite thing to eat at her house, in addition to the See’s lollipops and [...]

We went to the husband’s side of the family’s Thanksgiving this year and so I didn’t have the privilege of tasting these amaaazing oaty chocolate caramel bars that my brother’s girlfriend brought for dessert. My mother and sister were positively gushing about how sinful they were, so I had to get the recipe and make [...]

I wasn’t sure exactly how many beets I’d need for the ice cream, so I overbought, planning to make one of my favorite salads with the extra. There’s nothing revolutionary about pairing beets and goat cheese, I know, but there’s a reason everyone does it. Sweet, earthy, firm beets are simply perfect with slightly tangy, [...]

Cornbread. I guess a lot of people feel strongly about its regional aspects. Southerners generally prefer their cornbread thinner, drier, cornier, and baconed up, whereas Northerners prefer it lighter and cakier and sweeter. This is just what I’ve read. I’m no cornbread expert, but I like it a lot, my preference being for the sweet, [...]

I have a huge pink recipe binder full of clippings from magazines and newspapers and annotated printouts from blogs and emails, as well as handwritten recipes on index cards from grandmothers, but I’m pretty sure this is the only recipe in there that I actually typed up as a Word document, printed out, and three-hole [...]

My sister-in-law’s father’s stuffing. We loved it so much when we had it for the first time a few years ago that I had to get the recipe. It’s vegetarian, which for whatever reason makes me really happy. On holidays and big gatherings where lots of food is involved, I always find myself thinking of [...]

Behold. The mac and cheese that has ruined mac and cheese for me, that has turned me into such a huge mac and cheese snob that I’ve found I have to feign enthusiasm at restaurants when people suggest ordering a couple sides of it for the table. I just know I’ll be disappointed. Bacon it [...]

I have to get something off my chest. I’d already been feeling guilty that I hadn’t posted a main course in a while because I know sometimes people are just like, gimme something to make for dinner tonight, and yo, where’s the beef? And then I was looking over my ridiculously long queue (I say [...]

The husband said that if I ever wanted to make a noodle kugel to, ya know, just have in the fridge, he would eat it. I thought this was his way of asking me to make noodle kugel, and I was happy to oblige because it’s one of those things I need to know about, [...]

I fell in love with this dessert when I made it for the first time last fall because it is so frickin’ weird. It’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. The top is like a crusty meringue but better because whole eggs are used, not just the whites. Underneath the crackly top is a sweet, [...]

I have a real big problem with Indian food, not because it gave me horrible, debilitating food poisoning the last two days of my honeymoon in Africa, but because whenever I try to cook it at home it just outright refuses to taste like anything even close to authentic. Great Indian food, especially when it’s [...]

Turkey sausage! Turkey sausage. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was cooking treif in my home. But I also don’t want to discourage anyone else from using pork sausage. In fact, I think you should make this with pork sausage and invite me over for dinner tonight. Oh wait, I can’t do it tonight. [...]

In the process of deciding whether or not I liked these cookies, I ate about 30 of them. I asked the husband for help: “What do you think of the cookies?” “They’re good.” “Are they pumpkiny?” “Yeah.” I eventually decided I liked them, the main reason being that they got better as time went on, [...]

I’m particularly fond of any recipe with dried fruit and nuts (wonder why?), and this is one I’ve made multiple times. The husband finds the greens a bit bitter, which they are. But he seems particularly sensitive to bitterness whereas I handle it pretty well. Like it, even.

This is, to me, what cheesesteak pie is to the husband. It’s the best thing ever. Since I made it, I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. I want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In fact, I’m eating it right now. I think I may have to go out and buy another butternut squash [...]

We may have to emphasize quantity over quality this week. I didn’t even know where to start. I have eight posts queued up and not one is expendable. For no justifiable reason I am panicked about this and maybe just maybe a bit scatterbrained. Also, I’m losing a lot of hair. Does that happen from [...]

What kind of a place would the world be without brownies stop. It’s too terrible to contemplate. Seriously, though, what would I have done following the disappointment of those stuffed peppers if I didn’t have these babies to pop immediately into my mouth, one after the other? After the other. After the other. And people [...]

