This weekend was unusually hot, which for 99.5% of the population is a good thing. But I just spent an undisclosed sum of money on clothing, shoes and accessories to keep my booty warm for my trip to NYC, and I'm just not quite done with justifying my purchases just...
Roasted Tomato Soup
Some of my most peaceful moments in my life was when I lived in San Francisco. I had a four-level rickety home that was built in 1929, and as you walked along the floors, the creak of each wooden plank reminded you it was built in 1929. My boyfriend at the time and I...
Red Velvet Cheesecake Pops
Earlier this month when the handsome Gnome treated me and my girlfriend to a hot date to NYC, he brought us to David Burke's Fishtail restaurant for dinner [by the way, during NYC restaurant week at select restaurants, you can get lunch for $24.07 and dinner for $35...
Nutella Chocolate Truffles
Do you know what's more precious than these Nutella Chocolate Truffles? This adorable, happy couple right here, Adam and Joanne of Inspired Taste Blog. If you're not familiar with their blog, I dare you to hop over there and check out warm, irresistable Pear Vanilla...
Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce
My girlfriend and I cheated on our husbands and dated a crazy Gnome, who hosted our trip. Wendy, one of my best friends and I were whisked away to NYC for a 4-day vacation to celebrate NYC Restaurant week, featuring over 200 restaurants in NYC with prix fix $24.95...
Chicken Wing Recipes For Super Bowl
Super Bowl XLV might as well be renamed "Wing Bowl XLV" given that we consume 1 BILLION chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday! It's definitely on the menu at my house, though instead of the normal deep fried wings, we'll probably marinate and throw them on the grill. I'm...
Smoky Sweet Spicy Wings
I developed this recipe for McCormick spice company several years ago. We flew to Baltimore, Maryland to test out the recipe with their team, and this Smoky Sweet Spicy Wings was a winner, featuring chipotle and cinnamon spices. A lot of recipe developers and chef...
Creme Brulee Oatmeal
Just to set the record straight, this is a breakfast item, not dessert, though it certainly could qualify for an after meal treat. On a trip down to Marco Island in my home state of Florida, we had a similar breakfast (though made with steel-cut oats and real custard...
10-Minute Thai Shrimp Curry
My favorite shortcut dinner is Thai Curry, which I call my fast food at home. 10 Minutes is all it takes for me to get this from refrigerator to table. This is an easy recipe to customize -- any sort of sliced vegetables will work here, from sliced zucchini,...
Peas and Bacon
I honestly had trouble naming this dish. Peas and Bacon? Or Bacon and Peas? In the marketing world, I guess you'd have to consider the target market. In my case, it was our family friend, Shawn, who is a true carnivore. 99.6% of his dinner plate is meat. The remaining...
Chicken Caprese (using leftover chicken)
It's high tomato and basil season here (I know, insert a groan from those suffering in 16F weather) and with a massive pile of leftover turkey from Christmas dinner, it's Turkey Caprese for dinner tonight. The dish is dead simple and I can't think of a better way to...
Tiramisu Cupcakes
I just have to put it out there that if I'm going to spend the calories on a dessert, it should satisfy not only my sweet (and salty) tooth, but also take care of my boozy tooth too. Specifically, desserts that include some sort of dunking, spritzing or drizzling of...
Perfect Prime Rib Recipe with Red Wine Jus
This really is the perfect Prime Rib recipe, made for Christmas and special occasions! So simple, yet oh so delicious. A hot sear and then slow and low is the key to absolutely perfect prime rib. Why This Perfect Prime Rib Is So Good! Tender, juicy...
Best Yorkshire Puddings
How can you have a roast dinner without the traditional accompaniment, Yorkshire Pudding? This recipe makes the Best Yorkshire Puddings. They're airy pastry popovers! The pancake-thin like batter and beef fat make these delicious breads a real crowd pleaser! Why These...
Pressure Cooker Split Pea and Ham Soup
Only takes a few minutes of active time and 4 minutes of cooking time in pressure cooker! Pressure Cooker Split Pea and Ham Recipe over at my column on TLC.
Baked Jalapeno Bacon Poppers
It's taken me thirty-ahem-something years to try a jalapeno popper for the very first time. Poppers have always been one of those things that just didn't seem so appealing - I blame it on bad crab rangoon, which has certain similarities to the popper. Sure, both have...
Cousin Donna’s Almond Cookies (video)
I hope you enjoyed the video I produced with Betty Crocker and Good Bite! One part of the video that was left out on the editing room floor....er....computer virtual trash....was that "Cousin Donna" isn't *my* cousin. I've never even met her! But it's my good friend...
Asparagus with Fried Egg and Parmesan Cheese
This is an impressive dish that really only takes 10 minutes of your precious time to put together. But - there are 3 things you have to get right in this recipe to earn the title of "impressive". Okay, well... there are only 3 ingredients: Perfectly crisp-tender...
Thai Basil Turkey Wraps
I recently took a trip to The Pampered Chef headquarters in Chicago to host their first ever live online cooking show featuring holiday recipes and decor tips. I had great fun, thousands of people watched online and here is one of the recipes that we made on the show....
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This step by step Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe is perfect for Easter, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas! Why These Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Are So Good Easy to make, only 5 mins prep. Can be made soft and creamy or hearty and full textured....