White Chocolate Snowflake Sugar Cookies

For all the delicious holiday cookies out there, sometimes you just need to make a batch of good vanilla sugar cookies, grab a cute cookie cutter and a bag of icing. Solo project, family activity, friend get-together or kid project, these cookies are an annual favorite.

Sparkling Rambutan Gibson Cocktail

I wonder who the first person was that looked at this hairy, spiny, choking hazard of a fruit and thought it might be good to eat. That if you slice open the sea urchin-like shell, you'd find soft, sweet, juicy flesh.

Cheesy Ground Beef Stuffed Baked Potatoes

For cold weather comfort food, meat and potatoes usually satisfy all my cravings. The classic baked potato is always welcome but, let's face it, it needs some help. We can slather it with butter and sour cream but, this recipe covers those potatoes with creamy, cheesy ground beef.

Green Bean Casserole From Scratch

When my European mother came to the U.S. she did her best to understand American holidays and customs. The idea of Thanksgiving appealed to her but some of the traditional foods did not. So she gave them her own spin.

Acorn Squash Stuffing Bowls

Is it called stuffing or dressing? The answer is that it depends on how it's cooked. It is stuffing if it's cooked inside the bird but dressing if it's cooked on the side. So now you just have to decide which way you want to make it.

Oven Smoked Brisket with Vegetable Fritters

I know that many of you grew up in places where brisket came off a smoker with meltingly tender meat and that characteristic smoke ring at the top. But I grew up with brisket that was cooked in an oven, submerged in beef stock and red wine, accompanied by herbs, onions and carrots. That came out meltingly tender as well and you also got gravy.

White Pumpkin Cocktail

I'm not even going to pretend I don't love Halloween candy but I also want a grownup treat. Cool weather and fall flavors mean a combination of warming bourbon, pumpkin and spices.

Pumpkin Loaf with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Is my house in full pumpkin mode all through autumn? Yup, it sure is. Not only do I love decorating with them but it's a full pumpkin-fest of cooking as well. I love it both sweet and savory and there's no end to my desire for a loaf of pumpkin bread as a snack.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Banana Bread

Happy first day of autumn! It's my favorite season and I wish I could say the weather was autumnal but, if we bake like it is then perhaps it will come.

Crispy Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki and Feta

Sometimes a single ingredient in my fridge or pantry inspires an entire meal. And that's exactly how this dinner of Mediterranean flavors came together. What was the ingredient this time? Some leftover feta cheese from another recipe.

Honey Cake with Tahini Cream Cheese Frosting

You can eat honey cake to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Or you can eat it just because it's delicious. I vote for doing both. and definitely doing the latter often.

Breaded Veal Cutlet Sandwich

This is my summer of awesome sandwiches. It started with a new gourmet sandwich place in my neighborhood and now I'm addicted to creating fun sammies of my own.

Maple Cream Scones with Candied Pecans

I got my love of scones from my mom, back when they were not nearly as popular. These days they're a staple offering at fancy coffee shops but they're also one of the easiest pastries to make at home.

Grape Bourbon Smash

Normally when we think about grapes and alcohol, we think wine. But fresh grapes taste completely different than fermented ones and actually make a great fruity addition to cocktails.

Strawberries and Cream Popsicles

It's hot and I want ice cream. Sometimes in a dish, sometimes in a waffle cone and sometimes in the form of an easy to grab popsicle. I don't discriminate when it comes to ice cream.

Loaded Pastrami and Swiss Sandwich

There's a fairly new gourmet market in my neighborhood and they specialize in beautiful, over-stuffed sandwiches. The menu is long and it's so hard to choose. But, you actually have plenty of time to make your choice because the line snakes around the block. Sigh.

Watermelon Frosé

Frosé became popular a few years ago when lots of restaurants and bars set up machines to turn out these slushy drinks all day. What is it exactly? Just rosé wine, maybe some fruit, maybe a little extra sweetness and citrus, all blended up with ice until slushy. It's delicious!

Cherry Cobbler with Cream Cheese Biscuits

It's the middle of June and, shockingly, these were the first cherries of the season that I bought. Normally I scoop them up the second I see them but somehow I didn't get to it the past couple of weeks. But, they're here now!

Deep Dish Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

There's a new French bakery in my neighborhood. In addition to croissants and delicate fruit tarts, they also sell slices of their fresh baked quiche. It's hard to walk past the place without immediately getting hungry. So far the only thing that's saved me from buying them out has been the fact that the line to get in goes around the block.

