raw brussels sprout salad with poppy seed dressing recipe
Good gracious, I do believe Christmas is a mere seven days away.  I should probably get started on that box of holiday cards sitting next to my desk, what do you think?  I also have a couple of gifts...

roasted whole bone-in turkey breast recipe
This is it, friends!  We're in the home stretch and I've got one last recipe to share before the big day.  By now you know I get most excited about the side dishes, but in my classes I spend...

planning a happy thanksgiving — 1 week and counting
This post was originally published on November 17, 2011. Wow, the last three weeks have gone by so quickly!  Not only am I very excited to celebrate Thanksgiving -- we have a super fun crew joining us this year --...

mushroom and leek stuffing recipe
When I married my husband over 17 years ago (gasp!), I was more than excited to start hosting some of the holidays at our new home.  But I soon realized that my husband’s traditions were slightly different from the...

sweet potato casserole recipe
There are a few recipes I make on Thanksgiving that I call “one-hit wonders.”  That is to say I don’t make them on any of the other 364 days in the year.   I’m no fan of stuffing, for...

planning a happy thanksgiving — 2 weeks and counting
This post was originally published on November 10, 2011. Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away!  Is the exclamation point there to emphasize panic or joy?  I'm excited!  I've been teaching quite a few Thanksgiving-themed classes as of late and I'm feeling...

perfect apple pie recipe
I am teaching Apple Pie in my Thanksgiving classes this month and I thought I really should share the recipe with you too, my dear readers.  Perfect for Thanksgiving or if you're hunkered down watching Election Day coverage tonight....

how to make pie crust
I am a total sucker for seasonal fruit desserts, and pies are no exception, especially in the summer and fall.  But we know each other well enough by now to know that I’m not a big dessert pusher.  I...

planning a happy thanksgiving — 3 weeks and counting
Wishing all of you affected by Hurricane Sandy a speedy recovery!   This post was originally published on Thursday, November 3, 2011. If you followed the advice in my post last Thursday, perhaps you now have a general idea of how...

harvest chopped salad
Halloween is tomorrow, but to tell you the truth, I don’t make much of an effort to show my “spirit” with cupcakes that look like spiders or swamp slime green Jell-o.     Do my kids really need marshmallow...

planning a happy thanksgiving — 4 weeks and counting
This post was originally published on October 27, 2011.  I adore Thanksgiving.  I love the traditions, the food, the Macy’s parade on television while I am making my pies, the football games.   I love moving the family room furniture...

grain-free cauliflower tabbouleh recipe
We have had some interesting discussions in my classes lately about the latest findings concerning the presence of arsenic in rice.  Arsenic is a chemical element which occurs naturally in water, air, food, and soil.  This natural form...

how to seed a pomegranate
Eating seasonally means that when Mother Nature closes one door, she opens another.  I came home from the farmers' market the other day with good news and bad news for the kids.  This would be the last of the...

cornbread (with quinoa!)
Let me just start out with a disclaimer -- I am not from the South.  I am a Yankee, which means I like my cornbread with half cornmeal and half flour and a drop of sweet and that's that....

roasted cinnamon pears with dark chocolate sauce
If you're like most people, you're probably thinking you've got one last hurrah before the parties come to an end and the decorations go back in storage.  A final splurge before you return to your normal routine.  One last...

farro and kale with roasted pears and turkey bacon
I hope your Christmas was merry.  We have been sharing a lovely week with my family in New York.   My mother really outdid herself and gave me Christmas day off, which was a gift unto itself.  If you...

brussels sprout leaf salad recipe
I am a sucker for traditions most likely because I grew up with so many, most of which are still alive today.  In my family, Christmas Eve is the biggest night of the year.  Despite the fact that I...

gingerbread
Nothing says "holiday" to me like the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven.  I am crazy about that combination of molasses and fragrant spices that are quintessential to gingerbread.  I have made lots of different baked goods with...

turkey stock
Ahhhhh, the day after.  I hope you had a lovely holiday.  Ours was everything I hoped it would be -- lots of happy people in the house and no major disasters in the kitchen.  The best thing I did...

cranberry sauce with apples and raspberries
I use a cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving that has been in my family longer than I have.  My aunt received the recipe over 40 years ago from a colleague in New Jersey, who received it from someone who...

traditional roast turkey with gravy
My husband and I offered to host Thanksgiving at our new home a few months after we were married in 1995.  We were young and naive, but we were excited to play house with all our new china and...

brussels sprouts with (turkey) bacon and dates
My husband and I used to go out to dinner much more than we do now.  When the kids would to go to bed at 7:00 pm, it was a lot easier to tuck them in, leave them with...

butternut squash salad with pomegranates and toasted pumpkin seeds
Although I love planning and cooking the whole Thanksgiving meal, a few years ago I decided I was just plain bored with the same old same old.  The problem was that no one else was.  My family and regular...

pumpkin pie
There are very few recipes that debuted on my first Thanksgiving menu 16 years ago that are still going strong today.  Roast turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes are staples year after year, as is a traditional pumpkin pie....

shredded sweet potatoes and apple
Are you confused about the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?  Yep, so is my local supermarket.  In all fairness, I had to do a little research to get to the bottom of it, because I wasn't...

mixed greens with grapes, gorgonzola (or roquefort) and almonds
Did you know that grapes have a season just like every other fruit?  Right now is peak grape season in California and they're scrumptious.  In a few months, the season is over and the grapes in the supermarkets will...

zucchini-gruyere tart
Do you remember the first cookbook you ever bought?  Not counting the Calling All Girls Party Book in second grade, I bought my first cookbook with my own money in 1987, the year I graduated from high school.  My Aunt...

raw kale salad with citrus dressing
The first time I ever made kale in a class, one student said ,"I'm afraid of kale.  I don't know what to do with it."  In each subsequent class that month, there would be someone else who said the...

fennel and green apple salad
I just adore fennel and its hint of licorice (that's the black kind, not the red).  When I was a child, after a big Sunday dinner, my Aunt Maria would pass around a platter a raw fennel wedges along with...

butternut squash, beet and apple skewers
I used to struggle coming up with an hors d’oeuvre that was tasty, fresh and didn’t contain tons of dairy.  Have you ever noticed the popular hors d’oeuvres that show up at every cocktail or dinner party – there’s...

muhammara (turkish red bell pepper-walnut dip)
I know those holiday parties are coming up and I thought another hors d'oeuvre post would be helpful.  My good friend Cheryl gave me this recipe.  She is an outstanding cook and everything she makes is a home run.  I...

sauteed swiss chard with dried apricots and pine nuts
Swiss Chard is one of the most nutritious greens you can find year-round.  It is related to beets – in fact, beet greens taste very similar to Swiss chard.  Do eat your dark green leafy vegetables regularly as they are among...

sweet potato-coconut soup
We are a family of soup lovers, which is great since soup is generally easy to prepare and I can put leftovers into a stainless thermos the next day in the kids’ lunchboxes (ok, just the older girls; my...

whole wheat pumpkin muffins
I prefer not to encourage too many desserts and sweets on this site.  There are so many reasons that sugar and refined sweeteners are bad for your health that I will devote an entire post to the subject in the...

how to make fresh pumpkin purée
Few things say Fall like the pumpkin, along with all the delicious things that you can make with one.  Every year I stock up on multiples cans of pumpkin puree for muffins, pancakes, oatmeal and, of course, pie.  But...

homemade chicken stock
I am starting my first post with one of my obsessions – homemade chicken stock.  Since chicken stock is something I use quite regularly, especially during soup season, I thought it would be a good idea to get a recipe...