bites out of life

Brussels Sprouts Hash

I love brunch as much (or possibly more, if you check my Open Table history) as the next person. It’s the perfect meal — early enough to embrace the wonders of breakfast food (ie. bacon and eggs) but late enough for such indulgences as french toast, hollandaise and a bloody Mary.

But some mornings are so lazy that even the idea of waiting for a table — or leaving the apartment, to be honest — is too much work. While I’ll admit that I’ve gone the “delivery omelette” route, at best they’re meh and at worst … well, congealed eggs surrounding limp, overcooked vegetables with a side of soggy potatoes are a terrible way to start a day. Those days demand easy recipes, like frittatas, baked eggs and french toast.

To add to that list: this brussels sprouts hash. If you buy your sprouts pre-shredded, there’s no work at all, and even if you don’t, a good cup of coffee and a sharp knife are the only things you need to make this recipe happen. Brussels sprouts are tossed with crispy diced potatoes, with a touch of onion for sweetness and some bacon for salty, porky goodness. Balsamic vinegar adds a little punch at the end, enough to jolt you out of your morning daze. With a runny egg yolk* and buttered toast, it is brunch perfection. And you didn’t even have to put on pants.

*Please ignore the fact that my egg yolk is a mess. I have yet to figure out a way to transfer a fried egg from pan to plate without breaking the yolk 75% of the time. Still delicious. …

Chocolate Mousse Pie

So many romantic dinners end, as they should, with chocolate. The reasons are obvious: chocolate is good for your health, it may or may not be an aphrodisiac and it’s pretty friggin’ delicious.

Unfortunately, most chocolate desserts are dense and heavy. Think chocolate tortes that are basically a 9-inch truffle, molten lava cakes with thick rivers of chocolate syrup, ganache that requires a shovel rather than a spoon. Don’t get me wrong — I love all of those things dearly. But sometimes a meal calls for a lighter finale, a cloud-like dessert instead of a prescription for a food coma.

Enter this chocolate mousse pie. It is all of the gloriousness of chocolate pudding, sandwiched between a crunchy chocolate crust and swaths of airy whipped cream. Rather than the richness of an egg yolk- or even cornstarch-based pudding, the filling is made by whipping air egg whites until they stiffen up into glossy, frothy peaks. Gently folding the whites into whipped cream and a simple chocolate ganache creates a chocolate mousse that practically dissolves on your tongue.

While the original recipe called for semisweet chocolate, IÂ used a blend of 83% and 55% chocolate, which made the pie even more “chocolate”-y and less sweet. (Those percentages indicate the amount of ingredients from the cocoa bean, ie. the cocoa butter and chocolate liquor, in that bar. A higher percentage means there’s a higher concentration of pure chocolate [and less sugar] in that bar — hence why 80-90% chocolate bars are so bitter. [Though a higher percentage doesn’t necessarily indicate better chocolate, since there are many factors that go into creating the perfect chocolate bar.] Semisweet chocolate is usually between 45-50% cocoa, while bittersweet is usually around 60-65%. And that’s more than you ever wanted to know about chocolate … )

The end result is a barely sweet, light-as-air pie that will prove your devotion to your Valentine’s date. After all, isn’t the mark of true love that you’re willing to share?Â …

Butternut Squash Quinoa + The Glories of a Well-Stocked Pantry

One of the biggest challenges for a 20-something is what to do on those days when your fridge is bare and your will is weak. Seamless beckons, just a few clicks away from dispatching a meat-and-veggie-laden pizza or a gigantic box of General Tso’s (with an egg roll! For $8!) to my door. But the underlying guilt of I should eat healthy or I’m too broke or ~~I just had delivery two days ago~~ jk that would never happen eventually leads to an open-mouthed stare in front of open cabinets, part of a desperate search to find something–anything!–to eat. I cannot be the only person who has this problem. But, my friends, I’ve found the solution: a well-stocked pantry.

Always having a few staples on hand is the busy cook’s best friend. Depending on your tastes, these staples might change, but a few basics:

– canned beans: I always have black beans and chickpeas (I know, technically a legume), but anything will do — pinto, kidney, white, etc.

– pasta: at least one long, thin spaghetti-like pasta and one short pasta (ie. penne, ziti, rotini, etc.) + 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes*

– grains: I have a million–rice (brown, white and wild), quinoa, farro, oats, barley … you prob only need 1 or 2 of your favorites

– oil and vinegar: olive oil + a neutral-flavored one, basic red and white vinegar, balsamic and maybe apple cider vinegar

*If you’ve got crushed tomatoes, olive oil and spices, you can make an easy tomato sauce in 15 minutes. Bonus points if you have a yellow onion and garlic.

– spices: whatever your favorites are — cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried rosemary, dried thyme, crushed red pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, allspice — literally whatever you like

Okay, so my pantry is a wee bit full …

Those are just the basics, but I like to keep frozen vegetables (corn, edamame, spinach, broccoli, etc.) on hand to bulk out grain salads. I also usually have a few onions and a bulb of garlic, since they can be used in everything and don’t spoil quickly. And I always have a carton of eggs in the fridge, since they don’t go bad for weeks (and truth be told, they’re usually gone by then).

If you have some or all of those things, you can easily throw something together in the time that it takes you to choose, order and wait for delivery. Earlier this week, faced with a litany of chores, a serious craving for pizza and a carton of butternut squash that was about to take a turn for the worse, I decided to buck up and cook. I went the easiest route possible: roasting squash so the oven does all the work, quinoa, which takes less than 15 minutes to cook, and cooking spinach directly in the quinoa so that I have to wash one less dish.

