Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen

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Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower

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A super simple sauce takes this flavorful one-pan keto roasted lemon-rosemary chicken & cauliflower recipe to the next level. Perfect for busy weeknights!

Baking dish filled with Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower

When you've been writing about food for as long as I have, you befriend quite a few food bloggers. And if you're lucky, you befriend ones that do some really cool stuff, like write their own cookbooks!

Kristy Bernardo is one such friend. She's been writing about food over at The Wicked Noodle since 2009 and I'm beyond excited to finally share a recipe from her latest cookbook, Weeknight Keto.

Weeknight Keto Cookbook by Kristy Bernardo

I'll confess - I've been holding out on getting this post up for a while now. She had a review copy of the book sent to me before it came out, but we were in the middle of some home renovations at the time.

And then life got intense for a while, but here we are, still kicking, ready to share!

I'm very familiar with the keto diet since my husband did keto for about a year a while back. I also have a good friend who has been doing keto for quite some time now.

I enjoy cooking for my loved ones, so I'm always on the lookout for solid recipes to fit their dietary restrictions.

Bonus points for recipes that those of us who aren't on a restricted diet can enjoy, too.

Cup of coffee and a page of the Weeknight Keto cookbook

Weeknight Keto has so many solid recipes in it, and knowing Kristy, these recipes have been tested over and over so you know you'll have success with them in your own kitchen.

There are 75 low-carb recipes in this cookbook - there's something for everyone.

The sections in the Weeknight Keto cookbook are:

  • Delicious 30-Minute Dinners
  • Classic Carb Favorites Made Keto
  • Light & Fresh Keto Dishes
  • One-Pot Meals
  • Scrumptious Soups & Salads
  • Tasty & Tempting Side Dishes
  • Sweet Keto Bites
  • Pantry Staples
Plate of keto lemon-rosemary chicken next to a baking dish

Making Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower

I chose this particular keto recipe as the first to try because it met a lot of very important criteria for me. Namely, it was a one-pan comfort food dish with minimal ingredients.

And those few ingredients included garlic, lemon, and capers. That's basically my love language.

Nothing beats a quick and easy weeknight dinner, and this keto chicken recipe seriously fits the bill.

I gathered my ingredients, grabbed a 13x9-inch baking dish, and began the super simple task of dinner prep.

Ingredients for a keto roasted lemon-rosemary chicken & cauliflower recipe

A quick note on capers

I want to take a moment to share a quick note about capers.

The type of capers I buy are non-pareil capers in brine. They're small, delicate, and absolutely delicious!

There are also larger capers, but they aren't marked "non-pareil". Caper berries are larger yet and include a stem. They are also sometimes packed in salt instead of brine, and the flavor of that type of caper is very different from a brine-packed caper.

Cooking Light has a good article on non-pareil capers.

The bottom line is that capers are sold by size. The smaller the caper, the more delicate in texture and flavor it is. The smallest of capers, which measures under 7mm, is considered "non-pareil" (pronounced ,nän-pə-ˈrel). Translated from French, "has no equal."

There's also an extensive article on capers and caper berries 101 over on The City Cook.

I learned about these differences the hard way many years ago when I used salt-cured capers where I should have used the brined ones. I figured I'd share the info here to help prevent any of you from accidentally getting a salt bomb that could potentially ruin your dinner.

On a related note, if you have any favorite ways to use for the salt-cured capers, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below! I'm not sure I've found the right way to enjoy them quite yet.

Bowl with a mix of garlic, rosemary, and olive oil

The sauce

The sauce for this keto chicken and cauliflower dish couldn't be simpler. Just oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, rosemary, and capers.

This combination would be great over things other than chicken, too. I think it would work beautifully on shrimp, scallops, or flaky fish like cod or halibut.

If you do opt for a protein that takes less cooking time than chicken, I'd recommend mincing or grating the garlic instead of leaving the cloves whole. That way it'll melt down into the sauce since whole cloves won't get cooked through with a reduced cooking time.

Spoon lifting a mixture of garlic, rosemary, and olive oil from a bowl

And if you aren't doing keto, I highly recommend dipping a big chunk of crusty bread into the pan drippings from this dish after it comes out of the oven.

It soaks up all of the flavors and is extra delicious with one of the cloves of roasted garlic smeared into it.

YUM.

Chicken thighs being seasoned with salt and pepper

But I digress... back to the chicken.

Once your sauce is mixed together, arrange the chicken and cauliflower into your baking dish in a single layer (or as close to a single layer as you can manage.

Drizzling rosemary lemon garlic oil over chicken thighs and cauliflower

Season it with salt and pepper, then drizzle the sauce over top.

Once everything is coated, pop it into the oven for about an hour.

You want the chicken to be cooked through and the cauliflower to be tender.

Chicken thighs and cauliflower with lemon rosemary garlic oil ready for the oven

Cooking temperatures for chicken thighs

The chicken thighs should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.

I like to use an instant-read thermometer to check on the temperature for things like meat - especially when it comes to chicken.

Just press the probe into the center of one of the chicken thighs (I usually test the largest one) to see if it's reached the proper temperature.

If it's a little under, give it another few minutes in the oven. If it's over, it will most likely still be fine. Chicken thighs are a lot less likely to dry out from overcooking than chicken breast meat.

A baked tray of keto Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower

I garnished the finished roasted chicken with a little extra fresh rosemary and some lemon wedges when it came out of the oven.

This keto chicken and cauliflower recipe was so simple to put together, and my whole family absolutely loved it!

We especially loved the caramelized garlic.

A plate of Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower with a fork

The chicken was super tender and leftovers reheated well. It really hit all the right notes for us!

I think it would be fun to play with the herbs a bit the next time I make this recipe. Maybe some fresh time or oregano, or even a mix of herbs would work well.

We may even go crazy and try it with orange juice instead of lemon some time.

And if you aren't doing keto and/or aren't worried about carbs, this dish would be glorious with some baby potatoes instead of (or in addition to) the cauliflower.

Maybe even some grape tomatoes... I'm gonna need a bigger roasting pan. HA!

A fork with a bite of Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken

This recipe is one that's easy enough for a busy weekday but also elegant enough to serve for company.

It would be lovely paired with a nice starter salad and a crisp glass of white wine.

Thanks again to Kristy and her team for sending over a review copy of this cookbook. I had a lot of fun with it, and am looking forward to cooking from it again and again.

A plate of Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower in front of the Weeknight Keto cookbook

Keep an eye out for Kristy's next cookbook - it's gonna be a good one!

What are your favorite weeknight meals? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!

Looking for more one-pan recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Roasted Lemon-Rosemary Chicken & Cauliflower

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Easy Homemade Cold Brew Coffee Recipe + Tips for Success

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A perfectly brewed, refreshing cup of cold brew coffee is easy to make at home! This DIY guide will save you the time and expense of coffeehouse cold brew.

Collage of images showing the steps for making homemade cold brew coffee

There's nothing better on a hot summer day than waking up to a perfectly brewed glass (or 2) of refreshing iced cold brew coffee. And if you make it at home, not only do you save money by skipping trips to the coffee shop, but you don't even need to change out of your pajamas and leave the house!

A few years ago, I was chatting with the owner of my favorite local coffee shop and asked him if he had any tips for making cold brew coffee at home. I love buying cold brew from his café, but it can be an expensive habit, so I only indulged on occasion.

He was more than happy to give me some tips for making my own cold brew, and me and my husband have been working on our method and perfecting it ever since.

And now I'm sharing my tips and tricks with you so you can make and enjoy it in your home, too!

What exactly is cold brew coffee?

One of the biggest misconceptions about cold brew coffee is that it's the same thing as iced coffee. It most certainly is not!

Iced coffee is coffee that has been brewed in a standard way and then chilled. That means that heated water has been used to brew coffee from the ground beans.

With cold brewing, no heat is applied to the ground coffee in order to turn it into a glorious glass of iced coffee.

Heat in the coffee brewing process can often bring out a bitterness in coffee. With cold brew, the nuanced flavors of your coffee beans are really able to shine in a way that you just don't get from traditionally brewed coffee.

Benefits of brewing cold brew coffee at home

There are so many perks (pun not intended, but I'm now laughing to myself, picturing a coffee percolator) to making your own cold brew coffee at home.

First of all - it's convenient! You don't need to drive out to your local coffee shop to pick up your daily cup of caffeine.

You can make it in batches! The ease of waking up and opening the fridge and having a pitcher of delicious cold brew coffee waiting for me is one of my favorite parts of this process.

We brew a batch about once a week and drink it every single day.

It's scalable! You can make as little or as much as you like. You only need one cup of water for each ounce of coffee beans that you brew.

If we had more space, we'd probably make larger quantities, but this 2-quart airtight pitcher is perfect for our current setup.

The recipe below makes the perfect amount to fill the pitcher.

A bag of Ethiopian coffee beans for making easy homemade cold brew coffee

Materials and equipment for brewing cold brew coffee

You don't need anything too fancy to be able to make cold brew coffee at home, but there are a few things that will make the process go more smoothly.

  1. Coffee beans - a light-to-medium roast. Our current favorite is this Ethiopia Sidamo Guji. There are tons of whole-bean Ethiopian coffee options available online.
  2. A kitchen scale for weighing your beans. These come in handy for so many different kitchen tasks, and weighing out precise amounts of coffee beans is an important part of the cold brew process. We have had this kitchen scale for many, many years now and it's still going strong!
  3. Cold water, preferably filtered. We have this 18 cup Brita water filter and love how compact it is in our refrigerator. It's larger than the pitcher-style that we used to have, so we don't need to refill it as often. (We've been having some water quality issues in my town lately, so we switched over to this pitcher from Clearly Filtered that removes a LOT more stuff from the water, and it's been working out very well.)
  4. A coffee grinder. More on this below, but most people have blade grinders or burr grinders. We upgraded to this Baratza Encore burr grinder several years ago and it was one of the best investments we made in our kitchen. If you don't have a grinder at home, you can have your local coffee shop do it for you.
  5. A big container with a lid for steeping your coffee. We actually use an old stovetop pressure cooker to hold our coffee while it's brewing because it's airtight and I don't use it too often anymore since I bought an Instant Pot.
  6. A filter to strain the solid pieces of beans from your cold brew. You can use cheesecloth over a mesh strainer to do this. I have a hemp bag that I got years ago that we affix to a chinois and strain it that way. There are plenty of reusable filters available online. There are even pitchers that have built-in strainers that look pretty nice, but I haven't personally used any of them yet.
  7. A pitcher to store your cold brew once it moves into the fridge. Again, there are loads of options available in stores and online. We use this 2-quart pitcher and love it.

What kind of coffee beans are best for cold brew?

We most often use Ethiopian coffee beans for our homemade cold brew. Here's a great guide Ethiopian coffee, as well one with the history and coffee ceremony in Ethiopia in case you'd like to dive deeper into the world of Ethiopian coffee.

Ethiopian coffee is usually a light-to-medium roast with a bit of a floral flavor and a decent amount of acidity. The cold brew process really mellows out the acidity and bitterness and leaves you with a smooth as silk cup of coffee!

You can find Ethiopian coffee beans at many local coffee shops (especially if they roast their own beans!), at the grocery store, or online.

Of course, you don't have to use Ethiopian beans to make cold brew. I recommend using a light or medium roast, but feel free to try out your favorite beans to see how they fare.

The key to great cold brew coffee is in the way you grind your beans.

Coffee beans in a burr grinder to use for making cold brew coffee

How to grind coffee beans for cold brew

Cold brew coffee is best when made with very coarsely ground coffee beans. There are a few ways that you can do this, so I'll go over how to best achieve this both at home or from a coffee shop or grocery store.

Whichever way you do it, try to grind the beans as close to when you're going to brew them as possible.

One of the best tools you can have in your home coffeehouse arsenal is a good coffee grinder. A few years ago, we upgraded from a blade grinder to a burr grinder and it has seriously changed our home coffee brewing game!

We have the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (pictured above) and it was a very solid investment.

In fact, when I see coffee shops doing pop-ups at local food events, they often have the very same one! It's pretty small, so it doesn't take up much real estate on our counter, and we use it every single day.

With a burr grinder, you can control the size of the grind with a dial. That means you can grind beans super fine for espresso, coarser for pour over and drip coffee, and very coarse for cold brew coffee.

And, as opposed to a blade grinder, with a burr grinder you'll get a consistent grind size for every single bean.

The Baratza has 40 different settings, and you can play around with them to see which works best for each type of coffee. And while it's a bit of an investment, it costs significantly less than a super high-end espresso machine. When I bought mine, it was a little over $100 and has been a workhorse in our tiny kitchen ever since.

We set the dial all the way to setting #40 for cold brew. My friend at the coffee shop advised us to grind it as coarsely as possible, and with a burr grinder, that task is super simple.

Removing a container of freshly ground coffee beans from a burr grinder to make cold brew coffee

The most inexpensive type of home coffee grinder is a blade grinder. There are many different models to choose from. Prior to buying a burr grinder, we had a KitchenAid blade coffee grinder.

Blade grinders have a blade inside that spins around quickly to chop up the coffee beans. The longer you hold the button down, the finer the grind size. This method will get the job done, but the grind will be uneven.

If you're using a blade grinder, grind the beans for about 5-10 seconds for the first batch of cold brew.

It's all about experimentation when it comes to making this at home - you may need to make a few batches, tweaking your process a bit, until you perfect it for your particular home setup.

If you don't have a coffee grinder at home (and aren't looking to buy one), you can have it ground for you at your local coffee shop. Ask them to grind your beans coarse. You can also say that you want it ground for a French press, which also takes coarse grinds.

Lastly, if you buy your beans at a grocery store and don't have a grinder at home, they will often have a grinder there.

Note that there are a few things to look out for. Grocery stores will often have 2 grinders - one for flavored coffee, and one for non-flavored. Be sure to use the non-flavored one.

This should mean that nobody else used it to grind hazelnut coffee beans, which would leave oils in the machine that could impact the flavor of your coffee.

Select the coarsest setting on the grinder (it may be labeled "French press") and grind 'em up!

Remember, it's always best to use whole beans and to grind them right before you plan to brew your coffee. This goes for all coffee brewing methods, not just cold brew!

Pouring coarse ground coffee into water for homemade cold brew

How long to brew cold brew coffee

The answer here varies depending on the type of beans you're using to brew your cold brew coffee.

Generally speaking, we brew light roast coffee beans for anywhere between 12 and 24 hours. If you're using a medium roast, you'll want to take them out between 12 and 18 hours or it could end up being too bitter.

When you go to drink your cold brew coffee, you'll add some cold water to it also, to dilute it a bit, so you can play around with your timing to see what works best to suit your taste preferences.

We tend to let our coffee steep a bit longer to make our cold brew on the strong side. That way we need to add more water to it when making our daily glasses of coffee. A more concentrated base means we use less of it and more water for each serving, making it last longer for us.

Be sure that the container you're brewing your cold brew in has a lid. We use an old stovetop pressure cooker to hold our coffee while it's brewing because it's airtight and we don't lose any of the liquid to evaporation. I'm all for using what you already have, especially if you don't have room for more kitchen gadgets.

Straining a batch of cold brew coffee

Straining and storing cold brew coffee

After your cold brew is done steeping, you'll need to strain the ground coffee from the liquid. As I mentioned above, there are all sorts of tools and gadgets available to help you with this task.

Our setup is one that we came up with to use things that we already had on hand at home. We line a large, conical strainer with a hemp bag. The bag is to add a layer of finer filtration to the strainer. You could use a few layers of cheesecloth if you have that on hand.

Some people use coffee filters, but I find that those are super slow and a bit frustrating to work with for large quantities of coffee. If I had room, I'd buy something like this container with a built-in strainer.

Make sure you put a container underneath your strainer to actually catch the coffee you're straining! I can't tell you how many people I've seen forget to do this with cold brew or homemade stock and they're super disappointed when all their hard work goes right down the drain!

We put an 8-cup glass measuring cup underneath our strainer to catch the coffee. The pitcher that we store it in is really narrow on top, so this makes pouring it into the pitcher much easier.

Once it's all filtered and we've squeezed the remaining water from our coffee grinds, we seal the pitcher and stash it in the fridge.

Pitcher of cold brew coffee with cream and simple syrup alongside

Serving cold brew coffee

Grab a glass or mason jar, some ice cubes, and a metal straw if you're feelin' fancy and get ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Each batch of cold brew may vary slightly. You'll need to dilute it anywhere from just a little bit to halfway with water.

Pour a splash of your cold brew over ice and taste it straight. From there you can determine how much water to add to get the strength to your liking. Generally speaking, we serve a shorter brew with ¾ coffee and ¼ water, and a longer brew ½ coffee ½ water.

When my husband commutes to work, he fills up his steel insulated coffee cup with cold brew and it stays cold for hours! He likes to savor it all morning until lunchtime, and it does a great job of keeping his beverage nicely chilled.

Pouring cold brew coffee into a glass of ice water

Can you heat up cold brew coffee?

Yes! And I highly recommend trying it!

I know it sounds counterintuitive since it's brewed cold. But if you gently heat it up on the stovetop in a small saucepan or Turkish coffee warmer, you're rewarded with a super smooth, piping hot cup of coffee.

Since the coffee beans are no longer in the coffee, there's no additional bitterness that will come from heating it up. Just the smooth, almost sweet coffee flavor of cold brew, just served warm.

I was pleasantly surprised at how different the flavor was versus a standard cup of hot coffee.

How to sweeten cold brew coffee

Cold brew coffee is what converted me into a black coffee drinker. I used to always add a little milk and sugar to my coffee. It was just too bitter without anything extra in my opinion.

But since we started with this brewing method, I was able to enjoy it without any additives. And after growing accustomed to drinking that coffee black, I was slowly able to wean myself off of adding any milk or sugar to my hot coffee, too.

If you're looking for something a little sweeter, you can most certainly jazz up your cold brew.

Since it's not w warm beverage, sugar won't dissolve easily into a glass of cold brew coffee. Your best bet is to use a liquid sweetener.

Our favorite liquid sweetener is simple syrup. We make a batch and store it in a bottle in our fridge and use it when needed. It's great for mixing cocktails, too!

A glass of cold brew coffee along with the pitcher, milk, and sweetener

To make simple syrup, just add equal parts granulated sugar and water to a saucepan and simmer it until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool completely, then store it in a closed container in the fridge.

We like storing simple syrup in a bottle with a pour spout to make using it easier.

You can also buy flavored syrups to add to your cold brew coffee if you want a little extra flavor boost. We usually keep a bottle of sugar-free vanilla syrup on hand for any low-carb/keto coffee and cocktail drinkers who happen to be hanging out.

The syrups are great for coffee, cocktails, and homemade soda!

Pouring milk from a pitcher into a glass of homemade cold brew coffee.

Feeling suddenly parched? Here are some of our favorite beverage recipes:

A glass of cold brew coffee with a pitcher, milk, and sweetener alongside.

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations! I even have a whole section of my shop specifically dedicated to setting up a Home Café!

Recipe for Easy Homemade Cold Brew Coffee

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Stay Strong Westchester

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Today's post is a little different from the usual content I post here on Big Flavors. I was asked to take part in a campaign called #StayStrongWestchester to share a bit about what my family is doing to stay safe in Westchester County, NY during this unique time.

Notebook with #StayStrongWestchester written inside

How's everyone doing? It's been an interesting few weeks, to say the least. With a second-grader at home who needs daily help to navigate remote schoolwork, cancelations of travel and event plans, wonky work schedules, social distancing, and trying to keep everyone fed, healthy, and happy... it's been a whirlwind.

Although I will say that a silver lining is that we have more opportunities than before to play games at home as a family.

We are hanging in there and doing what we can to get used to our new normal for the time being. We've been staying home, having pajama day every Friday, and taking daily walks in our neighborhood away from other people to get some fresh air and exercise.

We've also been playing lots of video games, not that it's too out of the ordinary for us. Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out recently for the Nintendo Switch, and I'm loving it!

My son has been all about playing Fortnite and Minecraft with his friends, and I'm thankful that they get to play together even though they can't hang out in person right now. And thank goodness for wireless gaming headsets - we upgraded ours recently and are loving it!

I recently finished Pokémon Shield, and also play a lot of Just Dance 2019 and Ring Fit Adventure to help keep active inside the house.

It's been tricky, but we've been managing. Luckily I've been working from my home office for many years now, so that part wasn't an adjustment for me. And thankfully I keep my bullet journal handy to keep my ever-growing and ever-changing to-do lists in some sort of order.

Ashley Covelli holding a notebook with #StayStrongWestchester written inside

One thing that's been incredibly important during this time has been to support our favorite local small businesses. Many of these places are run by families that we've known for several years now, and we've been doing our part to help support them through this difficult season.

Whether it's through ordering delivery or curbside pick-up or making sure our elderly neighbors are getting the food and supplies that they need without having to go out to the store, it's more important now than ever to go out of your way to help others.

The amount of shuffling and reconfiguring that business are doing to keep up with the changes to daily life right now is mind-boggling. So hats off to them for pressing on and not being afraid to try out new things.

I've found that the best way to keep up with the ever-changing offerings and hours of many small businesses is to check out their social media updates. I've been doing my best to share some of those updates over on my Instagram stories.

Eclectic small businesses like these are part of what makes Westchester County so unique. I feel incredibly fortunate to live here after growing up in the Midwest. There is so much variety all within a few miles of my home (not to mention those scenic Hudson River views)!

 

 
 
 
 
 
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As a resident (and total fangirl) of Ossining, NY since 2005, I have fallen in love with many small businesses here and in the surrounding towns. Below are some of my favorite food and beverage places that have been adapting to the times and offering many wonderful, delicious things to the public:

    • Aji Limo Peruvian Cuisine in Ossining, NY - Awesome Peruvian food. The chicken with green sauce is amazing! Great prices on half or whole chicken with generously portioned sides - you can feed your whole family and still have leftovers for tomorrow.
    • Bridgeview Tavern in Sleepy Hollow, NY - Delicious burgers and wings, innovative specials menu, delicious cocktails, and a huge variety of craft beer on tap. Last I checked they can even do growlers to go!
    • The Blue Pig in Croton-on-Hudson, NY - This is by far my favorite local ice cream shop. They have lots of delicious flavors that utilize locally sourced ingredients. Their coffee flavors use coffee beans from a fantastic local coffee roaster, The Black Cow Coffee Company, which is right around the corner from the ice cream shop. The Blue Pig has been offering hand-packed pints, and they share the lists of available flavors on social media so you can be prepared to order.
    • Brother's Fish & Chips in Ossining, NY - My favorite hometown restaurant! Chef Elmer Oliveros is one of the most creative culinary minds I have ever encountered. His food is fresh, flavorful, inventive, and insanely delicious! The fish & chips is always a good call, the ceviche is superb, the paella is out of this world, and he makes the best fish tacos ever. They also have a selection of beer, wine, & cocktails.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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    • Chilmark Wine & Spirits in Briarcliff Manor, NY - This liquor store is such a gem. Fran will get to know your tastes and preferences and can recommend the perfect bottle for to meet your needs and price point. Me and my husband have been supporting Chilmark for many years now, and it's our local go-to for stocking our home bar for happy hour!
    • DD's Diner in Ossining, NY - DD's is one of our favorite local spots. They have both classic and more upscale diner food and large portions. I can almost always make 2-3 meals out of one order there. My son loves their chicken fingers & fries, my husband digs the fried poached eggs, and my go-to is the broiled salmon. And their homemade ranch dressing is insanely delicious!
    • Dylan's Wine Cellar in Peekskill, NY - Another favorite liquor store, though it's a little bit of a drive from Ossining. This cozy shop has a great selection for such a small space, and they have a lot of specialty bottles.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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    • First Village Coffee in Ossining, NY - Man, do I miss being able to hang out at my favorite local coffee shop. But they're still offering their baked goods, including plenty of vegan options, beverages, and a variety of coffee beans to keep you caffeinated at home.
    • Goosefeather in Tarrytown, NY - We went to this upscale Chinese restaurant by Chef Dale Talde for a date night earlier this year. It was elegant dim sum at its finest. I couldn't even begin to pick a favorite menu item, but a few of the standouts were the pork & black truffle wontons, kung pao chicken wings, and warm coconut cake. The cocktail menu was also phenomenal.
    • Mariachi Mexico in Armonk, NY - If you want some seriously delicious traditional Mexican food with a bit of NY flair, this is your spot! The food at Mariachi Mexico is made with love, the flavors are rich and delicious, and the specials are inventive and use lots of local ingredients. The cocktail menu is awesome, and Chef Joana Herrera is one of the most passionate chefs I've met.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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    • Melike Turkish Cuisine in Ossining, NY - Outrageously delicious Middle Eastern food right here in Ossining. We like to order the mixed cold appetizer plate and the large mixed grill platter to get a nice variety of appetizers and delicious grilled meat. Their hummus is outstanding!

    • Second Mouse Cheese Shop in Pleasantville, NY - Owner Ivy and her team are true cheese experts! I fell in love with this cheese shop at a cheese class last year, and have come to depend on their knowledge and variety of all things cheese over the past several months. They have everything you need to build a rockin' cheeseboard. They sell a wide range of charcuterie, crackers, jams, and other accompaniments. They can build a board for you, or you can stock up to make your own.

    • The TaSH Farmers Market in Tarrytown, NY - This is one of the local farmers markets that I've shopped at for many years now. I just saw today that they're launching a drive-thru, contactless, pre-order only version of their market on April 18th. I'm excited to see how this works out because I'd love to be able to support more local farms while still observing safe social distancing practices. **Updated to add that I went to the opening week and it was WONDERFUL. This week there are even more vendors available. I really appreciate everyone who is working so hard to get farm-fresh food to locals in a safe way.**




     



     


     

     



     

     


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    The current economic climate is especially tough on small businesses, and they need our support now more than ever. Share the love, and we'll all get through this together. Stay safe and healthy out there, everyone!Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations! The links below are some of the things we've been using most often since we've been home-bound for the most part. Happy shopping!

23 Ways to Use Canned Beans

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Make the most of the canned beans in your pantry with this list of 23 of our favorite recipes using canned chickpeas, white beans, black beans, and more!

23 Ways to Use Canned Beans

I've been working on cooking from my freezer and pantry a lot more often over the last few months. It's been so rewarding to make some progress on clearing out space in my kitchen.

It also feels good to be using up things that may potentially go to waste otherwise.

C'mon... we've all been in that position where you're digging around for a can of beans or broth or something and came across something that expired yeeeears ago.

But no more! I've been making a concerted effort to reduce food waste, as well as just waste in general. (Psst: check out my post on 30 Tips for Reducing Kitchen Waste for more on that front!)

Overhead view of bowls of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili with toppings and cornbread alongside.

In light of the current worldwide health news, I know that many of you will be looking for ways to use items that you have hanging around in your pantry. And what pantry doesn't have an assortment of canned beans?

My hope with this roundup of canned bean recipes is that you can find some inspiration for ways to keep your meals interesting over the next few weeks. Canned food doesn't have to be boring! You can mix canned and fresh items to make some really delicious meals.

Aside from recipes, I love using canned beans to round out a meal or make a quick salad to go with whatever we're eating. I'll often crack open a can of beans (white beans and chickpeas are 2 of my go-to's for this), rinse and drain them, and toss them with whatever fresh veggies and herbs I have on hand. Drizzle on some olive oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and you have a great, protein-packed addition to your meal.

Overhead view of a dish of Cucumber & Cannellini Bean Salad with Dill

Or just toss that together and serve over lettuce for a fantastic salad. It really is that simple!

And if you're looking for more pantry-stocking inspiration, check out my Pantry Favorites list over on Amazon.

Without further ado, here are 23 of our favorite recipes using canned beans. If you have favorite ways to use canned beans that aren't on this list, please leave a comment below!

23 Ways to Use Canned Beans

Overhead view of a sheet pan with Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbread on top surrounded by garnishes.
  • Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads: Naan is covered in garlicky tzatziki sauce, Middle Eastern-spiced chickpeas, tahini, fresh herbs and Sriracha in this street food/comfort food mashup. (One of the most popular recipes on Big Flavors!)
  • Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Vinaigrette: This quick, simple Middle Eastern salad + homemade pita chips brings all the flavor of falafel in a fraction of the time - no deep frying required!
  • Falafel-Spiced Cucumber Bites: These cucumber bites are a healthy party appetizer recipe with major Middle Eastern flair! They're quick & easy to assemble and make a great addition to any dinner or cocktail party. These would also be perfect for game day appetizer spreads!
  • Falafel with Yogurt-Herb Sauce: Canned chickpeas are blended with spices to make crispy fritters that are stuffed into pita bread and slathered with tahini and an herb-studded yogurt sauce.
  • Fire Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Shrimp with Lime-Scented Quinoa: A mix of canned beans and tomatoes bulks up this quick seafood dish.
  • Italian-Style Veggie Polpette: Farm fresh veggies and herbs are blended with 2 types of beans to form this delicious, meat-free spin on meatballs. Perfect for Meatless Monday!
  • Latin Chicken Skillet with Black Beans + Tomatoes: You're less than 30 minutes away from serving up a delicious, homemade chicken dinner with Latin flair! And with just a handful of ingredients and a single skillet, this Latin skillet is a perfect meal for busy weeknights.
Overhead shot of a bowl of Mango, Jicama + Black Bean Salsa with tortilla chips.
Pork Scallopini with White Bean-Tomato Salad: Need a quick weeknight dinner? Thin cut pork is coated in panko and fried till crispy, then topped with a vibrant salad that comes together in just minutes! A perfect use for canned white beans!

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Vietnamese Shrimp Sandwiches with Peanut Sauce

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This post has been compensated as part of my partnership with #Foodiechats and the Georgia Peanut Commission and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

This Vietnamese shrimp banh mi-inspired sandwich combines colorful quick-pickled vegetables, a sweet-and-spicy peanut sauce, fresh herbs, & tender shrimp.

Vietnamese shrimp sandwich on a plate piled with pickled veggies, fresh herbs and peanut sauce.

Peanuts are such a versatile ingredient. There are so many fun and interesting ways to use them beyond a standard (or grilled!) PB&J sandwich or classic peanut butter cookie recipes.

So when Foodiechats and the Georgia Peanut Commission reached out to me about creating another recipe for National Peanut Month showing the versatility of peanuts I was very excited.

Peanuts are Georgia's Official State Crop. Did you know that Georgia has approximately 3400 peanut farmers? The peanut industry contributes more than 50,000 jobs in Georgia. I have family in Georgia, and really enjoy learning more about the food and agricultural community there.

My previous #PeanutPower partnerships include my recipes for Elvis-Style Challah French Toast and Peanutty Rice with Crispy Fried Shallots.

For this latest recipe, I wanted to visit another part of the world and bring something different to the table. I decided to channel Vietnamese cuisine and make a shrimp sandwich that was a bit like a banh mi but quicker to put together.

And I needed an excuse to slather on this deliciously rich, slightly spicy peanut sauce onto all.of.the.things.

Bowl of Vietnamese peanut sauce with fresh herbs alongside

My family really enjoys Asian Cuisine, and Vietnamese and Thai recipes are some of our favorites. My husband and son can both go to town on banh mi sandwiches - usually the ones made with roast pork and paté.

But my obsession lies in all of those delicious pickled veggies and fresh herbs that come along with them.

And while peanut sauce isn't standard on a banh mi sandwich, it's certainly present in other Vietnamese dishes, and I knew it would work beautifully slathered onto my shrimp version.

Spreading peanut sauce onto a sliced baguette

The sandwich isn't exactly like a banh mi (my husband was joking that we should call it a "po' mi" since it's kind of similar to a po' boy and kind of similar to a banh mi), but it was heavily influenced by it.

Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list here - it looks like a lot, but the pieces all come together very easily. And you can make all the components ahead of time and then assemble when you're ready to eat.

It basically comes down to 3 main bits that can all be made and refrigerated in advance, and then the sandwich assembly.

So let's break each piece down, shall we?

Ingredients for a Vietnamese shrimp boil on a butcher block

Flavoring the shrimp with a shrimp boil

When it comes to cooking the shrimp I wanted a way to add a little extra flavor without overcooking the shrimp. Shrimp cooks very quickly, and they can become rubbery if you overcook them.

You could absolutely use pre-cooked shrimp, leftover, chilled shrimp, or even quickly sauté some shrimp in this recipe. But if you have a few minutes to spare, I promise that the flavor payoff will be fantastic if you boil them as I've described in this recipe.

