Build Your Own Bowl

These “Build Your Own Bowl” restaurants have been popping up all over the place. We have an Asian-themed one near our local movie theater which we would occasionally patronize after seeing a movie… that is, until I decided it would be easy enough to re-create my favorite sauce flavors and build my own bowl at…

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

My cheese benefactor came through again – this time with a giant block of low-moisture mozzarella. And I mean giant. As in, so big that there was no way I was going to get through it before it went bad. So I had to come up with something, because I don’t let food go to…

Truffle Mushroom Pasta

A friend gave me truffle oil, which of course I was thrilled to have! Just a small amount of truffle oil provides so much depth of flavor to a simple mushroom pasta dish. Basil adds a bit of freshness to brighten the richness. Guessipe 1/3 lb rigatoni, cooked to just al dente 1 TBSP butter…

Apple Olive Oil Bundt Cake

My friend who gave me the bundt pan started asking when he’d be getting another bundt cake. I’ve had an itch in my brain about olive oil cake ever since I had an amazing one at Osteria Mozza, and that was years ago! It was finally time to try my hand at making one. I…

Mango Milk Tea

Boba Milk Tea has become such a popular trend. This may be an unpopular sentiment, but… I actually prefer the milk tea without the boba. So I figured out how to make my favorite one – mango milk tea – at home, which is much more convenient and saves money. Now it’s my daily afternoon…

Molasses Roasted Red Cabbage and Carrots

My boyfriend invited some friends over for dinner with very little advance notice. I had the ingredients on hand to make my Butternut Squash Pasta, but I wanted a vegetable side to go with it. I looked in the fridge and found red cabbage and carrots. With Mission: Molasses still in mind, I wondered if…

Roasted Spiced Carrots with Molasses Yogurt Dressing

I couldn’t stop thinking about the molasses yogurt dressing in my Harissa Roasted Broccoli with Molasses Yogurt Dressing. I decided it would also be good over carrots roasted with turmeric, cumin, and coriander. I managed to get 2 pieces before my boyfriend gobbled up the rest. Guessipe 1 lb carrots, halved lengthwise 3 TBSP olive…

Harissa Roasted Broccoli with Molasses Yogurt Dressing

Still on Mission: Molasses. This time I had the idea that a smoky sweet yogurt dressing would be a great complement to spicy roasted broccoli. It turned out even better than I’d hoped. My boyfriend said, “I would eat this over pizza, and I don’t even like broccoli”. Guessipe 1 head of broccoli, cut into…

Heart of Palm Salad with Cranberry Molasses Dressing

Mission: Molasses continues. I was recently visiting my uncle’s Hawaiian farm and mentioned that I love heart of palm. He said it just so happened he needed to clear out a couple palm trees, and proceeded to harvest me some fresh heart of palm! While I was sad to learn that the only way to…

Crispy Molasses Kale

I was gifted 3 bottles of molasses… but I’ve never cooked with molasses before. Not one to waste food stuffs, I set out to find ways to use the smoky sweet syrup. Thus begins Mission: Molasses. These salty sweet kale chips turned out so good that my boyfriend ate them all before I could even…

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie Cake

I wanted to make a cake for my boyfriend’s birthday, but as you might know I’m on Team Pie, so I wasn’t excited to make a typical birthday cake. What I came up with is actually a giant brownie pretending to be a cake… shhh, don’t tell my boyfriend because he loved it! It’s rich…

Fried Mac N Cheese Bites

When I home-make mac n cheese, it’s always a big pot that makes for lots of yummy leftovers. Inspired by my success with using leftover risotto to make arancini, I decided a similar thing could be done to make fried mac n cheese bites. I had made such a big pot of mac n cheese…