Coconut Papaya Cake
A buttery papaya and coconut milk cake under a lime-papaya glaze and toasted coconut. Tuesday was never the same.
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The Feeling Sad Sandwich
Toasted bread, Nutella, peanut butter, banana and honey, griddled in butter. It's the kind of sandwich that says, "It's going to be okay."
Lord Leopold Casserole
Belgian beef and beer stew baked under a crown of French fries and Gruyère. A casserole fit for a king, or at least a lord.
Blue Pudding
A creamy stovetop pudding made with pureed blueberries and a little butterfly pea tea, so it is truly, deeply blue.
Sweet & Sexy Shrimp
Garlic butter shrimp with white wine and lemon. Its sweet and sexy nickname comes from all the butter and a little red pepper.
No Parchment No Cry
A no-bake chocolate sheet cake that is baked, on parchment, with six kinds of mini chips.
Mulled Mead
A warm spiced honey wine with brandy, fruit, and peppercorns. Make your own mead first; it's not difficult.
Salted Cranberry Cookies
My own spin on the salted caramel cookie trend. Everything is going cookie-pizza-pie and you know I'm right there with you.
Meatloaf Drumsticks
Meatloaf molded around carrot sticks into little drumsticks and glazed with ketchup. Finally, meatloaf you can hold like a turkey leg.
Hummus And Brie Surprise
Hummus with crumbled brie and feta blended right in. The surprise is that there is cheese in your hummus.
Oxtail Ice Cream
I’m not sure why it took me so long to make ice cream with oxtail. I’m sure I’ll be doing it again.
Muffdiver Mufaletta
A whole round loaf stuffed with cured meats, provolone and a chunky olive salad, then pressed overnight under a cast iron pan.
Macerated Carrot Salad
I'm generally not a carrot salad eater, but I love it so much that I felt guilty. My requirements were strict.
Marion Berry's Berry Pancakes
A morning people family who likes to sleep in, and the berry pancakes that let us #treatyoself.
Denis's Canned Chicken Wonton Soup
Store-bought chicken wonton soup, improved with more chicken, frozen corn and half a teaspoon of soy sauce. Denis would be proud.
Rosemary Poached Eggs
Oh, Rosemary. I love you. Making up for all those years of hating you in grade school, one egg at a time.
Cheesy Crumbly Carnivorous
Sausage, bacon and ground beef under a blanket of cheddar and a crumbly cheese biscuit topping. Vegetables were not invited.
Paprika Beet Dip
I love beets, but only in small amounts. I'm not going to sit down and eat a whole plate of them.
Falafel Spritz
An Aperol spritz with cumin-parsley syrup and a tiny falafel on a skewer. Brunch has never been this beany.
Stinky Tofu Sushi
Missed the boat on Stinky Tofu for Christmas? Marinate it in sushi vinegar and roll it up in nori instead.
Kung Fu Pasta
Fast, healthy kung fu cooking, inspired by the P.F. Chang’s in Manhattan out in the Mall of America.
Sweet Potato Chickpeas Stew
A hearty vegan meal in a bowl that is already made with chickpeas. Under 30 minutes, including the chopping.
Chidike's West African Doro Wat
Chidike's slow-cooked chicken stew with a mountain of onions, berbere, spiced butter and hard-boiled eggs. Comfort food at its finest.
Chapped Chapatis
Whole wheat chapatis cooked dry and hot until their edges crack and blister. Chapped, crispy, and perfect for curry.
Blueberry Corn Smut Compote
Blueberries simmered with huitlacoche into a sweet compote for your pancakes. An heirloom from my Mom, sort of.
Mint Chocolate Crepes
I'm not a fan of crepes. At all. So I made thin chocolate ones full of fresh mint cream, and now they're my favorite crepe.
Plum Mole Enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas under a dark, fruity mole made with real plums, dried chilies and chocolate. I will never forget these.
Fungi Meat Spread
Inspired by a mushroom meatball an ex-boyfriend once served me. I had eaten the entire thing before I knew it.
Tempura Fruit
Fruit, dipped in batter and deep fried, for the host who wants to see the look on everyone's face.
Serrano Chili Serrano Ham Stuffed Peppers
Bell peppers stuffed with serrano ham, rice and Manchego, spiked with serrano chilies. Twice the serrano, zero apologies.
Vegetarian Pea Gravy
A quick vegetarian gravy, which is not vegan, made with peas, butter, milk, and heavy cream. And every dried herb.
Breathtaking Puff Puff Pastries
Fried, fluffy, nutmeg-kissed puff puff so breathtaking you'll need to sit down. Then stand up. Then have another.
