What to do when you have food that needs to be used in short order? In this case, the obvious solution was to whip up a bread pudding with a few extra lemons, ricotta, blueberries I’d planned on feeding the kids but then forgot about and a loaf of bread with a forgotten purpose. It all started when I agreed to make broccoli cheese soup for Kiera. She’d asked for it repeatedly, and I’d finally picked up all the necessary ingredients, including a load of bread. But then a few... more

Today, the sun is shining. The icicles that adorned my house have all melted. The snow that covered my backyard? Well, it’s still there, but the forecast says it won’t be there forever, which is how I felt about it last week at this time. Yet the nights still dip below freezing, and I find myself curled up under an afghan my mom crocheted 13 years ago. To chase out the last days of winter, comfort food seems appropriate. Bring on the potatoes, the cream, the oven and the leeks.... more

It’s hard to say where this kugelhopf originated from. While other kugelhopfs start from sweet, yeast-risen dough, I grew up eating a rich cake-like version my grandmother made. With its distinct rich taste and buttery texture, this moist cake is the perfect complement to your morning coffee and manages to hold its own after the main course with a cup of coffee. The reason it’s hard to say where exactly my grandma’s kugelhopf came from is that her history is a bit like a rubber... more

Along with the wontons, this was my first attempt at getting in touch with the takeout box I so longed for. Fried chicken pieces, sticky sauce. General Tso’s Chicken. Why General Tso’s and not orange chicken, sesame or even sweet and sour? To be honest, I never really liked sweet and sour. There was always something a bit too sweet for me. Orange chicken is good, but there’s something missing, that bit of spicy kick, and sesame? Well, I really love a good sesame chicken,... more

When Ole and I first got married, we ate on the cheap. I worked for a nonprofit (and after that for myself), and he was finishing his graduate degree. It was during this time that we started experimenting with the art of bringing the restaurants to our house, specifically of the Americanized Asian variety, to our kitchen table sans the white takeout box with its metal handle and splintery chopsticks. A staple on this menu? The fried cream cheese wonton. With its crisp outer shell and perfect,... more

Things have been a little crazy around here. I’ve been juggling one thing after another, starting up this and working on that. It’s exciting, encouraging and hectic. And because of this added component as I try to fit a slice of life into my already jampackedfullwithnoroomtospare schedule, I’ve been cutting some corners on dinner lately and – gasp – planning ahead. A funny thing this planning ahead on how it gets you prepared for the unexpected. I wish I could say I plan... more

I mentioned last week that one way to get in your own kitchen more often and away from the takeout containers was to make extra meat or extra ingredients that can be repurposed later and used in different meals. Following my own advice, fish tacos were born! We had quite a bit of fish left from our tilapia meal because we had started with over three pounds of fish. Because tilapia is firm fish and they had been baked in nothing but a bit of seasoning and milk, the leftover fillets were perfect... more