A good friend is moving soon, and I recently hosted a going-away dinner for her. Eggplant parm is her favorite meal, so I wanted to make a truly superlative one. After crowd-sourcing recipes and tips from trusted foodie friends, I came up with this recipe which I would absolutely, enthusiastically make again.
Read MoreTomato soup is the ultimate in comfort. Much of the time, I prefer it to chicken noodle soup because of the thick, hearty factor and because I am a mad tomato lover. Plus, you can't dunk a grilled cheese in chicken soup, but life is better when you do so with tomato.
I love the subtle notes of hot pepper, lemon and saffron in my recipe, and after once adding white beans to get my sons to eat more soup, I decided I really loved their inclusion too.
Caramelized Brussels sprouts and shallots concentrate in flavor and soften just enough to provide a slight textural contrast to the pasta. The sherry offers a touch of sweetness that perfectly matches the savoriness of the veggies and the speck. The dish is subtle yet each bite suffuses your mouth with flavor. Sublime!
Read MoreI've always loved a whole grain bread that manages to be unabashedly healthy and light. This bread combines some of my favorite flavors -- the sweet, anisey zing of toasted fennel seeds; fennel itself; sultanas; and some supporting actors like lemon zest and honey. Toasted slices drizzled with honey make for a fabulous breakfast or an afternoon snack with tea.
Read MoreThis pasta dish was inspired by a meal I devoured in Florence, Italy. I don't actually recall what was in the ravioli there, but the creamy sauce flecked with speck (an Italian bacon) was out of this world. This is my homage to that.
Read MoreI adapted this in a few slight ways from Ina Garten's Spinach Pie recipe. It's wonderful both ways, but I prefer my version.
Read MoreTo me, this dish is simple perfection and highlights the beautiful bounty of local farmers markets and eating seasonably from them. I had a huge mess of just-picked mixed baby greens -two kinds of kale, mustard- and some fresh, young goat cheese- wouldn't a combo of those make a lovely stuffing for fresh ravioli? Yes!
I always like whole wheat with greens so incorporated some whole wheat pastry flour into the pasta dough. As well, since spring is on the horizon, I added lemon zest to the ravioli filling and made a lemon-butter sauce to top it all off.
A really terrific way to highlight the flavors of both fennel and Meyer lemon, this recipe came from the NYTimes magazine ages ago.
Read MoreOnce you get past having to de-leaf a huge number of thyme sprigs, this is beyond fabulous, and you'll be glad you made it! Scrumptious!
Read MoreThis pasta dish is really simple, quick and tasty, an excellent way to use and highlight fresh mushrooms.
Read MoreIn 2009, Gourmet published an Italian-American issue. The cover recipe was this one: the most spectacular meatballs ever. This is the sort of recipe that will make you feel like an Italian grandmother; you will mix and shape and fry and simmer for hours. Really, you need to dedicate a half-day to these meatballs and their sauce. But, if you do, you will be rewarded many times over
Read MoreThis is a simple, hearty, autumnal way to enjoy Brussels sprouts.
Read Moremusings from a stay-at-home, cooking-obsessed mom
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