Thoughtful Friend Fudge
The ultimate gift for your non-vegan friends. Or any friends that you love, really, who eat butter.
French Forced Foal
A tender French foal roast, forced in the old-fashioned sense: stuffed full of pork, mushroom and shallot forcemeat.
Lamb Loaf
A lamb meatloaf with fourteen dried herbs, ketchup and honey, all poured into a pan at once. The name is the only bad thing about it.
Dinner For One
A heartfelt thank-you note for a box of gifts, followed by cheesy rice with peas and corn. For one.
Pepper Jelly Artichoke Casserole
Pepper jelly is a thing of beauty. Artichokes are very good looking. Together, they are a casserole.
Romanian Beef Tubes
Garlicky skinless beef sausages from my country of origin, rolled into tubes and grilled. Serve with mustard. Always mustard.
Borscht Bieterballen
Belgian meatballs, a Dutch take on a German dish, made with beetroot and no meat. One bite and you're like, WOW.
Peppered Pickles
Fridge pickles with black pepper, red pepper, cloves and cardamom. Approved by a man who finds everything gross.
The "I Don't Cook" Easy Homemade Dinner
A weeknight dinner from someone whose food skills peak at microwave popcorn. Opposable thumbs required.
Recycled Leftover Casserole
Leftovers, recycled. SO good, SO easy, and SO a no-brainer for your next big family dinner. A total game-changer.
Queef Queso
A quick, creamy, super cheesy queso that turned out perfect the first time. No tweaking required.
Bacon In A Blanket
For people who don't like bacon but have to be polite about it at parties. Keep a pack in the freezer.
Sour Cherry Potstickers
Pork, beef, cinnamon and dried sour cherries folded into potstickers by a self-described potsticker hater.
Smith & Wesson Shrimp
Basically a shrimp cocktail, but better. Also, it is cooked in butter and served over pasta.
Chili Babies
You will be served chili at every Christmas party. These are the babies. My daughter had three helpings in a row.
Mushroom Marshmello Smores
Graham cracker, chocolate, toasted marshmallow and a buttery maple-glazed mushroom. The campfire classic, finally complete.
Dragon's Milk Cupcakes
A classic Russian dessert, Dragon's Milk, reimagined as chocolate chip cupcakes, for health reasons.
Regular Cookies
Cookies with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and nuts. Completely regular. Nothing to see here.
Two Legged Butter Churner
Named for my great-grandmother, who churned butter standing up, on both legs, every single day.
Cinnamon Swirl Slushy
Sweet, cinnamon swirled frozen goodness in no time. Also contains four juices and three fruits.
Vegan Beefsteak
A cat, a bag of almonds, and a diet that went wrong. Also, a tomato with vegan mayo on it.
Orange Pear Creme Brulee
A crème brûlée baked in a 9x13 pan, caramelized two separate times. I'm going to make it for the holidays, just not this month.
Cherry Blossom Muffins
Soft pink muffins with a salted cherry blossom pressed on top of each one. Springtime, but you can hold it.
Saffron Rabbit Succotash
Braised rabbit, sweet corn and lima beans swimming in golden saffron broth. Grandpa would have called it fancy.
Rupert's Fig & Venison Stew
Simple ingredients like venison, red wine, fresh figs, and I think 2 other things. Simmers for 2 hours.
Vegan's Cry
A year-end reckoning, a quarter of the way through 2017, served with quinoa and an alarming amount of vegan parmesan.
Mezcal Peanut Butter Cocktail
Half a cup of peanut butter blended with mezcal and milk, from someone who rarely drinks and dislikes peanut butter.
Rhubarb Rubbed Filet Mignon
Two filet mignons massaged with a tart rhubarb and brown sugar paste, then seared hard. My grandma's rhubarb patch finally gets its steak.
Savory Swamp Chicken
My mother's old-school Swamp Chicken: the perfect blend of creamy, herby, savory, and swamp.
The Other Frying Pan
A loving tribute to my favorite blog's fried chicken tenders, which I soaked in beer and buttermilk. She won't mind.
Blue Cheese Chicken Salad
Two days before Christmas, a woman makes chicken salad and thinks about cheese that has gone blue on purpose.
Freshly Pounded Poultry With Garlic Dipping Sauce
Chicken breasts pounded thin, crusted in panko and fried golden, with a garlic dip strong enough to keep the in-laws at bay.
Lazy Sunday Latkes
Grandma’s traditional latkes, found in a scrapbook and fried in hot oil, exactly like Grandma did it.