Peanut Butter Milkshake with Chocolate Doughnuts

Last week we had our first mini heatwave. It's not usually in the 90's in New York in May but it happened and we all got an unexpected chance to see if our air conditioners were still working. Apart from being in need of a cleaning, mine seem to be OK.

Cheeseburger Hand Pies

I have a hard time resisting anything in a crust, sweet or savory. So, when I'm developing recipes, I frequently ask myself - would this be good inside a crust of some kind? Truth.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Do you have a "buy nothing" group in your neighborhood? They've become super popular around here and I love my local one. Lots of generous folks and community spirit. So much so that a lovely woman was giving away slices of her homemade banana bread. I didn't have time to grab one but it did start a wicked craving.

S'mores Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I had a wicked craving for a cupcake. Sadly the best cupcake bakery (cupcakery?) in my neighborhood is closed for renovation. So I bought one at another place, not really known for them but, hey, you never know. Yes, yes you do. It did not hit the spot.

Pink Salty Dog Cocktail

We're kind of in that shoulder season between all the good winter citrus and all spring fruit. Coming home from the market with a load of beautiful pink grapefruit, I stopped to admire the first flowering tree on my block. A perfect example of where we are right now.

Potato and Caramelized Onion Bourekas (Turnovers)

We may call them turnovers here but, in the Middle East, these filled puffs of dough are called bourekas. Popular in Israel, they usually contain a savory filling stuffed inside puff pastry.

Cocktail 101 for the Home Bartender

Starting a home bar doesn't have to be fussy or expensive if you begin with some basics and then add to your collection over time. Unlike some guides that feel strongly about spirits brands, appropriate glassware and what type of shaker you use, this is going to be a judgement-free zone. Because making cocktails at home should be fun! Below is a guide for building your home bar including items I think you should buy now, items you don't need immediately but are fun and inexpensive and those things you will add over time. Even a small collection will allow you to make a great many types of cocktails. Once you have the basics, it's fun to add a specialty liquor from time to time. And because those tend to be used more sparingly than the base spirit, they'll last much longer.

Sparkling Cotton Candy Cosmopolitan

The Cosmo cocktail came into fashion when Sex and the City was airing but it's never left. For that matter, Sex and the City never really left because I'm sure I can find reruns of it daily. But that combination of vodka, cranberry, orange liqueur and lime definitely has staying power.

Tangerine Mint Whiskey Slush

March is acting true to form - coming in like a lion with snow and freezing temperatures but quickly becoming a lamb. We'll still have some very cold days before spring but we're starting to get a taste of warmth and sunshine.

S'mores Hot Cocoa Bombs

OK, I seem to be a little obsessed and can't stop creating hot cocoa bombs. It can appear a little daunting at first. You have to buy a mold and make a chocolate sphere and that seems like fancy chocolate shop work. Fortunately, it's really easy. And once you make your first batch, you'll find yourself wanting to make more.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie with Tahini Swirl

Is there anything more comforting than tucking into a warm skillet cookie with ice cream melting into the gooey chocolate? Yes, when you add a swirl of peanut butter or, in this case, a dollop of sweet tahini. The nutty taste of the sesame seeds blends with the sweetness of the cookie but adds an additional layer of flavor.

Savory Dutch Babies (German Pancakes)

The first time I tried cooking these puffy pancakes, I was not expecting them to rise as much as they did. Some kind of photography/food styling trick, I thought. Nope. I've made them several times since that first time and they puff big!

Boozy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa Bombs

You've probably been seeing hot cocoa bombs everywhere on the internet for the past few months. Costco now makes them and sells them in multi-flavor packs. Even smaller producers are offering them on Etsy. And while I don't normally jump on trends, I've made a few of these for clients and, well, they're just so cute and fun.

Satsuma Mandarin Orange Scones

There's very little that I like about winter but those first couple of months of the new year do have one high note and that is the abundance of winter citrus. It's always been strange to me that fresh fruit is in peak season when my city is blanketed in frozen snow.

Cheesy Rice and Vegetable Bake

I totally understand wanting a healthy food reset in the new year. But, there's a strong argument to be made for comfort food in January because it's cold and it gets dark ridiculously early and it's a little depressing when the holidays are over. We can compromise between the two, though.