Football Food: Spinach Artichoke Dip

I’m excited to introduce a new guest blogger, Chris Ferrera, whom I’ve known since we were gangly teenagers wearing braces and carrying ugly purses (me, at least). We’ve been best buds since the time when a big night out was meeting at the mall to gossip over virgin piña coladas and spinach dip.  Ah…the days [...]

Read Full Post »

Using Leftovers: Fried Quinoa Cakes with Mushroom Ragout

The other night, while my husband made a delicious roast pork loin, I was in charge of cooking the side dish.  I followed the German instructions on my package of quinoa (which called for too much water and cooking time) and ended up with a soggy, risotto-like pot of mush. So much for stereotypes about [...]

Read Full Post »

Chili con Carne with Pan-fried Polenta

It’s official:  all this cold, dark weather has put me on a comfort food kick.  If the forecast is to be trusted, sunset hits Berlin at about 4:30pm. Honestly, I haven’t seen the sun make an appearance on any recent afternoon.  It’s just been gray, gray, gray.  Then pitch dark.

As close to a sunny day [...]

Read Full Post »

Smitten Apple Cake

This lovely cake comes from Smitten Kitchen, a very famous food blog with beautiful photos and recipes that sometimes work.  I approached this recipe with a fair dose of skepticism (not to mention, blog envy) and about 2 lbs. of apples.  And I’m so glad I did.  After a few recent baking failures (including this week’s [...]

Read Full Post »

Chunky Potato Cream Soup

Image via The Big Blend
Cool weather just screams out for hearty, homey food, don’t you think? The weather dropped a good 15 or 20 degrees (Fahrenheit…have to specify now!) this past month in Berlin, and I’ve been craving comfort food. This chunky, creamy potato soup fits the bill without being a total fat-bomb. [...]

Read Full Post »

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I had a chocolate craving the other night, but since there was only hot chocolate mix in the house (pursuant to the theory: if you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it), I made cookies instead.  Oatmeal raisin cookies, in fact.  I’m more of a chocolate chip girl, but that wasn’t possible, given the current Schoko-drought.
I [...]

Read Full Post »

Foolproof Plum Cake

For most of August and September, Germany was awash in adorable Italian prune plums, known to Brits as “damsons” and to Germans as Zwetschke (or Zwetschge, depending).  Don’t you just want to pinch their chubby cheeks?

Roughly half to two-thirds the size of regular red plums, these purple beaut’s were selling for 1.99/kilo (2.2 lbs.) at the [...]

Read Full Post »

Japanese Curry with Crispy Tofu Cutlets (Tofu Katsu Kare)

Rumor has it that curry made its way from India to Japan during the colonial period via the British navy. There it morphed into a mild, savory-sweet roux-based sauce that’s the perfect counterpoint to a crispy piece of pork or tofu.  If you’re used to eating coconut-milk laden or incredibly spicy curries, Japanese curry [...]

Read Full Post »

To Try: Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

Today I found a great food blog while surfing the internets and using the google.  This easy recipe for banana bars especially caught my eye—probably because living abroad makes me homesick for good, simple American cooking.  Don’t these sound devilish?
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll have to break it out when I have [...]

Read Full Post »

Postcard from Berlin: Turkey Cutlets with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Surprise! I’ve changed continents. Here’s hoping you’ll enjoy my dispatches from my new home, Berlin—where every trip to the grocery store is an adventure, the produce is fresh and cheap, and the cashiers are surly but move at the speed of light.
Like so many others, today’s recipe started with one irresistible seasonal ingredient:

It’s mushroom [...]

Read Full Post »

What to do with Your Farmer’s Market Tomatoes

Are those shiny red orbs taunting you from the windowsill?   (I know you’d never put them in then  fridge, right)?  Well, you’re in luck.  Here’s the perfect snack to enjoy them at the height of their summer sweetness.
Please, go eat this.
Now.

Read Full Post »

Shortcut Jambalaya

You know those nights when you stumble home after a long day’s work, wearily open the fridge, and nearly cry from exhaustion and lack of inspiration? The nights you’d call for takeout, but feel embarassed because the person taking orders can recognize your voice? Those cereal-for-dinner nights?
Me?
I’ve had a few of those lately.  My husband [...]

Read Full Post »

To (Maybe Not) Try: Heinz Ketchup Cake

Credit: Canadian Family
This is just the weirdest thing ever.  I found this recipe for ketchup cake via a friend of a friend’s twitter (how web 2.0 am I?).  The whole concept borderline grosses me out,  but it’s also intriguing.  Red velvet cake with a Great Northern makeover.  Maybe ketchup is to spice cake what mayonnaise [...]

Read Full Post »

Toasted Treats for Biscotti-Haters: Russian Sukhariki

I’ll never forget the first (and last) time I made biscotti.  I was a budding young bakestress of 16, eager to whip up some of those exotic-looking cookies I’d seen at the new Starbucks in my town.  I slaved all afternoon, digging out the anise seeds from the pantry depths and laboriously stirring the thick dough, toasting [...]

Read Full Post »

Shortcut Pasta alle Vongole (with Clams)

Credit: Jean Allsop
I’ve been trolling the internet for low-cholesterol recipes and recently discovered that clams are heart-healthy, especially if you’re not restricting your sodium.  The following is a quick recipe that hits the spot when you don’t have $20 to drop on a restaurant dish.  It could be improved with a splash of white wine and fresh [...]

Read Full Post »