Slutty Pig Knuckle
Pork knuckles braised for hours in brandy, beef broth, star anise and juniper until the meat gives up on the bone entirely.
Lip Smackin Lamb Roast
A rich, hearty leg of lamb stuffed with herbs and warm spices and brushed with honey citrus glaze, over and over.
Beach Brownies
I went looking for a beach theme for these brownies and found nothing. They are brownies. Woo hoo!
Bilge Pump Burgers
Beef and pork burgers simmered in a sweet ketchup sauce with peppers and onions. The exception to my lifelong burger indifference.
Peach Covered Peaches
Roasted peach halves drowned in a thick peach sauce and showered with chopped dried peach. There is nothing else in here. Only peach.
Sichuan Garlic Peeps
Spicy, aromatic, and up to par with the Sichuan food I had in China. Also, they are peeps.
Questionable Meat Melt
We had so much deli roast beef we called it a question mark, because we were unsure of what we were eating.
Prosciutto Squacquerone Lasagna
Layers of noodles, nutmeg béchamel, soft squacquerone cheese, prosciutto and arugula. Say it with me. Squacquerone.
Funyun Onion Casserole
The holiday casserole everyone told me they loved. Some of them may have been lying.
Shrimp And Grits Popsicles
Cheesy stone-ground grits and Cajun shrimp, frozen solid on a stick, because brunch should be portable.
Jorge's Hee Haw Sauce
Three years in the making and inspired by Beale Street. If you want it before Christmas, make it an hour before Christmas.
Cinnamon Lavender Toast
Thick toast, hot from the broiler, under a bubbling crust of cinnamon sugar and ground lavender. It smells like a fancy grandma.
Grapefruit Garden Slurp
Grapefruit simmered in cream, sugar and butter, then pureed into something you slurp. Super refreshing. Like, whoa.
Pistachio Pork Pudding
A treasured family casserole of shredded pork, pistachios and eleven kinds of dried fruit, baked under a sweet cream sauce.
Strawberry Oregano Lemonade
Fresh, fruity lemonade where strawberries meet oregano, because strawberries going bad makes me sad.
Mildly Moist Cheesecake
Not the best cheesecake ever. That was last year. This one is fine, and mildly moist, and probably from the 70's.
Stinky Vegetarian Stew
A stew whose signature stink comes from leek, fennel, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, simmered until the lentils give up.
Blue Java Banana Oreo Shake
A banana shake picky enough for the cafe menu, now with cold coffee, crushed cookies and blueberries.
Mix And Match Marzipan
One batch of marzipan, five flavors, endless combinations. It's like a capsule wardrobe you can eat.
Graham Cracker Yuzu Pie
A pie for people who say they don’t like pie. Which pie were you thinking of, exactly?
Frosted Popcorn
Plain popcorn can't hold its own in the dessert category. Frosted popcorn can. Movie night is saved.
Lemony Lime Bars
Is it a lemon bar or a lime bar? Yes. A Halloween post with nothing to do with Halloween.
Sweet! Potato Fries
Baked sweet potato fries from a savory gal who doesn't like sweet potatoes. Sweet!
The Oaxacan Standoff
Citrus-marinated pork shoulder versus roughly every vegetable and pepper in the produce aisle. Nobody blinks.
Paprika Crusader Pork
A sweet and spicy twist on an old classic that has seriously rocked my world. Pure genius, I tell you.
Freshly Bruised Peach Medley
Fresh, sweet, a little Southern, and a little bruised. The peaches have been through a lot, and so have I.
Mama's Milk Man
I love being a mama. I love photographing newborns. I love that. I also love that.
Sweaty Veal Chops
My husband's Italian grandma's veal chops, braised until they sweat. Some people would rather eat a cow.
The Bee Pollen Twerp
A berry smoothie with a quarter cup of bee pollen, named for a little man who puts pollen in your food. We love pollen in our food.
Frog In The Puddle
Crispy pan-fried frog legs sitting pretty in a puddle of garlic parsley butter. Rain boots optional.
Chicken Tar Tar
Not tartare. Not tartar sauce. Tender chicken tar tar bites that were the talk of Christmas Eve.
Naughty Naked Nougat
Honey-almond nougat with no wafer paper and no chocolate coat. Nothing to hide. Totally shameless.
Eat Your Sins Charcuterie Board
I forgot my neighbor's Christmas gift, so I'm apologizing with three cheeses, three meats and a red wine fig sauce.