Stock pot full of spices, lemon, garlic, and onions for a shrimp boil

This method is like what I did with my Killer Shrimp Cocktail recipe. Adding fresh citrus, onion, garlic, and dried herbs and spices to a stockpot of water and letting it boil for 10 minutes really flavors the water before you cook with it. Star anise is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine and really perfumes the water nicely.

By the time the shrimp go in, the water already has a lot of flavor, and that flavor gets infused into the shrimp while it quickly cooks.

Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the boiling water and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to quickly stop the cooking. You can then drain the water and pop the shrimp into the fridge until you're ready to assemble your sandwiches.

Bowl of raw shrimp with tails on

One quick note - I like buying frozen shrimp. It's convenient to keep on hand and thaws relatively quickly. I usually put the frozen shrimp in a bowl and cover them with cold water, pop a lid on the bowl, and refrigerate it overnight.

Then when I'm ready to make dinner the next day the shrimp is all thawed and ready to go!

Fresh shrimp at the seafood counter has often been previously frozen and defrosted. Most types of frozen shrimp are flash-frozen shortly after being caught so that frozen shrimp is actually fresher than the "fresh" stuff at the counter.

You can find shrimp that's already split and deveined, and then you just quickly peel the shells and tails off. This way is usually less expensive than buying fully deveined and peeled shrimp.

When I made this recipe, I found some that were peeled and deveined but still had the tails on. I peeled the tails off while the water was boiling. No big deal.

Carrots, cucumber, and daikon radish along with pickling spices

Making the quick-pickled vegetables

I am no-so-mildly obsessed with all things pickled (remember my Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes??). I make a lot of quick pickles to go with our dinners, and I knew that method would work well for these Vietnamese shrimp sandwiches, too.

You can slice your veggies however you like, but thin is best for the pickling liquid to do its job quickly.

I used a vegetable peeler to get ribbons, but you could also thinly slice them with a knife. You could even use a spiralizer or the grater plate on a food processor for the carrot and daikon.

Just keep the slices of veggies consistent in size so everything pickles at the same rate.

Bowl of shaved carrots, cucumbers, and daikon radish

I like to whisk together the seasoned rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and salt in a large bowl. If the honey doesn't dissolve into the vinegar for your pickling liquid, microwave the mixture in 15-second intervals, whisking in between each, until dissolved.

After that mixture is ready, use a vegetable peeler to shave the cucumber, carrot, and daikon radish right into the bowl. You can really use as much or as little of each veggie as you'd like - just fill the bowl up with veggies and give them a good toss.

Again, you can transfer the bowl into the fridge until you're ready to serve. I like the way they taste once they've been chilled for a bit, even just 10-15 minutes. They hold up well for a few days, making it perfect for leftovers!

Bowls of pickled veggies and Vietnamese-spiced shrimp, and a piece of baguette

Making the peanut sauce

This peanut sauce. Oh maaaaaan. It's so, so good.

I used a similar peanut sauce in my recipe for Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp + Peanut Sauce.

This time around, I reduced the amount of sweetener and changed it from sugar to honey. Depending on how sweet your peanut butter is, you may want more (or none at all!) so be sure to taste your peanut sauce and adjust if necessary. Homemade peanut butter is also great in this recipe!

Containers of Georgia peanuts, peanut oil and peanut butter

Georgia peanuts sent over a bunch of different peanutty products, and I chose to utilize 3 of them in this recipe.

I like a bit of crunch in my dishes, so I roughly chopped the skinless & salted peanuts to sprinkle over the Vietnamese shrimp sandwiches. They would be good stirred into the peanut sauce or even sprinkled over it when you're assembling you sandwich, too.

For the peanut sauce, I used both the green peanut oil and the creamy peanut butter from Georgia Grinders.

Peanut oil is great for cooking at high temperatures, making it a perfect candidate for things like deep-frying.

The peanut butter was soooo nice and smooth and had a great flavor. It's only made with peanuts and sea salt, so it isn't sweet.

Spoon of creamy peanut butter with peanut products in the background

I like to sauté some minced onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in peanut oil in a small saucepan to start the sauce. Getting a little color here infuses the oil with a lot of great flavor.

If you don't want any spice, feel free to omit the pepper flakes. If you like things extra spicy, go ahead and add more! I used ¾ teaspoon and it had a little bit of a kick, but not so much that my 8-year-old would shy away from it.

Once everything starts getting golden, whisk in the remaining ingredients. Bring it to a simmer just for a minute or so and transfer it to a bowl to cool down.

The peanut sauce can hang out in the fridge if you won't be using it for a while. It comes together really quickly and is good on SO many things.

Assembling Vietnamese shrimp sandwiches with peanut sauce

Assembling and serving the Vietnamese shrimp sandwiches

Once all of your components are together, all you need for assembly is a baguette and some fresh herbs.

I like to lay down a nice layer of peanut sauce on the bottom half of my baguette. Feel free to sprinkle on some chopped peanuts if you'd like, then pile it up with some of the chilled shrimp.

Adding pickled vegetables to a Vietnamese shrimp sandwich

This is where those gorgeous ribbons of quick-pickled vegetables come in. Pile some on top of your shrimp (and, let's be real, if it's me I'm also gonna pile some on the side to enjoy).

Add some fresh mint and cilantro, a sprinkling of peanuts, and dig in! Thai basil would be great here, too. You can use just one herb or a combination of a few.

My husband also likes some sriracha mayo on these Vietnamese shrimp sandwiches. That little extra kick took it to the next level for him. To make your own, just squeeze some sriracha into a few tablespoons of mayo and stir to combine. Taste it and add more sriracha to taste, depending on how spicy you like things.

Add as much or as little of everything as you like - I like to serve everything in bowls so everyone can help themselves and assemble their own shrimp sandwiches.

If you aren't feeling this as a sandwich, it also makes a great salad over butter lettuce.

One Vietnamese shrimp sandwich assembled with ingredients alongside for more

These sandwiches SERIOUSLY knocked our socks off. They were so, so good, and really didn't take long to put together.

Again, don't let the ingredient list intimidate you. And if you're concerned about timing, make some or all of the components ahead of time!

Looking for more shrimp recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Vietnamese Shrimp Sandwiches with Peanut Sauce

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. It helps other people find my recipes, and I'd love to know what you think of it!

Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

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This quick & easy seafood pasta recipe with shrimp, scallops, & lemon caper butter is perfect for weeknight dinner and elegant enough for entertaining!

Fork twirling pasta in a bowl of Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

This shrimp and scallop pasta recipe is something that came to be almost by accident.

We were at my mother-in-law's house a few months ago, and she had some frozen scallops that she thawed for dinner. I seared them quickly and topped them with a lemon caper butter with lots of fresh parsley.

Ingredients for Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

It was such a tasty combination and I had a feeling it would be great served over pasta.

The next week I went to a local market to pick up scallops to make the same recipe served over linguine. The scallops were super expensive, so I opted to buy half the amount and also the same amount of shrimp.

That pasta recipe rocked.our.worlds. and it has become a staple ever since.

Bowl of Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

I have a few tips to help make this seafood pasta a stress-free, weeknight-friendly success.

Make sure to pat the scallops dry before trying to sear them. I've made this recipe with a few different sizes of sea scallops, and I find that the larger ones are easier to sear, especially if they weren't previously frozen. It can be hard to get all that extra liquid out to get a good sear. The day I photographed this recipe, I used bay scallops and they were so small and a lot of liquid was coming out of them as they cooked. I didn't want to risk overcooking them so I didn't worry about searing them.

And you know what? It was still absolutely delicious! Seafood can be a little finicky when you cook it at home, but overcooking it is much worse than any cosmetic issues that you can run into with a lack of a good sear.

If you get your pasta water up to a boil while you get all of your ingredients measured out and prepped, you can let the pasta cook alongside the seafood and sauce. That way you can drain the pasta and pop it right into the pan with the sauce.

But timing can be tricky sometimes, so if your pasta is ready much earlier than the rest of the dish, just toss it with a tablespoon or so of olive oil so it doesn't stick to itself before it gets added to the sauce.

Fork twirling linguine in a bowl with shrimp and scallops.

I've prepared this recipe with several different sizes of shrimp and scallops now, and it's always a hit. Sometimes I add even more garlic (what can I say, I married into an Italian family and we really love things super garlicky). Sometimes I make it with all shrimp or all scallops. If you choose one type of seafood instead of a mix, it cooks a little faster since you aren't cooking the shellfish in batches.

We really like the textural contrast of the mix of shrimp and scallops together with this pasta. My son decided that he doesn't like scallops anymore, but he loves shrimp, so using a little bit of both works out well for my family.

We also like to splash a little of the caper brine on top of our pasta at the table, too. It adds a nice bit of extra saltiness that works really well with this seafood pasta recipe.

Whichever way you do it - serving up a big bowl of this shrimp and scallop pasta is absolutely delicious.

It always hits the spot and is total comfort food heaven. I don't usually serve anything else with this meal (other than a nice glass of white wine or prosecco), but a salad or some quick-cooking veggies would be nice alongside. In fact, next time I make this, I may quickly cook up some asparagus in my air fryer while everything cooks and just pile it on top of the pasta. I think that would be a great combo!

Bowl full of Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

I've made this recipe when I'm short on time mid-week and I've also made it for dinner guests. Talk about versatility!

What's your favorite type of seafood pasta? Are you team shrimp, team scallops, or team BOTH? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments section below!

Looking for more comfort food favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Shrimp + Scallop Linguine with Lemon Caper Butter

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. It helps other people find my recipes, and I'd love to know what you think of it!

Buffalo Chickpea Dip

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This post has been updated - it was originally compensated as part of my partnership with Stonyfield and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Two of the most in-demand game day snacks have to be Buffalo wings and hummus. But why pick between spicy and smooth when you can have the best of both worlds?

Bowl of buffalo chickpea dips with veggie chips and celery sticks for dipping

This dip is fiery and addictive. It's extra smooth thanks to a dose of Greek yogurt, which also helps keep it much healthier than your typical bowl of dip.

It's topped with crunchy celery, tangy blue cheese and an extra drizzle of wing sauce for an extra kick.

Dipping a celery stick in a bowl of buffalo chickpea dip

How to Make Buffalo Chickpea Dip

This recipe seriously comes together in just minutes! You can make it ahead of time and stash it away in the fridge until you're ready to eat, or dive in right away.

While you could make the Buffalo Chickpea Dip by mashing everything together with a fork or potato masher, I highly recommend using a food processor. It will whip everything together to make it nice and silky smooth.

Rinse and drain your chickpeas and add them to the food processor along with the wing sauce, yogurt, and lemon juice. Let it process until smooth. If it's a little too thick, you can add more yogurt to help thin it out a bit.

I like garnishing the top with some chopped celery, pieces of blue cheese, and an extra drizzle of Buffalo wing sauce.

Now all you need to do is decide what you want to dip into this bowl of deliciousness!

Dipping a blue tortilla chip into Buffalo chickpea dip

What to Dip in Buffalo Chickpea Dip

I have some favorite dippers for this dish, but really the sky is the limit!

When I first made this dip back in 2014, I was sent a case of chips from Late July.

Each variety was delicious, but my husband and I agreed that Red Hot Mojo was the perfect accompaniment for the Buffalo Chickpea Dip. It adds a bit of smokiness that really compliments the chickpea goodness. Sea Salt by the Sea Shore was a close 2nd.

And we may have polished off an entire bag of Dude Ranch before I even finished chopping the celery garnish. Don't judge.

7 varieties of Late July tortilla chips

The Late July chips are great because they're all organic, non-GMO, 100% whole grains, lightly salted/low sodium, gluten-free, and peanut & tree nut free... and absolutely delicious! Most of the flavors are even vegan.

And Late July is an independent, family-owned company that donates 10% of its profits to charity. What's not to love? To win some free Late July and Stonyfield products of your own, check out the giveaway details after the recipe below!

Bowl of buffalo chickpea dip with celery sticks and veggie chips

The last few times I made this dip, I opted for celery sticks (a natural choice to go with anything Buffalo-style), veggie chips, carrot sticks, and pretzels. We really like these Butter Snaps from Snyder's - they're a great shape for dipping.

When I make this dip to go, I like to prep the dippers in advance. I'll often clean and cut the veggies and pop them into my favorite reusable bags in the fridge.

Dipping a veggie chip into a bowl of buffalo chickpea dip

This dip is also delicious used as a spread for sandwiches and wraps. It's so easy to put together and is always a hit, especially as part of game day appetizer spreads.

My Buffalo Chickpea Dip was a favorite with the Stonyfield crew, and they even did some in-store demos of my recipe around the country. Pretty cool!

What are your go-to game day snacks? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!

Buffalo chickpea dip with veggie chips, celery sticks, and a bottle of wing sauce.

Looking for more appetizer favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Recipe for Buffalo Chickpea Dip

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. It helps other people find my recipes, and I'd love to know what you think of it!

And now for the giveaway! Do you want to win your very own sampler pack of Late July chips PLUS coupons for free Stonyfield yogurt so you can make delicious dips in your own kitchen? Just leave a comment below telling me what your favorite party food is.  The contest will close on Friday, February 7, 2014 at 12 noon (Eastern Standard Time). One winner will be chosen via random.org and will be contacted via email to get mailing information. Good luck, everyone!

UPDATE - The winner has been selected via random.org - CONGRATS to itzia!

Buffalo Chickpea Dip: Two of the most in demand Super Bowl snacks have to be Buffalo wings and hummus. But why pick between spicy and smooth when you can have the best of both worlds? #StonyfieldBlogger #ad

Pickle Treats

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This 3 ingredient pickle treat appetizer recipe is one of my family's very favorite game day treats. They're salty, tangy, creamy, and absolutely addictive!

I did a demo of this recipe in the middle of a Facebook LIVE while my Cheesy Bacon + Apple Croissants were in the oven. I've embedded the video, which should jump to the start of the pickle treat portion, but if not, feel free to fast forward to 24:01.

I love pickles. And one of my all-time favorite ways to enjoy them is in this pickle recipe that's barely a recipe: pickle treats.

My mom has been making these addictive bite-sized treats for as long as I can remember. They were a staple any time we'd watch a football game at home. We'd even have little appetizer plates for lunch or dinner some days that were mostly just these delicious pickle bites.

Not much has changed - just last week I had pickle treats for lunch on more than one occasion. They're just the perfect balance of smoky, creamy, tangy, and salty.

According to Eater, this combo is also known as Minnesota Sushi and it's apparently having a pop culture moment.

Small cutting board filled with sliced pickle treat appetizers.

I've posted about this appetizer recipe many times over the years, but I'm revamping them a bit and combining all of those posts into one so you can see just how easy they are to make.

One of the things I love about pickle treats is that you can make them in advance. I've been doing that for game day parties, holiday gatherings, and potlucks for many years now.

They're also great as part of a big appetizer spread. I love adding them to cheeseboards and snack boards. People are sometimes skeptical that something so seemingly "odd" would taste good together, but belive me - it SO does!

 
 
 
 
 
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There are really only a few tips that you need to know when making these pickle treats. First is that you want to be sure to pat the ham dry. This will ensure that the cream cheese can adhere to it and act as the glue that holds the pickles down as you roll 'em up.

Secondly, either let your cream cheese soften so it's easily spreadable OR opt to use whipped cream cheese. The texture is a little different with whipped cream cheese, but it saves you a bit of time since you can pull it out of the refrigerator and work with it right away.

I like slicing dill pickle spears lengthwise so they aren't quite as thick when rolling them up in the ham. That means that each pickle spear will be enough for two full pickle treats. As with the ham, you'll need to dry the pickles on a towel to make sure there isn't too much moisture inside of each roll.

Lately, I've been using the sandwich slice-stye pickles and it saves the step of slicing each pickle. They don't roll up into nice little logs since they're wider than a pickle spear, but they taste just as good!

Overhead view of a round board full of pickle treat appetizers.

What are your favorite game day appetizers? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below! And if you make this pickle treat recipe, please let me know what you think of it. I hope you love them as much as we do!

Looking for more bite-sized favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Pickle Treats

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Holiday Cookie Recipe Roundup

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Over 200 favorite Christmas and holiday cookie recipes across 7 different categories to make your holiday baking and cookie swap parties so much easier!

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is holiday baking! There's just something so magical about getting to work in the kitchen and spreading joy through delicious, homemade baked goods.

Collage of cookie images with text that reads, "Over 200 cookie recipes for the holidays".

I give out holiday cookies to lots of people at the end of every year. Aside from family and friends, I usually package up cookies for the local police station, firehouse, hospital and doctors' offices, librarians, teachers, and the maintenance crew at my co-op complex. It allows me to enjoy baking a variety of cookies without feeling like my house is constantly overflowing with cookies.

It's such a happy time of year, and homemade treats aren't something that everyone is lucky enough to receive. I'm all about spreading smiles, and I encourage you to do the same!

Sometimes I just need to whip up a quick batch of my super chocolatey Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies. Other times I'm looking for a dose of childhood nostalgia, so I bust out the rolling pin, cookie cutters, and sprinkles to make my Grandma's Christmas Cookies. And I just can't resist making a giant batch (or 2) of my family's favorite Italian Ricotta Cookies.

But sometimes I'm in the mood to try something new, and I wanted to put together a massive resource full of cookie recipes to help spread the holiday cheer. So I turned to some of my food blogging buddies to get their very favorite holiday cookie recipes to share in this one.epic.collection.

This recipe collection contains over 200 favorite Christmas and holiday cookie recipes, categorized into the following 7 groups:

  1. Traditional Holiday Cookie Recipes
  2. Chocolate Holiday Cookie Recipes
  3. Cute and Colorful Holiday Cookie Recipes
  4. Holiday Cookie Recipes from Around the World
  5. Biscotti, Shortbread, & Slice and Bake Holiday Cookie Recipes
  6. Thumbprint Holiday Cookie Recipes
  7. Holiday Cookie Recipes for Special Diets

(💡Tip: You can click on any of the 7 sections listed above to jump directly to that portion of my list.)

There's something for everyone here - sweet, savory, gluten-free, vegan, decadent, simple... the list goes on and on. I'll add more as time goes on, and I'll be sure to add my notes for any of these recipes that I actually try out in my tiny kitchen.

My hope is that you find inspiration to get in the kitchen and bake something delicious for your friends and loved ones this holiday season.

And so, without further ado...

Collage of cookie images with text that reads, "Over 200 cookie recipes for the holidays".

Traditional Holiday Cookie Recipes

You can't beat a classic! Roll out cookies, gingersnaps, sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies and more.

2-Ingredient Almond Cookies

These are the most amazing melt-in-yout-mouth 2 Ingredient Almond Cookies you will try in your life! Almond flour, maple syrup, a cookie cutter and go!

Make this recipe

Avalanche Cookies

Satisfy your sweet tooth with this delicious recipe for no-bake Avalanche Cookies. These easy-to-make treats are perfect for any occasion!

Make this recipe

Biscoff Butter Cookies

Biscoff butter cookies are soft and decadent! Made with cookie butter and topped with a rich Biscoff buttercream, each bite is heaven!

Make this recipe

Bow Tie Cookies (Kolaczki Cookies)

Bow Tie Cookies (Kolaczki)! Made up of a cream cheese-based dough, these tender cookies make a beautiful treat for cookie exchanges!

Make this recipe

Butter Pecan Cookies

These butter pecan cookies are crisp on the edges, soft in the center, and full of nutty, buttery flavor. No chilling is needed-just mix, bake, and enjoy!

Make this recipe

Chewy Biscoff Butter Cookies

Biscoff butter cookies are soft, chewy, and full of chocolate chips. They're spiced with cinnamon and have a deep rich caramel flavor that will keep you wanting more. 

Make this recipe

Chewy Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles with Rosemary- Baker Bettie

These brown sugar snickerdoodles are chewy and slightly crisp on the outside. The addition of rosemary elevates them slightly but can be left out.

Make this recipe

Chewy Sourdough Sugar Cookies

These chewy Sourdough Sugar Cookies are a go-to easy favorite! Made with sourdough discard, the cookies have crinkly edges, freeze well, and stay soft for days.

Make this recipe

Classic Chewy Gingersnap (Ginger Molasses) Cookies

Check out these delicious sweet and spiced ginger molasses cookies! Makes 32 tasty classic cookies in under 30 minutes!

Make this recipe

Cranberry Bliss Cookies

Another delicious holiday cookie recipe! Cranberry Bliss Cookies are just like your favorite Starbucks bar in cookie form!

Make this recipe

Cranberry Orange Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

These Cranberry Orange Cookies with White Chocolate Chips are sweet and tart and so delicious!  With white chocolate chips, frozen cranberries, orange zest, and orange juice.

Make this recipe

Cranberry Orange Snickerdoodles

Fresh orange and dried cranberries add seasonal flair to this classic cookie!

Make this recipe

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season for festive Christmas cookies! Soft, chewy, and decadent Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies are a family tradition!

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Easy Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Oatmeal Lace Cookies are buttery, crispy and easy to make. Classic recipe is perfect for gifting because it's free of food allergens.

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Eggnog Gingerbread Cookies

These soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are dipped in an eggnog icing and showered with festive sprinkles, making for a delicious Christmas cookie.

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Gingerbread Latte Cookies

Soft, chewy and loaded with warm spices and espresso powder these Gingerbread Latte Cookies are a delicious twist on a classic holiday cookie.

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Gingerbread Snowflakes

Gingerbread snowflakes are a Christmas classic, but these cookies have an extra festive flair thanks to cocoa powder and fresh nutmeg.

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Glazed Honey Gingerbread Cookies

Soft, chewy honey gingerbread cookies have all the warm spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves with a rich honey flavor.

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Grandma's Classic Cut Out Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

My grandma's classic roll-out cookie recipe makes deliciously soft cookies that hold their shape well for decorating. A Christmas tradition!

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Kolache Cookies

A soft cookie made with cream cheese and filled with raspberry jam. These raspberry bow tie cookies are a showstopper and get rave reviews!

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M&M Holiday Cookie Bars Recipe

Bake up a batch of chewy and festive M&M Cookie Bars! This easy holiday recipe is packed with chocolate chips and colorful M&Ms-perfect for parties, gifting, or a sweet family treat.

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Macadamia & White Chocolate Snowball Cookies

The buttery and tender texture of these melt-in-your-mouth snowball cookies makes them absolutely addictive!

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Maple Cookies

These soft maple cookies are the perfect fall cookie recipe. Easy to make with real maple syrup and quick to bake. Always a crowd favorite!

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My Grandmother's Bourbon Balls

My Grandmother was famous for her no bake Bourbon Balls, which are made with vanilla wafers and just a few other ingredients. Perfect Christmas cookies!

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Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

This Molasses Cookies recipe belongs in every recipe box! It is one of the most treasured of old fashioned Christmas cookies.

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Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cookies

Soft and nostalgic, these old-fashioned sour cream cookies are moist with a hint of tang. They're topped with festive frosting and sprinkles to match the theme of your special occasion or holiday.

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Peppermint Christmas Cookies

These decorated peppermint Christmas cookies are topped with soft buttercream frosting. Find all three tutorials plus recipes here!

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Peppermint Kiss Sugar Cookies

Peppermint Kiss Sugar Cookies are a festive Holiday cookie that combines a soft and chewy sugar cookie with a Hershey's peppermint kiss!

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Six-Ingredient Crunchy Almond Cookies

A delicious sweet treat! Try this easy-to-make six ingredient cookie that's full of yummy almond flavour! It's ready in 30 minutes too.

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Skillet Sugar Cookies

This Skillet Sugar Cookie Recipe bakes up with golden edges and soft, buttery centers for a treat that feels straight from the bakery. The cast iron skillet gives these cookies a delicious texture that's hard to beat, and they are ready in under 30 minutes!

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Snowball Coconut Cookies

A new twist on an old fashioned cookie, these snowball coconut cookies are made with yogurt and finished off with creamy coconut buttercream frosting.

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Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy in the middle and lightly crisp around the edges. Get this holiday recipe on UrbanBlissLife.com

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Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Soft sour cream sugar cookies are a holiday must have with our family! These cookies hold their shape well for making cutout cookies.

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Spritz Cookies

These melt in your mouth adorable little buttery Spritz Cookies are made easy with seven ingredients in a cookie press. 

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Toasted Hazelnut Meringue Cookies

These German Hazelnut Meringue Cookies are light and oh so delicious! Perfect for the holidays and they only take half an hour to make!

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White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Soft white chocolate cranberry cookies are a holiday staple with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, perfect for cookie trays!

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White Chocolate Dipped Eggnog Cookies

These White Chocolate Dipped Eggnog Cookies bake up soft, full of eggnog flavor, and have hints of creamy white chocolate nestled on top!

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White Chocolate Macadamia Cranberry Cookies

Deliciously soft and chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Cranberry Cookies - so crazy good, you'll get totally addicted with the very first bite.

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Chocolate Holiday Cookie Recipes

Chocoholics, unite! Find just the right amount of chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Brownie Buckeye Cookies Recipe

This buckeye cookie is the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. They are so easy to make and they taste amazing.

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Cheesecake Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

A vibrant red velvet cookie meets a creamy cheesecake center, with bursts of sweetness from white chocolate chips in every bite.

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Chocolate Almond Pillow Cookies

Chocolate Almond Pillow Cookies have a secret. Inside these puffy little gems is a pocket of chocolate almond delight. A perfect Almond Christmas Cookie.

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Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

These Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies are an easy dessert perfect for anyone who loves chocolate and cookies! All you need are five simple ingredients: chocolate cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla extract, and chocolate kisses!

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Chocolate Cherry Crinkle Cookies

Cherry chocolate crinkle cookies are chewy, delicious, and adorable! The perfect cookie to celebrate Valentine's Day, 4th of July, or Christmas!

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Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Nuts

Peanut butter, toasted pecans and 2 types of chocolate chips amp up the flavor in these chewy cookies, inspired by The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems.

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Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate crinkles are soft, chewy, very chocolatey and also ridiculously easy to make. They're on everyone's favourite Christmas cookie list every year!

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Chocolate Linzer Cookies

Chocolate-filled Linzer cookies are the perfect holiday treat. They also make a really cute gift nestling in pretty boxes for friends and loved ones.

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Chocolate Pecan Cookies with Hershey Kisses on Top

This chocolate pecan cookie is rolled in pecan nuts, drizzled with a sweet powdered sugar glaze, and topped with a Hershey Kiss!

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Chocolate Peppermint Sour Cream Crinkle Cookies

Sour cream is the key to the best crinkle cookies! Chocolate Peppermint Sour Cream Crinkle Cookies are the best addition to your holiday cookie plate.

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Classic Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Classic Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies - The chewiest, fudgiest, softest cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar and perfect for the holidays!

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Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

The classic combination of chocolate and peppermint make these Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies the perfect treat for the holidays!

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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Icing

Two types and sizes of chocolate chips make these tender cookies doubly delicious!

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Double Chocolate Ginger Cookies

These chewy Double Chocolate Ginger Cookies are packed with dark chocolate chunks and warm ginger flavors-perfect for holiday cookies or year-round treats!

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Easy Pomegranate Cookies

These irresistible Pomegranate Cookies start with a cake mix and end with a creamy filling that is topped with fresh pomegranate seeds.

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Grandma Henrietta's Bourbon Balls

These boozy Bourbon Balls have been a Christmas tradition in my family for generations! Perfect for your next holiday cocktail party!

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Maraschino Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Maraschino Cherry Cookies! Speckled with bright bits of maraschino cherries, these soft drop cookies are addictive!

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Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

These supremely chocolatey cookies are a great way to use a partial container of buttermilk - guaranteed to satisfy even the strongest chocolate cravings.

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Milk Bar's Cornflake Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies

Milk Bar's Cornflake Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies are packed with peppermint flavor and are the perfect addition to Christmas cookie platters.

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Nutella & Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

You may never go back to your usual sugar cookie recipe after tasting these ones. Stuffed with Nutella and sprinkled with sea salt.

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Orange Cookies with Hidden Melting Truffle Centers

Crisp orange cookies with a gooey melting truffle filling hiding inside. Easy to make, and so delicious!

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Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made with milk chocolate chips and crushed candy canes, Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy, and perfect for the holidays!

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Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies

Hot cocoa and cookie lovers unite! Peppermint hot chocolate cookies are a festive treat perfect for winter holidays and cookie exchanges.

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Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Chewy Red Velvet Cookies with a hint of cocoa and loaded with creamy white chocolate are a fun and festive version of the chocolate chip cookies.

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Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies

Love Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies? Make your own without baking with this easy copycat Thin Mint Cookies Recipe. Add some fun sprinkles!

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Cute and Colorful Holiday Cookie Recipes

Because whimsical cookies are guaranteed to bring out more holiday cheer.

Butterscotch Haystacks

Butterscotch haystacks are an easy 4 ingredient no-bake dessert that come together in under 10 minutes and always disappear at parties!

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Christmas Oreos

These Christmas Oreos are fun, festive and perfect for the holiday season! Decorate, frost and ice them any way you want.

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Christmas Pinwheel Spiral Swirl Sugar Cookies

Get ready to bake the easiest Christmas Pinwheel Spiral Swirl Sugar Cookies you'll ever make!

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Christmas Sprinkle Cookies

This is the first Christmas I've had my blog! I'm so excited to join forces with some of my blogger friends to bring you the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies.

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Christmas Wreath Cookies

This recipe for no-bake cornflake Christmas wreath cookies has just six ingredients and can be made in 15 minutes.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Shots

Chocolate chip cookie shots are chewy cookie cups coated in chocolate and ready to fill with milk or booze. A fun dessert twist with real wow factor.

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Colored Cookie Dough Sugar Cookies

Make your cookies stand out with these vibrantly colored cookie dough sugar cookies. They add a little whimsy and fun to sugar cookies. Perfect for holidays and themed events!

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Cookie Puzzles

Cookie puzzles are a creative and delicious treat that combines the joy of baking with the fun of assembling a puzzle. To create your own cookie puzzle, follow this simple cookie puzzle recipe.

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Easy Christmas Wreath Cookies

Try an easy Christmas Wreath Cookies recipe. Learn how to bake, frost, and decorate these festive treats for the holidays.

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Easy Meringue Christmas Trees

These adorable meringue Christmas trees are delicious and easy to make. Perfect for fun and festive holiday baking!

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Eggnog Linzer Cookies

These Eggnog Linzer Cookies will be the hit of the holiday cookie platter!

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Frosted Christmas Tree Cookies

These frosted Christmas tree cookies are as delicious as they are adorable. They're the perfect sweet treat for any holiday gathering.

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Funfetti Shortbread Tidbits

As cute as they are delicious and addictive to eat, these Funfetti Shortbread Tidbits will be a favorite at your next party - they'll disappear in no time!

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Gingerbread Yule Log Cookies

Who knew that gingerbread, Nutella and lime make such a great trio? These flavors really do perfectly balance each other in this delicious holiday cookie. It's like a mini bûche de noël, in the form of a gingerbread cookie!

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Grinch Heart Raspberry Filled Sugar Cookies Recipe

These raspberry filled Grinch Cookies are perfect for Christmas and so easy to make with an easy homemade sugar cookie dough. Can use store bought dough for a time saver!

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Easy Gingerbread Men

Spiced Gingerbread Men perfect for Christmas! Crunchy chewy cut-out gingerbread cookies decorated with a simple two ingredient icing and M&M's.

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Maraschino Cherry Cookies Recipe

This delicious Maraschino Cherry Cookies Recipe is perfect for Valentine's Day, Christmas or any time you want a sweet treat!

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Oreo Penguin Cookies

Oreo Penguin Cookies are easy to make - just Oreos, melted chocolate, and some cute little decorations to create your penguin. 

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Oreo Penguins

Aren't these Oreo Penguins adorable with their peppermint ear muffs? This treat is a fun and delicious treat to make this season.

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Peanut Butter Christmas Tree Kiss Cookies

Make these festive Peanut Butter Christmas Tree Kiss Cookies for your holiday dessert table! A fun, easy twist on the classic!

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Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are a bite of holiday perfection! Serve up these adorable Christmas Cookies at your next holiday party. 

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Rudolph Peanut Butter Cookies

This Rudolph Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe is fun to make and delicious to eat. Use pretzels, mini chocolate chips and M&Ms to create your reindeer cookies!

