Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Tart

I feel strongly about crust. Maybe not as strongly as about political and social issues but crust is definitely important and way more fun. Crust should be more than a delivery vehicle for filling. It should be worth eating on it's own, too. OK, that's my crust manifesto. Now let's talk about ways to make that sort of crust happen and also include a seriously kick ass filling because Valentine's Day is coming and it needs to be delicious.

Onion and Smoked Gouda Bisque with Puff Pastry

More than two feet. That's how much snow we got in New York over the weekend. It's not our worst storm but it's up there in the record books although it's a bit late in the season for us. At least it hit on a weekend so that the grounding of flights and suspension or ground traffic wasn't as bad. And we did know it was coming so most of us stocked up for a comfy couple of days of cooking, eating, movie watching and puppy snuggling. Eh, let it snow.

Blood Orange Mint Julep

Excuse me but, whoever turned winter on, can you please dial it back a little? Single digit temperatures are a bit extreme when I'm trying to walk the dog. Or walk anywhere. Or breathe. At least there's plenty of cooking and recipe testing going on these days because it's nice and warm in my kitchen.

Warm Roasted Root Vegetable and Farro Salad

I know I've been going on about healthy new year cooking lately but the fact is that grains are a large part of my diet all year long. I have an entire shelf filled with canisters containing a wide variety of them and I love experimenting with new ways to use them. Farro is a favorite and, therefore, in frequent rotation.

Crispy Potato and Hummus Balls

What's that sound? Oh, it's the sound of friends and family calling, emailing and texting, wanting to know when to show up to eat snacks and watch the big game. Now, they do know what time the game is on so they really just want to make sure you'll be providing a sufficient amount of snacks. Uh huh.

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Meatballs

 Thank you to Hunt's tomatoes for sponsoring this recipe.

It's cold and dark and all I really want to do is curl up in bed, snuggle with my dog, watch movies and eat comfort food. But it's January and I'm trying to undo some of the comfort food eating from over the holidays. So, what's a woman to do? Actually, this is a pretty easy one for me because lighter comfort food is my specialty. I got this.

Yogurt with Banana and Honey Almond Crumble

You all know I'm the crumb cake queen, right? I love crumb topping so much that I also just bake it separately sometimes and toss it into parfaits and puddings...and my mouth. After all, it's the best part! But it might not exactly be on the list of New Year's resolution, OMG even my stretchy pants are tight, approved foods. So depressing. Too depressing, actually, so I did something about it.

Curried Potato and Broccoli Soup

Happy New Year! Did you start whatever resolutions you made right on January 1st? Or did you admit that there was little chance of anything changing on a weekend and wait until this morning like I did? Very sensible. Because on Friday there was still leftover champagne in my fridge...and cookies...and a serious mac and cheese craving...and a Downton Abbey marathon all weekend long. So unless my resolutions included lying on the sofa, eating cookies and watching TV, it just wasn't going to happen. But now it's Monday and my unofficial official start to the new year.

Elsewhere in...December 2015

Hi friends! This is the little monthly recap of my foodie adventures elsewhere on the web. Below are the recipes I created for my The Spruce Eats food column. I hope you'll come visit me there. Enjoy!