This butternut squash quinoa is one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe at all — more a template based on what I had lying around. If you’ve got some greens in the fridge or in the freezer, dump them in. No quinoa, but have some rice instead? NBD. Want to use other spices? Go right ahead! The beauty of these meals are their flexibility and ease, and when you’re scrambling to get dinner together, that’s all that matters.

And then I added an egg. …

Peanut Butter-Banana Oatmeal

Oops I did it again … got lost in the game, signed up for another half. The big race is in April, which means that for the next few months, I’ll be spending a lot of time complainingÂ about training, wandering through the hills of Central Park with only a 30% certainty of where I actually am, and gleefully carbo-loading without reason.

While training for my first half last summer/fall, my go-to breakfast before long runs was a slice of whole-grain bread with peanut butter and banana slices. This time around, it’s been between “very cold” and “reallyeffingfreezing” every time I head outÂ (true story: on my first run it was 18 degrees out, so I wore my leather gloves and a knit hat. After 3.5 miles ofÂ WTFÂ looks, I got actual running gear the next day). Needless to say,Â Â I’ve been craving something more hearty than toast.

Oatmeal is perfect for winter mornings. It’s comfort food at its best: filling and warming and simple. Plus, it’s healthy, unlike most typical winter fare. Steel-cut or Irish oats are the most nutritious, since they’re the least processed. But they also take much longer to cook, and I’m not a patient person even on my best days, and definitely not early on a weekend before 1+ hours of exercise.

Rolled oats thankfully take 5-7 minutes from start to finish, and can be prepared on the stove or in the microwave. I’m a big proponent of ditching the packets–you know, “Peaches and Cream,” “Maple and Brown Sugar,” “Apple Cinnamon”– they’re loaded with sugar and all sorts of artificial flavors. Real oatmeal takes little time and zero effort, and can be SO flavorful without any added sugar or weird powdered milk!*

I love the combination of peanut butter and banana in all its forms, so of course I added it here. The banana gets soft and slightly caramelized as it heats up. Adding cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger adds banana bread-like flavor, and swirling in a bit of peanut butter makes the oatmeal creamy and lush without any actual cream.Â The banana should be borderline “banana bread-ready,” ie. yellow and starting to spot. Less ripe bananas are a bit too starchy and won’t break down in the oatmeal as much (plus, you should really be eating these on their own anyway — they’re perfect).

Whether you’re training for a half or not, everyone needs more oatmeal in their lives!

*Other easy oatmeal ideas: 1 diced small apple + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 cup pumpkin puree + 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice) + 1/2 teaspoon pepitas; 1/2 cup berries + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 cup diced dried figs + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts. #ditchthepacket …

Wild Rice Salad with Brussels Sprouts

First off, thanks everyone for the great comments on my blog-iversary! You’re awesome.

Eating healthy during the winter is SUCH a challenge for me. Leafy green salads, try as they might, just do not warm me up, and as hearty as soups and stews are, I really just want to bury myself in a vat of bubbling hot cheese.

Binging on pasta and pizza is totally natural when it’s cold out — apparently, our bodies are wired to crave carbs in winter, but that doesn’t help me much in my attempts to fit in my clothes come spring. So I did the most logical thing I could think of: I added carbs to my salad.

As we all know, I love a good grain salad. They’re filling, good hot or cold, and easy to travel with, making them perfect for bringing to lunch. In the past, I’ve used quinoa, farro and barley, so this time, I decided to try wild rice.

Growing up, we ate a lot of white rice. In the past five years, I’ve switched almost exclusively to brown rice (to be honest, I actually mean fried rice, since the only time I eat rice is with my delivery Chinese), but this was my first time trying tried wild rice. Nutritionally, it has more proteins and fewer carbs than its brown counterpart, but we’re here mostly for the taste. It’s nuttier and chewier than brown rice (which is already too chewy for some coughmyparentscough*), which means it stands up well to flavorful vegetables and bold dressings.

When you say “vegetable,” my first thought goes to Brussels sprouts, so I lightly sauteed some and threw them in. I wanted a snappy dressing that cut through my winter ennui, so I looked to April Bloomfield for inspiration. Her lemon-caper dressingÂ is knock-your-socks-off tangy, so I simplified it a bit and toned it down a touch so that the flavors of the rice and the sprouts could shine. With a few toasted pine nuts for crunch, this wild rice salad was a satisfying way to stay healthy in this cold.

*These are real coughs, since I’ve been sick for almost a week now with an unshakeable combo of strep/a bad cold. Get ready for yet another round of soup (woot!) …

4-Year-Blogiversary + Some Blogging Tips

Four years ago today, I decided on a whim to start blogging.

(even Leslie frickin’ Knope is excited about this!)

Since then, I’ve cooked up nearly 300 recipes, from kitchens in the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Maryland, and now, Hell’s Kitchen. I’ve taken this blog with me on trips to Detroit, Buenos Aires, Kolkata and Paris, and it’s taken me to Mexico and San Fran. In the 1,461 days since my first post, I’ve also learned how to like avocados, and I’m slowly coming around on fish and *gasp* tomatoes. Aside from aÂ few different birthdays, I’ve finished grad school, gotten my first (and second) full-time job and worked at a few different places, and just generally have moved from the wildness of my early 20s to embracing my 25-going-on-57 mentality.

