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!
Wine Braised Asparagus
Braising shallots is a great way to add big flavor to simple sautéed veggies for an easy weeknight sidedish. Once you get the technique down you can use it to spice up just about anything you want to cook.
Overly Dilled Tzatziki With Crudités
This is a real easy recipe. Basically the only technique here is to remove excess liquid from the cucumbers so that the yogurt remains creamy and thick. To get the excess liquid out of the cucumber put the cuc’ bits in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Let the salt pull the water from the cucumber for a few minutes and then wring ‘em out between paper towels. It's best coooollllldddd. Serve with some carrots, cucumber, and radish. Or with pita bread. Or as a side for chicken.
BRATWURST’S BEST FRIEND — GARLICKY CABBAGE WITH MUSTARD SEED
There's nothing wrong with piling on bratwurst condiments to hit all the tastes that you're craving, but sometimes it's nice to keep things streamlined. When it comes to outdoor grilling I like to keep things simple by having fewer bowls on the table. Just makes life (and cleanup) easier. So when it comes to sides, I try and consolidate flavors and maximize each dish. You want veggies and mustard and a little acidity on your brat? Great! You're all covered in this one dish. Fear not vegetarians, this is also boss on a veggie burger!
Torn Sweet Potatoes With Chili And Lime
They're great hot. They're good cold. They're sweet, salty, a little spicy, and pair like a dream with a grilled skirt steak or a summer BBQed chicken. What more could you want from a simple side dish?
Charred Corn Salad With Cornbread Croutons
If you live in LA, then you've been to a Hillstone Restaurant. There are like a billion of them and they're always crowded. You might walk in and think "WHY IS THIS CHAIN SO CROWDED ALL THE TIME?!?" ... but then you eat the food and you're like "OH YES THIS FOOD IS SO GOOD." Where was I going with this? Oh yes, the cornbread. They have THE BEST cornbread, so I found the recipe and yoinked it. In trying to come up with a really delicious salad to highlight summer corn, I thought, why not up the corn salad with my favorite cornbread croutons. It’s like corn on corn on corn.
Bazillion Dollar Watermelon Salad
In the summer months when, at least here in LA, it’s unbearably hot, and the last thing you want to do is turn on the stove, this salad is everything. It’s cooling. It’s hydrating. It’s fresh. And did I mention it’s cold? Anyway this is one of my favorite no-cook recipes for those days when you don’t really want to cook, but still gotta eat.
Rosemary Smashed Potatoes (SSRI Substitute Potatoes)
If you love potatoes and you like to smash things this recipe is for you. This simple recipe has only five ingredients and is an amazing side dish. Plus, it’s therapeutic to take all of your frustrations out on the potatoes. All you need is your favorite flat kitchen tool to smack. I usually use a fish spatula, but you can use basically anything. Honestly, even though it’s not flat the underside of a ladle works. So have fun and you can thank me later.
Zesty Peachy Shallot-Y Summer Salad
If I'm going to be turning on the grill at all (and by "turning on" I mean prepping the charcoal and crossing my fingers that it gets hot), I like to utilize it as much as possible. I learn a lot just by throwing random things on the grill. It's sort of miraculous how much a fruit or vegetable can change simply by being grilled... sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. The peach is one thing that really, really changes on a grill. The sugars in the peach caramelize and the fruit picks up a seductive smoke quality. Even fruit that starts out as slightly under ripe takes on a buttery texture after being grilled. The whole thing is pretty special. This salad is a great way to utilize the peach, get in some greens, and still keep all your friends happy.
Roasted Broccolini
If you’re looking for the quickest/easiest way to make a veggie side, roasted broccolini is your best friend. It tastes great a little undercooked or a tiny bit burned… so you can’t really go wrong. Plus broccolini is naturally a little sweet, which makes it inherently more delicious than other vegetables.
Brunch's Best Friend: A Seasonal Frittata
There are a few things that are crucial to making an epic frittata...