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Santa Meringue Cookies

These Santa meringue cookies are easy and sweet with a holly, jolly holiday look. They're perfect for the Christmas season.

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Stained Glass Cookies

Cookie and candy all in one! Learn how to make stunning stained glass cookies with this detailed tutorial. Perfect for holiday cookie exchanges or hanging on your tree!

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Holiday Cookie Recipes from Around the World

Take a trip around the world without leaving your kitchen! These cookies span the globe and deliver traditional ethnic flair.

Almond Crescent Cookies

Almond Crescent Cookies, a must make melt in your mouth, shortbread type Christmas Cookie. Fast, easy and the perfect addition to your Cookie Tray.

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Almond Rugelach with Almond Paste or Marzipan

My almond rugelach recipe uses a buttery, tender cream cheese pastries that can be filled with homemade or store bough almond paste or marzipan.

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Authentic Linzer Cookies

Try my authentic recipe for the famous Austrian Christmas cookies! In my easy Linzer Cookies recipe, the cookie dough is enriched with ground hazelnuts and almonds and flavored with a mix of Christmas spices. These

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Baci di Dama (Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies)

Baci di Dama - Delicate, delicious, buttery, and classic Italian cookies made with ground hazelnuts and sandwiched together with a layer of silky chocolate filling. They're a perfect addition to your Christmas cookie trays!

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Basler Brunsli (Swiss Chocolate Spice Cookies)

Basler Brunsli (Swiss Chocolate Spice Cookies) recipe! These cookies from Basel have a blend of ground nuts, sugar, spices, and chocolate.

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Christmas Linzer Cookies

Christmas Linzer Cookies with a hint of vanilla, the best ever jam-filled cookies. Super easy to make, buttery, and so flavourful.

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Crème Brûlée Cookies

These creme brulee cookies have a crispy caramelized top and a soft, custard-like center! Try this creme brulee sugar cookies recipe today!

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Deluxe Pets de Soeur Recipe

This Deluxe Pets de Soeur Recipe is based on a rural French-Canadian culinary tradition which literally translates as farts of holy sisters. Intrigued?

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Eggnog Madeleine

The best Christmas Cookies recipe! These Eggnog Madeleines are full of eggnog and warm holiday spices. Perfect for holiday baking.

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German Christmas Cookies: Lebkuchen

This quick German Christmas Cookies or Lebkuchen recipe results in the most amazing cookies crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside

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German Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are a Christmas must have! These one have a nice buttery cookie base and all of the spices are likely to already be in your spice cabinet. They will make converts of those who don't think they like these spicy little fellas!

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German Pfeffernüsse Cookies

German Pfeffernusse Cookies - A traditional spiced German cookie covered in powdered sugar. The perfect cookie for a Christmas cookie exchange!

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German Spitzbuben (Macadamia Cherry & Black Forest Cookies)

Tender and buttery Macadamia Cherry Spitzbuben and Boozy Black Forest Spitzbuben. The best sandwich cookie you'll ever have!

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Great Grandma Maria Francesca Cardile's Italian Easter Cookies

These elegant, lightly sweet cookies are a Southern Italian tradition, passed down through the generations and enjoyed at Easter.

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Italian Chestnut Tortelli

Try this authentic Italian recipe for Chestnut Tortelli - little pasta-shaped Italian Christmas cookies filled with a spiced rum, chocolate & chestnut filling.

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Jeera Cookies | Roasted Cumin Shortbread Cookies

This delicious and addicitve Jeera Cookies is all you need with your cup of coffee or tea. A melt in the mouth shortbread cookie flavored with roasted cumin brings the savory and sweet together in a wonderful way.

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Kourabiedes: Greek Almond & Butter Cookies

Kourabiedes are one of the most popular Greek cookies and they are unmissable from the Christmas table.  They could be described as almond snowball

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Lemon Ricotta Cookies

These citrus-studded cookies are light, fluffy and full of holiday cheer!

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Mexican Wedding Cookies

My 6-ingredient Mexican Wedding Cookies are a must-know classic! Dusted in snowy powdered sugar, this pecan-studded shortbread recipe is a treasure.

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Moravian Cookies

Moravian cookies are a traditional Czech cookie. From the region of Moravia, these molasses cookies are a holiday classic.

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Nutellotti (Italian Nutella Cookies)

Nutellotti - Nutellotti are delicious, rich, soft, and chocolatey Italian cookies made with Nutella. With just a few ingredients, they are quick to whip up and make the perfect treat for Christmas!

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Pierniczki Swiateczne | Polish Christmas Cookies

You will love this awesome Pierniczki świąteczne aka Polish Christmas Cookie recipe. It is an great festive cookie recipe.

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Ricotta Cookies

This simple dessert recipe makes lots of pillowy soft, tender cookies that are sure to be a family favorite! Perfect for cookie exchanges & holiday parties.

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Speculoos - Speculaas - Dutch Windmill Cookies

Speculoos, also known as Speculaas or Dutch Windmill Cookies, are a holiday cookie that is traditionally made for the Feast of St. Nicholas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria.

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Stroopwafels (Dutch Syrup-Filled Waffle Cookies)

A recipe for Stroopwafels (Dutch Syrup-Filled Waffle Cookies)! This decadent treat pairs waffle cookies with a cinnamon-spiced syrup filling.

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Super Simple Honey Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies are super easy to make and have a delicious honey flavor with a hint of cinnamon. Dunk them in your favorite hot beverage for the perfect treat!

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Swedish Rosette Cookies

Rosette Cookies are delicious and crispy fried treats, made in different shapes, and coated in powdered like funnel cakes.

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Vanillekipferl Cookies (German Vanilla Almond Crescents)

A lightly vanilla and almond flavoured Christmas cookie. These German Vanillekipferl cookies are one of my favourites. Easy to make and kids can help too!

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Turdilli & Chinulille

These dense, honey-coated cookies are a holiday tradition in Calabria, Italy. Chinulille are mini 'mince meat' pies. Turdille are gnocchi-shaped.

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Biscotti, Shortbread, & Slice and Bake Holiday Cookie Recipes

Give your traditional cookies seasonal flair with these festive options.

Air fryer Shortbread Cookies

These 3 ingredient air fryer shortbread cookies is the perfect cookie recipe for all seasons! If you haven't tried baking cookies in your air fryer

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Brown Butter Shortbread with Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt

These tender Brown Butter Shortbread with Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt have a caramelized flavor thanks to the brown butter & brown sugar.

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Cardamom Butter Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth cardamom butter cookies make an excellent addition to your Christmas cookie tins and are a blast to make with the little ones!

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Cheddar Shortbread Crackers

Perfect for parties or pairing with dips, these Cheddar Shortbread Crackers are a simple yet indulgent savory delight.

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Cherry Christmas Cookies

These old-fashioned Cherry Christmas Cookies are a living celebration of the holiday season, filled with the warm love and memories of yesteryear.

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Chocolate and Ginger Shortbread Cookies

Cookies are very popular during the winter holidays, both for grown-ups and little ones.

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Chocolate Candy Cane Biscotti

These festive chocolate candy cane biscotti are simple and delicious. They make the perfect frugal gift for the holiday season!

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Chocolate Glazed Coconut Shortbread Cookies

Easy shortbread coconut cookies with a hint of lemon, roasted coconut flakes and chocolate glase. This batch makes 25 cookies in just 30 minutes.

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Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies

These orange shortbread cookies melt in your mouth with their delicious flavor, and the chocolate dipped side really tops them off.

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Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Easy buttery chocolate shortbread cookies with a satisfying crunch. Perfect for chocolate lovers and holiday baking!

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Chocolate Sourdough Biscotti with Hazelnuts

Wonderful crunchy twice-baked Italian cookies with a twist! Chocolate Sourdough Biscotti with Hazelnuts are made with orange & sourdough!

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Coconut Shortbread Cookies

These crunchy coconut shortbread cookies are sweet, salty, and totally addictive! The cookies and the cookie glaze are both egg-free.

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Coffee Shortbread Cookies

Make a batch of Coffee Shortbread Cookies for a delicious and elegant holiday treat. They're made with real coffee and dipped in sweet white chocolate for an indulgent balance of familiar flavors.

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Cranberry Orange Cookies

Fresh cranberries and orange peel are the stars of these Cranberry Orange Cookies. Make and freeze the dough and bake when ready!

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Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe

A Chocolate Shortbread Cookies recipe with chocolate chips ensures deep rich chocolate flavor. One of my favorite shortbread cookies

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Easy Chocolate Chip Whipped Shortbread

These Easy Chocolate Chip Whipped Shortbread cookies are the absolute best melt in your Mouth Shortbread Cookie. Fast, Easy and they will be gone in seconds. They make the perfect cookie for gifting.

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Easy Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Learn how to make the BEST melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies with 3 ingredients + 1 bowl. Read the common mistakes to avoid!

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Easy Dandelion Shortbread Cookies

These dandelion shortbread cookies are the perfect treat this summer! These cookies are versatile, perfect for any occasions and gifting!

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Easy Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are laced with vanilla chai tea, cozied up with pantry staple spices, and then dipped in a sweet 4-ingredient vanilla

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Gingerbread Biscotti with Chocolate and Sea Salt

An easy recipe for gingerbread biscotti that doesn't use any butter. After baking, the biscotti is coated in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt.

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Italian Shortbread Cookies (Bakery Style)

Elevate your cookie game with these elegant Italian Shortbread Cookies (Pasta Frolla)! Light, delicate, and perfectly tender with a snow-white appearance that makes them ideal for decorating. A touch of European sophistication in every bite!

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Jan Hagel Cookies | Dutch Shortbread Cookies

Jan Hagel Cookies are delicious shortbread cookies spiced with cinnamon, topped with almonds and pearl sugar. Jan Hagel cookies are a traditional Dutch Shortbread Cookies.

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Juniper Berry spiced Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Juniper Berry spiced Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies - these slice and bake chocolate hazelnut cookies are easy to make, and have a unique bittersweet, chocolatey, nutty, floral flavor profile with a crunchy edge and soft, fudgy center!

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Lavender Shortbread Cookies

These fabulous Lavender Shortbread Cookies are buttery & crumbly & bursting with velvety lavender flavor. 6 ingredients. 6 simple steps!

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Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Shortbread Cookies are the ideal blend of zesty and buttery flavors, offering a delicious treat for those who love citrus flavors.

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Meyer Lemon Cookies

These Meyer lemon cookies are a wonderful balance of fresh citrus, sweetness and melting crumbliness. So good, a delicious cookie plate addition.

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Orange Shortbread Cookies

Orange Shortbread Cookies melt in your mouth! They're delicate, citrus-y and luscious! When I think of shortbread cookies, I picture those swirly cookies

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Pecan Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Easy pecan shortbread cookies are so buttery and perfectly crunchy. These cookies are make-ahead and freezer-friendly!

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Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, buttery cookies baked to perfection, dipped in chocolate and covered in candy cane crumbs - perfect for Christmas.

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Pistachio, Lemon & Rosemary Biscotti

Pistachio, Lemon & Rosemary Biscotti make the ideal last minute gift. Keep a loaf of dough in the freezer for emergencies, & never be without a gift again.

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Rosemary Parmesan Shortbread

This simple, savoury Rosemary Parmesan Shortbread recipe is beautifully light and very cheesy!

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Rose Pistachio ShortbreadCookies

Crumbly and fragrant, Pistachio Cookies (pistachio shortbread) are perfectly melt-in-your-mouth. Make the dough ahead and freeze for an easy anytime treat.

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Salted Honey Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

Buttery shortbread cookies with nutty pistachios, sweet honey, and a hint of sea salt. Easy to whip up and even easier to fall in love with.

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Traditional Scottish Shortbread (Walker's Copycat)

This fresh-baked traditional Scottish shortbread biscuit recipe is a Walker's copycat. The best buttery melt in your mouth cookies ever.

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Thumbprint Holiday Cookie Recipes

These filled cookies are more than just jam - sweet and savory options are sure to delight your friends and family.

Air fryer Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies

Air fryer Strawberry thumbprint cookies are simple shortbread jam cookies made in the air fryer.

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Butter Tart Thumbprint Cookies

An ooey gooey rich butter tart filling, nestled in a pecan sugar cookie.

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Buttery Jam Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies have been crowned "The Most Pinned Holiday Cookie," as featured on Good Morning America and ABC News. They're buttery delicious.

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Caramel Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

Pecan thumbprint cookies use the pecans' a natural sweetness and bind them in a perfect pairing to a buttery cookie with toothsome caramel.

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Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

Butter cookies meet a slice of cheesecake in these tender Cherry Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies that are perfect Christmas cookies or any time cookies!

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Cherry Chocolate Recipe

Chocolate and Cherry Thumbprint Cookies are my updated version of a classic! Chocolate thumbprint cookies are perfect for dessert!

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Cherry Pecan Thumbprint Cookies

A buttery cookie base, pecans and a cherry filling, drizzled with white chocolate makes these cherry pecan thumbprint cookies are an indulgent treat.

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Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are made with a simple dough, rolled in crushed hazelnuts, and filled with rich melted chocolate.

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Cinnamon Apple Crumble Cookies

These tender apple crumble cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar, heaped with apple pie filling and topped with a toasty oat crumble!

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Dulce De Leche Thumbprint Cookies

Brighten up the holiday season with these Dulce De Leche Thumbprint Cookies. Step by step thumbprint cookies, eggless Shortbread Cookies

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Easy Twix Thumbprint Cookies

Tender, buttery shortbread cookies are packed with caramel and topped with chocolate to create the tastiest Twix Thumbprint Cookies. They are easy and delicious!

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Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies

Eggnog thumbprint cookies with a snickerdoodle base and creamy eggnog ganache are perfect for holiday baking. Easy recipe and tips!

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Funfetti Thumbprint Cookies

All of the cake qualities of Funfetti in cookie form! Gluten-free and vegan Funfetti Thumbprint Cookies, soft, sweet with a "cream cheese" center!

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Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

Classic soft gingerbread cookies with a white chocolate center and chocolate drizzle. Serve on a holiday cookie platter this season and share with family.

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Guava Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies

The softest guava cream cheese cookies that melt in your mouth! They're topped with guava for an added touch of delicious sweetness.

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Hazelnut Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies

Hazelnut Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies are a soft buttery nut cookie recipe filled with a tart citrus filling. Great for spring, Easter, and holiday platters like Christmas.

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Hot Cocoa Thumbprint Cookies

Hot cocoa thumbprint cookies combine the flavor of hot cocoa, marshmallows, and peppermint with rich chocolate cookies for a delicious treat.

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Lemon Baobab Thumbprint Cookies

Delicious baobab cookies recipe - made with superfruit baobab powder and filled with homemade thick lemon curd!

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Lemon Curd Cookies

These Lemon Curd Cookies absolutely melt in your mouth with the tastiest creamy lemon filling. Total bliss for lemon lovers.

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Lemon Lavender Thumbprint Cookies

These easy, one-bowl lemon lavender thumbprint cookies are like springtime on a plate, perfect for any celebration!

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Melt in Your Mouth Almond Thumbprint Cookies

These classic thumbprint cookies are buttery, tender, and filled with sweet cherry jam. A simple and festive cookie recipe perfect for year round

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Mint Chocolate Thumbprints

Mint chocolate thumbprints seemed appropriate for the holdiays. It's red and green making them perfect for any holiday cookie tray.

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Peach Thumbprint Cookies

A light and buttery cookie filled with peach pie filling and topped with a cinnamon glaze for the perfect combination, sure to become a favorite!

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Pecan Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies

These Pecan Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies are They're soft and have a little "thumbprint" dent in the middle that's just right for adding a dollop of tasty chocolate pecan butter. 

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Raspberry Lemon Cookies

Raspberry Lemon Cookies feature fresh lemon zest in the dough and fresh lemon juice and a raspberry in the pink lemonade icing.

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Savory Cheese Thumbprint Cookies with Bourbon Tomato Jam

A savory twist on classic jam-filled thumbprint cookie. Cheesy savory thumbprint cookies with bourbon tomato jam! PERFECT party appetizer! 

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Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Rich, buttery, and sweet, these shortbread thumbprint cookies are a classic cookie recipe to bake this holiday season.

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Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies are buttery, crunchy heart thumbprint cookies that make delicious Valentines Day treats.

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Turtle Thumbprint Cookies

Decadently rich chocolate sugar cookies with a caramel filling and toasted pecans.  These cookies have a secret ingredient that truly elevates this cookie.  Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are a favorite for the holiday season and the dough couldn't be any easier to make.

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Holiday Cookie Recipes for Special Diets

Dietary restrictions shouldn't get in the way of your holiday fun! These cookie recipes are made for people with special diets in mind - find gluten-free, ketogenic, paleo, vegan, and peanut/tree nut free options here.

Chewy Chocolate Molasses Cookies

Crispy edges with a wonderful chewy bite throughout, these gluten free, vegan chocolate molasses cookies are so addictive! Perfect for the holiday season!

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Chewy Pistachio Cookies

Chewy pistachio cookies are rich and nutty with a delightfully fudge-like texture! They're entirely flourless which makes them gluten-free.

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Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Crisp edges, soft chocolate center, & refreshing peppermint rolled in powdered sugar make a to-die-for cookie. Gluten free & vegan for more to enjoy!

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Cinnamon Roll Cookies - Low Carb, Grain Free, THM S

If you like Cinnamon Rolls you have to try these Cinnamon Roll Cookies. They have the delicious cinnamon flavor and cream cheese icing in a cookie form.

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Classic Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies

Keto Chocolate chip cookies are a big favourite amongst the ketogenic community. Low carb cookies are a perfect recipe to make for any occasion, such an easy keto dessert.

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Flourless Chocolate Cookies With Peppermint - Major Hoff Takes A Wife

Flourless chocolate cookies with peppermint are easy to make and a crowd-pleaser! A perfect cookie to gift for the holidays, it's naturally gluten free!

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Fudgy Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Bake the perfect fudgy chocolate macadamia nut cookies with our easy gluten-free & vegan option recipe. Chewy, decadent with a delightful crunch - these cookies are a must try for every chocolate lover

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Glazed Maple Walnut Cookies - Low Carb, Grain Free, THM S

Glazed Maple Walnut Cookies. Tender maple-flavored cookies with oodles of walnuts, a hint of cinnamon, and a rich maple glaze.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkles "Crack" Cookies

If you're a chocolate lover, these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are about to become your new favorite treat! Chewy on the inside, with a rich chocolate flavor and a beautiful crackled powdered sugar exterior, these cookies

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Gluten Free Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

These Gluten Free Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are sure to brighten someone's day.  They are filled with a sweet buttercream and topped with sprinkles.

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Gluten-Free Gingersnaps (Dairy-Free)

Get ready for the easiest and yummiest gluten-free gingersnaps. Perfect for holiday sharing. There's even a vegan option in the recipe too.

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Gluten Free Linzer Cookies.

Buttery vegan and gluten free linzer cookies are delicious and perfect for holiday baking! A pretty and tasty sweet treat. 

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Gluten-free White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Perfect for holiday gift-giving, these gluten-free white chocolate gingerbread cookies are pretty and delicious! I love packaging these up in cute containers for Christmas gifts. These will soon become your favorite gluten-free ginger cookies because

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Italian Orange Drop Cookies with Icing

Treat yourself to these melt-in-your-mouth gluten-free Italian Orange Drop Cookies with Icing. Infused with the bright citrus flavor of mandarin orange juice and zest, these homemade dolce delights are the first to vanish from the dessert tray.

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Keto No Bake Cookies

These sugar free keto no bake cookies taste rich, sweet, fudgy, and crunchy, with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes prep time!

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Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

My keto peanut butter cookies are perfectly chewy, crunchy, and sweet. Just 3 basic ingredients and 1.8g net carbs each!

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Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

Here's a recipe for the easiest keto peanut butter cookies! They're made using almond flour and are low carb, ketogenic, and gluten free. Only a few ingredients are needed to make this simple recipe.

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Low Carb Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate

These Low Carb Shortbread Cookies are made with a combination of creamy butter, almond flour and oat fiber! Completely sugar-free and gluten-free!

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Paleo Double Chocolate Cookies

Your chocolate craving doesn't stand a chance against these Paleo Double Chocolate Cookies! These cookies are gluten-free & dairy-free.

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Sugar Free Meringue Cookies

These easy sugar-free keto meringue cookies are sweet, light, and crispy. Just 4 ingredients, 2 calories, and 0 net carbs!

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Vegan Matcha Shortbread Cookies

These Vegan Matcha Shortbread Cookies are crunchy, "buttery" and dotted with tart-sweet dried cranberries! Gluten-free + refined sugar free.

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Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Toasted walnuts in each bite of these vegan cookies add a delicious flavor to a traditional shortbread!

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Thanks to all of the awesome bloggers who contributed to this epic holiday cookie recipe roundup!

Which of these recipes are you most looking forward to trying? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. And please be sure to report back if you end up trying any of these!

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Big Flavors 2019 Holiday Gift Guide for Food Lovers

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A collection of some of our favorite gift ideas for food and beverage lovers of all ages. Includes ideas for stocking stuffers and main gifts.

Assortment of holiday gifts for food lovers: foodie trivia game, air fryer, small batch candies, cocktail accessories

The holiday shopping season is (already!) upon us, and I for one am.not.ready. My son turned 8 last week, and I tend to like to wait until after the Black Friday craziness is over to do my holiday shopping.

But I know that many of you are already in full-on holiday shopping mode, and I wanted to get my top gift suggestions for this year out for those hoping to catch some Cyber Monday sales.

This year my roundup of gifts includes a range of items from both large brands and smaller, local producers.

Whether you're looking to satisfy your sweet tooth, upgrade your home coffee game, or get a new kitchen appliance, this list has you covered!

And if you're looking for more gift ideas, you can check out all of my past gift guides. I still stand by those recommendations - and you KNOW I'm still all about my Instant Pot - although now I also have an Instant Pot Ultra and love it, too!

Foodie Fight trivia game

Foodie Fight: A Trivia Game for Serious Food Lovers

This Foodie Fight is a trivia game that is SO much fun! My stepsister got it for me for Christmas last year and I've had hours of fun playing it.

In fact, this game holds a special place in my heart now because when my father-in-law was in the hospital at the beginning of the year, I brought the cards with me so we could quiz each other to keep his mind off of how sick he was.

We had a lot of laughs and found out that we didn't know as much about some aspects of food as we thought we did, and vice versa.

Opening the box for Foodie Fight trivia game

Foodie Fight is kind of like Trivial Pursuit, except instead of collecting wedges, you're collecting scoring tokens to fill up your game board. And your game board looks like a restaurant menu.

I feel like there was a bit of a missed opportunity to make "piece of the pie" style of game pieces, but the menus are definitely adorable.

This version of the game is updated from the original, and I love how bright and playful the design is.

Foodie Fight trivia game with all of the game pieces shown

The categories in Foodie Fight are:

  • Foodiesphere: Food people, world cuisines, and food places
  • Food Stars: Food online, on film, and in print, music, and art
  • Company's Coming: Party planning, table etiquette, and beverage and food pairing
  • Lab and Field: Cooking science, nutrition, and food production
  • Dining Out: Eateries, chefs, menu matters, and restaurant service
  • What's Cooking? Cooking techniques, tools, and ingredients
Trivia card from the game Foodie Fight

Foodie Fight is a great game for people who love food, cooking, and drinks. You don't need to be an expert in any particular area - there's quite a broad range of information covered on the trivia cards. You'll seriously learn a lot from playing it!

I've played this game both with the menus trying to fill them up to win and have also brought the cards out and about with me to kill time while waiting on other things. It's fun any way you play!

Foodie Fight is one of the most entertaining gifts I've received in a long time, and I highly recommend it! Get your own copy of Foodie Fight over on Amazon!

Ninja Air Fryer

Ninja Air Fryer

I didn't think I'd ever encounter a kitchen appliance that I'd use as much as my beloved Instant Pot. I mean, I use my Instant Pot a few times a week - how could anything else be that versatile?

When I won this Ninja Air Fryer a few months ago and figured I'd give it a try and end up stashing it in a closet, but boy was I wrong!

An air fryer is basically a small-scale convection oven. Air fryers circulate the air around the food so they cook evenly all over.

That means no hot spots or patches of food that cook slower than others (as long as you keep things in an even layer inside).

I absolutely love this particular model of air fryer. Not only is it fairly small (great for tiny kitchens like mine!) but it's super efficient. It only takes 3 minutes to preheat and you can use it for SO many different things!

Air fryer tray with raw chicken wings on the rack

Since getting this air fryer, it's been used almost daily in my house. Some of the ways we've used our air fryer so far:

  • Cooking frozen tater tots
  • Reheating pizza
  • Roasting Brussels sprouts
  • Reheating chicken strips & french fries
  • Cooking frozen fish sticks
  • Air-frying falafel
  • Air-frying chicken wings (like these Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings)
  • Reheating quiche
  • Reheating French toast & bacon
  • Cooking frozen veggie burgers
  • Air-frying asparagus
Air fryer tray with cooked chicken wings on the rack

Wings are probably my favorite thing to make in the air fryer right now because they cook so quickly and the skin gets so crispy. And because of the convection fan circulating air all around while they're cooking, the meat stays nice and juicy.

I'm also excited to try out the dehydrator function on my air fryer. I've never bought a dehydrator because they're so bulky and I really don't have the storage space for one, so this is a great way to try that out on a smaller scale.

There is also a Max XL 5.5-quart model that's a bit larger, but this smaller size suits my family's needs just fine.

Bags of small batch caramels and toffee.

Delicious Artisan Caramels + Toffee Made in the Hudson Valley

If you're looking to satisfy your sweet tooth with some insanely delicious, small-batch caramels and toffee made right here in the Hudson Valley, look no further!

My friend Michele Kim of La Petite Occasion handcrafts a variety of confections in Chappaqua, New York.

I joined her in her kitchen a few weeks ago for a toffee-making demo (post + recipe coming soon!) and got a behind-the-scenes peek at her process.

Pouring caramel for homemade toffee

La Petite Occasion products are a staple on the counters at local cafés, farmers' markets, and specialty shops all over New York. In addition to their regular flavor offerings, there are also limited-batch seasonal specials (the cider caramels are seriously swoon-worthy!).

These sweets have been featured in the prestigious Best of Westchester awards and have graced the tables of many weddings, showers, and birthday parties.

Because we all know that edible, small-batch treats are the best kind of party favors!

spreading chocolate onto caramel for homemade toffee

Michele puts a lot of love into her products. She works with ingredients sourced right here in the Hudson Valley and balances the flavors in each bite perfectly.

I brought home a sampling of her Salted Dark Chocolate Caramels, Classic Vanilla Caramels, Dark Chocolate Toffee with Pecans, and Bacon Bourbon Maple Caramels.

I can't decide which I like best - they're all SO good!

Bags of small batch caramels and toffee.

The texture of the caramels is the perfect balance of soft and chewy. They would make perfect stocking stuffers!

Michele is offering a  20% discount off all orders made in the La Petite Occasion store for Big Flavors fans through Monday, December 2, 2019. Simply use code BIG20 at checkout to get in on this deliciously awesome deal!

Holding 3 varieties of small batch caramels

If you pick some of these up, I'd love to hear what your favorite flavor is.

And stay tuned for a tutorial on toffee-making. It's easier than you think as long as you have a few tools ready to go in your kitchen.

Dirty martini in a Nick and Nora glass

Craft Cocktail Supplies

I have a whole Mixology & Cocktail Supplies section in my Amazon shop, but there are a few items that I thought I'd call out for the cocktail enthusiasts on your holiday shopping list.

These Nick and Nora coupe glasses have been on heavy rotation in our house. They're the perfect size for my favorite dirty martini, as well as Manhattans and aperitifs.

The smaller size is how the original martini was supposed to be served - it doesn't get warm before you finish drinking it like some of the giant martini glasses that are common out in restaurants and bars.

I like using these arrow-shaped cocktail picks to serve up a hearty amount of olives with my martinis. They're also great for cherries and other garnishes, but olives are definitely how they get used most often in my house.

Cocktails with grapefruit and fennel

On the garnish front, if you want to get those gorgeously long strips of citrus, you'll need a channel knife.

If you want to use some insanely delicious cherries for your cocktails, we love both Fabbri Amarena cherries and Luxardo Maraschino cherries.

And if you're looking for cocktail books to really level up your home cocktail game, some of our favorites are Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails, Smuggler's Cove for exotic/tiki drinks, Cocktail Codex: Fundamentals, Formulas, Evolutions, A Proper Drink for the history of the craft cocktail revival, and The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual.

Handmade mouse and nutcracker cookies

Beautiful Custom Handmade Cookies

OK - back to sweets for a moment. Another local friend of mine, Cari, makes and decorates the most gorgeous cookies!

Sweets by Cari has been baking (and icing!) up a storm here in Ossining for over 7 years now. Her creations are fun and festive, and she now ships nationwide!

Handmade, decorated mouse cookie

All of her items are so beautifully decorated. With lots of predetermined options and the ability to work with her on custom designs, there's something for everyone on your list!

For the holidays, Cari is offering cookie sets (2 in a box) which can be used as gifts for teachers, bosses, hostess, etc. She's also making minis, which are perfect to use as stocking stuffers.

Collage of holiday cookies decorated by Sweets by Cari

In addition to decorated cookies, Cari has cake pops and Oreo platters. The Oreo platters are covered in chocolate and topped with snowflakes and drizzles. The platters are great for putting out when hosting an event, or to bring with you to give as a host/hostess gift.

These would also pair well with gift cards for teachers. Just a little something sweet to go with some cold hard cash.

 
 
 
 
 
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Sweets by Cari also has paint-your-own cookies that are ridiculously cute. And who doesn't love interactive food?

If you're looking for more sweet treat inspiration, check out her Instagram page - I'm constantly impressed with her skills!

Assortment of holiday gifts for food lovers: beeswax wrap, coffee carafe, custom cookies, gooseneck kettle

Reusable Beeswax Wrap

If you're looking for ways to reduce kitchen waste like I am, you'll appreciate beeswax wrap.

Beeswax wrap would be a fun stocking stuffer for the eco-friendly foodie in your life. I have this 3 pack of reusable beeswax wrap and absolutely love it!

Basically, you use it in the same way you'd use plastic wrap (but without the struggle to get it to stick!) or aluminum foil when covering food items.

Pie plate covered with beeswax wrap.

I like the variety of sizes - you can use the small one for covering things like partial pieces of produce (cut lemons, oranges, apples, etc.).

I've also used my beeswax wrap to cover pints of berries when packing them up for a picnic.

You use the heat of your hands to help mold and seal the wrap around any item you need to seal or store. They're very flexible and much sturdier than plastic wrap.

Beeswax wrap being used to cover dishes in an environmentally friendly manner

Between these wraps and my reusable stasher bags, I've been using much less single-use plastic.

If you're looking for more ways to reduce waste in the kitchen, check out my post on 30 Tips for Reducing Kitchen Waste.

Pourover coffee home setup

Pour-Over Coffee Setup at Home

Finally, let's talk coffee! Much like the cocktails & mixology section above, I also have a section of my Amazon shop dedicated entirely to your home café.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the following items pop up fairly often.

My husband originally got me this Fellow Stagg Pour-Over Brewing Set for Coffee with 10-ounce Tasting Glass for our anniversary. I became a pour-over coffee convert and started using it every.single.day.

I absolutely love the way that coffee tastes when prepared this way. We picked out this steel pour-over gooseneck kettle to help assist us in making the perfect pour-over.

The shape of the neck helps you have more control over the flow of water, and there are a few holes in the lid for inserting a thermometer.

The only thing I didn't love about the pour-over set was the disposable paper coffee filters. I make coffee 1-2 times per day and all of those paper filters started to add up.

I had switched to a reusable coffee filter for my drip coffee maker a while back and wanted to find a similar solution for the pour-over setup.

After a lot of searching, I finally landed on a CoffeeSock reusable coffee filter. They come in several sizes, and that's the one that fits in the Fellow Stagg setup. You can reuse them over and over - you just need to boil them for 10 minutes about once a month to get rid of any residual oils from the coffee beans.

Since I accidentally broke the tasting glass a while back *moment of silence*, I decided to get this double-walled carafe so I could make more than one cup of pour-over coffee at a time.

I like that it has a pour spout and that I can make enough for myself and my husband to each have a pretty big cup of coffee each morning all at once.

The double-wall design of both the tasting glass and the carafe help keep the coffee insulated, so you can let it sit for a while with the cover on and it'll stay nice and hot.