Along the way, I’ve learned a few things. I’ll spare you the life lessons (namely: if you discover that your stomach can no longer handle spicy foods, stop feeding it j-chips), but here are some blogging tips I’ve picked up that have helped me immensely.* …

Pizza Dip: The Apex of Super Bowl Food

As I’ve mentioned before, the Super Bowl is kind of a big deal for me. I care less about the ads and halftime show (last year aside, of course [obvi I Googled that link and don’t have it bookmarked or anything …]) and instead focus on the most important things: football and food.

I’m a big believer in making Super Bowl food as low maintenance as possible. When scanning recipes, I’ll look for instructions like “make ahead,” “dump and bake,” “cover and simmer” — basically anything that requires me to pay little attention and even less effort. And bonus points if it travels easily, so I can drag it to my aunt’s house without any messes.

By those standards, pizza dip is the ultimate Super Bowl food. It’s quite literally dump and bake, and requires less than five minutes to put together. It can easily be assembled, covered with tin foil and carried, so you can bake it fresh at your Super Bowl party (it only needs 20-25 minutes!). And when did hot, bubbly, browned melted cheese ever disappoint a crowd?

If pizza dip ain’t yo’ thang, a) we need to have a serious talk, and b) I put together a little list of my favorite game day recipes. Check it out, and enjoy! …

Carrot Soup with Turkey Meatballs and Spinach

In case there was any confusion, let me make one (sad) thing clear: from late December to mid-March, 5 out of 7 days of the week I am eating some form of soup. Whether it’s 4 degrees out or 54 (like it was on Monday — can it please stay that way forever?), I will invariably be packing soup for lunch, fingers crossed that nothing spills on my way to the office.

Why take this risk day in and day out, for months on end? Because soup is awesome. It is warming without being excessively heavy, and if you eschew the sodium-laden/cream-heavy versions, it can be extremely healthy without feeling too much like “diet food” (cabbage soup aside). Plus, they’re infinitely adaptable — throw whatever vegetables you have in there, some spices and maybe some herbs, simmer for a half hour. Boom. You will undoubtedly have something pretty tasty.

And while a decent soup is still a very delicious lunch, to get it to that “ohmygahhh this is SO good” level, I called in the big guns. (And by “I”, obvi I mean Deb from Smitten Kitchen, who created this recipe for Parade.) Carrots form the base of the soup — and we all know how much I like carrot soup — but this version becomes a heartier meal with the addition of tiny turkey meatballs, cooked in the soup itself. A few handfuls of spinach at the end add some color and texture, plus of course they make this carrot soup “Resolution-ary”-approved.

Now that I’ve admitted that I have a soup obsession, one of my goals this winter is to branch out a bit. What are your go-to winter meals? …

Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash

We’re smack-dab in the middle of Resolution-ary, that magical time when most of us repent for the excesses of the holiday season by adopting the latest Draconian diet and flocking to the gym like its a Beyonce concert. I am no exception, since I’ve given up sweets for January* and have a resolutions list that ends at #33. (To floss every day, if you’re interested.) The whole “new year, new you” idea appeals to me greatly, since I’ve usually devolved into a gluttonous mess by the end of December, and need a bit of asceticism to get me back on track.

And what better way to re-embrace healthy living than with kale? The trendiest vegetable of 2013 (and 2012, and I was eating it back in 2011 — does that mean I’m ahead of the curve?) is still going strong this year, especially when partnered with a snappy Dijon-balsamic dressing, roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions.

I made this massaged kale salad on January 2, because of course (see: Resolution-ary). But a combination of Hercules and a polar vortexÂ turned me into Joey Tribbiani (could I be wearing anymore clothes right now?) and all I could think about was stew. So I’ve only actually eaten this salad once. But it was very good — tangy and crunchy, with the bitter kale and salty cheese serving as a nice foil for the sweetness of the squash and onions. And sinceÂ I have leftover squash and onions, plus an entire box of kale, I will definitely be making this again and again, well into spring. (If I even make it there. I may wake up like this tomorrow.)

*After gorging on sweet after sweet after sweet in December, I need a break. I’m hoping that by saying this “out loud,” I’ll feel more accountable. So far, I’ve already overcome the challenge of baking blondies for a party and not even touching a crumb. I can totally hold out for 23 more days, right? …

Moroccan Beef Stew

I was supposed to be talking about kale today. It’s the first week of January, and I, like everyone else in America, am back on a diet that started off strong with a delicious massaged kale salad with roasted butternut squash.

But then I woke up to 7 inches of snow on my doorstep and a “Feels like -5F” wind chill, and salads were pushed far from my mind. I just complained about the weather a few weeks ago so I’ll spare you the details of my agony, but let’s just say that I’ve spent some quality time in bed this week, canceling plans and skipping the gym to hide under my covers.

If there’s anything good that can come of these frosty temps, it’s stew. Stews are the perfect thing to make when it’s cold out — they’re hearty comfort food and take so long to cook that they double as heating.

My original plan was to make a vegetarian stew that doubled as “first week of January” fare — you know, the wholesome, I’m-on-a-diet-now stuff filled with vegetables and lean protein, etc.? But then I stepped outside and realized that nothing but a big bowl of beef stew could cut through this chill, so I swapped out the chickpeas for cubes of lean beef. It’s perhaps not as diet-friendly as kale salad (few things are), but it’s not all that bad for you. Carrots, potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini and tomatoes simmer with the beef, and the spices–cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and ginger–are all supposed to have health benefits. (Plus they add a Moroccan touch to the recipe, and we all know how obsessed I am with that.)

The end result is a spicy, filling and most importantly, warming, stew that is delicious on Day 1, even better on Day 2, and freezes beautifully. That means the next time it’s cold out, I’ll have Moroccan beef stew and you won’t have to hear about the weather. Again.

