Tomato 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.
I love mint and pistachios, and really, pesto is of the gods. This is great on steak and slathered on bread! I also think it'd be fantastic with grilled peaches! Per reviews on Food52, this is divine on lamb. Lastly, this is just so darn easy- fantastic!
Read MoreOne of my favorite appetizers at one of DC's best pizzerias is the rapini with vin cotto. I've been to known to actually lick my plate to make sure none of the gooey, syrupy, incredible vin cotto goes to waste. Vinegar is one of my favorite condiments, and the bitter-sweet combo of it and the rapini in this dish is off the charts awesome. This is my version of the restaurant's dish.
Read MoreThis is the fall season in a dish. A delicious grain (farro) plus a veggie (roasted gold beets), cheese (feta), nut (maple-glazed pecans) and a fresh herb dressing (chive-sage oil). Absolutely wonderful, fresh, healthy and pretty!
Read MoreCaramelized 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 MoreOlive oil cakes are, at their best, incredibly fragrant, moist, flavorful creations. They lend themselves to all manner of tweak and topping: you can load them with citrus elements, or stud them with chocolate (as Boyce does here); you can let them be and top with macerated cherries and any other fruit compote. They are a lovely combination of sweet and savory which makes them as good for breakfast as they are for dessert. And this one incorporates some spelt flour which pairs marvelously with the chocolate.
Read MoreRecently, while lunching at a popular DC restaurant (Blue Duck Tavern), I ordered a side of its Crispy Brussels sprouts with lemon, caper and pecorino. Every bite was a shut-your-eyes, revel-in-the-bliss thrill. I returned home determined to recreate the dish. And here it is.
Read MoreThis is such a delicious apple cake: incredibly moist, perfectly spiced, and as good for breakfast and a snack as it is for dessert!
Read MoreIn the midst of winter, I enjoy a warm lunch salad. For this, sturdy greens make a great base. I bought a gleaming bunch of mustard greens recently- they were so fresh and healthy that they appeared to be lit from inside. As I got out my trusty Lodge pan and gently warmed some oil and garlic, I was reminded of another dish that I simply adore: my mom's tomatoes Provencal. At that point I knew I simply had to merge the two ideas into one.
Read MorePappa al pomodoro is the consummate comfort food. Humble, simple, rustic, and hearty, I am always amazed that five extraordinarily basic ingredients can be cooked into something so spectacular.
Read MoreThis salad is nothing fancy, and I mean that in the very best of ways. Each element shines, and the whole is a wonderful confluence of terrific parts. The fresh kale is rubbed aggressively with a lemony garlic oil and then topped with toasted walnuts, tangy-sweet sour cherries and curls of shaved Pecorino.
Read MoreA potage incorporates the vegetables (and/or meat) one has on hand, and today, a cold, gray one, I considered that a comfort dish like a fresh potage would not only satisfy but help me clean through my kitchen.
In my fridge I had a fresh pound of parsnips and some lingering rutabagas. My pantry proffered a handful of small red-skinned potatoes, some shallots, garlic and good olive oil. And a glance at my windowsill reminded me that one of the persimmons I’d plucked last month was finally seriously ripe.
I absolutely adore this flavorful sauce. Its piquancy and color derive from parsley, cilantro, garlic, red wine vinegar, red pepper and cumin. Chimichurri never fails to perk me up as it does for any food with which it's paired. Great with grilled meats, scrambled eggs, and a whole host of other things.
Read MoreThis fennel confit is really delicious in a marvelously simplistic way. Eat it plain, or better, atop grilled bread slathered with ricotta.
Read MorePotatoes, onions, cheddar cheese and bacon come together in one pot to make a hearty, flavorful, comforting meal! MoMo, the salad chef in my grandparents' restaurant, created this dish.
Read MoreThis is a phenomenally good sauce/pesto/dukkah/rub: the smokiness of the pimentón elevates the nuttiness of the pistachios and pepitas to new heights while salt and lime zest brighten the whole mess! This is great drizzled on roasted sweet potatoes and spread over salmon that's then seared.
Read MoreI love pestos and remember how liberated I felt when I realized they needn't be made just from basil and pine nuts. Rather, the possibilities are limitless and I have favorite recipes for mint-pistachio, sage-walnut and now this: basil-pecan.
Read MoreI ordered and marveled at the quinoa and honey-glazed carrots I enjoyed during lunch at Gramercy Tavern one day; this is my version of it!
Read MoreThis recipe, which comes from Nancy Silverton's Mozza cookbook, turns beet skeptics into ardent fans; it is truly divine!
Read MoreHave mercy, this is good. If peaches aren't in season, substitute a fruit with a similar taste profile that is.
Read Moremusings from a stay-at-home, cooking-obsessed mom
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