That's it for this year's gift guide. What's on your wishlist this holiday season? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below. And as always, if you need help finding the perfect foodie gift, I'm happy to help!

I hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving and whatever end of the year holidays you and your loved ones celebrate.

I am beyond thankful for all of the delicious conversations I've had with my readers and fans over the last 13+ years and look forward to many more!

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of my past gift guides:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Tangerine Coconut Jelly

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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean's. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Bottle of Tangerine Omega Pals next to a plate of Tangerine Coconut Jelly shapes

Break out the silicone molds or cupcake tins and get your daily dose of Omega-3s with this bright, sunny tangerine coconut jelly recipe.

I've been looking for new ways to use the silicone chocolate and candy molds that I picked up a while back. So when Barlean's challenged me to come up with a unique way to use their Seriously Delicious Omega Pals, I knew exactly what I wanted to do!

I mean, how could anyone resist digging into adorably-shaped sweets?

Hand holding a bear shaped Tangerine Coconut Jelly

To make this recipe I decided to adapt this coconut jelly recipe that I've made for dim sum and Chinese New Year parties in the past.

One of the more unique aspects of that recipe is the use of agar agar powder, which works much like gelatin. Agar agar is obtained from algae, so it's a vegan-friendly way to make food firm up like jelly.

Ingredients for making Tangerine Coconut Jelly

Since I'm familiar with working with the agar agar in combination with coconut, I figured it would be easy to combine it with one of the flavors of Barlean's Omega Pals to make a fruit-full jelly treat for my son.

There are several flavors of Omega Pals, as well as their regular line of Seriously Delicious Omega-3s, and you can use any of them for this recipe.

Some of the varieties (like the Hooty Fruity Tangerine) have Omega-3s derived from fish oil, and some (like the Sensational Straw-nana) are derived from flax oil.

Lineup of bottles from Barlean's Omega-3 line

With lots of flavor combinations and a variety of omega sources, there's something for everyone in this line!

They're tasty straight out of the bottle, drizzled onto yogurt, or incorporated into recipes like this one.

I only had a few small silicone molds and was excited to try them out, so I filled them up with the mixture and poured the rest into a muffin tin.

For the muffin tin, I filled each about halfway to get about the same amount as three of the smaller shapes.

Silicone molds and cupcake tins full of Tangerine Coconut Jelly

The mixture is really easy to prepare and only requires a few ingredients but you need to let it simmer on the stovetop for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.

There is one other ingredient that warrants a special shoutout in this recipe - coconut cream. This is different from coconut milk (which is also in this recipe!) so make sure to grab both.

You could also double this recipe and pour it all into an 8- or 9-inch square dish and then cut it into squares or whatever shape you like after it sets.

Hand popping a Tangerine Coconut Jelly out of a heart shaped mold

If you have silicone molds, the jellies will pop out very easily - just invert and gently press to release. For muffin tins or other solid containers, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it before turning it out onto a flat surface.

We like the addition of salt to this recipe. I've included a small amount in the ingredient list, but feel free to omit it or increase it a bit, depending on how much you like the sweet-and-salty combo.

These jellies would be so much fun in a school lunch box as a dessert. My son couldn't get over how adorable they were, and his friend that was over while I was photographing them really enjoyed them.

Hand holding a star-shaped Tangerine Coconut Jelly

I know it can be hard to get kids to be adventurous with food sometimes, and getting things like fish oil into them can be challenging to say the least. In fact, I have some adult family members that have trouble with fish oil, too.

I love that Barlean's makes fish oils that actually taste GOOD. You'd never know there was fish in their products. They're delicious!

All in all this was a fun way to use the Omega Pals variety that I had to work with. My son actually prefers to enjoy it straight off of a spoon, but this was a nice way to change things up.

Looking for more sweet recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Tangerine Coconut Jelly

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. It helps other people find my recipes, and I'd love to know what you think of it!

Thanksgiving Classic Green Bean Casserole

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This classic green bean casserole recipe is a staple from my childhood Thanksgiving dinners in the Midwest. Using fresh green beans makes it even better!

Casserole dish full of green bean casserole for Thanksgiving

I grew up eating a lot of casseroles with "cream of" soup bases. I always especially loved green bean casserole, but I didn't love the texture of the canned green beans.

Several years ago, I swapped out the canned for fresh and the results were SO much tastier! It's a small change that makes a big difference.

I prefer this version of green bean casserole without any canned soup in it, but this recipe is definitely quicker and easier, which is just what is often needed when preparing Thanksgiving dinner!

This is great alongside your Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a decadent holiday pie.

Collage of Thanksgiving recipe images with text that reads, "Thanksgiving Central".

Thanksgiving prep doesn't have to be stressful! Grab our favorite Turkey Day recipes, tips, and more all in one spot.

Thanksgiving Central has recipes categorized by course, ideas for using leftovers, and more. Check it out here! 🦃

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

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This air fryer chicken wing recipe turns a few ingredients into perfectly crispy, juicy wings coated in a garlicky parmesan butter. Perfect for game day!

I don't have a ton of space in my kitchen (hence the "tiny kitchen" portion of my site name!), so I try not to add new gadgets or appliances unless I know that they'll get used often. They need to be worth the countertop/cabinet real estate to make the cut to get added to my kitchen.

Kind of like Alton Brown's thoughts on "unitaskers".

So when I heard about air fryers a while back, I was intrigued but didn't want to find a place to store yet another kitchen appliance. I mean, I'm obsessed with my Instant Pot and it can cook SO many things... why would I need an air fryer?

But then I won this Ninja air fryer in a giveaway and figured I'd at least give it a shot before most likely giving it to someone else.

Ninja Air Fryer

What exactly is an air fryer?

An air fryer is basically a small-scale convection oven. Air fryers circulate the air around the food so they cook evenly all around. That means no hot spots or patches of food that cook slower than others (as long as you keep things in an even layer inside).

I figured that since we have a convection oven at home, an air fryer wouldn't be much different. But boy was I wrong!

After doing a lot of reading on air fryers to figure out the best types of things to cook with them, I was surprised to see how versatile they really are. And since they're much smaller than a standard convection oven they heat up very quickly, making them perfect for getting dinner on the table quickly.

Pulling the drawer out of a Ninja air fryer

What types of things can you cook in an air fryer?

Since getting this air fryer, it's been used almost daily in my house. Some of the ways we've used our air fryer so far:

  • Cooking frozen tater tots
  • Reheating pizza
  • Roasting Brussels sprouts
  • Reheating chicken strips & french fries
  • Cooking frozen fish sticks
  • Air-frying falafel
  • Air-frying chicken wings
  • Reheating quiche
  • Reheating French toast & bacon
  • Cooking frozen veggie burgers
  • Air-frying asparagus
Air fryer tray with cooked chicken wings on the rack

Since the Ninja air fryer is so small, it only takes 3 minutes to preheat. I'm able to get crispy food like tater tots and chicken wings without the need for inches of oil for deep-frying.

We use it to reheat leftovers often - it does the job so quickly and brings things like pizza back to life and gets them nice and crispy.

I also love that I can throw a mix of frozen tater tots and chicken nuggets or fish sticks in it for my son while I'm cooking something on the stovetop for me and my husband. I just have to stop and shake the tray every few minutes to make sure they get golden and crispy all over. Super easy.

One thing I haven't tried yet but plan to soon is the dehydrate function. I've never bought a dehydrator because they're so bulky and I really don't have the storage space for one, so this is a great way to try that out on a smaller scale.

Luckily for me, the air fryer that I won ended up being one of the highest-reviewed ones out there. If you check out the air fryer search results page on Amazon, you can see lots of options, and the overwhelming praise for this particular model.

I will say that it's on the smaller side. There is a Max XL 5.5-quart model that's a bit larger, but this one suits my family's needs just fine.

For things like chicken wings, I'm able to cook a pound (about 6 wings) at a time. Since they cook quickly, it's not really an issue for me, but if we were entertaining and I wanted a big batch of wings it may not be the best way to cook them.

Air fryer tray with raw chicken wings on the rack

I've been finding more and more ways to use my air fryer and absolutely love it. My husband is obsessed, too. We've really been enjoying it and I love that I don't have to always turn on my stove or oven and heat up the kitchen to cook something quickly.

The very first thing that came to my mind when I got my air fryer was chicken wings. I could have gone with standard Buffalo-style chicken wings, but I wanted to do something a little different.

There's a local restaurant that makes garlic Parmesan chicken wings, and they bring the plate out with a pile of Parmesan cheese on top. They're messy and delicious, and I knew that it was just the thing for me to try out with my air fryer.

Ingredients and supplies for Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

Handy tools for making air-fried chicken wings

This recipe doesn't require many ingredients, but you do need a few items to make things go easier when it comes to the cooking process.

Aside from an air fryer, I highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer. This model has a magnet so it can fold up and hang out on your refrigerator so it's always at the ready when you need it. They also have a pro-level one that has a backlit display and ambidextrous display, which would come in handy for the 2 lefties that I live with. But I've had the basic model for several years now and the battery is still going strong.

Instant-read thermometers come in handy for so many kitchen tasks and this one is very reasonably priced. I like using it for things like chicken wings to really ensure that the meat is cooked through. I also use mine for checking the temperature of milk when foaming for lattes, and when making candy or tempering chocolate.

Luckily, when cooking in an air fryer, the convection fan helps keep the meat juicy even if you do "overcook" it. But a thermometer really does come in handy.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

It's true that you don't need a lot of oil for deep-frying when using an air fryer, but it can be helpful to occasionally spritz the things that you're frying with a little bit of oil. After using a refillable oil mister that kept clogging, I switched to this glass oil mister a few years ago and haven't looked back. I like that I can put any type of oil I want in there, and it's great for recipes like this where I want to lightly oil the cooking rack so the food doesn't stick to it.

If you haven't tried shredding your own Parmesan cheese, it really does make a big difference when it comes to recipes, especially those with only a few ingredients. I keep a chunk of Parmesan in my fridge at all times and use a Microplane to grate it as needed. You can buy pre-grated Parmesan if you like, but it really does taste better if you're able to do it fresh.

Steps for making sauce for Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

How to make garlic Parmesan butter for chicken wings

Making the garlic Parmesan sauce to toss the chicken wings in is super simple.

Just melt some butter - this can be done on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe bowl. I like using a bowl that has a lid, that way I can just add the chicken to the sauce, close the lid, and shake it up to coat the wings in the sauce. It's easier and less messy and totally something kids can help with!

The sauce is the melted butter, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, some chopped parsley, and a little black pepper.

Once it's all mixed together It can hang out in the bowl on the side until your wings are finished cooking.

Chicken wings on an air fryer rack with garlic Parmesan sauce in a bowl

How to cook chicken wings in an air fryer

If your air fryer has a rack like mine does, you can spray it with oil and arrange the chicken wings on top, then carefully place the rack inside your air fryer once it's preheated.

I like to pat my wings dry and put them in the air fryer with no seasoning at all while they cook. Flip your wings after 10 minutes and let them cook another 6-10 minutes or until they're crispy and the internal temperature of the biggest chicken wing reaches at least 165°F.

Bowl of air fried chicken wings on top of garlic Parmesan sauce

Remove them to the bowl of sauce, add some salt, and toss it until well coated (or shake if you have a lid on your bowl).

You may need more salt (or more Parmesan) depending on your taste and the size of your salt grains.

After the wings are adequately sauced, put them on a plate and pile on some more Parmesan cheese.

Sprinkling Parmesan cheese on air-fried chicken wings

While these chicken wings aren't necessarily healthy due to all of the butter, they're certainly less fatty than ones that have been deep-fried and coated in melted butter.

The first time I made air-fried garlic Parmesan chicken wings I did one batch with this sauce and one batch tossed with Frank's Red Hot wing sauce.

When we have hot wings we usually dip 'em in blue cheese dressing, but for the garlic Parmesan ones, they're great with no additional sauce or dippers.

Plate of air fryer garlic parmesan chicken wings with carrots and celery.

I always enjoy having some crispy veggies alongside, and carrots and celery are great choices.

If you find your wings a little bland, just sprinkle a bit more salt on top and you should be good to go.

I'm obsessed with these air-fried chicken wings and hope they're a hit for you and your family, too!

Some other party food favorites include this easy classic hummus that uses canned chickpeas (no soaking required!), these mayo-free deviled eggs, this buffalo chickpea dip, and this layered taco dip.

Hand holding a garlic parmesan chicken wing

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Roasted Honeynut Squash with Burrata, Pomegranate + Pepitas

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This roasted honeynut squash + burrata recipe is easy enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for your holiday table. A perfect, colorful side dish!

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Have you cooked with honeynut squash? They look like mini butternut squash and they're absolutely delicious!

Roasted Honeynut Squash with Burrata, Pomegranate + Pepitas in a baking dish

Fun fact: I seriously dislike working with butternut squash. They're so large and unwieldy and I'm always convinced that I'm going to cut myself trying to break them down. They're one of the few things that I almost always buy already peeled and halved or even cubed from the grocery store.

But honeynut squash? Now, these little cuties are totally manageable!

Two whole honeynut squash

What does honeynut squash taste like?

Honeynut squash has a more pronounced flavor than butternut squash. It's sweeter and a bit nutty.

The color of the flesh is vibrant and stays that way even after cooking.

And my favorite part is that the skin of a honeynut squash is tender, almost like delicata squash, which means you can eat it!

Close up of a honeynut squash cross-section

According to this article on honeynut squash, it packs more nutrients in its small package, too.

Since the honeynut is smaller than butternut squash, halves cook up more quickly as well.

How to cook honeynut squash

Due to their small size, I find that one honeynut squash is perfect for two people.

My favorite way to cook honeynuts is to cut each squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season simply with salt and pepper.

Scooping seeds out of a honeynut squash

Roasting takes about 20-25 minutes at 400°F, depending on the size of your squash. They're all pretty small, but sometimes you need an extra few minutes to make sure that the flesh gets nice and tender.

I like using a grapefruit spoon to take the seeds out of any type of squash, as the little teeth help grip onto the seeds and membranes and really pull everything out easily. You could definitely use a regular spoon instead, or even just get in there with your hands and scoop them out.

You can save the seeds from your honeynut squash to roast later if you like. I have the directions in this post about roasted pumpkin seeds.

Baking dish with 4 honeynut squash halves ready to roast

The roasted honeynut squash could be served so many different ways, but I wanted to do something festive for the holidays.

I absolutely love the contrast of adding cool, luscious burrata cheese on top of hot dishes (remember this Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes?) and it works SO well here.

If you aren't able to find burrata cheese, you could use ricotta here instead. That gooey texture is what you're looking for.

Many supermarkets carry burrata in the specialty cheese case these days. It's sold in a plastic tub since the cheese is submerged in liquid. If you only use part of the burrata from your container, make sure to leave the liquid in the container for the remaining cheese.

Another place to look for burrata is an Italian market/deli. Oftentimes if they don't carry burrata cheese, they'll order it for you!

Of course, if you wanted to keep this vegan, you could omit the cheese altogether and it would still be very tasty.

Roasted honeynut squash topped with burrata cheese

Another thing that really brings creamy dishes like this is a bit of texture. I really like adding roasted, salted pepitas for a bit of crunch and pomegranate arils for color.

Pomegranates and pepitas are such a tasty combination, and they look so elegant together, especially on top of the creamy white burrata.

You can buy a whole pomegranate and remove the little jewels yourself, or buy a container of just the arils. Totally up to you.

If you aren't a fan of pomegranate arils (some people are turned off by the texture of the seeds), you could totally use dried cranberries or cherries for a similar sweet/tart flavor and color.

Overhead view of Roasted Honeynut Squash with Burrata, Pomegranate + Pepitas

This recipe turned out so well that I ended up making it several times within the span of a few weeks.

It would be a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table. It's also a fun dish to add to a fall or winter dinner party menu.

One of my favorite things about this honeynut squash recipe is that it looks so elegant but it really is easy enough to put together for a weeknight meal with your family.

This recipe also scales incredibly well! Just figure 1 squash for every 2 people, and you can always add more to your baking sheet or roasting pan. Just be sure to keep them in a single layer while they roast.

If you plan to save some of the squash for leftovers (and you should!) just hold off on putting the toppings on until you're ready to eat them. The hot/cold contrast is really nice with this recipe, and reheating it with the burrata, pepitas, and pomegranates on top doesn't taste quite as nice.

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Classic Dutch Apple Pie

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This easy homemade deep-dish Dutch apple pie recipe has been the star of my family's holiday gatherings for generations. Truly a classic, favorite dessert.

Plates with slices of Dutch apple pie topped with ice cream

This Dutch apple pie recipe is hands-down my ultimate comfort food dessert. My aunts have been making this apple pie for family gatherings and holidays for as long as I can remember.

The original recipe comes from a cookbook that's a collection of recipes from the members of Women's Missionary Society of the First Mennonite Church of Berne, Indiana. My aunt Carol has a lot of family in Berne, so she's the one who introduced that cookbook to our family.

When I finally got my own copy Our Swiss Pantry from Amazon, I was excited to start cooking and baking some of my favorite childhood recipes.

This pie recipe is very simple to put together. I've streamlined and simplified it over the years to make it even easier, too.

Overhead view of 3 slices of Dutch apple pie with ice cream on some

What kind of pie crust to use for Dutch apple pie

First things first - I often "cheat" and use a storebought, frozen, deep-dish pie crust. It works out beautifully and saves time since you don't need to mix, chill, roll, or crimp your crust.

And since it comes in an aluminum pie plate, you can bake your pie right in it. That makes it perfect when you're taking pie to a potluck or holiday gathering.

The next easy-but-still-kind-of-cheating option is storebought pie dough. It often comes in sheets, sometimes pre-rolled discs and is usually found by the refrigerated biscuits and cookie dough at your local grocery store.

You still use your own pie plate and will need to crimp or flute the edges of the crust. But you don't need to actually make the dough.

Growing up, my aunt Janis always made her own pie dough. Her go-to recipe is the Betty Crocker standard pastry dough. I absolutely love this recipe. It's really solid and always turns out well.

That pastry recipe also comes with various sets of the ingredient amounts to use, depending on the size of your pie plate and whether you're making a single- or double-crust pie.

In fact, that's my go-to pie crust recipe that I use whenever I make my beloved Rhubarb Custard Pie, which is another that I learned from my aunts.

Ingredients for Dutch apple pie with a pie

If you're making your own pie dough, there are a few things that will make things easier in the kitchen.

One of my absolute favorite tools for making homemade pie crust is a silicone pastry mat. These are helpful for a few reasons. First of all, it provides a barrier between your countertop and the flour that you need to sprinkle on it to keep the crust from sticking.

When you're done working with it you just roll up the mat and can pour the extra flour out right into the garbage. It makes cleanup much easier.

The mats also have measurement markings and equivalents right on the mat. I like that it shows the different diameters, too. You can roll your dough right on the mat and be sure that it's the proper size for your pie plate.

Since they're made from silicone, the pastry mats stay put on the countertop and don't slide around. I really can't recommend them highly enough. In fact, one of the last times my aunt Janis came to visit me here in New York, she liked mine so much that I bought one for her. She said she absolutely loves it and uses it a lot.

Apples being sliced for Dutch apple pie

What kind of pie plate to use for Dutch apple pie

There's a lot of debate over what type of pie plate you should use when baking pies. I've heard a lot of people say that they don't like glass pie plates, but I have one that I use quite often and like. Metal and ceramic pie plates are also quite common.

I looked into it and there's a great article about the pie plate debate over on NY Times Food. This article gives a lot of information on the pros/cons of the different materials and the reasons why they work or don't work.

Whichever type of pie plate you use, my biggest recommendation is to set it on top of a sheet pan so it's easier to transfer it to and from the oven. I like using a quarter sheet pan since it's smaller but still big enough to catch any drips. There's nothing worse than a pie that overflows and starts burning on the bottom of your oven.

4 apples next to ingredients for baking apple pie

What types of apples to use for Dutch apple pie

Whenever the question comes up for what type of apples to use for baking an apple pie, my default answer would be Granny Smith. It's a reliable, firm yet tart apple that holds up well to baking.

There are other good varieties of apples that work when baking, including Jonagold, Braeburn, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp. There's also a really extensive article over on Serious Eats about the different types and textures of apples, and which apples are best to use when baking.

Personally, when I'm baking with apples, I like to use a mix of a few different types. I like the complexity of flavor that the variety adds.

So since this apple pie requires 4 large apples, I chose 4 different types of apples.

Removing a slice of Dutch apple pie from the pie plate.

Most recently, I used a mixture of apples that we picked from our annual apple picking trip here in the Hudson Valley.

I peel the apples for this pie. You'll want to slice them evenly, about ¼-inch thick. You can also use an apple peeler machine like this one, which will peel and slice the apples all at once. We bought a similar one many years ago from a local orchard's farm shop and use it often when peeling large quantities of apples. It's easy to use and fun for kids to help out, too.

This time around I just peeled my apples with a vegetable peeler and sliced them with a paring knife. If you have an apple corer, you could absolutely use that to remove the core instead.

4 steps for mixing the filling for Dutch apple pie

How to assemble Dutch apple pie

This pie is ridiculously easy to assemble, and as I mentioned above, I've managed to streamline the process and make it even easier than before, too!

The original recipe included a few separate bowls and sifting of ingredients. But I do things a little differently and the results are just as good!

While the oven is preheating, I like to place the pie plate on top of a quarter sheet pan. I'll then place my peeled, sliced apples right inside of that. I sprinkle the filling ingredients (sugar and cinnamon) on top and toss the apples with my fingertips, right inside the pastry shell, until they're all coated.

The topping involves using a fork or pastry cutter (also called a pastry blender) to incorporate cold cubes of butter into a mixture of white and dark brown sugar and some flour. Once it gets crumbly, pour it right on top of the apple mixture and pop it into the oven!

4 steps for mixing the topping for Dutch apple pie

This pie starts at a higher temperature (450°F) for 10 minutes, and then you lower the temp to 350°F for another 30-35 minutes. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get the top nice and golden brown. It's worth the wait!

I love serving this pie warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Scooping vanilla ice cream onto Dutch apple pie

Dutch apple pie has been a family tradition for many, many years, and I'm glad to keep the tradition alive!

I've served this pie for Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas... just about any holiday is a great excuse for this apple pie. It's also great on any day you want to have a delicious dessert with minimal effort.

I have a few other recipes coming up to help you use up your apple-picking bounty but don't think you need to wait to go apple picking to make this! You can absolutely just grab a few apples from the store and get cracking!

Side view of a slice of Dutch apple pie a la mode

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Recipe for Dutch Apple Pie

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Garlicky Broccoli Rabe

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Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini) is a bitter green vegetable that is easily transformed into a family favorite Italian side dish with a few ingredients.

Growing up in the Midwest I wasn't exposed to a lot of authentic Italian food. But once I moved to New York and married into an Italian family, that quickly changed!

Overhead view of a bowl of garlicky broccoli rabe.

Broccoli rabe was one of the classic Italian ingredients that it took me a while to appreciate. My in-laws absolutely love broccoli rabe, but since I didn't have much experience with bitter greens, they were fairly offputting to me at first.

But once I tried it prepared with lots of garlic like this, I was hooked!

Broccoli rabe on a cutting board with a skillet of garlic and a pot of boiling water in the background.

What is broccoli rabe?

Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini or broccoli raab) is a bitter, leafy green cruciferous vegetable. It has little flowers that sort of resemble broccoli, but the taste is very different.

The stems, leaves, and flowers of the rapini are all edible. A quick trim of the very thickest part at the stem end of each plant is all that's needed to prep it for cooking.

The bitterness of broccoli rabe can be mellowed quite a bit when cooked properly. Broccoli rabe is one of those vegetables that tastes best when it seems like it's "overcooked".

How to Cook Broccoli Rabe

I like getting the garlic oil started first. I use 6-8 cloves of garlic for the broccoli rabe. It may seem like a lot, and it is, but the garlic gets gently heated in the oil and gets nice and caramelized and sweet. Feel free to cut back the garlic a bit, but I'm telling you that a lot is the authentic way to make it.

The sliced garlic and some red pepper flakes go into a skillet along with olive oil. After those things are in the pan, then you turn on the heat. This way it works up nice and gently and the garlic gets golden and delicious. This process usually takes 5-10 minutes.

I like to trim off a little bit of the stem ends, then slice the broccoli rabe into 2-inch lengths. I put it into boiling water for just 2-3 minutes before draining it and adding it to the skillet with the garlic.

Broccoli rabe on a cutting board with a skillet of garlic and a pot of boiling water in the background.

Once the broccoli rabe is finished cooking, you're ready to enjoy!

Broccoli rabe is great as a side dish. There's an Italian restaurant near my house that does grilled chicken with broccoli rabe that's outstanding. I even made a Chicken and Broccoli Rabe Pizza with Alfredo Sauce as a tribute to that very dish!

This recipe would be great served alongside something like pan-seared salmon, and it's also great mixed in with pasta and olive oil.

You could even make it one component of a hearty bowl-style meal!

A big ol' batch of this garlicky broccoli rabe disappears really quickly in my house, and it got the stamp of approval from my Italian husband and his parents. Woohoo!

Overhead view of a bowl of garlicky broccoli rabe.

I hope you'll consider trying out this garlicky, delicious side dish recipe. And if you do, please let me know what you think of it by giving it a rating and commenting below!

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Recipe for Garlicky Broccoli Rabe

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

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These soft, chewy peanut butter cookies are a dessert recipe that my family has been baking for years. Easy to make with kids & guaranteed to be a hit!

What was your favorite childhood cookie recipe?

While I love the classics like chocolate chip cookies or my grandma's Christmas cookies, there's just something about a freshly baked batch of peanut butter cookies that brings me right back to being a kid.

Peanut butter cookies cooling on a baking sheet

I used to bake these peanut butter cookies with my mom. We always used store-bought peanut butter, but lately, I've been loving using my homemade peanut butter instead. I love it because I'm still using deliciously creamy pb, but without any additives.

Either way you do it, they turn out super soft with just a bit of chewiness. They taste amazing when they're piping hot, fresh from the oven.

These cookies are so soft and dreamy - they really are one of my very favorites.

Spatula removing a peanut butter cookie from a baking sheet

This recipe is one of the first things I ever made at my in-laws' house back when me and my husband were dating. I was visiting New York from Wisconsin and I wanted to bake a batch of cookies to bring over to a friend's house.

I was so excited to prepare a recipe that I know and love - one that I had been making for years and just knew it would turn out well.

But it didn't.

For some reason, the cookies were super dry and heavy. I couldn't figure out where I could have possibly gone wrong. My husband asked what ingredients I used and I showed him all of the items. He asked his mom if somehow the flour was old or something and she said, "oh that's not flour - it's pancake mix!"

That's right... she had put a box of pancake mix into a canister that was labeled FLOUR.

Plate of peanut butter cookies with bites taken out of one

After he grilled her for why on earth she would put a different ingredient in a canister labeled as something else, we all had a good laugh as I set off to bake another batch.

My father-in-law insisted that he would eat all of the first batch because, "they aren't bad at all!".

Ohhhhh but they were.

I compared them to door stoppers. I had to basically pry that container of cookies away from him.

That was my FIL - always looking at the bright side and smiling. I really miss him, and this recipe makes me think of him and smile, and that's really part of the power of food, isn't it?

The moral of the story is whatever you do, don't substitute pancake mix for flour here. Ever.

Peanut butter cookies on a platter, plate, and baking sheet

I was craving a batch of peanut butter cookies and a cold glass of milk big time recently, so I asked my mom if she had the recipe.

I'm not totally sure where the original version of this recipe came from, but I've adapted it a bit and made the instructions a bit more user-friendly.

When I was a kid, most recipes said things like, "make the dough" instead of specifying what order to do things in. It seemed to work out OK back then, but it's a lot easier when recipes actually specify things like needing to have certain ingredients at room temperature, how long to bake, which types of sugar to use, etc.

Ingredients for baking peanut butter cookies

This peanut butter cookie recipe has a few ingredients that come together to form the most perfect, delicious, soft cookie. And as a bonus - the ingredients are all things that I tend to have on hand in my pantry and refrigerator.

We used to always keep a tub of vegetable shortening in our pantry, but I love the stick form of shortening that's available in stores nowadays. The sticks have measurements printed right on them like butter, and it makes it easy to cut off the amount that you need.

And it's a lot easier than having to clean out a greasy measuring cup. Ha!

Close up of a measuring cup of creamy peanut butter

You'll need creamy peanut butter for these cookies. While my family does enjoy natural peanut butter (and the homemade stuff made from only peanuts!), for this particular recipe, I like using store-bought peanut butter that has added sugar.

I tend to use Skippy Natural because it's emulsified so it doesn't need to be stirred. I'd have to do some experimenting if I wanted to make this recipe using chunky peanut butter, a non-emulsified type of natural peanut butter, or one without added sugar.

Any of these changes would likely change the taste and texture of the final cookies. And I want these to taste just like they did when I was a kid. Yum.

Creaming ingredients for peanut butter cookies with a hand mixer

An electric mixer is key for really creaming the ingredients for these peanut butter cookies. You could use a stand mixer, but I usually take out my hand mixer for these cookies.

When I use the hand mixer, I usually either put a bowl onto a silicone potholder or use a mixing bowl that has a built-in grip so the bowl doesn't slide around on the counter while the mixer is going.

Be sure to scrape the inside of the bowl with a spatula to make sure you got all of the ingredients incorporated into the cookie dough. Sometimes little pockets of flour or other ingredients like to hide out on the bottom of the bowl.

A hand holding a ball of peanut butter cookie dough

Cookie scoops (also called metal dishers or ice cream scoops) are one of my absolute favorite kitchen tools, especially when it comes to baking cookies. By portioning your dough out with a scoop, you ensure that all of your cookies are exactly the same size. They bake evenly, and they look consistent.

Metal dishers come in lots of different sizes. You can usually find the size engraved on the inside of the piece of metal that swipes across the scoop when you squeeze the handle.

For this peanut butter cookie recipe, I like using a #50 scoop. If you don't have a cookie scoop, don't worry! This size is about a heaping tablespoon. You can totally make them bigger or smaller, too, just be sure to adjust your baking time accordingly.

There's a great chart to show you the equivalents for each of the different scoop sizes over on the Chef's Resources site. I use this reference pretty often.

Baking sheet with peanut butter cookie dough and dough balls being pressed with a fork

One of the most distinctive parts of any peanut butter cookie is the iconic crisscross pattern on top. This is made by pressing the tines of a fork into the top surface of the cookie dough balls, then rotating the fork 90 degrees and doing it again.

Some recipes have you dip the fork in sugar to keep it from sticking to the dough, but I like to roll each of the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar first. I then line them up on the baking sheet and press the pattern into each cookie before popping them into the oven.

Peanut butter cookie dough balls lined up on a baking sheet

The cookies are very soft (swoon!!), so they need to sit on the baking sheet for a minute or two when they come out of the oven before they're transferred onto a cooling rack. This helps prevent them from tearing apart when transporting them between the sheet and the rack.

Because they're so delicate, I like using a very thin metal spatula for transferring the cookies. This spatula is also great for transferring cut-out cookies from the counter onto baking sheets because it's so super thin that it can slide underneath really easily.

A stack of peanut butter cookies - the top one has been bitten

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Recipe for Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

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Settino's Italian Bruschetta: A Family Favorite Appetizer

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My family's favorite bruschetta recipe, just the way my Italian father-in-law taught me to make it! This quick & easy appetizer recipe is always a hit!

This recipe is near and dear to my heart. And to be completely honest, it's a bit tough for me to write about it because it's one that I used to make with my Italian father-in-law all the time.

Platter of Italian Bruschetta with bowl of tomato mixture in the background

A few months ago, an aggressive cancer took him from us. Aside from being an all-around awesome human, he was a phenomenal cook.

Settino was born in the city of Cosenza in Calabria, Italy. He went to trade school in Belgium to become a toolmaker worked as a machinist for much of his life after emigrating to New York.

 
 
 
 
 
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Due to the nature of his work schedule, he found himself waking up to get to the machine shop before the sun was up. His workday would end and he'd get home in the afternoon with plenty of time on his hands before dinner.

He started cooking more and more at home to fill that time, and when I moved to New York and lived with my (now) in-laws, he and I would cook up a storm together (and drink a good deal of wine).