Not quite the stew you’re looking for? Try one of these: Beef Stew with Root Vegetables, Butternut Squash Chili with Black Beans (also Beef or Turkey Chili), Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots, Chipotle Beef with Cheddar Grits, Green Chili and Pork Posole, Quick Vegetable Stew (it’s diet-friendly!), Stewed Chickpeas with Kale (also diet-friendly), and Stovetop Braised Short Ribs.

…

Champagne Cake For A Toast To 2014!

Record scratch.

You heard me right. Champagne cake.

What better way to ring in 2014? This cake combines two staples of all New Year’s celebrations (which also happen to be two of my favorite things): champagne and sparkles.Â Holiday fruitcakeÂ aside, boozy cakes are my jam, especially when they’re filled with things as delicious asÂ red wineÂ and champagne (andÂ GuinnessÂ too!). This cake one-ups the others by adding a bit of champagne to the frosting. And then I had to one-up the original recipe by adding silver sprinkles, because of course.

New Year’s Eve is a weird holiday for me. Though I love the idea of it (see: champagne and sparkles), it’s always much more of a hassle than I’d like — possibly because I live far too close to Times Square for my liking (they’ve already started blocking off the streets near me ak;sd;faskf). I much prefer staying in and celebrating with family and friends, watching the ball drop from a safe distance. This year, I’ll be at a friend’s dinner party, armed with cake (hence why I cut so many pieces) and obviously, some bubbly. (Given that I’ll be in Brooklyn and getting back to my apartment might actually be Mission Impossible, this may be how my night ends.) (Are there enough parentheses in this paragraph?) (No, not yet.) (Ok, I’ve had enough.)

But I love the idea of taking a minute to look back on the year that’s ending and consider what lies ahead. 2013 was pretty exciting for me: I started a new job, traveled a lot, turned 25, achieved some goals (ran a half-marathon) and missed some others (going a full year without losing my wallet #mess). And in 2014, I’d like to work harder on this blog, run more, eat more green things and fewer sugary things, and hopefully travel somewhere new.

For now however, on the eve of the eve of the new year, allow me to toast to 2014. Hope your year is filled with laughter, love and plenty of cake! …

(Not Your Usual) Holiday Fruitcake

Fruitcake gets a bad rap. In many cases, it’s deserved: horrifyingly technicolor gelatinous squares masquerade as “fruits” in an overly sweet, overly dry brick-like “cake.” No one who cares about you brings you fruitcake for the holidays. If you do get one, the giver is basically saying, “I care about you zero percent and have now saddled you with this for a lifetime.”

But fruitcake doesn’t have to be a friendship-wrecker or the butt of everyone’s jokes. Fruit-and-nut cakes can be quite delicious, a perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea or coffee. Holiday fruitcakes have the added bonus–they’re so full of warm spices that they basically double as a candle, perfuming your home with the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and orange zest for the hour or so that they bake.

This version, adapted from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, is loaded: 4-1/2 cups of fruits and nuts in a batter of only 2 cups flour, 1 stick butter and 1 cup sugar. I got a bit carried away at the bulk bins in Whole Foods, and used a mix of dried figs, pineapple, apricots, dates, cranberries, almonds, pecans and cashews, but any combination works–raisins, blueberries, cherries, candied peel, etc. etc.

Unlike other fruitcake recipes, this one calls on dark molasses to add a rich, slightly bitter note to the cake. That plus the touch of ground ginger that I added recall another spicy holiday favorite, gingerbread. It also completely eschews alcohol, which, in a strange turn of events for me, was a bonus — I’ve been burned by too many boozy fruitcakes with an off-puttingly stale smell. You could soak a cheesecloth in brandy or dark rum and then wrap the cooled fruitcake in it, if you really want to (this apparently also helps preserve its freshness, though probably not for 130+ years).

If there was ever a fruitcake to convert the haters, this would be it. It’s spicy and only slightly sweet, punched up with the orange zest and molasses. And no bricks here — this cake is moist and lovely, the only thing you should be eating on holiday mornings. …

Honey Mulled Wine

If you’ve been paying attention (or have ever come within 25 feet of me), you’ll know that I really like red wine. I like it in myÂ jam, I like in my meat, and I especially like it in my birthday cake. Red wine goes with everything, and for most of my life, I very naively thought that nothing could make it better.

WELL. As it turns out, heating it up with a touch of honey, an orange and some spices makes it a warming cup of comfort. People have known this forever — mulled wine has been around since the first century, and variations are popular across Europe. Some versions add brandy or port, and most rely on a combination of cinnamon, cloves and citrus to impart that “mulled” taste. (Star anise is also pretty common, and while they look very pretty, I hate licorice and anything that tastes like it with a fiery passion. If you don’t, feel free to drop a few in your wine!)

Whether you have a cozy fire going or not, I hope you have a cup of mulled wine to warm you up this Christmas. Happy holidays! …

Pistachio-Cardamom Meltaways

Guys, it’s friggin’ cold. I know, I say this every year, but I’m tired of waking up to “Feels like 14F” temperatures each morning. As if having to wear a hat+gloves+boots+sleeping-bag coat for weeks on end wasn’t bad enough, it’s also frigid in my apartment. (Maybe because heat rises and I live on the second floor. Or maybe because my building’s central heating system is terrible. But definitely not because I’ve stacked an enormous pile of junk directly in front of the heater and refuse to move it … )

So I sleep in sweatshirts and flannel PJs and fuzzy socks and triple burrito-wrap myself in blankets. And when not in bed, I bake. Keeping the oven on for a few hours heats up the apartment pretty nicely, so it’s a win-win.

