This awesome giveaway is sponsored by CSN Stores, where you can buy anything from a bedroom vanity to cookware.

Smoothies are the best summer fare. Cool, sweet, and easy-crucial characteristics when it’s this hot.

Call it vanity, but we don’t like to get knee-deep in cooking when the temperature rises above 90°F. With the oven on and the stove going, our hair frizzes, our pores clog, and our energy levels hit rock bottom. We go for simple stuff instead-panzanella, wraps, and ice cream sandwiches.

We also crave smoothies-or at least Cara…

HEALTHY-ISH NAUGHTINESS: Grilled Mushroom-Cheddar Melts; Spinach Hash Browns or Sweet Potato Fries; Carrot Cake

I love a good grilled cheese. But sometimes it just feels right to introduce a vegetable to the mix, even if that vegetable is sauteed in butter. This seems to be my rationale come summertime (otherwise known as bikini season). To help this sandwich trim down even further, I decided to grill instead of fry it. Getting a nice charred cross-hatch on hearty country bread really does a…

EVENT: We’re on a Boat

VENUE: Robbins Family Boat, Long Island Sound
PARTY SIZE: 8
TYPE: Nautical Picnic Lunch
MENU: Chicken Satay Banh Mi Sandwiches; Hummus; Guacamole & Chips

Cara and I are addicted to Num Pang, the small Cambodian banh mi joint right off Union Square. Their sandwiches have actually become a bad influence. One afternoon we were already running late to a meeting in the area, but then we passed the storefront and just couldn’t resist. The hands of the…

OTHER MOROCCAN MEALS: Merguez and Green Chard Tagine; Fish Tagine with Chourmula, Preserved Lemons, and Mint; Moroccan Bouillabaisse

It’s a pleasure, when traveling, to be able to stay in someone’s home. You see a neighborhood where locals live, which is nice, but most important is that you get to buy food in the market. When I’m staying at hotels, I make a point of visiting local markets, but they are barren excursions. I wander, aimless, wishing I could buy beautiful and exotic ingredients. But there is nothing to do with them in a hotel room. I settle for some street food-crispy flatbreads, little sweets, or juice-take a picture, and move on.

Sandwiches For Hot Weather: Ancho Chicken Sandwich with Avocado and Chipotle Mayo; Roast Beef Baguettes with Cider Onion Jam and Fennel Remoulade; Pulled Brisket Sandwiches; Biscuit Club Sandwiches; Dill Turkey Sandwiches with Beet Relish; Coffee-Toffee Ice Cream Sandwiches; Stay tuned for more sandwiches as this summer week goes on!
How easy is it to sell me on Pulled Pork? I’ll answer that: very. Slow-cooked pork tossed with BBQ sauce and piled onto a bun is hard to mess up, since pork butt basically

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EVENT: Father’s Day
VENUE: Phoebe’s Parents’ Apt, Upper West Side
PARTY-SIZE: 3
TYPE: Comforting, Nostalgic Dinner
MENU: Tuna Noodle Casserole with Cremini Mushrooms and Scallions; Baked Tomatoes with Thyme; Steamed Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon; Chocolate Chip Cookies

“Before he met me, your father’s favorite home-cooked dish was tuna casserole.” That’s pretty much how my mother sums up my dad’s childhood in the Midwest.

My dad grew up in Ohio. But I’m not sure this actually had too much impact on…

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Good Grips Measuring Spoon Set

I’m a nerd, but I often wake up early on Saturdays, and I like to get to the farmers’ market when it opens, around 8am, before the hordes of shoppers, children, strollers, and puppies arrive. I like to get there when it’s still cool out in the summer, and when I have first pick of the goodies and don’t have to wait on line to buy them.

When I can get myself out of bed to go running that early, which is a much, much rarer occurrence

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AL FRESCO DINNER: Panzanella Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette; Turkey Burgers with Red Onion and Beet Relish; Lemon Tart with Cream

I usually don’t bake tomatoes in the summer because a) the oven makes my apartment unbearably hot and b) the tomatoes are usually so red and juicy that I want to pick one right up and bite into it like an apple. In the winter, a trip to the oven is an excellent way to amplify a tomato’s flavor when it is pale in complexion and lacking in taste. But in the summer,…

the couscousiere: small kitchen tool extraordinaire

Last week, I walked in my door after 22 hours of travel. My shirt smelled terrible, but my backpack still smelled like Morocco. Filled with spices, preserved lemons, and the last bites of a flatbread we didn’t finish on the plane, it was an instant reminder of the trip, as if I could have forgotten already. But to ensure that I don’t forget-at least the food-I’ve created the following slideshow-a memory for me, a recap for you.

Alex and I drove from Casablanca, where our

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EVENT: Various Catering gigs

VENUE: Someone else’s big kitchen
PARTY SIZE: 25 - 75
TYPE: Catered Cocktail Party with Hors d’Oeuvres
MENU: Shrimp & Mango Wonton Crisps; Soy-Sesame Ahi Tuna & Avocado Wonton Crisps

I recently posted my manifesto on why wonton skins are a leftover’s best friend. But I still haven’t shared with you the reason they entered my fridge/freezer in the first place.

Back in February we catered Jordana’s parents’, Andrea and David’s, 30th wedding anniversary party. It wasn’t our first gig. But it was still our largest party to date.…