Recipes

STARCHY THANKSGIVING SIDES: Walnut-Raisin No-Knead Bread; New Potatoes with Butter and Chives; Root Vegetable Gratin; Garlic Bread; Quinoa Stuffing with Squash and Leek; Barb’s Corn Pudding

These biscuits have been a long time coming!

I make them every year, and I’ve mentioned them at least twice on BGSK, in my 2011 and 2010 Thanksgiving posts. I think I glazed over them in my write-up of the house dessert spread. But somehow they never quite got a post devoted to them, because the timing is bad. I…

» read more

For a quarter-lifer who will eat almost anything (hold the weird mushrooms though, please!), I sure was a picky child.

At Thanksgiving, for example, I refused to eat turkey. Or stuffing. Or sweet potatoes. Instead, I ate a bowl of Cheerios. How embarrassing is that?

Here’s how I started eating turkey: my dad would take a big piece of crispy, fatty skin (my mom’s turkeys always have the crispiest, most flavorful skin). He would wrap it around a sliver of white meat turkey, like a mini pulled pork taco. That, I could eat. Before long, I was…

» read more

EVENT: Steph’s NYC Homecoming
VENUE: Phoebe Parents’ Apartment, Upper West Side
PARTY SIZE: 10
TYPE: Raucous Chili Dinner Party
MENU: Ali’s Southwestern Artichoke Dip; Chips and Salsa; Classic Chili Con Carne; Arugula Salad with Cilantro-Citrus Vinaigrette; Cornbread

Chili and I go way back. As far as BGSK is concerned, all the way back to our second post ever, when Keith and I hosted our first ever chili cook-off. It’s become my go-to for entertaining a large group of friends—which to the dismay of my aging self…

» read more

OTHER FANTASTIC THANKSGIVING SIDES: Pumpkin-Leek Stuffing with Turkey Sausage; Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes; Farro and Cauliflower Salad with Currants; Brussels Sprouts with Apples, Pistachios, and Creme Fraiche

Happy Birthday to Phoebe!

Now, onto turnips…

The steakhouse meal is one of my favorites. This year, for my birthday, I went with family to Porterhouse in New York City where I ate the best ribeye steak ever, feasted on French fries, mashed potatoes, and onion rings, and rounded out my plate with creamed spinach.

I can tell you about how…

» read more

I’m a city girl through and through. But on weekends, especially in the fall-when you know that everywhere outside the smoggy city the leaves are turning crimson (like leaves in nature tend to do, when there isn’t a snow storm in October)-I just got to get me some of that country air.

Earlier last month, the change of seasons coincided with a visit from my good friend Steph. At the time, she was weeks away from her wedding and had come back to the East Coast for her final dress fitting. This past weekend, said wedding took…

» read more

Since starting BGSK in November 2008, I’ve purchased a surprisingly small number of cookbooks. Yet, I was forced to buy a second, identical, bookshelf to house all of the books I seemed to accumulate. And when it finally came time in May to move out of my apartment, I found that new bookshelf had to be packed up in five large storage boxes full of big, beautiful, clunky cookbooks.

How did this happen? Well, when you become a food writer, there seems to be two go-to presents: cookbooks and aprons. I now have a more diverse and…

» read more

OTHER GROWN-UP TREATS: M&M Blondies; Raspberry Crumb Squares; Madeleines; Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

When you’re a kid, you have to search outside your home for candy. If you were anything like Phoebe or me, your pantry wasn’t exactly bursting at the seams with fruit roll-ups and Pepperidge Farm goldfish and other elementary-school goodies, and Halloween-today!-was the moment to go out and stuff yourself silly on the Tootsie Rolls, Twix Bars, and Peppermint Patties that generous neighbors doled out.

I think there’s a moment of awakening for most of us, around the time we…

» read more

Not gonna lie: I’m a little bit obsessed with Halloween. When I was growing up, I did the witch and tiger thing. But by age 7, I had graduated to playing real people. People who your parents hope you’ll never become, not even on Halloween.

When I moved to New York City in 3rd grade, I traded my Laura Ashley sweater sets for ripped jeans from the GAP, and got introduced to rock. Green Day Dookie quickly made its way into my five CD “collection,” and for Halloween, instead of the usual variation of Disney princess, I…

» read more

We’ve always loved a good loaf cake. Not only are quickbreads and their variations easy to make, but the ingredients are also easy to remember.

‘Tis the season for pumpkin, so today we’re bringing you a video version of one of our favorite quickbreads: pumpkin chocolate chip. Great for a pumpkin-carving party or any everyday eating this fall.

» read more

Big news to share!

I’m marrying Alex!

He surprised me with a ring a few weeks ago over chili and cornbread (the cornbread said “marry me?”). Homebodies that we are, we took a few weeks to bask in our excitement ourselves before sharing the news. He’s since started calling me wifey (a bit premature, I know). And I’ve tried to keep cooking him delicious food like this and this and this, so he wouldn’t feel, you know, misled.

We’re hoping to get married next fall. Wedding plans naturally revolve around food,…

» read more