 
 
 
 
 
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One of the things that was so special about the way he cooked was that he did it by pure feel. He'd improvise and the results were always incredible.

I learned a lot about cooking from him, but of course, I wanted to be able to replicate the recipes he cooked up. If you asked him to make the dish he made last week, he'd be able to make something similar but it was never exactly the same. It was always delicious, but not something that could be exactly duplicated.

Spooning tomato bruschetta mixture onto crostini.

So I spent a lot of time cooking with him, learning from him, and watching how he prepared things. I took meticulous notes so I could replicate these dishes AND share them with you!

I have a few examples already here on Big Flavors. Another favorite appetizer recipe of his is Settino's Italian Stuffed Mushrooms, a delicious comfort food dinner recipe that my husband grew up with is this Baked Chicken Thighs with Potatoes and Peas, one of our very favorite one-pan meals is his Sausage and Peppers, and his famous Calabrese Potato Salad.

 
 
 
 
 
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This Italian bruschetta recipe, though, is one of the things that we used to make together all.the.time. It's such an easy recipe and it's great for entertaining.

Pretty much any time we'd go over to my in-laws' house, he would have an antipasto assortment of Italian meats and cheeses, and a bowl of this delicious bruschetta mixture next to a bunch of toasted baguette.

Tray of ingredients for making Italian bruschetta

Bruschetta is a perfect way to use up summer tomatoes. This recipe really showcases their freshness. But don't worry - you can make this bruschetta recipe all year round!

You can use a mix of large and smaller tomatoes. I like a variety of colors and textures anyway - it makes it look more inviting!

In the off-season, I'd go for cherry/grape tomatoes or ones like Campari, which usually come in a plastic clamshell container and are consistently ripe and delicious.

Steps for making Italian bruschetta mixture

How to Properly Toast Crostini

The key to a good crostini is to have a sturdy base that can withstand the weight of the toppings. You want to get a nice, evenly toasted slice of baguette to act as the vessel to deliver whatever toppings you've chosen to your mouth, pronto!

Make sure you slice your baguette consistently so that all the pieces cook at the same rate. I like to drizzle lightly with olive oil, then rub the slices and flip them around in it to coat the bread evenly without oversaturating them. If they absorb too much oil, they won't get nice and crispy.

Tray of toasted baguette with bowl of tomato bruschetta mixture in the background

You can grill or broil the bread to get it nice and toasty. I talk about grilling bread a bit in this post for Goat Cheese Toast with Honeyed Citrus Fruit. My go-to method for crostini is broiling.

Broil until the first side is golden, about 3-5 minutes, then flip the bread over and continue to broil for another minute or 2. Be sure to watch your bread so it doesn't burn! The second side always cooks faster than the first, in my experience.

One of the keys to making a delicious bruschetta recipe is rubbing garlic onto the toasted baguette slices while they're still warm. It really helps the garlic get into the bread, and brings this Italian bruschetta recipe to the next level.

Rubbing a garlic clove onto toasted baguette slices for bruschetta

Tips for Making Bruschetta in Advance

A few things are helpful to note when making this bruschetta recipe ahead of time.

Firstly, you can totally toast your baguette and rub it with garlic in advance! Just be sure to let it cool completely before storing it in an airtight container.

The last time I made this recipe, I put the leftover toasted baguette in one of these Stand-Up Stasher bags and left it on the counter. The next day I was able to open the bag a bit and put the whole bag right in the oven to heat the bread back up. It was awesome and saved me time that second day.

Toasted baguette stored in a stand-up stasher bag

One thing to note is that if the bread has been toasted a day or two in advance, you may need to let the bruschetta mixture sit on top of the bread for a few minutes to soften the bread up enough to be able to dig in.

We were surprised by how well it held up, and I love knowing that I can plan this in advance from now on!

As for the tomato mixture, it can be made in advance too! Just pop a lid on it and put it in the fridge. It should hold up well for a few days.

The day you go to use the bruschetta mixture, take it out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes before serving it. This will let any of the oils that have solidified get nice and liquidy again.

If you're making this an hour or so before you plan to serve it you can just leave the bowl of tomato bruschetta mixture out on the counter. I'd recommend putting a lid on it, but it's fine to sit at room temp for a bit.

How do you like to use your summer tomatoes? I'd love to hear about your favorites in the comments section below!

A hand holding a serving of Italian bruschetta

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Recipe for Settino's Italian Bruschetta

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Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

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3 types of cheese, prosciutto, and pickled grapes make this sweet & salty burrata pizza recipe served with freshly broken burrata a luscious app or main course!

I'm very excited to be sharing this recipe with you today.

This burrata pizza recipe is something that I created when I participated in my first ever cooking competition last year.

Overhead view of a slice cut out of a Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

If you've been around these parts for a while, you may recall my trip up to the Finger Lakes region of New York last fall. I wrote about the whole experience in this post: New York Dairy Tour 2018 (AKA I'm Relocating to a Cheese Cave).

And now I'm sharing the recipe for this absolutely luscious Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes that was my entry into the American Dairy Association North East's Undeniably Dairy Cooking Competiton.

Food Network Star Jason Smith speaking to the NY Dairy Tour bloggers.

To make the competition even more exciting, we had a special guest judge to taste our culinary creations.

Food Network Star Jason Smith joined us in our mozzarella-making earlier in the day in all his bedazzled glory, then walked around the kitchen while we were preparing our competition recipes.

ADANE posted a fun video of him interviewing us during the cooking portion of the competition. You can see my part around the 4:30 mark, and again around the 22-minute mark.

When I was assigned cheese as my secret ingredient, I knew I wanted to go BIG. So I loaded my pizza with 3 different types of cheese: Parmesan, fresh mozzarella, and burrata.

What is burrata cheese?

Burrata is one of my all-time favorite types of cheese. I get SO excited when people haven't tried it and they decide to give it a whirl.

Their reactions are always of the eyes-rolling-back-in-the-head, oh-my-goodness-this-is-soooo-good variety.

According to Wikipedia:

Burrata is a fresh Italian cow milk cheese (occasionally buffalo milk) made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is typical of Apulia. It is usually served fresh and at room temperature.

From the outside, it looks like a ball of fresh mozzarella. But burrata has a flair for the dramatic. When you cut or break into a ball of burrata cheese, the creamy center kind of... pours out slowly.

Its center is similar to the texture of ricotta cheese, and it really is a thing of beauty.

Where to find burrata cheese

Many grocery stores and supermarkets now carry burrata cheese over in the specialty cheese section.

Burrata is stored in water, so it's usually in a deep container with a lid. Keep that liquid in the container until your burrata is gone - it helps keep the texture right while it's in the fridge.

If you strike out at the grocery store, specialty food stores usually carry burrata. If you have a cheese shop in your area, they're highly likely to carry burrata.

The last place I would recommend to check for burrata would be an Italian deli or market. I know that near where I live, there are several Italian delis and most of them carry it or will order it for you if you ask.

However you go about getting your burrata, it's worth the effort!

What type of pizza crust/dough should be used?

When it comes to the type of pizza crust or dough to use for this burrata pizza recipe, I go with a pre-cooked, store-bought crust. It saves time, and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

For the Facebook LIVE demo I'm doing of this recipe, I'm going to use some mini naan bread to make them into appetizer-sized portions.

You can absolutely use uncooked/raw pizza dough if you like. You'll just need to plan some extra time to accommodate the additional baking and shaping time.

There are a few options when working with pizza dough.

If you're up for it, you can make your own. We love this Lazy Pizza Dough recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Many grocery stores sell refrigerated pizza dough nowadays. In my local stores, it's usually located in the same aisle as the tubes of refrigerated biscuit and cookie dough.

If you live near an Italian pizzeria, oftentimes you can purchase dough straight from them. Just ask at the counter - in my experience, they're happy to help you out!

All of this being said, I've only ever made this recipe with already prepared crusts, and it's worked out beautifully. I'll do some experimenting with homemade dough, though, and will be sure to report back.

Photographer shooting photos of Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

How to use burrata cheese

Burrata is such a versatile cheese. I like using it on top of salads. I break it open and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and use that as the "dressing" for my salads.

This Red, White & Blue Spinach Salad with Fresh Burrata is one of my favorites. We also love this Baby Arugula Salad with Nectarine and Burrata. It's also great in this Yellow Doll Watermelon and Burrata Caprese Salad.

I made the Pea Pesto and Burrata Crostini from Gaby Dalkin for my Supper Club earlier this year and it was a HUGE hit! I used the version from the What's Gaby Cooking: Everyday California Food cookbook, but there's a similar version on her website if you want to try it out.

Burrata is a great topping for pasta and pizza. The way that the textures contrast the rest of the dish is just really, really fun and unique. I can't recommend it enough!

I just love how ooey-gooey fresh burrata is inside. I knew it would add a real wow factor when added to the top of my hot pizza right before serving it to the judges.

So let's dig into the specifics on how to make this pizza, shall we?

Overhead view of a slice cut out of a Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

How to prepare Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

Make the pickled grapes

The pickled grapes add a nice sweet-tart tang to the topping of the pizza. First, dissolve the sugar and salt in a mixture of white wine vinegar and water. Once it's fully dissolved, pour it over thinly sliced grapes.

I like using red grapes here for that pop of color.

Set the grapes aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This lets the pickling liquid do its job easily. The liquid then gets drained, they get another sprinkle of salt and some fresh tarragon. Stir it all together and pop it in the fridge until you're ready to top your pizza.

I really like the flavor of the grapes once they've had a little time to chill in the refrigerator. You could totally make this part a day or two in advance if you want to as well. Super simple!

Make the garlic Parmesan butter

I like starting with softened, unsalted butter here. If your butter isn't soft enough to work with or you're short on time, feel free to use the microwave to speed things up.

I typically use 50% power in short 10- to-15-second bursts until the butter is soft but not fully melted.

Stir in some grated Parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and red pepper flakes and you're good to go!

Pizza crust on a baking sheet with melted cheese on top.

Bake the pizza

Now that the components are together, it's time to bake!

Slather the garlic Parmesan butter onto the pizza crust. Top it with mozzarella, scatter with shallots, and add a bit of fresh cracked pepper over top.

Bake it in the preheated oven until it's nice and bubbly. You may end up needing to transfer it to the broiler if you have a hard time getting the cheese to brown on top.

I tend to put the crust on top of a baking rack on my sheet, too, which helps keep it from getting soggy if the butter runs off a bit. It also makes the crust cook up a bit nicer.

Top the pizza

Now that the pizza is nice and golden, transfer it to a cutting board or pizza peel. Sprinkle it with some shaved Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and the pickled grapes.

Right before serving, tear the burrata cheese and scatter it all over the pizza.

Prepare to wow the judges!

Judges eating Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes during a cooking competition

This Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes was a BIG hit with everyone who tried it.

Special thanks to the friends who helped me taste test the trial runs of this recipe before the competition. Your feedback was super helpful!

I've made this for several dinner parties since. It always goes over well and is a nice change of pace from the traditional pizza toppings.

What's the most unique pizza you've ever tried? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below!

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Recipe for Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes

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Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean's.As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Brighten your day with this luscious lemon CBD recipe! A simple, make-ahead breakfast or dessert recipe complete with your daily dose of CBD hemp oil.

Overhead view of bowls of Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding garnished with fresh berries and honey

I love a good make-ahead breakfast recipe. Especially one that could double as a dessert. And my latest creation, Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding, is a new spin on the chia oatmeal/pudding that has been a hit in my house for many years now.

This time around, I'm taking inspiration from Barlean's latest CBD hemp oil flavor to create a delicious CBD recipe that's great for any time of day.

I've talked about CBD a little before. You may remember the Tropical Fruit + Chocolate CBD Parfait recipe I posted a while back. That recipe used the Seriously Delicious CBD Chocolate Mint Hemp Oil, and it was SO delicious!

The latest addition to the Seriously Delicious CBD line is Lemon Drop. Can we take a moment to swoon over this development?!

A bottle of Barlean's Lemon Drop CBD Hemp Oil

When I was tasked with creating a CBD recipe with this creamy lemon drop flavor as inspiration, my mind went to lemon poppyseed muffins.

But instead of baking, I thought it would be fun to make an overnight breakfast pudding recipe using oats and a few more ingredients so it would be substantial enough to hold me over until lunchtime but much less involved than actually baking a batch of muffins.

This Lemon Drop CBD recipe is so simple to put together. You can even scale the recipe up so you have a few days worth of breakfasts ready and waiting in the fridge for you.

Bowls of Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding with ingredients alongside

If you're looking to incorporate CBD into your daily routine, adding it to a recipe like this is a great way to do so!

I'm going to break the process down to show you how simple this no-cook recipe is. It can be mixed and in the fridge in just 5 minutes (or less if you're quick!). In the morning, you give it a quick stir and garnish it with some fresh berries and honey if you like, and you're good to go.

Easy peasy. Let's get to it!

First steps for making Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

How to prepare Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

The actual order that you add your ingredients to the bowl doesn't actually matter once the banana is mashed.

I typically mash the banana in the bottom of my bowl with a fork, then add the oats, vanilla bean paste, milk, poppy seeds, chia seeds, and then the Lemon Drop CBD Hemp Oil.

I give it all a stir with the same fork that I used to mash the banana, pop a lid on, and transfer it to the fridge.

Second steps for making Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

What is vanilla bean paste?

In the past when I've made other versions of chia pudding, I'd use pure vanilla extract. And if you don't have vanilla bean paste, you can totally use that in this recipe as well.

I first learned about vanilla bean paste a few years ago when I went to an event at a local bakery and dessert studio.

The pastry chef there showed me a giant bottle of vanilla bean paste - a thick, syrupy paste made from the scrapings of vanilla bean pods and vanilla extract.

She said that she uses it almost exclusively instead of vanilla extract. The beauty of it is that you get those gorgeous flecks of vanilla bean throughout your dishes without having to scrape them out of vanilla bean pods.

Vanilla bean paste is also a less expensive way to get vanilla beans into your own kitchen.

If you're looking to try out vanilla bean paste for yourself, I used this Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste. It's absolutely delicious, and really adds a high-end dessert flavor to your baked goods, ice creams, and of course, chia puddings!

There's a great article about the difference between several types of vanilla over on Real Simple.

Third steps for making Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

How to store Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

I like preparing chia pudding recipes right in the container that I plan to eat them from. If I'm making it for myself to eat at home, I usually use a small glass bowl with a lid. If I'm making a big batch to serve to multiple people, I'll mix it all up in a larger glass bowl.

I really like this set of Pyrex glass mixing bowls. They nest inside of each other, and I appreciate having a variety of sizes with tight-fitting lids.

If I'm making this to take on-the-go, to pack in a lunch box, etc. I usually make them in reusable food storage containers that have tight-fitting lids. My current favorite is the Rubbermaid Brilliance line.

I got rid of all of our old, mismatched food storage containers last year and replaced them with these pieces. I love a lot of things about them, and they're perfect for stashing things like this CBD pudding recipe in the fridge.

Scooping a spoonful of Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding from a bowl

I've only ever made chia pudding as an overnight recipe, preparing it the night before I want to eat it. You could do it the same day if you want, but you'll need at least 2-3 hours to get the chia seeds to gel, which thickens the pudding.

The time in the fridge also helps the oats soften. Be sure you use regular rolled oats, not steel-cut, as steel-cut oats have a much different texture that may not soften properly.

Serving Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

This is the fun part! When you're ready to dig into your chia pudding, give it a drizzle of honey (or maple syrup or agave nectar if you want to keep it vegan).

If you want a little extra lemon flavor, you could add fresh lemon zest on top.

I like adding some fresh berries to my chia pudding, too. Raspberries and strawberries add a nice contrast, but blueberries or blackberries would be great, too!

Drizzling honey onto a bowl of Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

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Bowls of Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding garnished with berries and honey

Recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed CBD Chia Pudding

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Skillet Lasagna with Lamb, Ricotta + Mint

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Lamb lasagna in under an hour! This deliciously addictive pasta lamb skillet recipe is simple enough for a weeknight & impressive enough for dinner guests.

One of my family's favorite, most repeated meals is Skillet Lasagna. It's such perfect comfort food, and it's always a hit. It's great for when it's just the three of us, and it makes a great stress-free meal for when we have dinner guests as well.

I love how easily this recipe comes together, and that I don't have to worry about pre-boiling noodles or layering them neatly in a baking dish.

You literally break up the noodles and pile 'em right on top of the ground meat mixture. A can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a little wine are all the liquid you need to get the noodles nice and al dente right in one pan.

Overhead view of a skillet lasagna with lamb, ricotta, and mint.

I've made this skillet lasagna recipe for countless dinner parties and it never disappoints. Though I not-so-secretly prefer to make it when it's just us because I looooove having it for leftovers throughout the week.

The original incarnation of this recipe involved ground beef, but one day I had picked up some ground lamb from my local farmers market. It inspired me to change things up a bit and put a new spin on this classic pasta recipe. And thus, lamb lasagna was born!

Lamb isn't typically in lasagna meat mixes (they're often beef/pork/veal), and the use of it along with the fresh mint and rosemary gives it a bit of a Greek-meets-Italian vibe. And I am oh.so.into.it.

A pasta lamb skillet recipe is exactly what you need to get out of any cooking rut you may find yourself in. Of course, if you aren't a fan of ground lamb or you can't find it in your area, you can totally change this lamb pasta skillet into a beef or turkey pasta skillet recipe. No matter how you switch things up, it's guaranteed to be delicious!

And again, it's so much less labor-intensive than a standard lasagna recipe. One-pot meals like this are so wonderful, especially for busy weeknights! The leftovers hold up great in the fridge, too.

Overhead view of a skillet lasagna with lamb, ricotta, and mint.

Lamb isn't something I grew up eating, but it has become a family favorite over the past few years. It's really versatile - I've used it in recipes like my Pan-Seared Lamb Chops Over Roasted Spaghetti Squash w Pomegranate + Aged Balsamic, Instant Pot Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato, Lamb Fajitas, and Grazin' TriBeCa's Lamb Burger.

I even used lamb when I made my Persian Malbec Lamb Burgers with Mast-o-Khiar and Pomegranate Tomato Jam (which, by the way, got the Adam Richman seal of approval!).

In addition to swapping in lamb for the ground beef or meatloaf mix (which is a blend of equal parts beef, pork, and veal), I added some fresh rosemary and carrots in with the aromatics. I also used white wine instead of water.

The dollops of ricotta and sprinkling of fresh mint at the end really brought it all together.

It turned out so beautifully! And it was a big hit with the friends that we had over for dinner that night.

One of my favorite tools for breaking up the meat for recipes like this or tacos, chili, etc., is this meat chopper. It's very affordable and a really simple tool that makes the sometimes tedious job of breaking up ground meat very easy.

I saw it in use on an episode of the Great British Baking Show, and my mom got it for me as a stocking stuffer that Christmas. I honestly didn't think I'd like it as much as I do, but it's been a total game-changer for me and I highly recommend getting one!

You can see it in action in the Facebook LIVE video I did that's embedded in this post (skip to 14:15 to see the meat chopper part, or click here to start from exactly that part over on YouTube).

Overhead view of a plate with lamb lasagna, garlic bread, and endive salad with apples.

I served this Skillet Lasagna with Easy Homemade Garlic Bread (made on potato rolls for some extra pillowy-soft deliciousness) and this Belgian Endive and Walnut Salad.

We wrapped up the meal with my favorite Tiramisu for dessert. It was a crazy delicious meal - one that we'll be having again and again (and again!).

Overhead view of a skillet lasagna with lamb, ricotta, and mint.

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Recipe for Skillet Lasagna with Lamb, Ricotta + Mint

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Skillet Lasagna with Lamb, Ricotta + Mint: Fragrant rosemary enhances the flavor of this deliciously addictive one-skillet meal. Simple enough for a weeknight & impressive enough for dinner guests!

One Pan Seared Salmon and Spinach with Remoulade

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This simple salmon recipe can be on your dinner table in under 20 minutes and only uses one skillet, making it a perfect seafood dinner for busy weeknights. Paired with a simple, flavorful sauce, this will quickly become a family favorite.

Overhead view of a platter of seared salmon on top of spinach and lemon wedges with a bowl of sauce in the background.

There's nothing quite like a beautifully seared, crispy-skinned, meltingly tender on the inside piece of salmon.

It's such a wonderful canvas for flavors and is equally delicious when it's kept simple with just salt and pepper.

And while it looks like it may be finicky, it really isn't! It's a completely doable, quick cooking main that's perfect for busy weeknights.

¾ view of a platter of seared salmon on top of spinach and lemon wedges with a bowl of sauce in the background.

I tend to pair salmon with a simple sauce made of yogurt or mayonnaise with some sort of acid (lemon juice or white wine vinegar are my go-to choices) and loads of prepared horseradish.

But this time around, I thought I'd try something different. So I went into my fridge to see what I could use in an accompanying sauce for this simply seasoned fish.

Capers are one of my absolute favorite ingredients. I love that briny tang, and they add a punch to every dish you use them in. Sometimes, like in this remoulade, I like to add chopped capers as well as some of the brine from the jar. There's so much flavor in there - why waste it?

Overhead view of a plate of seared salmon on top of spinach with macaroni and cheese with lemon wedges and sauce in the background.

Another thing that's great about this meal is that you cook the side dish right in the same pan that the salmon was seared in. It adds extra flavor to the spinach without dirtying another pan.

The salmon and spinach alone are great for a light meal, but if you're looking for something more substantial, add in another side dish. This is a great way to use up leftovers, too.

I served it alongside some macaroni and cheese that I made in my Instant Pot earlier in the week. It was a great meal - even my 6-year-old was loving it!

Overhead view of a platter of seared salmon on top of spinach and lemon wedges with a bowl of sauce in the background.

And FYI - that crispy salmon skin is incredibly flavorful. We like to call it "the bacon of the salmon". My husband and kiddo go nuts for it. Sometimes I even let one of them have mine because it makes them so, so happy.

What's your favorite way to enjoy salmon? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below!

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2 photos - one overhead view of a platter of seared salmon on top of spinach and lemon wedges with a bowl of sauce in the background and one overhead view of a plate of seared salmon on top of spinach with macaroni and cheese with lemon wedges and sauce in the background.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp + Peanut Sauce

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Wrapping up Vietnamese fresh spring rolls in rice paper is easier than you think! This easily customizable recipe is cool & refreshing - perfect for summer.

 

I absolutely adore Vietnamese cuisine.

Years ago when I was pregnant with my son, we would go to our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant so often that we basically lived there.

As far as cooking Vietnamese food at home, I haven't done it a ton yet, but I really do love it.

Platter of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls with shrimp & peanut sauce surrounded by ingredients.

Some of my favorite items at any Vietnamese restaurant are recipes made using rice paper wrappers.

Have you ever had them? They're those translucent, tacky-to-the-touch sheets that wrap around food to contain it, almost like a burrito.

They're sold in sheets that are dry and brittle, and you need to soak them in water to make them pliable.

They're a little tricky to work with, but I promise you can catch on with just a little practice.

Be sure to check out the demo I did of this recipe for more on that.

Rice paper round being dipped into water to make Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp

I most often find Vietnamese appetizer recipes that utilize rice paper wrappers.

My favorites are summer rolls and fresh spring rolls (also sometimes called simply, "fresh rolls").

There's a lot of information online about the difference between spring rolls and summer rolls.

For these particular rolls, I chose to call them Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp + Peanut Sauce because they have both veggies and shrimp inside of them.

From what I've read, the translucent rolls don't usually contain meat. So that's where I landed.

This recipe is a combination of things that I have loved over the years.

I first made a similar one at home back in 2014 when entertaining some friends on a hot summer day.

It was an easy appetizer to make, and it majorly impressed my friends! I mean, just look at those beautiful colors...

Platter of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls with shrimp and 2 dipping sauces.

After making this recipe on Facebook LIVE this summer, I realized that a different order of assembly made these rolls look the most appealing.

The photo above (from 2014), shows the way I used to do it - I'd put the shrimp down on the soaked rice paper first and top with the noodles.

What I realized is that if you put the colorful ingredients on top of the shrimp, they make a nice colorful backdrop for the shrimp and they "pop" more.

Since the shrimp have white in them, they can sometimes get a bit lost if they have a big pile of white noodles behind them.

Because one of the best parts of this recipe is the fact that you can see the mixture of ingredients through the rice paper wrapper.

Ingredients prepped and ready to assemble Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

The other ingredient that's a bit different to many US kitchens is the type of noodles used inside the spring rolls.

You can use bean thread noodles (also called glass or cellophane noodles) or rice vermicelli, which is what I used here.

Whichever noodles you end up getting, just be sure to read the package directions for how to cook them properly.

Some need to be covered in boiling water for a few minutes, some just need to soak for a bit.

It varies a bit from brand to brand, but they're all pretty quick-cooking.

Either way, after they're cooked, rinsed in cold water, and drained, they get tossed with seasoned rice vinegar.

This adds a nice tangy flavor that goes really well with all of the fresh produce that gets wrapped up in the rice paper wrappers.

Platter of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls with shrimp and peanut dipping sauce and ingredients sprinkled around.

Once your ingredients are all prepped, assembly happens pretty quickly.

You can totally prep your filling ingredients ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you're ready.

I like laying out all of my ingredients on a quarter sheet pan or platter so I can just grab from each pile as I go, making sure to add a bit of each ingredient to my spring roll wrappers.

If you're looking for a few more shortcuts, feel free to buy already shredded lettuce, cabbage, and carrots.

You could even swap that out for a packaged coleslaw mix, which usually has a few types of cabbage and carrots in it already.

Purple cabbage would be really pretty in here, too.

Feel free to mix and match ingredients that you have on hand, or that you enjoy raw.

If you aren't into shrimp you could use chilled meat that's already cooked and shredded, like chicken or beef.

Tofu would be nice here as well.

Fresh spring rolls on a platter with peanut sauce.

These spring rolls are a bit of a revamped version of Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls and some Vegetable Summer Rolls that I made with my friend Betsy back in 2011.

It brings my favorite parts of both recipes into one, and my family really, really loves them.

I typically serve these rolls with a sorta-spicy peanut dipping sauce.

If it's too spicy for you, feel free to reduce or omit the red pepper flakes.

And if you're looking for an additional sauce (or just a different sauce), a simple fish sauce mixture is in the recipe notes below.

Fresh spring rolls packed into a glass storage container.

If you make these in advance and want to store them, you'll need to keep a few things in mind to keep them from sticking to each other.

The rice paper wrappers are really sticky!

I like to dampen a kitchen towel with cold water (I tend to use unpaper towels for this) but you could also use paper towels and wring them out.

I set the spring rolls onto the damp towels and make sure they aren't touching.

You can pinch the towel up in between the rolls to ensure they don't stick together.

If you have a deep container you can do multiple layers, just place another damp towel on top of the bottom layer before adding more.

Pop a lid on the container and store in the fridge until you're ready to dig in! I find that these last well for about 2 days.

I don't like keeping seafood for much longer than that personally, but feel free to use your own discretion here.

If you find yourself with leftover filling ingredients and no more rice paper wrappers you can serve this as a big salad, drizzled with the peanut sauce.

It's very tasty and you don't have to bother wrapping and rolling!

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Recipe for Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp + Peanut Sauce

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Spicy Salmon Poke Bowls

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Satisfy your sushi cravings at home without all the fuss of wrapping and rolling with this simple spicy salmon poke bowl recipe.

Ah, poke bowls. Have you tried them? They're basically little cubes of marinated, sushi-grade fish served over rice in bowl form.

It starts with poke (pro tip: it's pronounced POH-keh), which is a fish salad that is very popular in Hawaii.

It can be as simple or complex as you want to make it, and bonus points for the fact that most of it can be prepped in advance.

It's pretty much the sushi equivalent of a burrito bowl.

Two spicy salmon poke bowls with rice and colorful toppings.

The only thing that takes much hands-on time when making this gorgeous bowl is making proper sushi rice.

It's not difficult, but fanning your rice to cool it off while you stir/turn the rice is a key step to ensure that it has the proper texture.

A bit of seasoned rice vinegar is sprinkled onto the hot rice during this process, which absorbs into the rice and gives it its unique flavor. According to Rachael AKA La Fuji Mama:

Fanning the rice facilitates quick cooling, which gelatinizes the surface of the rice and gives a glossy finish to the rice.

There are a lot of great tips in her post on sushi rice, if you want to learn more about the method.

I love using my Instant Pot to cook all types of rice, and that now includes sushi rice! You can also do it on the stovetop - just follow the package instructions.

And be sure to rinse your rice a few times to remove excess starch for whichever method you use.

Of course, you can also pick up an order of sushi rice from your favorite sushi spot for a few dollars and make this dish even simpler to assemble at home.

I'm all about you doing whatever you need to do to get this deliciousness in your life, stat!

Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl: Satisfy your sushi cravings at home without all the fuss of wrapping and rolling with this simple spicy salmon poke bowl recipe.

One of the key things that you're looking for when making sushi or poke at home is to get sushi-grade fish.

Sushi-grade fish is required to have been previously frozen, which safeguards against any parasites that would make it otherwise unsafe to consume raw.

You can usually find sushi-grade fish at a Japanese or Korean market if you have one in your area, or in the freezer section at many health food stores.

The salmon that I used here is some that I picked up frozen from Whole Foods a while back.

And if you buy it still frozen, it makes it easier to enjoy whenever you're ready - just give it enough time to thaw and you're good to go!

While the ingredient list may look long, I promise you this recipe is very doable.

The marinade can be whisked up in a snap, and the toppings can be anything you have on hand and can be cut up in advance.

I think this particular combination of toppings works especially well, but use what you have, and remember that colorful garnishes make it that much more enjoyable.

If salmon isn't your thing, check out these gorgeous shrimp poke bowls from my friend Susie over at We Are Not Martha.

Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl: Satisfy your sushi cravings at home without all the fuss of wrapping and rolling with this simple spicy salmon poke bowl recipe.

If you do happen to find yourself at an Asian market, be sure to scope out the furikake section. Furikake is a very versatile Japanese seasoning that comes in all sorts of flavor combinations and is great sprinkled over rice.

The one I used has little bits of seaweed, sesame seeds, fish flakes, sugar, and salt.

Most poke bowls that I've seen out and about focus on tuna, but since my family's go-to sushi selection (even my 5-year-old!) is a spicy salmon roll, I figured this would be a fun combo.

It worked out beautifully and was totally delicious. Perfect for hot summer days! And I could drizzle that spicy mayo on pretty much anything and be a happy camper. YUM.

Looking for more seafood recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Spicy Salmon Poke Bowls

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl: Satisfy your sushi cravings at home without all the fuss of wrapping and rolling with this simple spicy salmon poke bowl recipe.

13 Things I've Learned in 13 Years of Food Blogging

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Things have changed a lot since I started a food blog back in 2006. I'm sharing 13 valuable lessons I've learned in those 13 years in this BTS post.

13 Things I've Learned in 13 Years of Food Blogging

Today, my baby became a teenager! No, my son is not 13 yet (though I know that'll be here before I know it!), but my website is!

Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen has been around for 13 years now, and I am so proud of what it has become. Not to mention all of the delicious things that have found their way into my life because of it.

Chocolate cake with sprinkles on top

I surveyed my Instagram and Facebook fans earlier this week to see if there was interest in more of a behind-the-scenes peek at what I've learned from being in the food blogging world for so many years instead of my typical roundup or recipe post for my "blogiversary".

I figured it might be of interest, but I was blown away when 100% of the respondents said yes.

So, buckle up - here are 13 lessons I've learned in my 13 years of food blogging. I hope you enjoy this post - I'd love to hear your thoughts on it in the comments section below!

You can also subscribe to Extra Helping: The Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen Newsletter if you're interested in 1-2 tasty emails per month.

1. Many people will not understand what exactly it is that you "do"

It's like that scene in Office Space with "the Bobs":

Everyone in the field of food blogging has their own motivations and approach to the work that they do. And since "blogging" as an actual career is a fairly new idea, it can really confuse people.

Some people are "influencers" who work with brands to share products and services with their audience. Some people do restaurant reviews. Some are cookbook authors. Some do product photography, cooking classes and demos, or restaurant collaborations. Some are on social media only with no website.

And many food bloggers are some combination of several of these things.

It really varies a LOT depending on the person, their location, whether it's a full-time or part-time gig for them, and so many other factors.

I don't even tend to call myself a "blogger" because to me it makes it sound more like the hobby that it began as versus where I am and what I do today. The work I do on a daily basis for Big Flavors encompasses so much more than it did even a few years ago.