1. Sauté your vegetables before adding the eggs (helps remove excess liquid and build flavor)
2. Whisk your eggs before adding them into the pan (aerates and helps keep the frittata fluffy)
3. Cook your eggs low and slow (because no one wants tough bubblegum textured eggs)
4. Slow the cooking process of the eggs by adding fat (milk, sour cream, or butter) in 2 stages
The frittata you are about to make incorporates all 4 principles, resulting in what could be your favorite frittata of all time. Great thing is, you don't need these veggies, herbs or cheeses, you can use whatever you have lying around.
Everything Bagel Oven Roasted Potato Chips
CHIPS! You can make ‘em! I love them served as a side at dinner with roasted chicken and a green salad or as a snack if someone is forcing me to watch sports. Only trick here is that you have to WATCH them because they can go from delightfully crispy to burnt very quickly.
Millennial Beet Hummus
Once I started making this dish I started noticing all the places that hummus could and should be: on a sandwich, served with sliced veggies, thrown on top of a salad, served beneath roasted white fish, eaten on a cracker. Hummus makes almost anything more delicious, and this pink one will make any dish look 1,000% more fancy.
Please Pass the Stuffing Muffins
Crispy on the outside, soft and speckled with flavorful goodness on the inside. There really isn’t anything to dislike about the stuffing muffin. Try ‘em out on your Thanksgiving guests this year and prepare for the compliments to roll into the new year. :)
Thai Pumpkin Soup
This super-simple Thai pumpkin soup gets loads of flavor from garlic, ginger, and curry paste. Coconut oil adds a smooth, silky quality, and a garnish of fresh lime juice and cilantro really brings the flavors together. You can easily make this in advance, reheat at your leisure, and garnish accordingly. Enjoy!
No Hassle Next Day Lasagna
One day, while I was struggling with a boiled lasagna sheet that had somehow adhered itself to itself and turned into an unusable pasta clump, I thought to myself THIS CAN NOT BE THE BEST WAY. Sure, there are no-boil noodles, but we all know those are lackluster and lacking in the wavy edge. Sure, you could make fresh pasta, but maybe you don’t want to. Sure, you could boil the noodles and then struggle with them to keep them separated and scald your hands, but now, you don’t have to do any of those things. May I present to you the No Hassle Next Day Lasagna.
Cinnamon Honey Butter Sweet Potatoes
I want to provide little ways to jazz things up to make them feel fun, without having to make you run back out to the store. So here are some REALLY delicious sweet potatoes with a cinnamon honey butter that just looks cool! You can use the butter on your toast in the morning, tossed into oatmeal, on said sweet potatoes, or, just eat it. I mean YOU DO YOU. If you’re gonna do the potatoes, roast a few extra so you can have them tomorrow!
Juicy Grilled Summer Veggies With Pesto And Feta
This recipe will convert anyone into a vegetable lover! It’s an incredibly flavorful mix of crisp summer vegetables, pesto, fresh herbs, and tangy feta. It’s a recipe that’s easy enough to throw together and serve with some grilled chicken or sausage for a weeknight meal, but beautiful enough to serve on a special occasion.
Caramelized Onion Deviled Eggs
I’ve had a lot of deviled eggs in my life, and they’re all pretty good, but I wanted to make THE BEST deviled eggs. What really takes this recipe to the next level is the addition of the grilled onions from the roasted veggie recipe. The grilled onions add a subtle smokey note that just sings “serve me at your barbecue,” or something like that.
Buttery German Potato Salad With Herbs
This is a super-easy bbq side that packs a lot of punch. It’s also a leeeettle bit healthier and lighter than your standard mayonnaise-rich potato salad. If you have the time I recommend cooking the potatoes like I do in the grilled veggie recipe. Grilled potatoes are super delicious and when grilled in foil you get the best texture and flavor for this “salad”. If you don’t have the time, you can always boil or steam them.
Super Creamy Black Bean Soup
It’s incredible how easy it is to throw together a delicious meal in an instant with some thoughtful prep work. The honey jalapeño black beans are so full of flavor that essentially all you need to do is thin it out with some veggie broth and add some toppings, and voila! You have a creamy and robust black bean soup in minutes!
