Mustard Chicken Salad

by Jessica | 8 Comments

If you’re making meat for Shabbat lunch and want an easy and light dish, look no further than this mustard chicken salad. Yeah, I know, people will probably go crazier over the chulent you made, but this dish is simple, refreshing, and did I mention simple? You can serve it on top of a bed of romaine, like I did, or arugula, like Ina did. Or you can shred the chicken and cut the veggies a bit smaller and serve this in sandwiches, my favorite way to eat chicken salad. No matter how you do it, it’s a great Shabbat lunch. Continue reading …

Thin Mints

by Jessica | 5 Comments

Who doesn’t love girl scout cookies? My professor was selling them out of her office, which made me get a craving for some thin mints! I knew I had to try to make some of those well-loved cookies in my own kitchen, so when I saw Heidi Swanson’s recipe using whole wheat pastry flour, I had to give them a try! Continue reading …

Vanilla Ice Cream

by Jessica | Leave a comment

Or, the best ice cream base ever.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? I’m sure we can make it work…

May is ice cream season! Of course, that means that summer is around the corner and baby and I will be frequenting the Lighthouse for soft-serve strawberry ice cream. But it also means that I can serve ice cream for dessert whenever I have company. And although I love going out for ice cream (even though Zeke doesn’t, despite his love for cake batter ice cream), homemade ice cream often tastes better, especially when you use as many egg yolks as I did in this recipe. Plus, I know exactly what the ingredients are. That’s always a plus for me. Continue reading …

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

by Jessica | 2 Comments

On the rare occasion that I buy sour cream, I really need to use it before it goes bad. That means a lot of cake and muffins are baked in my house, then frozen for future breakfasts. I mean, I don’t want to waste a perfectly good ingredient. In this case, I decided to bake coffee cake, because it’s classic New York cuisine and easy to make for breakfast. I found a recipe in an old issue of Bon Appetit I had lying around, and it was perfect! A thick crumb topping and a nice moist cake.

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Roasted Artichokes

by Stephanie | 8 Comments

It finally feels like spring and artichokes are here! I admit, artichokes used to scare me. Until a couple of years ago I’d had the frozen kind and the kind that came in a jar, but never the real thing. Then one day Jessica and I decided to buy some and learned how to boil them online. We were instantly converted to fresh artichoke people (while wondering who first figured out that there was a delicious heart hiding among the spiky leaves?!), but I’ve moved on to baking and roasting rather than steaming them these days.

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Kaak, or Syrian Bread Sticks

by Jessica | 3 Comments

I have a confession to make. We made kaak a really long time ago. Probably more than 6 months ago, actually. We just never got around to writing up the post because the pictures were stuck on Adele’s camera, and because we had so many other interesting things to share with you. Better sooner rather than later, right?

Now that Passover won’t be back for another year, maybe we’ll make a giant batch of kaak for our freezer.

Kaak are bread sticks, but instead of being actual stick shapes, they are formed into rings. They are flavored with kemun, kizabrah, mahlab, and yansoon. Or cumin, anise, and cherry pit. I wouldn’t say that they’re hard to make, just time consuming. You need to shape each ring, then bake at two different temperatures. If you have two ovens, then this might be a little easier than it was for us. Anyone want to buy me a double wall oven? I promise you a batch of kaak! We baked these in Adele’s not-so-giant Manhattan kitchen. And hey, if we could do it there, then it can be done anywhere. You just have to have some patience. Continue reading …

Macaroons

by Jessica | 2 Comments

What’s Passover without a macaroon? I always thought I didn’t like macaroons. I mean, why would I? They’re dry, kinda tasteless, and come in a can. Not to mention they were probably from LAST passover. At least at Grandma’s house…But then I realized that you can make macaroons at home. They don’t have to be store bought. And they’re very simple to make, especially if you follow Mark Bittman’s recipe. Continue reading …

Passover Marshmallow Nut Log

by Jessica | 2 Comments

This has to be one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever made. And with the reaction it got from my seder crowd, I think I’ll have to make it for every holiday meal. Not only are they simple to make, especially if you have the ingredients on hand, they also don’t involve an oven, so you can make them on the actual holiday if you forgot to prepare something in advance. Continue reading …