So usually when people ask me what it is that I do for a living, I tell them that I run a food and recipe website. Or that I'm a food writer and photographer. Or that I develop recipes for brands and products to share online and in print. All of these things feel more accurate than "food blogger" to me.

Some people will still think that all you do is take a photo of your dinner plate and post it online, but it really is so, so much more than that.

2. A lot of work goes into every.single.blog post

Back in 2006 when I started posting photos and recipes online, things were much simpler.

I'd cook dinner, take a quick photo of my plate, then write 1 or 2 sentences on what I thought of the dish. I'd pop onto LiveJournal (my handle there was "Chopaholic"), upload the photo and quickly type up the recipe and hit publish.

Boom. Done.

But after I started honing my skills and writing my own recipes, not to mention moving from LiveJournal to Blogger and most recently to a self-hosted WordPress site, I needed to add more steps into the process.

Luckily for me, my professional training is in graphic design and my husband is a tech guy. This means that I can design all of my own graphics and have been trained in things like color theory, photography, and composition.

It also means that I have 24/7 access to a tech support guy that I pay in food.

Delicious, delicious food.

But seriously, people have to outsource design and tech jobs and all of that can add up to quite a hefty amount of money. Although my situation is more work for the two of us, it's nice to be able to do things in-house, both figuratively and literally.

Overhead view of Greek yogurt parfaits with colorful tropical fruit toppings.

When I decide I'm going to post a new recipe, there are a lot of steps.

Recipe ideas come to me in a variety of ways but generally speaking once I have my recipe idea I'll write up a quick guideline for the recipe either in my phone or in my bullet journal.

I'll figure out amounts of ingredients and very basic instructions, knowing that I'll be going in there to edit/tweak while I'm actually cooking. I then have to go to the grocery store to shop for ingredients.

Once I'm ready to cook the recipe, it's "go time".

I take photos during the prep and cooking process sometimes, share behind-the-scenes peeks of the cooking process on my Instagram channel, and get ready to plate it for final dish photography with my "real" camera.

I use a Canon Rebel T3i that's many years old - they're up to the Canon Rebel T5i now.

My house doesn't get a lot of natural light, so I need to use artificial lighting. I experimented with several different options over the years and have been using a Lowel Ego lightbox for many years now.

I'd love to get a second one or even a different type of light kit, especially since video requires much more light than still photography. It's on my (always growing) list.

So once I have my light set up, I put up my backdrop and any props I may need on my photography surface, place my plate down, and start shooting.

Overhead view of Goat Cheese Toast with Honeyed Citrus Fruit and ingredients around the sides.

I most often shoot food photos, especially close-ups, with my Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Fixed Lens. I have a Vanguard Alta Pro Tripod that I use occasionally (and it's great for shooting overhead angles and flat lays) and an older, more lightweight tripod that I use to hold up my light kit and angle it.

It took me years to realize that I could attach my light to a tripod and that has been a total game-changer for me, since I have limited surface area to shoot photos on, and I used to have the light sitting there taking up ⅓ of my space.

After I shoot the photos, it's time to eat! My family eats 100% of the food that I post. I've streamlined my process and gotten much better so I can shoot quickly and then eat together, but I do spend more time on it when it's client work.

When I'm ready to edit the photos, I import everything from my phone's memory card into Adobe Lightroom and sort through the photos to see which ones are the best for my post. I then edit them and export them with my logo in the corner and upload them to my website's media library.

Once the images are in the media library, I have to go in and add metadata to different fields so that when people see my images, or they show up on Pinterest or other social media sites, the information about what's in the picture goes along with them.

Next, it's on to actually writing up my post! I try to think of helpful tips and tricks so that anyone making my recipes can have success with it in their own kitchen. I show process shots of the recipe steps when it makes sense.

All of this helps people find my recipes, so optimizing my posts using SEO (Search Engine Optimization), keywords, and answering questions within my post are all things that will help build a better post.

Then I transfer the recipe I've written up from my recipe storage app (I use Paprika on both Mac OS & iOS) into my recipe card plugin. I use WP Tasty's Tasty Recipes as my recipe card plugin - it's something that I've had for a few years now, and it allows people to scale a recipe and print it out really easily.

It also has formatting so that Google can see which things are ingredients versus steps, cooking times, serving size, etc.

After I hit publish on a post, I also need to promote it on social media. This can be tedious but it's an important step of the process. I try to rotate what I'm sharing on which social media platforms so it isn't all the same thing on all of my channels.

It's a ton of work, but I really do enjoy it, and I think that my thoughtful approach shows in the final product.

3. Things change and that's OK

As someone who does well with having schedules and checklists, it can be a bit unnerving when things change. But change happens. And that's OK!

Equipment changes, technology changes, algorithms change, the things people are searching for online changes, your aesthetic changes, your tastes and preferences change... just go with the flow!

It's OK to try new things. Try out new ingredients, cuisines, and techniques. If they don't work out, at least you know you gave it a shot.

Sometimes I'll go back and make an old recipe and I've learned things since the original post date that would make the cooking process easier now. Or I only had one photo and my skills have improved since then, or I want to add more images to a post to refresh it.

If you find yourself considering making changes like this, do it! It adds value for your readers, and Google likes seeing that you're actively keeping your site content fresh and up-to-date.

And it just feels good to give an old post a facelift.

I've been revamping lots of old posts lately. Some get minor tweaks or new photos and some get a massive overhaul. Some recent examples of posts that I've updated are my Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili, Balsamic Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Grandpa Henderson's Beef Stew (a long-time family and reader favorite!), Curried Pumpkin Soup, and Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads (probably the one that has the most rave reader reviews!).

I have plenty more in the works, and I can't wait to share the new and improved versions with you!

Hand pulling a leaf off of a stuffed artichoke

4. Not everyone will like everything that you create - don't take it personally!

Everyone has their own tastes and preferences. Some people are more vocal about the things that the like and dislike.

Recipes won't necessarily turn out the same way for everyone who cooks them. There are lots of variables at play here.

I personally approve comments/ratings on my recipes when moderating them even when they aren't great because I want my ratings to be an honest reflection of people's experiences with my recipes.

Some people will make all sorts of crazy substitutions... "I didn't have beef so I substituted ketchup" and they'll still complain that it didn't turn out, but sometimes they follow a recipe exactly and something still went wrong.

Or they just didn't like it. And again... that's OK!

I like to take comments like that as an opportunity to grow. I can help troubleshoot to see where things went wrong for the person, or even go back and look at my recipe and see if there's something that can be done to improve it and avoid potential pitfalls for others in the future.

I'm all about encouraging people to get into the kitchen without fear, to cook for themselves and their loved ones.

And just know that some people are just trolls. I moderate comments and don't let trolls get through. Always remember: don't feed the trolls.

Honeyed Chorizo & Fig Crostini displayed on a board with a honey dipper.

5. You won't be a good fit for every brand/sponsored opportunity

Sponsored work is a big part of my job. I partner with brands who have products and services that I believe in to create content that will serve you, the Big Flavors readers.

Sometimes brands will reach out to me, sometimes I reach out to brands, sometimes I apply for opportunities... each situation is unique.

I work with a wide range of clients to create recipes that can introduce my audience to products or ingredients that I love. Or showcase new ways to use them! I only work with brands that I actually use at home, and things that I feel are a good fit for my audience.

Sometimes I'm not able to work with a brand because I don't fit the criteria that they're looking for. This usually comes down to numbers, pageviews, and/or social media following.

This can be frustrating when it's a brand that I love or have a great recipe idea for, but can't get to the next step in a working relationship with them because of metrics.

It boils down to the fact that not everything is a good fit, either on your end, the client's end, or both. Focus your efforts elsewhere. There's plenty of work out there that's a better fit.

6. There are people who use morally questionable methods to increase/inflate their metrics

So this is one that a lot of people who aren't in the industry are surprised by.

As I mentioned above, sometimes a brand won't work with you unless you have, for example, 10k followers on Instagram.

And, speaking of 10k followers on Instagram - that's the number you have to hit in order to get the "swipe up" link feature in Instagram stories, which is the bane of many food bloggers' existence.

That feature allows you to put a direct link to a URL in the post. So If I'm making chicken fajitas for dinner on Instagram stories, I could put a link right there so people could swipe and get directly to the recipe post.

But I can't. Because I don't have 10k followers. And that number doesn't account for "fake" followers.

I have a workaround right now, where I have a LinkTree in my profile to share pertinent links with my audience, but it's an extra step for me and them and is really frustrating, especially when you know that some people with larger audiences have fake followers.

What are fake followers, you ask? Well... there are bots and services that some people choose to pay to use to acquire followers on their social media accounts. Some of these "followers" are real accounts, some are not.

Some bloggers and influencers use a follow/unfollow method where they'll go and follow people to get those people to follow them back and then they will unfollow them a few days later in order to keep the cycle going with more and more accounts.

Instagram currently limits the number of accounts that you follow to 7k I believe, so the tactic is to constantly play this follow/unfollow game to keep being able to add new accounts to the cycle that they're running.

Luckily, many brands now are using "engagement" as a metric. So this means that seeing a post that's getting likes, shares, and comments that are actually meaningful are of value.

This is one reason why it's important to leave thoughtful comments, share, or interact with content that you like. It helps weed out the fake stuff and supports people that are working to provide content that resonates with you or can help you address a need or concern in your life.

But some clients still require big numbers.

Some bloggers use other people such as Virtual Assistants or even bots to comment on other people's posts for them. I remember one time I was at a food blogger conference sitting next to a friend who I had known for years and I got a notification on my phone that she had just commented on an Instagram post of mine.

It was really disheartening because she definitely did not do that. I was right next to her and her phone was away while she was watching a presentation.

I was hurt at first because in my mind, commenting on a post is a personal thing that you do to express your feelings on its content to someone else. But that's not the case for everyone. Some people are in it for the numbers. I'm not one of them.

There are also threads in groups where food bloggers help to share and promote other bloggers' recipes, posts, etc. Years ago, I really liked this idea. Sometimes you can't get eyes on your work unless other people share it.

But then some of these groups require comments on posts. Again, I was all for it at first. Whenever I'd participate in something like that, I'd leave a meaningful comment and/or thoughts on each person's post/recipe.

But then people started asking for 5-star recipe ratings, too.

Recipe ratings are a fairly new feature on Big Flavors. It's part of my current recipe card plugin, and I love that people can leave their honest feedback on my recipes using that system.

On a related note: if you've made one of my recipes, I'd appreciate it if you would leave a rating and comment on it! It helps my recipes show up in search results on Google, Pinterest, etc.

In my mind, a recipe rating is for what I think of a recipe after I've made it. How can you rate a recipe you haven't tried? What if the ingredients are terrible? What if it's bland? How could you know if you haven't made it?

And then it made me realize that I can't necessarily trust the "5-star" ratings I've seen on recipes when *I* am searching the web for things to cook.

Again, it was disappointing to me and feels dishonest, but I understand why other people do it.

Everyone has their own moral compass and makes their own decisions about what they feel is right and fair. Some people don't care if it's fair or not. And some people do care but they do it anyway because they want to increase numbers so they don't miss out on opportunities that they're otherwise qualified for.

There are many sides to it, and you can't presume to know anyone's motivation for the choices that they make.

And you know what? What other people choose to do for their brand or business shouldn't affect what I do in mine. There's room for so many people in this business. Some people stick around longer than others. Some have more passion for it than others. Some treat it more as a business than a hobby.

So while I still see things going on that feel unfair or seem a bit morally questionable to me, I just recognize that what's OK for someone else isn't necessarily OK for me and vice versa.

And that's totally fine.

Overhead view of bowls of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili with toppings and cornbread alongside.

7. Say no and don't apologize for making the decisions that are right for you

Saying no can be hard. Especially when there's money involved.

I like helping people. I love answering questions. I like sharing fun things that I find. But you can't always do it and you shouldn't always do it.

There's a saying that I heard years ago that really stuck with me, "you can't set yourself on fire to keep other people warm".

Just think about that for a moment. If you're so busy trying to make everyone else happy, you'll totally neglect yourself and could end up doing more harm than good.

Don't overextend yourself trying to get an "in" somewhere, or overpromise if you can't deliver. Don't say yes when your plate is already too full.

An example of when I say no is when pitches come in from brands who want me to share their products with my audience for free, or for product alone, and are asking a LOT in return.

Let's say, for example, that an applesauce company wants you to create a recipe using their applesauce.

They send you coupons to cover the applesauce. They ask you to create a recipe, post it on your food blog, including well lit 3-5 photos. The brand name needs to be featured in at least 2 of the images with product shots. They also want you to share it on your social media channels using their campaign hashtag, or a string of hashtags.

They tell you that you'll get "exposure".

Exposure doesn't pay the bills.

Now, don't get me wrong. When I started out, I was SO thrilled that people wanted to send me things like "free" BBQ sauce that I was happy to do all this work for them. But it wasn't "free". Each post I created took me time and thought to put it together.

But I do think that it was good to do that a few times at first to get used to working with products and incorporating them into a recipe post that I'd want to create anyway.

Once I built up a bit of a portfolio of sponsored work, even though the payment was just product or coupons, I felt more comfortable knowing what I needed to ask for when working on a full-fledged sponsored post.

Dino and Ashley Covelli at NYCWFF 2014

As someone who lives close to New York City, I receive a lot of event invitations. Again, I used to say yes to every.single.one. But commuting to and from the city, being out and about, arranging childcare... it ended up stressing me out a lot more than it should have sometimes.

So now, I pick and choose which sponsored posts and events I take on. Sometimes the money would be good for a sponsored post but it just isn't doable for me, or it doesn't feel authentic to my brand. Or it's a product I dislike or would never actually use.

So I say no. And I don't apologize for it.

8. Always disclose sponsored content and affiliate links

I think that one of the reasons a lot of people find sponsored content offputting is because they assume that you're only saying nice things because you got paid to do so.

This is definitely the case for some people. Here on Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen, I'm always honest about my thoughts and will only take on paid work that I believe in. And whenever I do have a post that was sponsored - I will let you know.

Aside from it being part of the FTC guidelines, it's the honest thing to do. And I always want to be honest with you!

I put a clear disclosure bit at the top of any sponsored post, whether I received money or simply a free product for review. I want to be transparent about those things to maintain a level of trust with my audience.

This isn't to flaunt that I've been paid to talk about, say, one of my favorite yogurt brands, but to be crystal clear that I was paid for my work on that post.

I do my best to create sponsored posts that are valuable to my audience, and that are legitimately delicious things that my family loves. Or fun products that I use, such as things that are linked on my Amazon shop page.

Stasher bags filled with celery sticks.

When it comes to things like Amazon, I make a small commission on the things that people purchase through my links. It doesn't cost you, the buyer, any more than it would if you found it on your own. I just did the leg work of finding it and testing it out for you.

I try to make recommendations on things that are helpful to the particular recipe or post when I include a link. And I'm always happy to help you find the perfect kitchen product or accessory.

Using affiliate links is also a great way for me to make a little bit of extra money to help pay for site costs such as web hosting, maintenance, and domain-related expenses.

When you shop through my links, it really makes a difference for me and my family, because it helps me continue to provide free, delicious content here on Big Flavors!

9. You have to spend money to make money

I started Big Flavors as a hobby but over the last several years, it has turned into so much more than that. When I decided that I wanted to actually turn it into a job, I had to start spending some of my own money.

If you're actually interested in turning your food blog into a business, you're going to have to invest in yourself and your brand. There are so many different ways that you could go about this, so choose wisely.

I've invested in training for things like Google Analytics, and SEO in the past. If you aren't trained in photography or photo editing, those are great ones to brush up on, too.

One subscription that I've found incredibly helpful is Food Blogger Pro. You can pay monthly or annually, and there are perks to each. I was a member several years ago and then just recently re-joined because they have such wonderful masterclasses and training videos.

I also use Tailwind to help schedule my Pinterest pins. I love that I can spread my pins out throughout the day rather than posting a bunch all at once. It's also helpful for scheduling your own content to pin to different boards. There are tons of great features, and you can check it out for yourself and get a free month with my referral link.

I also use Hootsuite to help schedule Twitter posts. This is so that I can batch some of my work and spend more time interacting and enjoying each platform in real-time without worrying about whether or not I'm posting content.

Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen business card.

There are other costs associated with bringing your business to the next level - whether it's printing business cards, getting an SEO site audit, upgrading your photography and videography equipment, or becoming an LLC (which I did a few months ago - hooray!) and opening a business banking account.

You can start with small things, just make sure you're keeping track of what you're spending so you don't go overboard. It can be tempting to want to take alllll of the courses that you come across but remember to do your research and make an educated choice.

A lot of sites offer free trials, too, so you can test things out to see if they'll suit your needs before you take the plunge to buy them. I find that really helpful when there are so many options.

Again, there are tons of free resources out there as well. One that I really love is the Food Blogger Pro Podcast.

There are also lots of helpful Facebook groups specific to creatives, food bloggers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners.

Your local library has lots of free resources, and the librarians are more than happy to help you out! Some even give you free access to the training courses on Lynda.com. I know that my local library has loads of options, and I use them often!

And, of course, you can find tons of free info on YouTube and Pinterest or just by googling things that you want to learn more about.

A food blogger snuggling with a baby cow on the farm.
Photo courtesy of ADANE

10. Network with other people in and outside of your industry

You know that saying about it not being what you know but who you know? It really is true. Some of the best connections I've made have been from people who I never would have expected to hit it off with. And they aren't all in the food/online industry!

There are tons of different conferences out there - ones I've attended in the past are ShiftCon, WOMMA Summit, TechMUNCH, and Advertising Week New York. I sometimes attend local entrepreneur and blogger meetups.

I also just put myself out there and talk to people wherever I am. I show genuine interest in what people are talking about, and if that ends up turning into a business relationship at some point - cool! If not, it's all good.

11. Take time off to avoid burnout

I know, this can be easier said than done. Especially when you're a one (wo)man show.

But sometimes you're so busy working that you just overdo it. Or you get stuck in a creative rut. Or you have things going on in your personal life that are making work difficult and/or tedious.

Take a break. Take a step back and do things that you enjoy. Even getting outside and taking a walk can really help your mindset.

If a vacation (or staycation) is possible, do it! You can always explore and look for inspiration in new places.

Read books or listen to podcasts outside of your usual repertoire. You can learn a lot from people in other fields, or even brush up on your writing skills by reading books from different genres.

Don't stress yourself out more than necessary especially when it comes to self-imposed deadlines. I was guilty of that BIG TIME but have learned to really work on prioritizing my neverending list of to-do items.

I also try to build some flexibility into my schedule and editorial calendar so that I can take a break if and when I need to without feeling too guilty about it.

Sometimes my best ideas come to me when I'm not doing anything related to cooking/writing/creating, so taking time away can be a very good thing.

12. Push yourself to do things that are out of your comfort zone

You get in a groove doing things the way you're doing them, and then a new platform emerges. Or a new style. Or a new cuisine.

Don't be afraid to give new things a try! Sometimes those butterflies in your stomach are a sign that it's a good way to push yourself!

For me, a big one here was video. I've always been a behind the scenes type of person. I've been taking photos for as long as I can remember. I even did film photography classes in high school and college. But I didn't have any desire to be in front of the camera.

And then I found myself being interviewed for The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and although I was nervous, it didn't feel that scary once the camera was actually rolling.

Last fall I was part of a cooking competition judged by none other than Next Food Network Star Chef Jason Smith.

He was walking around the kitchen interviewing people, and it was a lot of fun talking to him, even with cameras all up in our faces.

You can check out the video on the American Dairy Association North East's Facebook post - my part starts around the 4:30 mark, and again around the 22-minute mark.

Food Network Star Jason Smith speaking to the NY Dairy Tour bloggers.

Being in a cooking competition AND being interviewed live while I was cooking - it was all new to me, but I realized that it was a lot of fun.

So after I returned home from my press trip, I asked my readers if they'd be interested in me going on Facebook LIVE to cook my grandma's sugar cookie recipe. There was a LOT of interest, so I went for it!

I like the LIVE video thing because I don't have to spend time to sit and produce, edit, etc., which is what was causing me to overthink "regular" cooking videos.

I wanted everything to be perfect, so I just never got things shot, edited, and put out into the world.

Perfect is overrated. LIVE video forces me to just go with the flow.

And it helps that I'm totally fine laughing at myself. A lot.

Since I started that, I've done a (mostly) weekly Facebook LIVE on Fridays. I'm currently doing them at 11am EDT over on my Facebook page. It's a great way to interact with my audience and show them how recipes actually come together.

I love being able to take and answer questions on the fly, and also showing people that sometimes even professionals forget things or goof up, and it still works out OK in the end.

Everything doesn't have to be perfect, and you'll learn more as you go. Try new things. You may just end up loving them!

13. Listen to your audience and help them where they are today

One of the most important things I've learned over my 13 years of food blogging is to really listen to what your audience is looking for.

Surveys are a great way to do this. Sometimes I'll do a poll over on Facebook or Instagram if I'm looking for quick feedback on what types of recipes and content my audience is interested in.

I've also done more in-depth surveys when I have more specific questions that I'd like to ask. Both methods can be really eye-opening and can show you what you're doing right, what you could improve upon, and maybe even spark ideas for new recipes and content down the line.

Things change. Food trends come and go. What worked in the past may not work today, and what works today might not work a week from now... and that's fine. Take it as an opportunity to grow. Just embrace the chaos and have fun!

PHEW.

I believe that more than wraps it up. Thanks for sticking around, and here's to many more years of deliciousness here on Big Flavors!

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Tropical Fruit + Chocolate CBD Parfait

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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean's.

Passion fruit, strawberry, and toasted coconut team up with chocolate mint CBD hemp oil to bring a taste of the tropics straight to your breakfast table!

Overhead view of Greek yogurt parfaits with colorful tropical fruit toppings.

Be sure to stick around for the giveaway at the end of this post to win your own bottle of Barlean's Seriously Delicious CBD Hemp Oil Chocolate Mint.

We use a lot of yogurt in my house. And I start many of my mornings with a delicious parfait of some sort. It's so versatile - you can really have fun mixing and matching flavors and toppings.

I've been creating recipes for Barlean's for several years now, and finding new and unique ways to use their products is one of my favorite challenges.

When they sent over their most recent new product release, this Seriously Delicious CBD Hemp Oil Chocolate Mint, I was immediately intrigued.

Bottle of chocolate mint CBD hemp oil with chocolate mint sprigs alongside.

What is CBD?

There's a lot of misinformation out there about what exactly CBD is.

The main question people ask, at least in my experience, is if CBD gets you "high". No, no it does not. While CBD comes from the cannabis plant, it's not the same thing as THC, which is what is typically referred to when people are talking about the euphoric feelings associated with cannabis.

Hemp and marijuana both come from the same plant family, Cannabis sativa L, but they have some significant differences.

Barlean's has a ton of information on their CBD FAQ page including this tidbit:

CBD stands for cannabidiol and is one of over 100 known phytocannabinoids that naturally occur in cannabis plants. It's also one of the most prolific cannabinoids found in hemp plants. CBD has very low THC - less than 0.3% - which is why CBD doesn't make people feel high. In fact, CBD can actually counteract the euphoric/high feeling caused by THC. CBD continues to gain popularity as studies reveal its potential benefits for human health.

Bowls of Greek yogurt with tropical fruit and chocolate mint CBD oil alongside.

How do you take CBD?

CBD comes in many different forms. Barlean's offers several different types of CBD hemp oil products, including softgels and oil that you squeeze from a dropper directly under your tongue. I've seen it in gummy form elsewhere, too.

This new formulation, the Seriously Delicious CBD Hemp Oil Chocolate Mint is a really unique way to enjoy the benefits of CBD without taking pills.

As of today, there aren't a ton of CBD hemp oil recipes out there. As with any ingredient, finding a variety of ways to utilize it in the kitchen can be tricky.

With this particular product, there is 25mg of CBD per teaspoon. You can mix this super creamy oil into smoothies or parfaits, or drizzle it on top of toast. It could also be mixed into energy balls, fat bombs, frostings, or "nice cream".

The only caveat when cooking with CBD hemp oil is that it can't be heated over 225°F.

Overhead view of bowls of Greek yogurt with tropical fruit and chocolate mint CBD oil alongside.

How to make a Tropical Fruit + Chocolate CBD Parfait

My husband and I were out for our 12th wedding anniversary last week and we had an incredible espresso chocolate cake with passion fruit mousse. The flavor combo was heavenly and took us right back to our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

The chocolate mint flavor of the CBD hemp oil is subtle but delicious, and I figured it would be the perfect accompaniment for a tropical breakfast bowl!

I love the flavor of passion fruit but hadn't ever bought them to enjoy at home before, so when I spotted them at my local supermarket, I took it as a sign!

To assemble this Tropical Fruit + Chocolate CBD Parfait recipe, you first need to toast some flaked coconut (I like buying unsweetened) in a dry skillet. Make sure to keep an eye on it, because it goes from golden brown to burnt very quickly.

Once it's nicely golden, pour it out of the skillet into a bowl to stop the cooking process.

Then all you need to do is portion out some Greek yogurt (I use plain, but feel free to use vanilla if you like things a bit sweeter), top it with a drizzle of the CBD hemp oil, scoop the seeds of a passion fruit out on top, then add a few slices of strawberry and some toasted coconut.

Overhead view of tropical fruit and chocolate mint sprigs.

How to tell if passion fruit is ripe

Choosing passion fruit from the store can feel intimidating, but it doesn't need to be! My market had a sign above all of the tropical fruits describing how to determine if the fruit is ripe.

Passion fruit is usually smooth on the outside, but if you let it sit on the counter for a few days, it starts getting wrinkly. That's actually when it's at its best!

Close-up of Greek yogurt parfaits with colorful tropical fruit toppings.

I hope you enjoy this parfait as much as we did! It really is simple and delicious, and a great way to go on a tropical vacation without leaving home.

Be sure to enter my giveaway underneath the recipe below for your chance to win your own bottle of Barlean's Seriously Delicious CBD Hemp Oil Chocolate Mint!

Overhead view of Greek yogurt parfaits with colorful tropical fruit toppings with a bottle of CBD hemp oil alongside.

Looking for more breakfast and brunch favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

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Recipe for Tropical Fruit + Chocolate CBD Parfait

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri

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Take taco night to the next level with taco-spiced, roasted sweet potatoes, and black beans. These vegan-friendly tacos are topped with a bright cilantro chimichurri and quick-pickled red onions.

Perfect for Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, or any other day of the week!

Ah, Taco Tuesday.

Listen, I dig any excuse to celebrate tacos. But we shouldn't feel the need to limit tacos to just one day per week, right?

¾ view of prepared components ready to assemble for Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri.

I love that the whole Taco Tuesday thing got more people on board with having tacos much more often. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner... I.Am.Down.

And what's not to love? Tacos are an easy, versatile meal option. They don't even have to have Mexican flavors - almost any cuisine can benefit from having its dishes taco-fied.

Overhead view of prepared ingredients and 3 assembled Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri.

My go-to busy weeknight recipe used to be pretty standard tacos - ground beef, browned in a skillet, seasoned with a packet of taco seasoning and topped with shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and hot sauce.

For a while, I switched things up and made the same tacos with ground turkey. Still delicious, just not overly exciting.

But once I branched out into veggie-packed tacos, a whole new world of delicious possibilities opened up!

3 rows of organic Mexican spice jars, stacked on top of each other.

One key to making killer tacos at home is to have some Mexican spices hanging in your pantry.

I have a whole post on stocking your pantry for Mexican cooking comin' atcha tomorrow, so stay tuned! (Update - check it out here: Mexican Pantry Staples to Bring the Flavors of Mexico to Your Kitchen)

For this particular recipe, I used the Taco Seasoning, Oregano, and Cayenne from Spicely Organics.

Overhead view of prepared ingredients and 3 assembled Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri.

A while back, we had grilled up some steak, and I had baked sweet potatoes alongside. I made a chimichurri to go with the steak, and some of it got onto my sweet potato.

Let me tell you - that was one of the tastiest bites of food that I ever had.

There's something magical that happens when sweet potatoes meet that garlicky, delicious chimichurri, and I just knew it'd be perfect in taco form!

 

A post shared by Ashley Covelli (@bigflavors) on

I tossed the potatoes with oil, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper, and roasted them in the oven. While that roasted, I added some lime juice and a little salt to a bowl of thinly sliced red onions to make a quick, pickled topping.

Then I pulsed a few ingredients together in the food processor and the chimichurri was ready!

When the potatoes were almost done, I added some black beans and dried oregano and let it all cook for a few more minutes in the oven. The whole dish cooked up in under 30 minutes.

Just how tacos should be. Quick, easy, and insanely delicious.

¾ view of prepared ingredients and 3 assembled Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy tacos? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!

Looking for more ways to celebrate Taco Tuesday? Check out some of our favorite recipes:

2 photos of prepared ingredients and 3 assembled Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri.

Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal

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Get the game plan for a complete Persian comfort food meal in just 20 minutes! Complete with video and step by step tips for timing your meal.

Kebab is hands-down one of my favorite food groups.

There are so many delicious kebab recipes to make at home, but they aren't always ideal for a busy weeknight.

Overhead view of a platter of kebab with onions and tomatoes.

But how could I get my kebab fix without much fuss or having to fire up the grill?

That was the problem that I aiming to solve when I came up with this broiler kebab recipe.

The broiler is a great way to get flavor that's pretty comparable to grilling without involving as much time or clean-up.

My favorite kebab accompaniments are grilled tomatoes and onions, along with mast-o-khiar (a Persian yogurt-cucumber sauce) and basmati rice.

Once I had the broiler kebab down, I realized that I could turn it into a full meal really easily without missing out on any of my favorite flavors.

Overhead view of ingredients for Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal

Here's my game plan for making a full Persian meal in a fraction of the time:

Step 1: Cook the rice.

Whatever your favorite method is, go with it. The rice takes the longest to cook, so we're starting it first. I like to use my Instant Pot - just hit the "Rice" button.

You can go plain basmati or jazz it up a bit with a healthy dose of dried dill and a pinch of salt.

Collage of 4 photos showing ingredients and steps for making Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal

Step 2: Make the kebab.

While the rice cooks, preheat your broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. This makes clean-up much easier. A little grease may get underneath, but overall it's pretty tidy. 

I use a half sheet pan here - just make sure it's broiler safe. Many of the non-stick ones are not. Spray the foil with oil or cooking spray, and get ready to form the kebab patties.

My family likes using ground lamb here, but it's also great with ground beef or vegan ground, such as Beyond Meat.

Place the meat in a bowl, add an egg and a few seasonings, and mix it all up, being careful not to over-mix.

Overhead view of Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal ready for the oven

I like to flatten out the mixture and score it in half 4 times to make 8 patties. Sometimes I get 6, sometimes I get 9... I'm not great at getting them super even.

Once the patties are on the baking sheet, add tomatoes and onions to the open space around the meat and drizzle with olive oil. Season everything on the sheet pan with salt and pepper.

Transfer sheet pan to the oven and broil for 8 minutes. Flip the meat patties over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Overhead view of Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal

Step 3: Make the yogurt sauce.

No Middle Eastern meal is complete (for me!) without a yogurt sauce of sorts. For this meal, I make a super quick version of mast-o-khiar, a Persian yogurt sauce with cucumbers.

Use plain yogurt here - you can go for regular or Greek. A quick guideline of what to include is as follows:

  • ½ English cucumber, peeled and chopped
  • 1 quart plain yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dried mint
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

I like to rub the dried mint between my palms for a few reasons. First, it helps release the minty flavor. Secondly, it breaks up any larger leaves into smaller pieces that distribute more evenly throughout the yogurt.

And lastly, sometimes there are bits of dried stems that can be unpleasant to bite into. Rubbing the mint lets me feel for any larger bits that I'd prefer to discard.

If you're looking for another option for mast-o-khiar, this recipe for Mast-o-Khiar with Walnuts + Raisins is another family favorite.

You could also use store bought or homemade tzatziki, or even just plain yogurt. I really love the way that yogurt compliments the kebab.

Overhead view of Broiler Kebab served in pita bread with a side of mast-o-khiar yogurt sauce.

Step 4: Serve your broiler kebab.

I like serving this broiler kebab sheet pan meal with rice and yogurt sauce, but it's also fantastic stuffed into a pita and served as a sandwich!