After buying the ingredients for these fabulous dark chocolate, pistachio cookies and sea salt cookies in the fall, I was left with a ton of leftover pistachios that I ~~ate like a normal human~~ ignored because I was too lazy to shell them. But when my sister came over on a quiet Sunday afternoon (she lives here now!), I put her on nut-cracking duty so that I could finally clear my already overburdened cabinet.

To use up all of the pistachios, I needed to find a recipe that featured the nuts in all their glory. To my shock, there’s not a ton out there — too many recipes call for pistachio pudding mix instead of the real thing, and many more use it solely as a garnish, rather than a main ingredient. I had to deep-dive into my “pistachio cookie” Google search, and finally found these pistachio-cardamom meltaways a few pages in (thank you Jeeeezus).

The recipe immediately reminded me of my beloved toasted pecan sandies, with its use of ground nuts in the batter, which creates a crumbly, soft cookie that is dusted with powdered sugar at the end. Nut-based cookies are big this time of year, as the similar walnut-based polverones, or Mexican Wedding cookies, are also on many a holiday cookie tray.

While I love the sandies (and will be making them next week), these were DELISH. Perfect for breakfast, perfect for lunch, perfect with an afternoon cup of tea — I didn’t even get around to eating them for dinner because I had eaten so many of them throughout the day. They “melt away” with each bite (get it — meltaway?), the cardamom adding a warm, spiced note to each bite. Despite the powdered sugar topping, they’re not overly sweet. These definitely deserve a spot in your cookie lineup this season! …

Fig-Olive Jam + Other Homemade Gift Ideas

Homemade gifts are, in my humble opinion, one of the nicest things you can do for people. They can be extremely simple (hello, DIY hot cocoa mix!) but show the recipient that you put a little bit of effort into their present. They’re especially perfect for co-workers, neighbors, random family friends you see three times a year — basically anyone who would otherwise get a $10 bottle of wine.

And while you could bust out the candy thermometer and make elaborate caramels and toffees and marshmallows, homemade candy can be as easy as melting chocolate, mixing some things in and then letting it cool.

Here are some great easy candy ideas:
Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch (David Lebovitz)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
Chocolate Toffee Cracker Crunch
Hazelnut Truffles (Smitten Kitchen)
Peppermint Bark
Pistachio Cranberry White Chocolate Bark

Also popular: nuts. Buying large amounts of nuts can get a bit expensive (try buying in bulk on Amazon), but whether you make candied or spiced nuts, they’re sure to please:

Glazed Pecans (Saveur)
Spiced Herbed Nuts (Melissa Clark)
Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Pecans (Brown-Eyed Baker)
Maple Bacon (!!) Spiced Nuts (The Washington Post)
Chipotle and Rosemary Spiced Nuts (Ina Garten)

Quickbreads are also a big hit, since they can be made ahead and are easy to package and hand off to people. Obviously, the most traditional gift is fruitcake, that mythical creature that somehow combines some of my favorite things (booze, nuts, fruit) into something that is terrible and gross and indestructible.

But there’s a lot of recipes out there for fruit-and-nut-studded loaves that sound amazing, and I have it in my head to give the traditional stuff another try. If you’re not into that, here are some other options:

Arkansas Fig Fruitcake (The Wednesday Chef)
Banana-Walnut Bread
Chai-Spiced Pear Bread
Date Nut Spice Bread
Fresh Fig Cake
Ginger Persimmon Bread (Joy the Baker)
Gramercy Tavern’s Gingerbread (Smitten Kitchen)
Irish Porter Cake *I LOVED this.
Olive Oil Bread

And rounding out this little list, homemade jams and sauces. They’re so easy to make in bulk, and if you have mad foresight, you can make fruit jams during the summer and keep them for the holidays. If not, there are plenty of sweet and savory treats below:

Cranberry Mostarda (The Kitchn)
Dulce de Leche
Milk Jam (Canelle et Vanille)
Pear Refrigerator Jam
Winter Squash Butter

Also on the list — this fig-olive jam. There are few things that I make repeatedly at home (mostly because that would be very boring for blog purposes). This jam is one of them, and you should probably be a little bit pissed that I haven’t mentioned it to you already. What was originally supposed to be a relish for lamb chops became a wine-spiked savory-sweet spread for crostini, the perfect accompaniment for cheese plates, something to slather on apples or pears, or even something to eat, unadorned, with a spoon. (You could also put it on lamb chops and it will be exceedingly delicious.)

While the original recipe calls for Syrah, I’ve used everything from oaky Cabs to fruity Pinot Noirs to the always classy three-buck Chuck. They’re all good, a welcome contrast to the honey-sweet figs and the salty, briny olives (as is a hefty pinch or two of fresh black pepper). It’s a great gift … if you’re willing to let go of it. …

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

I’m not sure why cookies are so big this time of year. Every major food website and blog has between 5 and 25 days of cookies (Martha has so many holiday cookie recipes that my head may explode), but why now? What makes everyone and their grandma bury themselves to their elbows in butter, flour, sugar and eggs, rolling out one batch after another of sandies and meringues and shortbreads and sugar cookies and crackles and sables and crescents and the list goes on and on.

Could it be because cookies are portable, and therefore perfect for bringing to parties? Or is it because they’re pre-portioned by nature, and therefore easy to serve to large crowds? Or maybe both, plus they’re delicious? In any case, I’m glad that there’s an entire month devoted to cookie-baking, since I don’t do nearly enough of it during the year.