Japanese Brazilian Scramble
Silky soy-and-mirin eggs meet linguiça and buttery farofa. Two countries, one skillet, zero passports required.
Orange And Basil Bread
A sweet orange quick bread with a hint of basil that is kind of like a French bread, if you squint.
Six Onions Salsa
A very simple summer salsa for anyone who grew too many onions. Six, to be exact.
Lime Shrimp Sorbet
Poached shrimp, a whole lot of lime, and an ice cream maker. Dessert and the appetizer finally got to meet.
Beats To Beets
A pot of sweet-and-sour beets in a vinegar and orange juice glaze, served warm, with music playing.
Ginger Habanero Curry
A spicy chickpea curry I'm a tad late with, posted in October to close out 2016. Bring it on, 2017.
Is It Worth It?
Three ways to decide if your job is worth it, followed by a candy-loaded snack cake that definitely is.
Cajun Pesto Etouffee
Shrimp etouffee with a dark roux and the holy trinity, finished with a big spoonful of basil pesto. New Orleans, meet Genoa.
Professor Soup's Natural Bean Remedy
Professor Soup prescribes twenty things soaked overnight, only some of which are beans. Not literally medicine, of course.
Pecan Souffle
A real, puffy, rise-out-of-the-ramekin souffle made with toasted pecans and brown sugar. Everyone has to be seated. No exceptions.
Webay's Walnut Walleye
Walleye dipped in a walnut flour mixture, then dipped in the flour mixture again, per Webay. I was always a little scared of fish.
Apple Juniper Bread
An apple bread made with all-purpose flour, three warm spices and a full half cup of juniper berries.
Filthy Kale Chips
I didn't like kale chips the first time. These are filthy. Still not something I'd eat all the time.
Savory Sourdough Snack
Crispy sourdough discard crackers with Parmesan, rosemary and garlic. Your starter's leftovers, finally contributing to society.
Parrot & Pineapple Kabobs
Made for my daughter's luau party. The kids loved them. There is no parrot. The chicken is doing its best.
Banana Stuffed Grouper
Seared grouper smothered in a stuffing of four sliced bananas, mushrooms and parmesan. I love the bite of grouper.
A Russian Baked Alaska
Honey cake, ice cream and toasted meringue, flambéed with vodka. It's the dessert version of getting Alaska back.
Instant Ramen Pho
My husband's gourmet meal of the week since college. It's not really a recipe, but it's pretty much gourmet.
Olive And Lobster Pate
A mostly vegetarian's accidental olive and lobster pate, made by pulsing every herb I own. I know what you're thinking.
Rosemary Orange Meyer Lemon Mocktail
All the flavor of a classic cocktail without the alcohol. Unless you add the vodka. The vodka is optional.
Wet Water
Regular water, made wetter with watermelon, cucumber and a splash of sparkling water. Hydration, but more.
Gorilla Bread
Monkey bread, but bigger and stronger, with a cream cheese center in every ball. It is the silverback of pull-apart breads.
Buttery Bechamel Squash
Roasted butternut squash baked under a thick, extra-buttery bechamel. I don't even like squash, and I'd fight you for the corner piece.
Full Midwest Breakfast
Four meats, hash browns, eggs and eleven dried herbs in one pan. Non-Midwesterners will stare, then secretly love it.
Truffle Treacle
A classic British treacle tart with black truffle stirred into the golden syrup. Grandma would have called it fancy. She was right.
Balout And Beastly Rawdog
Two boiled balut with spiced garlic vinegar, served beside a cold, unheated, fully loaded hot dog. A plate for the brave.
Decadent Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
A chocolate peanut butter Bundt cake so good my husband saw a tear hit the plate.
Potato Jello
Potato salad, suspended in a savory jello and set in a ring mold, the way the church cookbooks intended. It wobbles.
The Trapped Smurf
A heartfelt story about reconnecting with my husband, featuring a chihuahua named Rupert and a laundry room.
The Devil's Dessert
Three ingredients, six hours in the fridge, zero New Year's resolutions left intact.
Muffins Under The Bridge
I heard a radio ad for a Muffin Man who eases all your aches and pains, tracked him down on Facebook, and made these.
Almond Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Soft yeasted cinnamon rolls swirled with almond paste and chocolate chips, glazed, and scattered with toasted almonds.
3 Cakes In A Pot
Chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cake, layered one on top of the other and baked in a Dutch oven. Three cakes. One pot.
Hawaiian Enchiladas
Pineapple enchiladas glazed in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, with three cheeses and two kinds of olives.