A sprinkling of ground sumac is the perfect way to finish off so many Persian dishes. Sumac is used to add a tart, lemony flavor and it goes beautifully with grilled (or broiled!) meats.

This meal is so simple to put together. It's one of the most frequently repeated meals in my house. And it's perfect for busy weeknights.

We were in Georgia over spring break and I showed my sister-in-law how easy this meal is to make. She and my brother have 2 kids under age 2, so meals like this are a total godsend.

As a side note, there was an egg allergy in that hose, so I experimented with using a few splashes of cold water instead of the egg and it worked just fine! The meat wasn't quite as tender, but she was thrilled to be able to eat it.

Overhead view of Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal served in a bowl over rice

What are your favorite quick & easy weeknight meals? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!

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Recipe for Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

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What's better than a quick & easy snack that involves cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and lots of fun mix-ins? Puppy Chow is a family party food favorite!

I grew up eating Puppy Chow at family holiday gatherings in the Midwest. Once I moved to New York, I found that none of my new friends were familiar with the goodness of this delicious mix of chocolate, peanut butter, cereal, and powdered sugar.

So I decided that I needed to bring it to the masses. It felt like a civic duty of sorts.

Overhead view of bowls of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

Well over a decade ago, I made a big batch of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies) for a Super Bowl party that we hosted for my husband's co-workers.

Only one of the guests was familiar with Puppy Chow (she was from Ohio) and she squealed with glee when she saw it on the party table!

It was a big hit with the rest of the group as well. I was glad to bring one of my favorites to them.

Back in those days, I stuck with plain ol' Puppy Chow - straight up with no mix-ins. But it can be a lot of fun to add things into the mix, right?

Overhead view of bowls of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

Now don't get me wrong - I love it without any additional candy or snack items mixed in. But getting creative with the extras is something that can bring your puppy chow to the next level.

This dish is perfect for parties. You can pick mix-ins to match any theme, holiday, or color scheme.

Overhead view of ingredients for Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

I love using a sweet-and-salty mix, personally. Salted pretzel sticks, chocolate candies (M&Ms are a favorite and a good way to add color), and peanuts are all fun. Things like mini marshmallows or chopped up candy bars are also good.

You can always make a batch plain and offer bowls of additional ingredients so everyone can customize their own bags.

Overhead view of bowls of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

To get started, pour your cereal into the biggest bowl you have. I like getting it into a bowl before melting the chocolate/peanut butter together so it's ready as soon as I am.

I like melting the chocolate mixture in 30-second intervals in the microwave. This way you can stir the mixture and make sure it melts evenly and gets nice and smooth.

You could also do this on a double boiler on the stovetop if you want, but the microwave makes it super simple.

Overhead view of steps for making Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

When it's nice and melted, stir in vanilla extract and salt and pour it onto the cereal. Stir it gently until it's fully coated.

You may want to use a 2 utensil method to stir it like I did in the video. It will likely max out space in your biggest mixing bowl, but it works! Once it's all coated, you're ready to cover it all in powdered sugar!

Overhead view of steps for making Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

Put the powdered sugar in the bottom of a gallon-sized zip-top bag. You can do this in the bowl if you want, or even on a big baking sheet, but I find this method the easiest for getting everything coated with minimal hassle.

Seal the bag (make sure it's fully sealed to avoid a dust storm!) and gently shake and turn the bag until the chocolate is fully coated with powdered sugar.

At this point, you're ready to rock! You can serve it as-is or have fun mixing and matching different items to bulk up your puppy chow mixture.

Overhead view of bowls of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

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Recipe for Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies)

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Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean's. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

This quick & easy Greek-inspired chickpea salad is packed with fresh veggies and a lemony herb-studded flax vinaigrette for a delicious Omega-3 boost!

Overhead view of a bowl of Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette with dressing and pita bread on the side

Spring is officially here, and while it's still pretty cold most days here in New York, I'm channeling the warmth by making fresh, delicious salads more often.

For this particular salad, I decided to load it up fresh items from my produce drawer. To bulk things up and add some protein, I chose canned chickpeas.

You can really use any mix of crispy, colorful veggies (and veggies that are technically fruits, like tomatoes and bell peppers) along with your favorite canned beans. White beans would be great in this, too.

But every good salad needs a great dressing, right?

Close-up of a pitcher of lemon-herb vinaigrette with Mediterranean Chickpea Salad in the background

Barleans is celebrating a big anniversary this year! 30 years ago, they kicked things off with their very first product - flax!

I've talked about flax here before. Flax oil is perfect for dressings and sauces because it has a mild, nutty flavor and can easily adapt to the other ingredients in your recipes. It can be used in both sweet and savory applications, but it can't be heated above 225°F.

Bottles of Barlean's flax products

Some info on flax oil from the Barlean's website:

Barlean's Fresh Organic Flax Oil provides a whopping 7,640mg of plant-based ALA Omega-3 fatty acid per tablespoon. Omega-3s are vital fatty acids that cannot be produced by the body, so we need to get them from foods or supplements. Flax is the best plant-based source. Barlean's Organic Flax Oil is an award-winning unrefined organic flax oil, freshly pressed in the Pacific Northwest, and protected from damaging heat and light from seed to bottle.

And a bit about their ground flax:

Forti-Flax® premium ground flaxseed is a nutritional powerhouse delivering essential Omega-3 fatty acids plus fiber, all 10 amino acids, vitamins and trace mineral and phytonutrients including lignans. Our proprietary cold-milling process gently liberates these elements without damaging the delicate Omega-3s or altering the natural light and nutty flavor.

Overhead view of ingredients for Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

Once you open any flax products, they should be stored in the refrigerator to ensure that they stay as fresh as possible.

I love mixing flax oil with flax seeds in my vinaigrettes. Flax seeds also add great texture to parfaits. I like sprinkling them on cottage cheese or yogurt in the morning along with fresh and dried fruits.

The mix of veggies in this salad was inspired by the flavors of Greece, so I went that route when flavoring my vinaigrette.

Overhead view of a bowl of Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette with dressing and ingredients to the side

Just a few dried herbs, some garlic, a healthy dose of lemon juice, and a bit of fresh dill really brought this vinaigrette to life.

My husband was a bit skeptical of this vinaigrette at first because he tends to find flax oil "fishy" tasting, but this wasn't at all!

He was blown away by the flavor combination, and went back for seconds!

Pouring vinaigrette onto Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad is a solid meal on its own. It has plenty of bulkiness from the chickpeas and veggies and proved to be a very filling meal for my family. It would also be great as a side dish alongside grilled lamb, chicken, shrimp, or tofu.

I decided to stuff some of my salad into pita bread to make a little sandwich and it totally blew me away! This would be perfect packed in your lunchbox with the pita on the side. When lunchtime rolls around, just stuff the salad in there and you're ready to rock!

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette stuffed into pita bread

I love that this was a no-cook way to have a healthy, delicious meal. It's going to be heavy in the rotation come summertime when I don't feel like turning the stove on.

I also really like that it's made with veggies that you can get year-round, not just in the summer.

If you want to make this vegan-friendly, all you need to do is omit the feta. It still packs tons of flavor without the dairy.

Overhead view of a bowl of Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette with dressing on the side

I served leftovers from this recipe along with leftovers from my Broiler Kebab Sheet Pan Meal that I cooked up on Facebook LIVE this past Friday.

The recipe post for that is coming soon. It's super simple and goes so very well with this Greek salad.

What are your favorite salads or no-cook recipes? I'd love to hear about them in the comment section below!

Looking for more of our favorite salads? Check out these 5-star recipes:

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Recipe for Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Elvis-Style Challah French Toast

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This post has been compensated as part of my partnership with Foodiechats and the Georgia Peanut Commission. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Fluffy challah bread is given the royal treatment in this decadent breakfast classic topped with peanuts, peanut butter, bananas, and bacon. This Elvis-Style Challah French Toast is an easy recipe that will majorly wow your friends and family.

Overhead view of French toast with bananas, bacon, peanut butter, and topping alongside.

Is there anything better than breakfast for dinner? It was always such a treat as a kid, and now that I have a son of my own, I love surprising him occasionally with fun breakfast dishes at dinnertime.

When Foodiechats and the Georgia Peanut Commission challenged me to come up with a creative way to use these peanut protein shakes from Elmhurst, I knew I wanted to make something special.

And when I think of peanuts and peanut butter, my mind inevitably goes to The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

This isn't the first time I took inspiration from Elvis' famous peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwich. These Elvis-Style Frozen Bananas were a huge hit (and oh so easy!) a few years ago.

You just can't beat that fabulous sweet-and-salty combination.

If you really want to take it up a notch, try making these with homemade peanut butter! It's a super simple recipe that's deliciously creamy and you have full control over the ingredients.

Elvis-Style Frozen Bananas take the classic Elvis sandwich (peanut butter, banana + bacon) to a new level! This easy 3 ingredient frozen dessert is fit for The King! #BaconMonth

I grew up eating French toast made with regular ol' sandwich bread. Back when I was dating my now husband, he made French toast using challah bread for me, and I haven't looked back since!

Challah is a super fluffy, eggy Jewish bread that is most often formed into beautiful loaves by braiding. It's perfect for things like French toast and bread pudding because you can let it soak in goodness from batter ingredients without worrying about it getting too soggy.

Overhead view of ingredients for Elvis-Style Challah French Toast

For this particular recipe, I decided to forego the milk and vanilla extract that I'd typically use in a challah French toast recipe and whisked the vanilla bean peanut protein shake in with the eggs and cinnamon.

That's right - the batter only requires 3 ingredients! If you were looking to keep this recipe even simpler, you could skip the toppings and just use this batter with your challah and you'd still have a fantastic French toast for breakfast. But let's take it over-the-top, shall we?

Process shots for making Elvis-Style Challah French Toast batter

After your batter is together, give each piece of bread a quick soak in the mixture. I like to press each piece down into the mixture for about 5 seconds per side.

Let the excess drip off back into the bowl, and fry 'em up on a preheated griddle that's been lightly sprayed with oil and buttered. They sometimes take a while to brown, so be patient. That golden brown crust will be totally worth the wait. My pieces probably took about 5 minutes per side.

Overhead view of Elvis-Style Challah French Toast cooking on a griddle.

I like to set up a warming station as I'm cooking my French toast - I have the bowl of batter ready to go, and a baking sheet with a rack on top of it sitting in my oven, set to "keep warm". If you don't have that setting on your oven, set it to the lowest temperature it goes, usually around 150-200 degrees F.

If you have a stovetop griddle, that will work perfectly here. We have a small cast iron grill pan, but we usually use our Griddler for pancakes and French toast. If you have a cast iron skillet, that would work well, too. You can always do it in a non-stick skillet as well, but the other options would be my first recommendations.

An oven and a griddle in the process of cooking bacon and French toast.

Having a setup like this helps you to be able to cook up your French toast in batches and keep the first ones warm while you cook the remaining pieces. I like using a rack on the baking sheet so the bread doesn't get soggy while it sits in the oven.

When it comes to topping this French toast, I dusted it with powdered sugar, sprinkled on a few sliced bananas, pieces of crispy thick-cut bacon, and coarsely chopped salted peanuts.

Hand drizzling peanut butter onto a platter of Elvis-Style Challah French Toast

I then drizzled everything with pure maple syrup and some homemade peanut butter (just unsalted peanuts blended up in the Vitamix until creamy).

This breakfast knocked it out of the park. It was deliciously indulgent, and my family loved every bite. What are your favorite breakfast foods? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!

Overhead view of Elvis-Style Challah French Toast.

Looking for more breakfast and brunch favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

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Recipe for Elvis-Style Challah French Toast

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili

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The best bowl of spicy turkey chili is easy to make at home! Includes tips for making it milder, freezing, and topping ideas. Perfect comfort food that's healthier than traditional recipes.

Overhead view of bowls of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili with toppings and cornbread alongside.

I didn't always enjoy spicy food. It's something that I got into gradually after moving to New York back in 2004.

Since then, I've played around with amping up the heat level of some of my favorite childhood recipes. This recipe is one of the best examples of those efforts - a healthier spin on a classic chili recipe with tons of flavor.

This hearty chili recipe is one of my family's favorite comfort food meals. It's a great way to warm up on a cold winter night. You can have a lot of fun with the toppings when you serve it up, too.

And if you aren't a fan of spicy food, no need to fear - this spicy turkey chili recipe is super simple to make with or without a kick. Read on for my tips!

This recipe is one that I've been making for many years now, based on the (not at all spicy) chili that my mom used to make when I was a kid. She used a really solid chili recipe from Betty Crocker's Dinner for Two Cookbook that was made with ground beef.

Over the years I've changed things up a bit, swapping out the beef for turkey adding some more interesting spices to add complexity to the flavor of the chili.

What kind of meat should I use for this chili recipe?

While the original version of this recipe called for ground beef, I almost always make it with ground turkey these days. I've also had great success using half ground turkey and half ground chicken.

When using ground poultry, I recommend using the regular variety, not the ground breast meat, which I find to be a bit too lean.

This recipe definitely works well with ground beef, and I think it would be tasty with bison or pork as well. Using turkey or chicken will keep it lighter, but by all means, use what you have! Just be sure to drain off any excess fat after you brown your meat before adding the rest of the ingredients to simmer away.

One tool that I recently started using for breaking up ground meat is this hamburger meat chopper. My husband got it for me as a Christmas gift after watching one of the contestants on the Great British Baking Show use it to break up ground meat and I have to say WOW. I couldn't believe how easy it makes breaking up ground meat and getting it to a consistent texture while browning. It's a total game changer!

On a similar note, I found one of the best ways to drain out the fat while cooking ground meat is to use a baster. I started using this dripless baster years ago after I accidentally melted the tip of an all-plastic one.

The silicone tip helps this one withstand hotter temperatures, even when I'm cooking with cast iron. And the dripless design is SO much better than other basters I've used. I definitely recommend this one!

Close up of a spoonful of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili being lifted from a bowl.

What type of beans to use for turkey chili

I tend to use 3 different types of beans to make this a "3 bean" chili. We're using canned beans here and unlike many other recipes, we aren't draining the liquid or rinsing them off.

For this reason, I like to steer clear of any beans that are already "seasoned" with other flavors. My store has "chili beans" that are already seasoned with spices. We'll be adding plenty of spices later on, so regular canned beans are perfect.

I've used low sodium beans and it's worked out fine as well - you can always add a little more salt at the end if it needs some.

My go-to bean combo is 1 can each of red beans, kidney beans, and chili beans. I've also had luck with black beans, pinto beans, and white beans. I wouldn't use something like a lima bean or chickpea here, because the texture is really different from a lot of the other beans.

You can also use 3 cans of the same type of bean or use what's in your pantry. I haven't tried this particular recipe with dried beans, so I can't speak to how that would work since soaked beans don't have the same type of liquid as canned beans.

Plus, canned beans help this meal come together much more quickly than if we were using dried.

Can turkey chili be made in the slow cooker?

Yes! This chili recipe is definitely doable in a slow cooker. You need to sauté the onion and brown your meat first though, so you'll either need to use a slow cooker that has that function or brown it in a skillet before transferring it to the slow cooker and adding the remaining ingredients.

I haven't made this in the Instant Pot yet - I think that my 6-quart may be too small but it would likely work well in an 8-quart Instant Pot. If I was trying it in my current one, I'd probably cut the recipe in half to make sure it wasn't too full.

How to make a mild turkey chili

If you don't like things too spicy - no need to worry! All you need to do to make this chili recipe milder is omit the chipotle chili powder and cayenne. You could also add a little of those spices if you want just a little more kick than it has without.

I often make this chili and after adding the beans and other spices, stir it all together and take half of the chili and put it into another pot. I'll then add half the amount of chipotle chili powder and cayenne to one of the pots so I have both spicy and mild chili made without much fuss.

This is especially good when I'm cooking for my kiddo, dad, or mother-in-law, who don't enjoy spicy food as much as my husband and I do. Whichever way you serve it up, it will be a wonderfully flavorful bowl with or without the heat.

Just be warned that the heat level of this recipe as written will definitely clear out your sinuses. Whew!

Overhead view of bowls of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili with toppings and cornbread alongside.

Toppings for turkey chili

This chili has gone had several incarnations over the years, but lately, I am all.about.the.toppings. Feel free to keep it as simple or as complex as you like. Here are some of my favorite toppings (and yes, I like piling them ALL into my bowl of chili!):

  • Shredded cheese (cheddar or a Mexican blend are both great choices)
  • Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • Diced avocado
  • Minced red onion or shallots
  • Fresh cilantro

The yogurt or sour cream is great for taming the heat if you've gone the spicy route here.

What to serve with turkey chili

My favorite sidekick to turkey chili is cornbread. I like serving it with these Sweet Corn Muffins and also Golden Cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Most recently, I came up with a smoky, cheesy variation of cornbread that I need to bake up again soon and post here. Trust me, it goes SO well with the chili!

Dunking the cornbread into the chili is one of my favorite parts. My dad likes to crumble the cornbread into his bowl and mixes it all together with lots of shredded cheddar. I approve!

A nice crusty bread is also good for dunking. Dinner rolls would work too. You don't need to serve anything alongside, but it really does lend itself well to all things dunkable.

Hand dipping a wedge of cornbread into a bowl of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili

Freezing turkey chili

A lot of people want to know if chili freezes well and the answer is YES!

To freeze, make sure you start with room temperature (or even refrigerated) chili. I like to ladle it into a freezable storage container. These are my current favorite food storage containers. I tend to leave a little room at the top for the liquid to expand once it freezes.

If you're using a bag for your chili, you may want to prop it up until it's frozen before laying it totally flat to avoid any spills. I love using Stasher Bags for storing things like this, and you can reheat it right in the bag!

When freezing, I like to portion out 2 or 4 servings per container. It makes thawing and reheating for meals much easier.

You can then pop the frozen container into the fridge the night before you want to enjoy it again, or use thawing feature on your microwave. You can also reheat it on the stovetop or even pop it out of the container and into an Instant Pot to reheat fairly quickly.

Phew! That was a lot of information, but I really wanted to be sure to cover all of the bases with this post revamp. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below!

¾ view of a bowl of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili with toppings and cornbread alongside

Looking for more of our favorite soups and stews? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Persian Jeweled Yogurt Parfaits

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This post is sponsored by FAGE; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A colorful mix of jewel-toned Persian toppings makes plain Greek yogurt extraordinary! This luscious parfait is a nutritious way to start (or end!) any day.

Do you love yogurt as much as my family does? Plain, Greek, sweet, savory... whatever way you serve it up, I am here for it, spoon in hand!

Yogurt is one of my very favorite ingredients. I have a ton of recipes that use yogurt here on Big Flavors, and I'm always looking for more fun ways to enjoy it.

Greek yogurt is a staple in my refrigerator. I love keeping FAGE Total 2% Plain Greek Yogurt on hand because it's so incredibly versatile.

The large size (35.3 oz.) is great for enjoying over the course of multiple days, and the small size (7 oz.) is perfect for taking on-the-go. It also comes in a 17.6 oz. size if you're looking for something in between those two.

3 containers of Greek yogurt.

Some of my favorite ways to use plain Greek yogurt include:

  • Dolloping on top of tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas
  • Mixed with horseradish, mayo, vinegar, and dried dill as a sauce for steak
  • As mast-o-khiar, a Persian cucumber/yogurt sauce alongside grilled and stewed Middle Eastern dishes
  • As the base for parfaits
  • Spooned on top of bowls of Spicy Turkey Three-Bean Chili to tame the heat
  • Mixed up in tzatziki sauce, preferably slathered onto my favorite Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads
  • As a substitute for mayonnaise in super creamy No-Mayo Deviled Eggs
  • In sauces, marinades, and condiments like salad dressing
  • On a spoon, straight out of the carton (one of my favorite ways to enjoy it!)
Containers of Greek yogurt surrounded by toppings for Persian Jeweled Yogurt Parfaits.

FAGE Total Plain Greek Yogurt is ridiculously rich and creamy! My family absolutely loves it. It's all-natural and Non-GMO Project Verified. It's made with milk from cows that have been fed non-GMO feed, is rich in protein, and is made with only milk and live active yogurt cultures. Plus there are no added sugars, other than those naturally occurring in the milk.

Both my son and husband have some lactose sensitivities, so Greek yogurt is a great source of calcium for them. The live active yogurt cultures make it easily digestible for them, meaning they can enjoy yogurt without worrying about any tummy troubles. Win/win!

I love a good parfait. Some of my favorite toppings include fresh and dried fruits, raw or toasted nuts, granola clusters, hemp hearts, chia seeds, honey, maple syrup, flax, and cereal bits. A fun mix of colors, textures, sweet, and salty items are what take a parfait from boring to extraordinary in my book.

To make a truly swoon-worthy treat, I decided to make a Greek yogurt parfait adorned with edible rose buds.

Overhead view of yogurt cups with an array of Persian toppings for making jeweled yogurt parfaits.

Keeping that color and textural balance in mind, I took inspiration from my Persian heritage and decided to incorporate the colors and flavors of the Middle East.

There are several Persian dishes that are called "jeweled" because they include ingredients such as pomegranate arils, dried apricots, pistachios, and saffron. I decided to forego the expense of saffron in this parfait and opted for a drizzle of honey instead. It adds just a hint of sweetness that accompanies the other ingredients beautifully.

A light sprinkling of cardamom really brings the Middle Eastern flair to life in these parfaits. If you don't have cardamom, a little cinnamon would also be nice.

You can find dried rose buds in Middle Eastern markets, ethnic grocery stores, and natural markets. If you can't find them in person, they're available online. You could also substitute fresh edible flowers if you like, or leave them off completely. These parfaits are delicious without them, too, but they do add a floral quality that really enhances them nicely.

Photos of 6 toppings for Persian Jeweled Yogurt Parfaits

I made these for dessert a few nights ago, and my son was blown away! He wants me to pack it in his lunch again soon, too. And I'm happy to comply!

It's a healthy treat that feels like a dessert, without any of the typical "guilty pleasure" ingredients.

They're great for breakfast, snack time, or dessert. If you're taking them on-the-go, you could bring the small cups and put your toppings in a container to bring alongside.

I recommend putting the honey in a separate container if bringing it for later assembly, or putting some yogurt topped with honey in one container and the remaining toppings in another. This will keep all of the textures nice so you don't need to worry about soggy parfait toppings.

I love how quickly and easily this parfait comes together, and how different the toppings are than the ones we typically use.

I hope these Persian Jeweled Yogurt Parfaits have inspired you to take a trip to the Middle East without leaving the comfort of your home!

¾ view of yogurt cups with an array of Persian toppings for making jeweled yogurt parfaits.

Be sure to check out the FAGE website to find more recipe inspiration!

Looking for more breakfast and brunch favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Persian Jeweled Yogurt Parfaits

If you try out this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and comment below. I'd love to know what you think of it!

Big Flavors Top Posts of 2018

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This post features the 12 posts that got the most traffic on Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen in 2018. Sweet & savory recipes, kitchen tips, & more!

Big Flavors Top Posts of 2018

It's hard to believe that it's already 2019! I don't know about you, but my family still has our Christmas tree and all of the holiday cards up around the house.

I'm just not quite yet ready to tear it down yet this year.

So while my mind is still lingering on the past, I thought I'd check out the posts that got the most traffic in 2018 here on Big Flavors.

It's always fun to see which posts bring the most visitors my way, and I hope that once someone pops in for one recipe post, they'll be encouraged to stick around and find some more to try out down the line.

The top 12 posts from 2018 include some of my family's absolute favorites (like the Steak Fajitas, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies, Sausage and Peppers, Italian Cream Cheese and Ricotta Cheesecake, and Instant Pot Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato.

It also includes two of the recipes that I've prepared as part of my new series of live cooking videos over on my Facebook page: Ricotta Cookies and Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads.

So here they are - the 12 most popular posts, based on traffic, from 2018. Did your favorite make the list?

Collage of food images for Big Flavors Top Posts of 2018

12. Our Favorite Steak Fajitas - These tender steak fajitas are one of my family's very favorite meals - a perfect Tex-Mex dinner made in a single cast iron skillet.

11. Coconut Jelly - A silky smooth, slightly sweet way to end any dim sum party! These luxuriously smooth treats take only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes on the stovetop, then just stash them in the fridge until party time!

10. Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies - These supremely chocolatey cookies are a great way to use a partial container of buttermilk - guaranteed to satisfy even the strongest chocolate cravings.

9. 30 Tips for Reducing Kitchen Waste - This list of 30 tips for reducing kitchen waste is full of ideas to help build money-saving, eco-friendly habits for an environmentally conscious lifestyle.

Collage of food images for Big Flavors Top Posts of 2018

8. Sausage and Peppers - This simple, classic Italian comfort food recipe makes a perfect weeknight meal and is easily scaled up to feed a crowd. Inspired by my Calabrese father-in-law!

7. Ricotta Cookies - This simple dessert recipe makes lots of pillowy soft, tender cookies that are sure to be a family favorite! Perfect for cookie exchanges & holiday parties.

6. Instant Pot "Baked" Beans - Bacon and molasses take this sweet-and-salty side dish to the next level!

5. Bánh Bò Nướng: Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake - Pandan extract gives this traditional Vietnamese cake a vibrant, green hue.

Collage of food images for Big Flavors Top Posts of 2018

4. Roasted Okra - Just 3 pantry staples turn fresh okra into a deliciously golden, nutty side dish or snack. This roasted okra recipe is simple, quick, and delicious.

3. Instant Pot Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato - Beautifully tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks are possible in a fraction of the time thanks to an electric pressure cooker!

2. Italian Cream Cheese and Ricotta Cheesecake - This super rich, creamy, tangy, no frills, crustless Italian-style cheesecake is easier than you'd think to prepare at home! It's always a HUGE hit with everyone at the table. Perfect for holiday desserts, dinner parties, and celebratory meals.

1. Falafel-Spiced Chickpea Flatbreads - Naan is covered in garlicky tzatziki sauce, Middle Eastern-spiced chickpeas, tahini, fresh herbs and Sriracha in this street food/comfort food mashup.

I also had a pretty fun assortment of top posts from 2018 over on Instagram. There are a few in there with recipes that will be posted to Big Flavors soon.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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There were certainly a lot of delicious recipes that came out of my tiny kitchen last year, and I look forward to sharing many, many more in the future!

If you have any specific requests for new recipes, feel free to drop me a note over on my contact page, or message me on social media! You can find me on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

And if you're in the mood to do some online shopping, you can  check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

As always if you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see your photos! Tag me on social media and use #cookbigflavors.

Looking for some of my personal favorites from the past 12 years? You can find all of my family's top-rated recipes here.

Antipasto Bloody Mary

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This post has been compensated as part of my partnership with Back Pocket Provisions and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Why go out to a restaurant to enjoy a fabulous cocktail? This Antipasto Bloody Mary is the perfect way to spend happy hour in the comfort of your own home!

3 Bloody Mary cocktails garnished with Italian antipasto ingredients.

Cocktail fads come and go, but the classics never go out of style.

But that doesn't mean we can't have fun dressing them up a bit, right?

Take the Bloody Mary. While it's often thought of as a brunch cocktail (and a favorite hangover cure for many!), it's also a perfect choice for entertaining.

Assortment of bottles and jars of Bloody Mary mixes from Back Pocket Provisions

I've talked about my love of the Bloody Mary mixes from Back Pocket Provisions before (did you catch them in this year's holiday gift guide?).

They've managed to SERIOUSLY up the quality of what a jarred/bottled cocktail mix can be. Back Pocket Provisions works with local farmers all over Virginia to fresh-press juice from their beautifully ripe tomatoes at the peak of ripeness every summer.

They currently offer jars and bottles of 3 insanely delicious varieties of Bloody Mary mixes:

Bloody Brilliant is our best rendition of the classic: fresh juice from locally-grown tomatoes with horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper.

Bloody Baja is Southwest-style, with locally-grown tomatoes, organic sweet corn, jalapenos, garlic, and smoked spices.

Bloody Bangkok is a Southeast Asian-inspired blend of locally-grown tomatoes, Thai red curry, lemongrass, and fish sauce.

Side view of 3 Bloody Mary cocktails garnished with Italian antipasto ingredients next to a jar of Bloody Mary mix.

They make, hands-down, the best Bloody Marys I've ever enjoyed.

And I'm not saying that I'm a connoisseur on Bloody Marys or anything buuuuut I've done quite a bit of QC in my day.

Exhibit A:

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Ahem.

And while you can make an alright Bloody Mary at home with storebought ingredients, what really makes a HUGE difference in the taste of your Bloody Mary is the quality of the tomato base.

That's why I love keeping a stash of bottles and jars from Back Pocket Provisions in my pantry. You can really taste that farm-fresh quality in each batch.

Hosting a party? Crack open a jar, add a little booze and a quick garnish and you'll impress the heck outta your guests.

Pinky promise!

Bloody Mary cocktails with all of the ingredients alongside.

And speaking of serving a crowd, Back Pocket Provision's Founder and CEO, Will Gray, has some tips to make your batch cocktail making even easier:

Sometimes Bloodys are more easily made by the pitcher than the glass. If you're serving four people or more (or just plan on day-drinking for a while - no judgment!), you can combine 1 whole quart jar of mix with 1 cup (8 fl oz) of vodka. Add a little fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice or have some citrus wedges on hand for your guests. Rather than mixing it over ice, just have a ready supply so your guests can ice their own glasses. That way, the mix won't get diluted as it sits.

Or, if you're low on pitchers, you can try this trick: pour yourself 4oz of mix over ice, add an ounce or so of vodka, and set that aside for you to enjoy (you've earned it!). Then, refill the quart jar with vodka, shake, and you've got a pre-mixed batch cocktail ready to go.

I love these tips, and will for sure be using them the next time I'm making batch Bloodys!

Hand placing a skewer of Italian antipasto ingredients on top of a Bloody Mary cocktail.

With so many fun possibilities when it comes to Bloody Mary variations, I figured I'd go with an Italian entertaining classic, inspired by meals with my in-laws.

Do you enjoy antipasto? Antipasto isn't something that I grew up with, but since moving to New York and marrying into an Italian family, I have become well versed in the deliciousness of a good antipasto spread.

In our family, Antipasto is an assortment of dried and cured meats, olives, and pickled items along with a few types of cheese, and often fresh basil leaves.

Antipasto is fun because everyone is free to choose what they want off of the (often overwhelming) array of bite-sized items that are being offered.

And this is all before the actual meal!

Side view of a jar and a bottle of Bloody Mary mix.

So for my liquid homage to all things antipasto, I decided to start with the classic for a base - Bloody Brilliant.

I love pretty much any cocktail to have extra citrus, so I don't skimp on the freshly squeezed lemon juice when mixing up a Bloody Mary.

And while I'd usually go with vodka for a standard Bloody Mary, I'm really into gin these days too, so I used a bit of each. The balance of the 2 together was a very good call!

A few dashes of orange bitters went in before shaking it all up with some ice in a cocktail shaker.

Bloody Mary cocktails with all of the ingredients alongside.

When it comes to garnishing these bad boys, feel free to mix and match your favorite antipasto items and add them to a mini bamboo skewer!

I used a mix of pepperoni meat sticks (I used my favorite uncured turkey variety, cut into smaller pieces), marinated artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, roasted red peppers, blue cheese stuffed olives.

I finished each cocktail off with a few grinds of black pepper before popping on the antipasto skewers, then added a lemon wedge and basil sprig to each.

Bloody Mary cocktails garnished with Italian antipasto ingredients next to a jar of Bloody Mary mix.

If you're making this for a crowd, you could prep your antipasto skewers in advance and keep them in the fridge. You could even make a big antipasto platter and server that alongside your Bloody Marys, with skewers for those who want to add them to their cocktails.

Any way you serve it up, this cocktail is guaranteed to be a hit!

What would you put on your antipasto skewer? I'd love to hear it in the comments section below.

And be sure to follow Back Pocket Provisions over on Instagram for more fabulous cocktail inspiration - I'm loving the looks of this Back Pocket Taco Salad!

Feeling suddenly parched? Here are a few cocktail recommendations:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Recipe for Antipasto Bloody Mary

Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide Part 2

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Part 2 of this year's gift guide is sliding in just a few days before Christmas. If you missed part 1 of my 2018 holiday gift guide, you can check that out here.

Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

First up is my latest green kitchen obsession - Stasher Bags. These reusable, non-toxic storage bags are made of 100% pure platinum grade silicone, which is a higher grade than food grade.

They're a great way to reduce the amount of disposable plastic that you use. And there's so much more to Stasher Bags than other types of reusable bags!

Stasher Bags are safer, more flexible and sustainable than plastic. They're free of BPA, BPS, lead, latex, and phthalates. They're made of nonporous silicone that helps inhibit bacterial growth, mold, and germs.

Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Aside from being used to store leftovers and snacks, you can freeze and even cook right in these bags!

That's right - Stasher Bags are safe for use in the microwave, cooking sous vide, in a standard oven, or in a pot of boiling water - all up to 400°F.

Here are some of the many ways that you can use Stasher bags:

  • Storing partially used produce - I frequently store half lemons, onions, and avocados in mine. The avocados seem to stay green longer when stored in them!
  • Bringing snacks out and about - I love using mine for cut up fruits and veggies, trail mix, muffins, cheese, and more.
  • Meals on the go - on days when my son has swim lessons, I pack up dinner for my husband and use Stasher Bags for some or all of the components so he can eat while we sit on the bleachers during the class. After he finishes up, he puts his dirty utensils and cloth napkin in the Stasher Bag, seals it up, and we can bring the dirty stuff home without making a mess in transit!
  • Smoothie prep - stash ingredients away in the perfect proportions so that your favorite smoothie flavor combos are ready to go when you are.
  • Heating tortillas - place a stack of flour tortillas in the bag and microwave it for 15-30 seconds. You can pull them out as you need them while the rest stay warm. Perfect for fajitas, taco nights, and more!
  • Making popcorn - I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm very intrigued!
  • Keeping your herbs fresh - check this post out for tips on how to use Stasher Bags to keep your herbs fresher, longer!
  • Gift giving - ditch the disposable wrapping paper and give a gift in a Stasher Bag! There are so many fun DIY gift ideas out there, too!
  • Cooking in your Stasher Bag - there are lots of different ways that you can cook in a Stasher Bag. Plenty of ideas over on the Stasher site!
  • Cooking sous vide - if you have an immersion circulator for cooking sous vide, you can replace the disposable plastic bags with reusable ones to cut down on kitchen waste! I haven't tried this yet but I'm looking forward to doing so SOON!
Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Cleaning Stasher Bags is easy - I usually just hand wash them and dry them on a rack like this one, but they're also top-rack dishwasher safe.

They currently come in 3 sizes: snack bags (9.9 ounces), sandwich bags (15 ounces), and storage bags (64.2 ounces). They also sell combo packs with more than one of the same size or several different sizes.

There are lots of different colors of Stasher Bags available, and they keep adding more. They also send out some pretty great coupons if you subscribe to their email list. It makes it easy to find good times to stock up!

Next up is one of my favorite finds from this past year - a vertical sprouting kit!

Vertical grower full of sprouted greens.

I have an entire post dedicated to exactly how to grow sprouts in your own home using 3 different methods. This vertical canister kit from Mountain Rose Herbs was by far my favorite of the bunch.

Here's a quick refresher on the benefits of growing your own sprouts, in case you're wondering why you'd want to start your own sprouting adventures:

  • Affordability! Seeds can multiply 7-15 times their weight - a single package of sprouting seeds can provide you with so many batches of fresh sprouts. A comparable amount of store-bought sprouts would cost much, much more.
  • Growing is quick! Most sprouts will be ready in just 5-8 days!
  • Quality! You can grow your own organic sprouts - no chemicals, soil, bugs, or questionable ingredients, or growing practices involved.
  • Freshness! Picking your sprouts the day you want to eat them means there's no loss of nutrients.
  • Year-round availability! Since you're growing indoors, you can enjoy fresh sprouts at any time of year - even in the dead of winter!
  • Minimal space required! As someone with limited space, I like that none of these growing options require too much countertop real estate.
  • Portability! You can bring your sprouting gear on vacation with you and enjoy fresh sprouts anytime, anywhere!
  • Variety! No need to rely on what the store has in stock. You can keep a variety of sprouting seeds at home and grow one or several any time you want!
  • Family fun! My 6-year-old got really into watching the process of how sprouts grow and helping to take care of the sprouts at every stage. It's a fun kind of edible experiment!

A kit like this is great for anyone who enjoys gardening. It's even great for those with less than stellar green thumbs - using a sprouting canister kit requires minimal maintenance (you water it twice a day - that's pretty much it!) and allows you to have fresh greens all year round.

I have some broccoli seeds sprouting right now. There are tons of different types of sprouting seeds out there, so have fun experimenting!

Doing some shopping for the kiddos in your life? These personalized aprons from First Crush Designs are by far one of my favorite gifts to give!

Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

I've been ordering aprons from the First Crush Designs Etsy shop since 2014. The shop is based in Denver, Colorado, and offers lots of different personalized, embroidered items.

I fell in love with these aprons back when I ordered one for my son when he was a toddler. Back then, the aprons didn't have pockets, but now they come standard. Woo!

You can choose between 12 different fonts for embroidery and 92 fabric options for the initial on the front of the apron. The aprons currently come in blue, gray, red, pink, and white. You can also pick the color of thread you want for the name embroidery.

I've bought these as gifts for so many of our friends' kids over the years. They're incredibly well-made, and the customer service is top notch if you have any questions or concerns.

My son's apron has held up well for many, many years now. First Crush Designs also offers chef hats with names embroidered on them, which is available as a really cute gift set with an apron.

Kid's apron and chef hat

This is such a fun way to encourage kids to get in the kitchen and cook. It'd be even better paired with a set of my favorite kids' cooking tools!

Last up for this year's recommendations is The Dude Diet by Serena Wolf.

You can see me flip through this gorgeous cookbook and chat about it if you skip to the 14:45ish mark on the video below:

This cookbook ROCKED MY WORLD when I checked it out from my local library a few months ago. The book lives up to its claim as "Clean(ish) Food for People Who Like to Eat Dirty".

The recipes in The Dude Diet are healthier takes on a lot of "guy food" classics. Serena packs major flavor in these recipes, and you don't feel like you're missing out on "the good stuff" at all.

The first thing that caught my eye was her Magic Faux-Tisserie Chicken. She has a method for making a "rotisserie" chicken at home in a standard oven that will knock.your.socks.right.off. It takes some time but it's almost entirely hands-off, and well worth the wait.

Big Flavors 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

This chicken was a HUGE hit with my family, as were all of the other recipes I've made from her cookbook. And there's a Dude Diet 2 in the works that's due out next fall. I plan to preorder that bad boy!

Serena's writing is hilarious (as is her Instagram page - her stories are GOLD) and she breaks things down and explains them in an easy to understand manner, no matter what your skill level in the kitchen.

Other recipes that I've made from this cookbook so far are her Epic Meat Loaf (which uses a mix of ground beef, ground turkey, cooked quinoa, and sautéed veggies for a gorgeously tender texture), served with the suggested Cauliflower Purée with Parmesan and Chives.

I'm also looking forward to making her spin on Taco Bell Beef Tacos. Those were a childhood favorite of mine, but I'm definitely anxious to try them without any mystery ingredients.

I also have the Stovetop-Parmesan Ranch Popcorn on my roster to make soon.

This book is full of recipes for all occasions, including happy hour - all with less guilt. It's without a doubt my top cookbook pick for the year.

For more on this and the other cookbooks I recommended during National Cookbook Month this year, you can check out the pinned highlighted story from my takeover of the Ossining Public Library's Instagram account.

Need more inspiration? Check out my other gift guides:

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Settino's Italian Stuffed Mushrooms

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My Italian father-in-law, Settino, makes the BEST stuffed mushrooms! This is his recipe for the best bite-sized appetizer - perfect for holiday entertaining!

A platter full of Italian stuffed mushroom caps with an appetizer plate alongside..

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I've talked about what a phenomenal cook my father-in-law is many times here on Big Flavors. And today's post is another tribute to that fact!

I really lucked out marrying into a family with so many fantastic cooks. Growing up, Italian food for me was not at all what I know it as these days.

One of my all-time favorite dishes that my father-in-law makes is his stuffed mushrooms.

A platter full of Italian stuffed mushroom caps.

He makes these beauties before every single holiday gathering, and occasionally just because before a random weeknight dinner.

I've been trying to nail down a recipe for these Italian stuffed mushrooms for yeeeeears now, to no avail.

He's more than happy to cook his recipes with me but whenever we do the cooking at his house, he usually has already started a little bit of the prep. He's trying to be helpful, but I know that for me to actually know exactly what goes into recreating a recipe, I need to be present for every.single.step.

It's not just him - whenever people have recipes that they cook by eye, or by feel (as many phenomenal cooks do!!) they tend to do things that they don't realize would count as a "recipe step" to an outsider.

Or they think that they use ¼ cup of something but it's actually more like ¾ cup!

Ahem.

Preparing mushrooms to be stuffed.

Getting in the kitchen and helping/observing/measuring/writing down all of the steps to recipes is key if you want to be able to replicate them over and over again. And it's something I love doing!

So a few weeks ago, I had my in-laws over and we planned a meal around recreating a few of the many delicious dishes we have enjoyed together over the years.

We started with stuffed artichokes. This recipe is actually from my husband's grandmother on his mom's side. We've made them before, but that was ages ago, and I wanted to Instant Pot-ify the recipe.

They turned out better than ever, and I'll be sharing the recipe soon!

 
 
 
 
 
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When the artichokes were done, we moved on to the evening's main course - a pasta dinner that he and I created together back when I first moved to New York.

Back then, we didn't measure anything, but we've been talking about recreating that dish ever since.

We finally did, and it totally rocked!!

And yes, once again, I did an Instant Pot conversion to make it more doable on a weeknight.

That recipe will be coming soon, too. Pinky promise!

 
 
 
 
 
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Once the stew was simmering away, we moved on to the stuffed mushrooms!

You need to take the stems out of the mushrooms so you have a nice area to fill with the bread crumb stuffing mixture. Save the stems though - you need to chop a few of them to add to the stuffing, and the rest can be used for another purpose.

The last time we made these I used the stems in a stir-fry and it turned out REALLY well! They're also great added to a bag in the freezer full of veggie trimmings to make your own homemade vegetable stock!

Stuffing mushroom caps full of an Italian bread crumb mixture.

Over the years, my father-in-law has tried different types of mushrooms but found that smallish white button mushrooms work best. They hold up well to the baking while still retaining a bit of a bite. Cremini mushrooms tend to go mushy.

The amount of time that you need to bake the mushrooms depends on the size of the caps. Small ones will cook up faster than larger ones. We prefer the poppable smaller sized ones anyhow.

Sometimes my grocery store only has really large mushrooms, so get what's available, just know that you may need to adjust the cooking time a bit.

It was really fun getting in the kitchen to make these delicious bite-sized morsels together. Now that I've gone through the entire process with him, I'm confident that I can do it again on my own sometime.

Close-up view of a stuffed mushroom caps with a bite taken out of one of them.

One thing to watch out for when you're stuffing the actual mushrooms is how much filling you add. You want to pack the bread crumb mixture down so it's about level with the top of the mushroom cap.

This allows it to have room to grow and dome up as the moisture expands and the dry filling gets nice and tender.

A drizzle of olive oil, an extra grating of Parmesan cheese, and a few bits of tomato and green onion up top before heading into the oven ensures that the mushrooms look their best when they come out of the oven.

My father-in-law doesn't always add the tomato pieces, but I love 'em, so I plan to always add them when I make these stuffed mushrooms.

I hope your family loves this Italian stuffed mushrooms recipe as much as we do!

Some other party food favorites include this easy classic hummus that uses canned chickpeas (no soaking required!), these mayo-free deviled eggs, this buffalo chickpea dip, and this layered taco dip.

What's your favorite party appetizer? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below!

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Looking for more bite-sized favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:

Recipe for Settino's Stuffed Mushrooms

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary

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This post has been compensated as part of my ongoing partnership with Barlean's. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients!

My husband and I don't do date nights out as often as we used to. Although we did just have a really lovely overnight trip (plus the most epic brunch EVER) to a local Inn to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday.

With work schedules, babysitter logistics, and a son that wakes up waaaaay too early every morning (seriously - where does he get THAT from?!) we tend to do date nights in a lot more often.

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

So after our 5-year-old is in bed, we'll sit out on the patio with a cocktail or 3, play some video games, or binge watch some Netflix or Hulu.

We also do our fair share of movie nights, and what movie night is complete with out buttery, delicious popcorn?

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

Aside from ditching the bags of microwave popcorn in favor of using a silicone popcorn popper or the stovetop method, the biggest homemade popcorn game changer for my family has been the Butter Flavored Coconut Oil from Barlean's.

We've been using it for quite some time now, and let me tell you - it smells and tastes just like the stuff you get in the movie theater. But this is stuff totally vegan (which is a huge plus for my lactose-intolerant date!), USDA Organic, Non-GMO, and free of trans fats and cholesterol.

It's flavored naturally with botanical extracts and doesn't have a coconut oil flavor or odor, which you get when using standard coconut oil. It satisfies butter cravings while supplying you with the health benefits of MCTs.

It's a win/win for us!

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

I've tried a few microwave popcorn makers, and this one from Lékué is my favorite to date. You just put some kernels inside of it, lay the lid on top, and pop it (pun very much intended) into the microwave for a few minutes.

I like that the lid keeps the popcorn warm after you take it out of the microwave until you serve it. The whole thing collapses down to save space, which is ideal when you're working with a tiny kitchen like I am.

It holds up to 10 cups of popcorn, which is perfect for my family of 3 since my kiddo is obsessed with it these days. It's also dishwasher safe (hooray!) and you can control the amount of butter or coconut oil (if any) that you add.

I love knowing what's going into the food that my family eats. This helps me keep it simple and straightforward!

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

This particular recipe was inspired by a comment my husband's cousin made on one of my Instagram posts recently. She said that the bar at Tavern on the Green serves Marcona almonds with dried cherries and rosemary and that the combination is incredible.

So I figured why not add popcorn into the mix?

For the rosemary, I decided to go with one of my favorite preparations - quickly frying the leaves to get them nice and crispy. To amp up the rosemary flavor even more, I fried them right in the coconut oil, then stirred some salt into that rosemary-infused oil and drizzled it over the popcorn once it was ready.

It was totally delicious and really drove the butter and rosemary flavors home.

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

The Marcona almonds I bought were skinless and had already been fried and salted, so I didn't want to add too much additional salt here. But feel free to drizzle and salt to your taste preference.

Want to know what makes Marcona almonds so special? This article has a lot of great information.

Aside from substituting it 1:1 for butter in baking, cooking, and frying under 375°F, butter flavored coconut oil is great in lots of different recipes. Here are some of our favorites:

Want other ideas for using popcorn? Check out these recipes:

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

Doing some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!

Marcona Almond + Dried Cherry Popcorn with Crispy Rosemary: Upgrade your date night with an upscale twist on classic movie theater popcorn. Make it right in the comfort of your own home with only 6 ingredients! #ad #popwithbarleans

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

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Super creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes are easy to make in a fraction of the time thanks to the Instant Pot. 

This recipe has just 6 ingredients and delivers the smoothest, most flavorful mashed potatoes ever! You can even make them ahead of time - perfect for holiday meals and comfort food dinners.

Do you have an Instant Pot? I'm obsessed with mine! I have so many recipes to add to my Instant Pot recipe category here on Big Flavors, but I haven't had enough time to write them all up.

But don't fret - I'm working on it! And you're in for a lot of deliciousness. Pinky promise!

First up is this gorgeously fluffy Instant Pot mashed potato recipe.

Overhead shot of an oval casserole dish full of creamy mashed potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley.

I first made these mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving last year. In fact, I made almost all of my Thanksgiving side dishes in my Instant Pot!

I happen to enjoy potato skins and a few lumps in my mashed potatoes, but the holidays call for something special. So I like to spend a little extra time to give these mashed potatoes a silky smooth texture.

**Note that if you're using a ricer, you don't need to peel your potatoes! The skins come off while you're pressing them through. Extra easy!!**

One thing that seems to make prep go easier if you're peeling is to soak your potatoes. Do it for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour, and the potatoes are much easier to peel.

Once they're peeled, they go right into your Instant Pot insert whole, followed by chicken stock and butter. Pop it on high pressure for 12 minutes and you're good to go!

If you're really in a hurry, you could cut your potatoes in quarters and cook them for less time, but this is less work.

Overhead shot of an oval casserole dish full of creamy mashed potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Have you ever used a ricer? This tool is key for making light, airy mashed potatoes. While the potatoes are still hot, place them into the ricer, one at a time, and squeeze over a large bowl. The potatoes kind of spurt out, so be careful that you don't squeeze too hard to avoid getting burned.

If you're intimidated by the medieval torture device look of the ricer, check out this guide for how to use a ricer over on The Spruce.

When I made these for Thanksgiving, I riced the potatoes into a bowl and transferred them back over to my Instant Pot before adding the remaining ingredients and stirring them together. I put the lid back on and set it to "Keep Warm" and they held perfectly for a few hours until we were ready to eat dinner.

I've made this recipe again after the holidays, and the leftovers keep really well. They reheat just fine in the microwave, too. I'm looking forward to trying to make potato croquettes out of the next batch I make.

Aside from serving mashed potatoes and gravy alongside Thanksgiving dinner, one of my very favorite ways to eat mashed potatoes is under a few scoops of Instant Pot Beef Goulash.

A heaping portion of mashed potatoes in a bowl with beef goulash poured over top, sprinkled with parsley.

What's your favorite way to eat mashed potatoes? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below!

Looking for more simple side dishes? Check out some of our favorite recipes:

Two photos of mashed potatoes sprinkled with parsley - one in a casserole dish and one in a bowl with beef goulash poured over top.

New York Dairy Tour 2018 (AKA I'm Relocating to a Cheese Cave)

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Thank you to American Dairy Association North East for taking me on this incredible adventure. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen my behind-the-scenes look at the most epic dairy tour imaginable.

That's right - I got to experience 3 solid days of Undeniably Dairy goodness up in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

View of Canandaigua Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

This post will serve as an overview of those 3 glorious, cheese-filled days. You can also check out the Instagram Story highlight that I pinned to my profile page to see the clips that I shot while I was knee-deep in pure dairy heaven.

I'm no stranger to farm tours. I'm a big proponent of supporting family farms. I even have a whole section of the Big Flavors website dedicated to all things farm-tastic.

So this trip was a wonderful opportunity for me to branch out and learn about some new (to me) farms and enjoy a whole lot of cheese!

Day 1 of the trip consisted of a long, solo road trip from my home in Westchester County to Canandaigua Lake. It was the second week of October, and the drive was ridiculously gorgeous. If you've never experienced fall in New York, you're seriously missing out. It really is a thing of beauty.

Once I arrived at the Inn on the Lake, I quickly got settled and headed to a presentation from ADANE that prepared us for what was to come during the following days. We learned some really interesting dairy facts, got to know the process of how dairy goes from the farm to processing and finally ends up in your very own kitchen.

Big red barn against a blue sky on a dairy farm.

ADANE represents over 12,000 dairy farm families in just 5 states: New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. There are 22 state and regional groups across the country, and all of them are members of the national association.

We learned about the passion and care that goes into dairy production and armed ourselves with lots of nutritional information to help us understand what makes dairy such an important part of our daily diet.

When the welcome presentation wrapped up, we loaded onto a big tour bus and headed to F.L.X. Table in Geneva, NY for a farm-to-fork dinner that was truly unforgettable.

Milk jar full of flowers as a centerpiece for a farm-to-fork dinner.

Dinner was a real treat. Amongst the traveling crew of food bloggers and recipe developers there were also several Registered Dietician Nutritionists, ADANE employees, and a handful of dairy farmers.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Hannah from Will-O-Crest Farm and across from Renee of Eat Farm Love.

It was such a cool experience to have a mixed crowd who all specialized in different areas of the farm-to-plate arena.

Undeniably Dairy dinner menu from FLX Table.

During our multi-course meal at the award-winning restaurant, we enjoyed dishes made from ingredients sourced from the Finger Lakes region.

It was nice to be able to enjoy all of the dairy-filled dishes while chatting with my tablemates about all things farm- and food-related.

A chef preparing fresh pasta for a large crowd.
Photo courtesy of ADANE

The menu was absolutely delicious and really incorporated dairy in a lot of fun and unique ways.

Ummm helloooo, cheddar foam on my dessert plate!

One of the biggest hits of the evening was a fresh pasta dish that was made to order. The chef tossed the piping hot pasta in one of the cheese wheels while to create a luscious sauce, along with cherry tomatoes and arugula.

That cheese wheel was one that we'd end up seeing in the cheese caves at Muranda Cheese Company in Waterloo, NY the following day.

A chef tossing fresh pasta in a cheese wheel for a table full of food bloggers, dairy farmers, and RDNs.
Photo courtesy of ADANE

After dinner, we piled back onto our tour bus so we could rest up for the next day's jam-packed schedule.

Day 2 consisted of more dairy in one day than I've ever experienced. And coming from a cheese-lover like me, that's saying quite a lot!

We started the day with a beautiful breakfast right on the lake, and I had to take a few moments to really soak in the view. The lake is so beautiful - this area is definitely somewhere that I need to go back to visit with my family someday.

Overhead view of a plate of breakfast foods and a cup of coffee.

After getting adequately caffeinated (my typical coffee with a few splashes of whole milk, of course!), we boarded the bus for the drive to stop #1: Ivy Lakes Farm in Stanley, NY.

Ivy Lakes Farm is run by 4th generation farmers - though they're the first generation on this particular farm.

A farmer talking to a group of food bloggers on her farm.

Six college friends from Cornell University (Garrett & Libby Eiholzer, Clayton & Katie Wood, and Austin & Abbey Copenhaver) joined forces in 2003 to bring their vision of modern dairy farming to life.

Farmer Abby gave us the lowdown on Ivy Lakes' passion for quality milk and cow care. She talked about how she considers a farm a "family farm" even if there's more than one family running and working on the farm, as is the case with the multiple farm families at Ivy Lakes.

Baby cow on a farm.

Abby explained to us how every decision made at Ivy Lakes Farm effects the past, present, and future of the farm. They make the happiness of their cows top priority - and you can taste the difference in their products!

And the baby cows were just soooo adorable! They were super curious about us, and I'm pretty sure some of them could impress even Tyra Banks with their smize-ing skills!

Overhead view of a baby cow looking at the camera.

The cows at Ivy Lakes Farm have plenty of space, wear pedometers to make sure they're getting enough exercise, and even have their very own cow nutritionist to ensure they're getting a perfectly balanced diet in each bite.

One of their feed blends even includes chocolate! We learned that cows are creatures of habits, and they really enjoy schedules to keep stress to a minimum.

Sounds a bit like me!

Group of food bloggers walking up to Ivy Lakes Farm in Stanley, NY.

After roaming the farm for a while and enjoying some delicious coffee and parfaits right next to the cows who made the milk, we headed back to the bus for stop #2: Shtayburne Farm in Rock Stream, NY.

Let me just start by saying that cheese curds are my love language.

I lived in Wisconsin for about 10 years, and the cheese curds flowed like water out there. Since moving to New York, I don't see them as often, so I'm like a kid on Christmas morning any time I encounter them.

A vat of freshly made cheese curds on the farm.

Needless to say, I was beyond smitten when we got to watch fresh cheese curds in the making, as well as a sampling of all of the delicious cheese options that Shtayburne produces.

They have a shop right on the farm where you can buy their cheeses as well as some meats, cheeses, and artisan pantry staples from other local businesses.

There's a window in the shop where you can watch the cheesemaking process (and, if it's of interest to you, Tuesday is "curd day").

A farmer talking to a group of people inside the farm shop.

The cool thing about Shtayburne Farm is that the cheese is produced just 50 yards away from where the cows roam on the farm. You can watch the whole cheesemaking process in that one location!

We learned that cheesemaking is the process of drying milk, that soft cheeses have more moisture, and that each cheese is a reflection of the region that it comes from.

A food blogger snuggling with a baby cow on the farm.
Photo courtesy of ADANE

99% of NY state dairy farms are family-owned & operated, and this one uses milk that's produced on premesis to make 15 varieties of delicious cheese.

After our cheese lesson, we headed over for a photo opp with a sweet baby cow, named Cheddar, while the farmer showed us some super fresh cheese curds and answered more of our dairy-fueled questions.

 
 
 
 
 
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I bought plenty of cheese and a few types of meats to take home with me, and my family seriously enjoyed them all!

Stop #3 that day was Finger Lakes Distilling.

This was a very tasty stop, and it was really interesting to see all of the fun and unique ways that there are to incorporate dairy into cocktails!

Cocktail menu at Finger Lakes Distilling

Finger Lakes Distilling is a family business that started 10 years ago. They're pioneers in the New York State distilling industry.

They source ingredients, including grains, apples, pears, and grapes, locally and then send their spent grains to local farmers for cattle feed. Talk about sustainability!

Finger Lakes Distilling was the second farm distillery licensed in NY state, and they have some SERIOUS cocktail-making skills!

Cocktails being served at Finger Lakes Distillery in New York.
Photo courtesy of ADANE

In addition to seeing the actual distilling process, we got to taste several different dairy-infused libations.

First up was a clarified milk punch, which uses an old-time technique as a way to soften the cocktail. The process utilizes lots of citrus, tea, spices, and butter before chilling and adding hot milk. The milk curdles at first, then the milk solids are strained out.

What's left is a smoother cocktail than you'd expect from whiskey. The milk strips out the tannins, making each sip go down quite swiftly!

Table set for lunch in the barrel room of Finger Lakes Distilling

During the whiskey-making process, 2000 pounds of grain are used per day to make a mash.

When we visited, they had pears and grapes fermenting. The grapes were for grappa that would be distilling the following week.

After our first cocktail and distillery tour, we headed down into the barrel room for lunch with even more cocktail pairings.

Close-up view of a beef bolognese pizza.

The (non-boozy) highlight of the meal for me was the beef bolognese pizza. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on that recipe because WOW. I may or may not have had several slices of that bad boy.

There were many more fun cocktails, lots of conversation, and plenty of dairy consumed before we headed back up to the main area and gift shop.

Shelves full of bottles of spirits at a distillery.

This stop definitely required a call to my husband before leaving to see which things I needed to purchase for our home bar.

They have a ton of options, and I can't wait to go back there someday when I'm not on such a tight schedule.

Group of people walking up to a barn.

Our final stop of the day (phew!!) was Muranda Cheese Company & Dairy Farm in Waterloo, NY.

I was particularly excited about this stop for one reason: THE CHEESE CAVE.

Wheels of cheese in a cheese cave in New York.

Do you see that Bel Ceillo cheese? That's the same type that our pasta was tossed in the night before. Giggidy.

The barn at the farm was built in 1861. The basement was later converted into a cheese cave with 3 separate aging rooms for Cheddar, Gouda, and Colby.

And Muranda Cheese Company certainly knows their way around quality cheesemaking.

Cheese award plaques on the side of a barn at Muranda Cheese Company.

Since refrigeration removes humidity, there are dehumidifiers in each room to help keep excess moisture out of each aging room. As new cheeses are added, the moisture that escapes during the aging process is collected in the dehumidifiers.

I was so excited that I did my first ever Facebook LIVE to share this glorious cheese cave goodness with the world:

Muranda Cheese Company is currently under capacity because they're selling their cheeses faster than they can make them.

The aging process can take years, so I look forward to seeig what they produce in the future (or maybe going back to revisit these same cheeses once they're a bit older).

If you need me, I'll be relocating from my home in Ossining, NY to the Gouda Cave at Muranda Cheese Company. It was that good.

Please forward my mail, and feel free to send crackers.

Cheese board among autumn leaves with a person taking a photo of it.

After our tour, we got a lesson in "Cheeseboard 101" from the lovely Claire of A Cheesemonger's Daughter. We then teamed up in pairs to create beautiful cheese boards with all of the lovely cheeses from Muranda Cheese Company.

I was paired up with Steph from A Grande Life and, although we didn't win the competition, I think we knocked it out of the park, creativity-wise.

Food blogger holding a cheese board.

When the competition was over, we all got to enjoy snacking on each others' cheese boards while drinking local Finger Lakes wines.

Next up was a pretty fantastic dinner catered by Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

There was also live acoustic music performed by John Lamanna, and as the wife of a musician, I felt right at home.

Aerial view of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que catering setup.

This farm is ridiculously charming. It'd be a great wedding venue, and the tasting room accompanied by the stunning views alone are worth the road trip!

One of my favorite cheeses from Muranda was a 125-day award winning blue cheese. It was different than most blue cheeses because it's made from cows milk and is rich, creamy, and spreadable.

Get. In. My. Belly.

Overhead view of a beautiful fall cheese board.

On the final day of the NY Dairy Tour, we all participated in a hands-on fresh mozzarella-making session at the beautiful New York Kitchen.

Local artisan cheesemaker Trystan Sandvoss of First Light Farm & Creamery gave us a demo on how to make perfectly soft, stretchy mozzarella cheese, then set us loose to make some for ourselves!

Cheesemaking demonstration at New York Kitchen.

We learned that "mozz" means "to cut", and that if you have a pot at home that you use for cheesemaking, you can heretofore refer to it as a "cheese vat".

Making the mozzarella was easier than I thought it would be, even though my partner and I had a bit of a hard time getting the water hot enough to make it stretchy.

Fresh mozzarella making class in progress.

What can I say? I have sensitive hands.

We got to see lots of different cheeses from First Light Farm & Creamery and got the inside scoop on how they are now working with Old Chatham to bring even more types of cheese to consumers in the future.

First Light will continue to represent goat milk cheeses, and Old Chatham will continue with their sheep milk cheeses.

A selection of goat milk cheeses displayed on a board.

After we packaged up our homemade mozzarella, we moved on to the final event of the week - the Undeniably Dairy Cooking Competition.

This was my first time competing in something like this, and it was an absolute blast. There were 3 different recipe categories: milk/cream, cheese, and yogurt.

We found out our assigned category a few weeks before the trip and had 2 weeks to submit a recipe to ADANE. Our final recipes and photos are slated to be part of a digital cookbook, and I'll share the details once they're available.

I was assigned cheese, and I couldn't have been happier.

Food Network Star Jason Smith speaking to the NY Dairy Tour bloggers.

To make the competition even more exciting, we had a special guest judge to taste our culinary creations.

Food Network Star Jason Smith joined us in our mozzarella-making earlier in the day in all his bedazzled glory, then walked around the kitchen while we were preparing our competition recipes.

ADANE posted a fun video of him interviewing us during the cooking portion of the competition. You can see my part around the 4:30 mark, and again around the 22-minute mark.

My recipe was a Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes, and it was a big hit with everyone who tried it!

Chef Jason and I had fun chatting about fresh tarragon - the (always a bridesmaid, never a bride) herb that we both thoroughly enjoy.

It was my first time cooking in a professional kitchen, and I swear it was just like it looks on TV - the film crew came over just as I was getting my bearings and getting my game plan ready.

I ended up doing a few things out of order, but I caught it before it went into the oven and it turned out better than ever!

I'll be posting the recipe here soon. It's SO good and surprisingly simple to put together!

Judges sitting at a table eating a freshly-baked pizza.

It was quite an experience being able to cook for a room full of strangers and to tell my story and explain why I'm as obsessed with food as I am.

Not to mention having the opportunity to hang out and cook with a bunch of people that I know and respect. I especially liked the part where we all got to sample each others' recipes. It was a pretty epic lunch!.

It was also fun getting to be part of a quick photo shoot with the ADANE photographer for the digital cookbook!

A photographer shooting photos of a burrata pizza with prosciutto and pickled grapes.

All in all, this was a fabulous trip. It was an experience I'll never forget, and I can't wait to share even more dairy goodness with you in the coming months.

Here's the photo that I took of my final competition recipe. I was very proud of it, and now that it's been a few weeks since I've eaten it (R&D was delicious but I got kind of pizza'd out) I'm anxious to make it at home again.

I've already promised the people who helped QC the first test round of this recipe that they'll get to come over to try it in its final form.

Pretty stoked about that, to say the least.

Overhead view of Burrata Pizza with Prosciutto and Pickled Grapes.

Thanks again to ADANE for including me in this fantastic tour.

Here's to more dairy-filled posts in the future!

Looking to do some online shopping? Check out my Amazon Shop page for recommendations!