While ~~being bombarded by~~ browsing through cookie recipes the other day, I happened upon one for raspberry thumbprint cookies. I was never really into thumbprints as a kid, but I’m a sucker for a pretty cookie and these looked so lovely and festive with their ruby red jam-filled bellies. Since my apartment is so cold that I need to turn the oven on to heat it, I figured I might as well make a project out of it.*

And I’ll be honest: though the dough takes no time at all, forming these are a bit of a project. My one knock on cookies is that they take some time, since you have to make each one individually. (Hence why bars are the perfect dessert. Still portable and pre-portioned, but you just bake them in a pan and slice ’em up!) For these thumbprints, you first have to form them into balls, then indent each ball, then fill each indentation with jam. It helps if you have a good show to watch while doing this, or you could be like me and just watch this on repeat.

But the effort is pretty worth it. The slightly tart jam is a perfect foil for the buttery sugar cookie base, and in a season where looks matter most, these raspberry thumbprint cookies are showstoppers — no weird frosting required. Worth pulling out the flour and butter for!

*This is no joke. I’ve been cooking almost every day this week, since it’s the only way to keep myself warm. The only other option is burying myself under the covers, which is so much more fun when you’ve got cookies. …

Peru, in Photos

I’m horrible at telling people about my vacations. Any time anyone asks me how a trip was, my first reaction is always, “Oh, it was Ah-mazing.” When prodded to elaborate, I’ll talk about the weather or what the people are like or how good the food is, revealing very little about the actual places that I saw or the meals that I had or the things that I did. I could literally sum up the entire six months I lived in Madrid into two sentences, one of which is “I need to go back.”

It’s not that I have nothing to say about each new place — most of the time, I have too much to say. But often, that’s boring and well, in the case of travel at least, a picture really is worth a thousand words. So here is my trip to Peru, in picture form. (The captions provide more context for these photos, so read those … because apparently, I can’t tell a story entirely in words or entirely in photos. Whoops.)

View the full Peru photo set on Flickr.

I will say this about Peru: the people really were ridiculously friendly and the weather really did work out for us (we went on the cusp of their rainy season, but weren’t really slowed down by rain at all). HA.

A Tour of Peru + Quinoa Soup

Today, after two weeks of traipsing through mountains and jungles and cities and mountains and beaches and oh, did I mention mountains? I had to go back to the office. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But like any other human on Earth, I’d rather be off exploring new lands on a family adventure.

And what an adventure it was. Our 12-day trip, which began on beaches of Lima, featured stops in the Amazon, Cuzco (capital of the Inca Empire), Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world). It was my first straight sight-seeing trip in a while, and the first “just” family vacation we’d taken in years, so naturally, I have 27,393 photos to dig through and clean up for you.

But in the meantime, let’s talk food. Each region of Peru has its own staples: Lima, which is on the Pacific coast, showcases its supremely fresh fish in the city’s famous ceviche, in which raw seafood is lightly tossed with lime juice, chilis and little else. Andean cities feature heartier fare. They grow hundreds of different types of potatoes in the mountains, and serve them alongside everything, a dream for this tater-lovin’ gal. The Amazon’s diversity of fruits and vegetables drives much of the cooking there, though freshwater fish is also very popular.

Given such a wide array of culinary options, I went H.A.M., taking full advantage of breakfast buffets at our hotels each morning and the 3-course menÃºs that are so common for lunch and dinner. I ate so much during the first week of our trip that my body literally cried “uncle”.* For two days, I suffered through a horrible stomachache, stuck with soups and light sandwiches while my family gorged on slices of crispy, wood-fired pizza (which is weirdly a big thing in Cuzco — all the locals recommended pizza) and lomo saltado, a saute of beef tenderloin, onions and peppers that is served with rice AND French fries.

And then I discovered quinoa soup. A staple of the Andean region, where meat is often scarce but quinoa and potatoes are not, the soup was light enough to soothe my stomach but still filling and flavorful. Peruvian cuisine doesn’t use too many spices beyond chili peppers — they rely on herbs such as oregano and lemon verbena (called herba Luisa there) to flavor their food — so the soup was like heaven to my overburdened stomach.

When I got home from work today, I wanted nothing more than a big bowl of quinoa soup. And since we’re probably all a bit overburdened after the excesses of Thanksgiving, this is the perfect recipe to step back for a minute and give our bodies a warm, wholesome break. At least until holiday cookie season starts …

*This is no lie. The meal that finally did me in? Our last breakfast in Machu Picchu, in which I ate (in one sitting): 1 omelette with mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes and cheese + 1 slice of toast with butter + 1 piece of farmer’s cheese + 1 waffle with dulce de leche and elderberry jam + 1 croissant dipped in dulce de leche + a bowl of fruit. You know, to be healthy.

More on my Peruvian adventures soon! …

Crispy Shredded Brussels Sprouts

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Is your menu set? Do you know what you’re bringing to your potluck dinner? While most food sites (including this here blog) start thinking about Thanksgiving in July, most people don’t worry about it until a few weeks before the big day. Or if you’re like my family, the night before, during which we often cobble together a side to go along with the desserts I’ve been dreaming about since the summer.

But not all Thanksgiving sides need to be elaborate, multi-part affairs. Sometimes a good side dish requires only five ingredients and two steps, one of them being “turn the oven on.” We already know what a shame it is that Brussels sprouts aren’t featured front and center at most Turkey Day meals. Remedy that error with these crispy shredded Brussels sprouts.

If you buy pre-shredded sprouts, this recipe is literally no work. All that’s required is tossing the sprouts with olive oil, lemon zest, and salt and pepper, and then crisping them up in the oven (a la kale chips). They’re crunchy and bright, a light accompaniment to the butter-heavy mashed potatoes and cream-filled casseroles.