Ooh ahh do I have treats for you today, not just one recipe but four. Okay, so one is hummus, and I know I’ve already given you a hummus recipe, but this here is a different version, so it counts. Having apparently gotten over my aversion to pita and hummus and the like after I was [...]

There is this thing called Thanksgiving Part II the Sequel. It’s one family’s answer to a dilemma many of us face every year: two (or more) Thanksgiving dinners to attend. Rather than compete with all those other gatherings, Thanksgiving Part II the Sequel has forged its own path and carved out a place for itself [...]

Before I give you the backstory on this one, I must gush and rave. This cake is f*ing amazing. It is sooo f*ing good. Good enough to necessitate expletives, Dale? Really? Hell f*ing yes! If I ever write a cookbook or open a restaurant, this cake will surely be featured. It is just so delicious. Nothing fancy, [...]

Oh, hey there! How’s it goin? It feels like it’s been forever. I’ve been thinking about this bruschetta post for days but, um, I’ve been distracted. With changes. Changes in my life. Big deal end of era changes. Huge sigh of relief rebirth kinds of changes. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. It doesn’t feel [...]

Does blue cheese-honey ice cream sound good to you? Take a moment to think about it. It could be good, no? You may be a little skeptical, but you’d try it, wouldn’t you? It’s got the sweet, it’s got the savory, and ooh, it would probably be very nice drizzled with honey and topped with some [...]

Unsatisfied (duh) by the recent raspberry sorbet, I was sitting in front of my computer the other night idly musing over what my next ice cream flavor should be, and (I wasn’t even looking for a recipe) this just popped out at me. I took it as a sign. I got up from my chair that instant, checked my spice [...]

I asked/ordered my sister to make me this cake for my birthday. Then, I suggested/insisted that she take pictures of the process and convinced her that she wanted to do a guest blog post. Today is her birthday (the nerve she had to be born so close to my birthday!) and, as a birthday present [...]

I was dying while making these. Just trembling with excitement and anticipation with each disgusting, I mean delicious, layer. Layer 1: melted butter; layer 2: crushed-up shortbread cookies (and so just to clarify, we now have buttery shortbread cookies soaking in melted butter); layer 3: sweetened shredded coconut; layer 4: chopped pecans; layer 5: top-quality dark [...]

If I make a recipe twice in the span of three weeks, you know it’s a keeper, especially if I don’t make any adjustments. I love these things. Not only are they absolutely delicious, with a hint of almond in the crust, a cherry filling that’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and a [...]

Wow! Who knew wheat berries were so delicious? (Seriously, who among you knew and why were you keeping it from me? Fess up!) Well now that I’m in on the secret, you can bet your booty I’ll be stockin’ up on wheat berries and making this salad over and over again because it’s just perfect. Chewy, nutty wheat [...]

I know ya’ll were just chompin’ at the bit for another ice cream recipe! If you do not yet own an ice cream maker, you should really just buy one now. It will be the best-spent $59.95 (plus shipping & handling) of your life. Order now and receive a bonus freezer bowl! This offer is too good to pass [...]

I remember very clearly the first time I made this cake. We had just moved to our new place in Brooklyn and I was sick and I was PISSED. Because I hate being sick (who doesn’t?), and it tends to happen to me when I move. I guess you could blame that old intangible enemy stress, [...]

This is really embarrassing to admit: I started a fire in my oven while making this. Like an actual fire with flames in the bottom of my oven that my husband had to put out by pouring water on it, and it sizzled really loud, and it was scary. We’ve reached a new low over here…or [...]

It occurred to me that I didn’t even mention the reason for the dinner party in my last post. Not that there needs to be a reason for a dinner party, of course, but it does help to have some excuse or motivating factor, and the excuse in this case was that my very lovely [...]

These cupcakes absolutely require an exclamation mark because they make me so happy and excited!!! They are a long-standing tradition. When I was growing up, my mom would make them every single year for St. Patrick’s Day (and still does). I thought they were the coolest things because they were green inside, of course (and not [...]

After cooking salmon a bunch of times by coating it with salt and olive oil and searing it in a pan to give it a nice crispy crust, I swore off that method forever because it would stink up my apartment for days. It scarred me. It was the reason why I staunchly refused to [...]