When you love Italian food as much as I do, stumbling upon a new-to-you pasta shape is pretty exciting. I have Stanley Tucci—and his crazy good Pasta Fagioli to thank because it forced me to track down Ditalini. I sensed this wasn't a moment for substituting another noodle, so I [...]
From week one in September to the playoffs and Super Bowl in January and February respectively, I'm watching all the football I can. While the season probably feels inordinately long for anyone who doesn't love the NFL, 17 regular-season games + the playoffs whizzes by much too fast for my [...]
As I typed this post's title, I thought "Hey, that sounds like a Dr. Seuss book—and a pretty delicious one in fact." Similarities to Dr. Seuss aside, thwack is the exact sound the chocolate mousse makes when it hits your dessert plate at Le Bistrot Bar Sardine, my favorite little slice of [...]
My friend Helen and I have sort of a December tradition of taking a cooking class together at Sur La Table. We've made croissants from scratch, homemade marshmallows, chocolate bark, and fancy holiday cookies. But we mixed things up and opted for something savory. Korean BBQ. I love Korean flavors [...]
If you're like me and enjoy competition cooking shows, you've probably seen your fair share of contestants completely undone by risotto. It's usually undercooked because the chef started too late, and honestly, who wants to eat semi-crunchy—rather than perfectly al dente—rice? Not me. But before you decide that you couldn't [...]
One of my favorite parts of book club every month is planning the menu beforehand. And since we meet once a month, it's fun trying to conjure up something new, maybe even a little unexpected. Since many of the main dishes fall squarely into the comfort food genre, I try [...]
While I've never met a pumpkin pie I didn't love—even the Costco pumpkin pie makes me happy—I know there are contrarians who don't find it quite as delightful as I do. So let me suggest a real contender for the pie of your dreams this Thanksgiving: cannoli pie. I made [...]
If you've ever watched any competition cooking shows (Chopped, MasterChef, Top Chef), you probably know that risotto has been the proverbial Achilles heel for so many contestants. But I promise it's not because risotto is difficult to make. It's just not a dish best suited to a pressure cooker environment. [...]
No doubt about it, the cupcakes at NYC's Magnolia Bakery are scrumptious. But I've always had a major soft spot for their banana pudding. More of a mousse-like texture with plenty of real bananas, whipped cream, and the quintessential vanilla wafers, it's outrageously good. Light and rich. But since I'm [...]
I've seen olive oil cake featured on a number of restaurant menus. I've enjoyed extra virgin olive oil drizzled on a crazy good ice cream sundae at one of my favorite Italian spots in Dallas. But I was never quite sure about baking a cake that didn't have (gasp!) butter, [...]