Whatever you’re having, hope your Thanksgiving is full of family and fun!

Need other great last-minute side ideas? Try these mashed sweet potatoes with roasted garlic or thyme-roasted beets with walnuts and goat cheese. …

Vegan Pumpkin Bars with a Maple Glaze

One of my lesser (or better, depending on your outlook) qualities is my relentless trolling of family and friends. Case in point: a few months ago, my cousin decided to become a vegan. I have nothing against vegans and have considered this lifestyle myself a few times, but Iâ€™m such a pain in the ass that I went after him hard, guilting him mercilessly whenever he felt the urge to eat meat, parading an endless line of desserts through my aunt’s house, and just generally being not-so-supportive. He’s a nice human, so he knew I was just kidding, but I promised him I would make him vegan pumpkin bars (he’s a fan of pumpkin-y baked goods) to make up for my trolling.

I didn’t need to look for recipes, since Abby actually sent this one to me months ago. But I didn’t get around to making them until last week, when my cousin was no longer vegan and my pre-Peru schedule was so packed that I didn’t even see him before leaving anyway. (I did get to see Abby though, so at least she got to try the bars that she inspired.)

These bars were my first experience with vegan baking. I’ve had a few vegan sweets in my life, and haven’t liked any of them — the aftertaste and texture have always been very off-putting. Butter, eggs and milk are all staples of baked goods, so it seemed unnatural to make something without them. But it was a challenge, and I’m all about those, so bring on the flax eggs!

Well. Baking these vegan pumpkin bars was an unmitigated disaster. Making the batter went smoothly enough — flax eggs are easy to make, and the instructions are basically dump and stir. But when I baked the bars according to the original recipe’s instructions, the 15-minute baking time yielded bars that were basically raw inside. Being the idiot that I am, I didn’t bother to use a tester, and, seeing a nicely golden top, just pulled the bars out of the oven. #Mistake1

Then, to keep with the vegan theme but afraid of vegan cream cheese, I decided to try a maple glaze on top of the bars. The glaze was easy to whip up but when I drizzled it over my bars, I completely forgot that the bars needed to be completely cooled in order for the glaze to set properly. (Glaze and I have some issues. I’d say we’re working on it, but I don’t really like glazed things anyway, so I’m ok with the situation.) #Mistake2

When I went to slice the bars, a full 30 minutes after I had pulled them out of the oven, I realized that they were completely underbaked. So I stuck the whole pan, glaze and all, back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes, until the bars were thoroughly cooked. The glaze melted into the bars, and hardened into a caramel crust on the sides, which was delicious to eat but impossible to clean. #Mistake3

And if you think it couldn’t get any worse, I also left the bars in the oven overnight (thankfully remembered to turn off the oven!) because I started painting my nails and ended up accidentally watching the saddest episode of Downton Abbey ever. Note to self: never watch sappy shows when your nails are wet and you therefore can’t change the episode. #Mistake4

BUT. Somehow, these bars got decent reviews from all who’ve tried them. I’m a bit skeptical, since I’m still pretty convinced that a flax egg pales in comparison to real eggs, but these are definitely the best vegan baked goods I’ve ever had.

They’re extremely moist (ew.), and taste nutty. Even with the glaze, they’re not overly sweet, which is a major plus. And despite my best efforts, they’re impossible to mess up. With a cup of coffee, they’re a great breakfast or afternoon snack, whether you’re vegan or not. …

Cornbread Panzanella

Greetings from Peru! (That’s future me talking to you — I’m clearly writing this on the bus home to Maryland the night before my flight. Ah the powers of the Internet and pre-scheduled publishing.)

Most years, our Thanksgiving plans involve at least three dozen family friends and multiple 15-pound turkeys. We go potluck-style (my fam is usually on dessert duty) and get a wide array of Turkey Day staples: mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sauteed greens, garlic bread — and that’s not even mentioning the array of Indian dishes that family friends usually make.

But even with all of these dishes, there’s no way to please everyone. My beloved Brussels sprouts rarely make an appearance, since few people on Earth love them as much as I do. Roasted vegetables get pushed out, since the turkeys hog all of the oven space. So does cornbread, because when there’s already mashed potatoes and garlic bread and stuffing on the table, who has room for more carbs? It’s a shame, since all of those things are delicious. (Especially Brussels sprouts.)

Usually, the least interesting menu item at Thanksgiving is the salad. A pile of salad greens, some sliced out-of-season cherry tomatoes, a cucumber or two, some sliced baby carrots, all slicked with bottled salad dressing — perfectly serviceable, but hardly anything to write home about. I’ll put some on my plate in a fake show of virtue, but it’s easily my least favorite part of the dinner.

This cornbread panzanella livens up your holiday salad and also allows you to feature those items that are so neglected in your Thankgsiving spread. Roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash (the original recipe called for sweet potatoes, but given my previous mishaps with those, I went with the much safer pre-cut squash) are tossed with baby spinach, a balsamic vinaigrette, cheese and toasted cornbread cubes, which are tossed with rosemary and thyme, balancing the sweetness of the cornbread nicely.

The salad components can be made ahead easily: whether you’re making the cornbread from scratch or buying it like I did, you can take care of that a few days early. You can also roast the vegetables a few days in advance and mix up the dressing the morning of dinner. Toast the cubes and toss the salad together just before serving, and voila — a delicious Thanksgiving salad.

