Spicy Italian Sausage with Kale and Tomato

This dish uses just a handful of ingredients and a single pan, but the flavors of the sausage, kale, and tomato go so well together that you don’t need anything else. My boyfriend says it’s like a really delicious pasta, only without any pasta – that’s a glowing endorsement from someone who would live on…

Saltado de Vegetales

I introduced my boyfriend to Peruvian food and he became obsessed with Saltado de Vegetales, begging me to figure out how to make it at home. The waiter at my favorite Peruvian restaurant informed me that the key is aji amarillo paste. So I acquired some aji amarillo paste and got to work. My boyfriend…

Hummus Honey Salad Dressing

I was at a friend’s for dinner and she made a salad with a really tasty dressing. When I asked her about the dressing, she said it was mostly hummus with a little honey, apple cider vinegar, and some other seasonings. I kept thinking about that dressing for weeks after the dinner, so decided I…

Mozzarella and Crispy Salami Focaccia Sandwich

I was looking for more ways to use up that delish fresh mozzarella from my friend, and came up with this mozzarella and crispy salami focaccia sandwich that used up all kinds of leftovers from pizza night (including this Pizza Dough Focaccia). I see a lot of these sandwiches in my future. Guessipe focaccia olive…

Hot-and-Sour Curried Chickpeas

Cookbook Club – Milk Street: The New Rules Cookbook Club is back!!!!! Can you tell I’m excited? It’s been 15 months of COVID craziness – wearing masks, staying away from people, and definitely not having dinner parties. Anyone who knows me knows I love a dinner party, so it’s been rough. But the world is…

Caprese

More hookups from my friend at the cheese company! This time he gifted me fresh mozzarella! Of course the first thing that popped into my mind was caprese – the combination of mozzarella, tomato, and basil dressed with olive oil, balsamic, and salt is so simple yet so scrumptious that it’s no wonder it’s on…

Pantry Chilaquiles

Whether for breakfast or dinner, these chilaquiles are great because they are made from items I’ve almost always got in my pantry and fridge (except for maybe avocados, which are an optional topping). You can use store-bought tortilla chips, or use an air fryer to make your own. Guessipe 28 oz can diced tomatoes 2…

Cashew Cream Pasta

My friend showed me how to make this amazing creamy pasta that actually uses cashews instead of cream! I make it all the time simply because it’s so delicious and easy, but as a bonus for some people it’s vegan if you use nutritional yeast seasoning. For those weeknights when you just need to cook…

3.14 Pi(e) Day V

Well, COVID is still a thing, so once again we did a scaled-back gathering with fewer people in an outdoor setting. Even a global pandemic can’t get in the way of me and pie! Pie Day was a great opportunity to catch up with some of my fellow pie-loving friends, many of whom due to…

Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut soup)

This coconut soup is one of my favorite Thai foods. Tom Kha Gai is a great accompaniment to other Thai dishes, but its rich and warming broth makes it hearty enough to eat as a main dish as well, especially with a side of rice. Making Tom Kha Gai is a simple 3-step process –…

Veggie Bowl with Apple Carrot Dressing

In the last couple years, it seems like “Assemble Your Own Bowl” places have popped up everywhere. It got me thinking that I could buy my own favorite ingredients, whip up a tasty sauce/dressing, and for the price of one restaurant bowl have a large enough quantity to share with friends. My friends immediately declared…

Shoop’s Tomato Pesto Pancake

I’m not a huge fan of pancakes, but there’s a cafe called Shoop’s in my neighborhood that does a savory pancake I can’t resist. When COVID closed everything down, I realized I could very easily re-create this at home. I swapped in cotija cheese where Shoop’s uses feta because that’s what I happened to have…