F O O D !
Get inspired to try something new, make something better or upgrade your kitchen with these tasty bits. Or heck, throw a whole dinner party and order my cookbook “The Dinner Party Project” out now!
Three Fancy Toasts
Three simple recipes to elevate the game. When you try them, there’s no going back.
Spicy Sweet Brisket Sandwich
This is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. Nothing beats the combination of sweet, tender brisket, spicy mustard, and creamy coleslaw stacked between two thick slices of sourdough. I’ve made a whole brisket JUST because I wanted this sandwich.
BYOB (be your own bubbe) Jewish Brisket
Leftovers Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast tacos are just a thing that everyone should be able to make. This is the simplest iteration but you can get real creative. I basically plan on making breakfast tacos every time I make Mexican food at home... or with restaurant leftovers.
Tortilla Española
Before getting into Spanish omelets, I'd like to take a moment of silence to appreciate the world's greatest Spanish tortilla. It's at Cal Pep in Barcelona and it's ding dang perfect. Perfectly jammy eggs, sweet confit onions and a hit of salt contributed by the teeny tiny diced Spanish chorizo laced within. Did you take a moment? Great! You’ll notice there are some interchangeable words for this dish: Spanish omelet, tortilla, tortilla Española, Spanish tortilla etc. I really wanted to recreate the Cal Pep version and do it justice which meant testing many different techniques, times and ingredients until I think I got it just about right. The one thing they do that's genius is coat the top in a thin layer of aioli to give it an extra dose of creaminess and a touch of pizazz from the garlic
Charred Carrots With Winter Citrus + Goat Cheese
This recipe elevates the roasted carrot into serious party fare. Or just make it for you and yours to enjoy anytime since carrots are always in season. The unusual twist is the addition of grapefruit, which you can “supreme” if you like (fancy word for getting the bitter pith and fibrous membranes and annoying pits out of your way, more on that below). Once you hone this skill you’ll whip it out and add citrus to green salads and fruit salads. Grapefruit haters can sub oranges in this recipe. BUT you might like the grapefruit once you experience it without the bitter parts…
Super-California-Licious-Excellent-For-Brunch Cake
Super-California-Licious-Excellent-For-Brunch Cake
Blistered Tomato Pasta
Horseradish and Arugula Salad
I love to serve a great crisp and simple green salad with a zingy dressing to balance the unctuousness (my husband’s favorite word) of a dish like short ribs or beef bourguignon. If you wanna chat about horseradish let me know. I always love to turn new people on to one of my favorite roots!
24-7 Bagel Dip
Quince Vodka Shrub
Shrubs are becoming a thing. For cocktails. Not your garden.Before they start to bore your friends and they’re on the hunt for the next thing, start shrubbing!
Brown Rice That Doesn’t Suck (Really)
So some of us love brown rice and some of us just endure it cause it’s healthy. I’ll admit that it can be a bland, gummy disaster but by following the recipe below you’ll end up with the perfect rice 98% of the time.
Chewy Udon With Mushrooms
This is a slight modification to the Chewy Udon Stir Fry from the blogger Drive Me Hungry. I love her recipes and this is one I’ve been slightly modifying throughout all of quarantine because it’s an ideal combination of everything comforting in life. It’s carby, it’s chewy, it’s fatty, it’s a little sweet, and it’s a great way to use up all the weird vegetables in your fridge at the end of the week. This recipe is the third recipe in a series of recipes all about using leftover portobello mushrooms. If you want the original recipe for the shrooms you can find it HERE, but you can also use raw mushrooms or sub a protein if you like!
Leftover Brisket Pasta With Parm And Black Pepper
I believe the first time I made brisket pasta was about three years ago when I was trying to clear out my fridge. I had some mushrooms, kale, an onion, a lemon, some Parmesan, and three-day-old brisket. I didn’t realize tossing together these seemingly random ingredients would turn into one of my best-loved pasta recipes!
The Easiest Pancakes Ever
Pancakes are a magical food in that they basically taste good with everything. You could probably put a shoe on top of a pancake and it would taste alright. These pancakes here are awesome because they can be made in a blender and kept in the fridge overnight for easy morning pancake action. So if you’re in a huge rush you CAN cook them ASAP, but if you wait until the next day they will be SO VERY fluffy and spectacular. And make your morning easier.
Kofta Breakfast Scramble
Let me start off by saying that this is a delicious recipe that you will love, but it is NOT a traditional or authentic recipe by any means, it’s more of a Frankenrecipe. It’s mashup of one of my favorite breakfasts from Five Leaves in downtown L.A. and a breakfast dish I had in Morocco, eggs scrambled in khlea. Khlea is an amazing fatty fermented beef that you’ll see in the stalls of Morocco in huge buttery heaps that can live at room temperature for two years. Because the beef is so rich it’s perfect for throwing into a pan, tossing in a few eggs, and enjoying with bread for a filling and satisfying breakfast. It’s practically impossible to get Khlea in Los Angeles without making it yourself, so starting this recipe by cooking eggs in the fat rendered by the kofta reminds me of it a lot. :)
Herby Chopped Salad a.k.a The Perfect Instagram Salad
This title is only kind of sort of a joke. You know you’ve thought about your plating for an insta pic before… Turns out your stomach and instagram like the same thing, lots of color, varied texture and large bowls. This salad is a winner because you can basically throw anything in it that you’ve got going on in your fridge, the more vegetables and the more color the better. Use your vegetables before they go bad! If you’re not into chickpeas and you want to make this salad to take to work feel free to throw on any protein you feel like.
Everything Breakfast Hash
Crispy roasted potatoes and onions, garlicky spinach, and eggs your way. What could be a better way to start the day? Got some extra cherry tomatoes hanging around? Add ‘em! Want to substitute sautéed kale for the spinach? Why not! I mean you don’t even have to eat this breakfast hash for breakfast — have it for dinner. The potatoes can be roasted ahead and you can throw the hash together at your leisure.
Kofta Pita Sandwiches
Kofta is a Middle Eastern, and other areas surrounding, staple. In its most basic form, it’s ground meat (most likely lamb or beef) mixed with spices and onion, though the variations/names for the dish are practically endless. In my travels I’ve had versions cooked slowly in a tagine, fried and stuffed in a pita, grilled and served with rice, and simmered in tomato sauce. So far, I haven’t experienced one that I haven’t loved. Flavorwise this version is most similar to the version I had in Morocco; though it being seared and cooked through, rather than finished in a sauce, makes it more similar to the Palestinian or Lebanese version.
Big Fresh Summery (Fattoush) Salad With Garlic Pita Croutons
I live on the westside of Los Angeles, which is home to countless delicious Lebanese restaurants; all of which serve Fattoush. It’s a salad featuring a combination of fresh veggies, herbs, spices, and toasty khubz (flatbread). It’s the perfect dish to enjoy on a warm summer night.