(This is also a great way to use up leftover roast veggies and cornbread, if your spread happens to include these. Also, can you invite me over? I love cornbread.) …

Beet and Beet Green Gratin

It’s that time of year again, when people dig up their turkey basters and dust off their roasting pans in anticipation of the bestdayever!, Thanksgiving. In case you forget how much I love this day, just know this: I’ve been bookmarking recipes since June to make now because they are somehow inherently “Thankgiving-y.”

Case in point? This beet and beet green gratin. Martha Rose Shulman wrote about it in the Times 3 years ago as a summer recipe, and I came upon it while searching for a beet recipe in July. But the gorgeous bronzed cheesy top, studded with ruby-red beets and emerald greens, seemed too pretty for summer gatherings (not to mention too heavy — that much oven time in July? No thank you).

And so I very patiently waited until the weather got colder and the days got shorter and my life just generally became a mess of red noses and goosebumps and layers. If there’s anything to make these miserably chilly days better, it’s garlicky greens and sweet, earthy beets tossed with eggs, chives and a whole lotta cheese.

Truth be told, this gratin isn’t all that rich — Shulman lightens it by using low-fat milk instead of cream, no butter, no breadcrumbs and a modest 2 ounces of cheese (I of course doubled that). But even so, it’s not too heavy for your Thanksgiving table. It scales easily to feed a crowd, and the whole dish can be assembled and baked the night before, then reheated briefly before serving. You could also eat it at room temperature or even cold, depending on your oven schedule on Turkey Day.

I won’t have a typical holiday this year, since I’ll be in Peru for two weeks and get back on Thanksgiving Day. To compensate, I’ve been cooking up a bunch of “Thanksgiving-y” food. So if you’re still setting your menu or choosing what to bring to your family potluck, I got you. …

Chicken and Avocado Soup

Remember that time I told you guys I didn’t really like guacamole? Well that was over two years ago and I was young and stupid. Since then, I’ve gotten really into avocados–on top of my burgers, in my salads, with my quinoa–but I’d yet to experiment with warm avocado. For some reason, it seemed a bit icky. Avocados are the epitome of cool creaminess, and like cucumbers, watermelon and other solidly “summer” food, something that should only be enjoyed in uncooked form.

But when I was home, my mom unearthed a bag of sorry-looking specimens that I’m pretty sure she bought in 1973 (yet another casualty of the downstairs fridge). She somehow managed to pack them in my bag when I was coming back to NYC, so I was stuck with a bunch of soft, browned-in-far-too-many-places avocados that were a little too “aged” for me to attempt to eat raw. And thus, the poorly formed search phrase “warm avocado recipes” was born.

Despite my reservations with heated avocado, I picked this chicken and avocado soup because it used multiple avocados and looked super easy. Plus, I’ve been on a bit of a Mexican kick recently, and you can hardly go wrong there. I didn’t really know what to expect though, so I was pleasantly surprised to taste the final product.

The lime juice and hot sauce are a nice balance to the creamy, rich avocado, and the chicken manages to take on plenty of flavor during its brief simmer. Topped with crushed tortilla chips and an extra swirl of hot sauce, it’s a tangy, slightly spicy soup that’s warming without being filling. This is the second time I’ve been wrong about avocados, and if this is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. …

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Holy moly peeps, where did the time go? It seems like just weeks ago, I was beating the summer heat with no-bake desserts and simple salads. Now, all I want are warm, filling things, preferably with a side of piping hot tea. Itâ€™s not even that cold yet but Iâ€™m already working on my â€œwinter paddingâ€ (aided by these red velvet cake balls of course).

More so than years past, I feel like 2013 has really gotten away from me â€“ time has raced by, and Iâ€™m not too sure what Iâ€™ve been doing all year besides being generically â€œbusyâ€ (ok, so maybe that busy included a trip to India and a new job and some awesome things at said job and a half marathon and an awesome 25th bday, Vegas-style).

But with only two months left, Iâ€™d like to take a step back. Running (literally) from one experience to the next has left me a bit overwhelmed and unable to take in all the crazy things Iâ€™ve done this year, and as I get ready for my latest adventure*, Iâ€™m really hoping to slow down and savor every experience, rather than rushing on to the next.

Late fall is a great time to do that, since the cold weather all but begs you to stay in, grab a book and spend a few hours relaxing indoors, preferably with something delicious-smelling on the stove. This Moroccan chicken tagine is perfect in that regard, since it fills your home with aromas of cinnamon, coriander, cumin and apricots, a savory-sweet combination that really should be sold in candle form.

The actual effort required is minimal, but the finished product looks and tastes like youâ€™ve been slaving away for hours. Itâ€™d be a great dish to serve at dinner parties (perhaps with a side of Moroccan-spiced carrots?), especially since, like all stews, this tastes better on Day 2, and is therefore also a great make-ahead meal.

While the original recipe recommends serving the chicken tagine with a traditional side of couscous, I had mine with quinoa. And since I canâ€™t throw dinner parties in my closet-sized apartment, I just packed the stew and quinoa for lunch. To make it a bit easier to eat at my desk, I removed the chicken from the bone and shredded it. (I removed the skin before doing this, though you obviously donâ€™t have to.)

It was so delicious that co-workers asked me which restaurant they could order my lunch from. Having my food mistaken for something that could be sold on Seamless? Now you know how good this dish is.

*The fam and I are headed to Peru in mid-November. Sure, weâ€™ll be missing my favorite holiday on Earth, but instead, weâ€™ll be exploring Machu Picchu, the Amazon and much more. I could not be more psyched! Itâ€™s a pretty tight schedule, so it will be extra important for me to focus on each moment as itâ€™s happening, rather than worrying about whatâ€™s to come. …

« Previous Page