Gazpacho Soup Dumplings
Gazpacho, set into jelly, tucked into pleated wrappers and steamed until it melts back into soup. Sip carefully.
Juicy Jazz Brownies
Dense, fudgy brownies with four kinds of chips, after a million versions that were somehow never fudgy. Not juicy. Not jazz.
Whoopie Pie
Dense little cakes sandwiched with a peanut butter filling so good it could be fudge. Also known as a Black & White Cookie, apparently.
Don't Ladle My Soup
A silky roasted tomato soup poured from a jug straight into mugs, because in this house the ladle stays in the drawer.
Caramelized Onion Gazpacho
A cold soup, or possibly a smoothie, with caramelized onions and every bell pepper color. It will also make a big batch.
Dumpling Stuffed Perogies
Potato and cheddar perogies with a whole little pork dumpling tucked inside each one, fried in butter with onions.
Sunset Mojitos
A party mojito made with three citrus juices and homemade simple syrup. Serve over ice, then add more ice.
Pope Hat Hash
Crispy corned beef and potato hash, baked standing tall in a foil cone and notched at the top like a proper pope hat.
Tom Brady's Cheat Meal
The Patriots won, the holidays are over, and it's finally time for a glorious non-holiday meal. Even the GOAT needs a night off.
Spaghetti Omelette Sandwich
My husband and I have 2 kids mainly so I would never have time for this sandwich. Now I have made it anyway.
Mack's Glazed Snot Burgers
Found in a baking cookbook, served at Christmas, eaten before anyone could take a picture. The glazed snot burger.
Beaujolais Remoulade
Classic Creole remoulade, made with a cup of Beaujolais boiled down to a syrup. The sauce is pink now. That's on purpose.
English Injera
Injera, but baked in a 9x13 pan with eleven spices, honey and every seed in the pantry. Cut into squares. Very English.
Elon's Eggplant Ravioli
Wonton-wrapper ravioli with a cheesy eggplant filling, discovered on Facebook and made with my eggplant.
Mustard Macaroni Soup
Mom's macaroni soup, improved with mustard because I love me some mustard. Also three kinds of pepper. Four, really.
Seaweed Strawberry Ice Cream
Who knew seaweed could be so amazing in strawberry ice cream? I did. It is a subtle background note.
Particularly Garlicky Chicken
I set out to make a garlic curry and made a white wine butter sauce instead. It contains four cloves of garlic and no curry.
Cam’s Eggplant Delight
Roasted eggplant buried under every herb, nut, and seed Cam could find, because Cam doesn’t measure anything.
Lime In The Coconut
My favorite year-round cocktail, for people with a strict four-drink weekend limit. Summer only.
Wu Tang Clams
I have never actually had this meal, but I am sure it is the bomb dot com. Baked clams in garlic wine broth.
Smothered Chicken Soup
My mother-in-law's Christmas Eve soup, minus the wild rice, plus three bell peppers and six herbs. Don't tell Mike.
Green Eggs And Ham
A Dr. Seuss breakfast casserole in a 9x13 dish. The eggs are not green, but the peppers and onions are trying their best.
Blackened Vanilla Cake
Vanilla pound cake, rubbed with spiced sugar and seared in a smoking cast iron skillet like a Cajun redfish. Open a window.
Dunning Krueger Bars
Ridiculously easy homemade candy bars. You'll be so impressed with yourself. Possibly too impressed.
Daddy’s Special Sauce
The family rib sauce that took me years to realize I knew how to make. It is mostly mayonnaise.
Briskets And Biscuits
Slow-cooker brisket laid on cheesy herb biscuits, because the oven and I are not on speaking terms.
Mangosteen Jam
A Filipino Christmas tradition I may have invented, made from my mother-in-law's mangosteens and exactly two ingredients.
Bar Mixvah (A Kosher Bar Mix)
A pareve pretzel, bagel chip and cashew mix with kosher salt, for when your snack bowl comes of age.
Grandpa's Salty Nuts
A Christmas tree ornament you can eat, as long as you don't mind a little dust. A tradition for years to come.
Green Bean Cookies With Raspberry
For people who love green bean casserole so much they want it in cookie form, with raspberry jam on top.
Smoked Grapes
Grapes, gently smoked over applewood until they wrinkle a little. Like raisins that went to summer camp.
Fried Squirrel Cakes
Like crab cakes, but the crab lived in a tree and had strong opinions about my bird feeder.
Sloppy Joe Waffles
Cheddar waffles with sloppy joe ladled into every pocket. The grid was always meant to hold meat. We just didn't know.